NALM STUDY GROUP ON THE INSTALLED CATECHIST
Pope Francis established the lay ministry of catechist in May 2021 through his Apostolic Letter Antiquum ministerium (ancient ministry). The ministry is intended to help evangelize the modern world. As an established ecclesial ministry, it has ancient origins, as it is mentioned in the New Testament in the Gospel of Luke and St Paul's Letters to the Corinthians and Galatians. In that letter, Pope Francis invited the study of the revised installation of catechists. In response to his invitation, the National Association for Lay Ministry (NALM) developed a study group of Catholic academic and pastoral leaders. fr. Wayne Cavalier, OP, was invited to participate in the group but could only join it recently. Before that, the study group had worked for a year on its original mandate. The following is based on a report on the group’s work provided on the NALM website (see https://www.nalm.org/page/installed_catechist):
As the conversation developed, the group became increasingly aware of and excited by the possibilities of the apostolic letter. Offered below is the executive summary of NALM’s initial response to Antiquum Ministerium and Archbishop Roche’s Letter to Presidents of Episcopal Conferences on the Rite of Institution of Catechists (December 13, 2021)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY August 22, 2022
1. Pope Francis’ decision to establish the ministry of catechist as an instituted lay ministry is a welcome development in the Church’s long history of ordering ministries to serve the mission of Christ.
2. The ministerial reality described by the Pope in Antiquum ministerium has taken various forms in different parts of the world. In the United States, this reality has taken shape most clearly in those lay ecclesial ministers who serve as parish catechetical leaders, directors of evangelization, pastoral associates, and in similar roles that have become an essential feature of parish life. Serving on virtually every parish staff or pastoral team, these lay ecclesial ministers are indispensable co-workers with the ordained in the Church's overall catechetical and evangelizing mission.
3. In response to Pope Francis’ invitation to Episcopal Conferences “to render effective the ministry of Catechist, determining the necessary process of formation and the normative criteria for admission to this ministry and devising the most appropriate forms for the service which these men and women will be called to exercise” (AM 9), Church leaders in the U.S. can draw fruitfully on the substantive resources already developed and approved by the USCCB, including especially Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord: A Resource for Guiding the Development of Lay Ecclesial Ministry (2005) and the National Certification Standards for Lay Ecclesial Ministers (2018-2025).
4. These resources reflect the reality of lay ministry in the Church in the United States. Read along with documents of the universal Church; they suggest that the appropriate candidate for the instituted ministry of catechist is the lay ecclesial minister whose ministry is marked by a broad role of catechetical leadership within the parish or diocese, a deep vocational commitment rooted in baptism, and close mutual collaboration with the ordained.
5. Such a ministry requires specific qualities and competencies on the minister's part and demands the human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral formation necessary to serve effectively.
6. Singling out some ministers for formal institution need not narrow the scope of lay ministry, but ought to enhance the diversity of ministries alive in the Church. As Pope Francis notes, “the reception of a lay ministry such as that of Catechist will emphasize even more the missionary commitment proper to every baptized person” (AM 7).NALM shared this paper summarized above with the USCCB, along with two appendices referenced. These included the National Certification Standards for Lay Ecclesial Ministers and the Guidelines for the Institution of Lectors, Acolytes, and Catechists in the Archdiocese of Brisbane, Australia. In their response to NALM, the USCCB expressed gratitude for the work that had been done and for ongoing support in implementing the Pope’s apostolic letter. They noted that the USCCB had formed a working group to oversee the implementation of the letter and found the document provided by NALM helpful to their deliberations. They observed that there was much common ground in the work of the two groups.
In addition to the document summarized above, NALM created a two-part webinar series on the document, recordings of which are available on NALM’s website:
Part 1: A canonical and historical perspective Presented by Cecelia Bennet
Cecelia Bennet connected the three ministries of lector, acolyte, and catechist. The institution of these three ministries as lay ministries was six decades in the making.
The canonical history, the relationship to the permanent diaconate, the institution of these three ministries as specifically lay and open to both men and women, the role of the Episcopal conference in implementing these ministries regionally, and catechists as co-workers with the ordained ministers and consecrated religious are themes that were discussed.
NALM intends to continue these conversations, moving toward the practical implications for the Church in the United States.