Dear Pastoral Assistants of Faith Formation,
"With the Motu Proprio 'Antiquum Ministerium' published on May 10th, Pope Francis is initiating a new era for the catechists offering this wonderful ministry in the local parishes. We are waiting for the Catholic Bishops in the United States to provide us with concrete guidelines in how this Papal initiative will be implemented in the United States.
Our Pastoral Assistants of Faith Formation and their catechists have played a major role in the transmission of the faith and the Gospel at each one of our local parishes. While this ministry is not frequently recognized, we know how important and essential this ministry is in transmitting the faith to the future generations of Catholics.
Mgr. Fidencio López Plaza, Bishop of Querétaro, head of the Commission for New Evangelization and Catechesis of the Mexican Bishops' Conference said in an article this past June that during this ongoing time of the pandemic, catechists are called to "become torches that light the way, the ones to show a path that goes beyond the pain we experience… For this reason, it is our task as missionary disciples to transform this dark scenario of history into a true time of grace".
The prolongation of the pandemic continues raising concerns and challenges when we are thinking of reopening faith formation programs. However, the pandemic also presented great opportunities to utilize modern technologies, the social media, and we benefited from the blessing of understanding the role of the family, especially the parents in transmitting the faith to their children.
The Office of Faith Formation is focused on rethinking the basic elements of methodology and practice in the transmission of the faith, and we will be looking for ways to develop visionary catechists who are able to bring people to have a closer relationship with God and become missionary disciples by implementing the archdiocesan pastoral plan at their local communities.
Therefore, for this upcoming year the Office f Faith Formation:
a) Will continue to emphasize the essential concepts based on the 6 tasks of catechesis on our website, resource page, and on our Facebook page.
b) Will provide training and support to the RCIA coordinators and volunteers;
c) Will continue to conduct PAFF support meetings on a monthly basis;
d) Will provide intermediate and advanced ongoing education for our catechist and adult faith formation coordinators.
e) Will provide opportunities for accompaniment at the Archbishop Brunett Retreat Center, and
f) Create a team for Confirmation Retreats.
We know that budgets have been impacted and that we have to do more with less, and we recognize that by working together more things can be accomplished.
