Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 5.djvu/112

 DOCTRINE

DOCTRINE

and the choice of words in which the instruction should be conveyed ; above all, it is the best means of securing uniformity and correctness of doctrinal and moral teaching. Tiie use which the teacher should make of it must be understood in connexion with what has been said above about the methods of catechizing. To the scholar a catechism gives in a brief form a sum- mary of what the teacher has been imparting to him; and by committing it to memory he can be sure that he has grasped the substance of his lesson. As already observed, this is not a difficult matter where there are Catholic schools under trained expert teachers accus- tomed to making the children learn by heart; but where the teaching has to be done in evening or Sun- day schools by inexperienced persons, and the scholars are not untler the same control as in the day schools, the portions to be committed to memory must be reduced to a minimum.

A good catechism should conform strictly to the definition given above. That is to say, it should be elementarj', not a learned treatise of dogmatic, moral, and ascetical theologj'; and it should be simple in lan- guage, avoiding technical expressions as far as consist- ent with accurac)^ Should the form of question and answer be maintained? No doubt it is not an interest- ing form for grown-up persons; but children prefer it because it lets them know exactly what they are likely to be asked. Moreover, this form keeps up the idea of a teacher and a disciple, and so is most in conformity with the fundamental notion of catechizing. What form the answers should take — Yes or Xo, or a cate- gorical statement — is a matter of disagreement among the best teachers. It would seem that the decision depends on the character of the different languages and nations; some of them making extensive use of the affirmative and negative particles, while others reply by making statements. Archbishop Walsh of Dublin, in his instructions for the revision of the cate- chism, recommended "the introduction of short read- ing lessons, one to be appended to each chapter of the catechism. These reading lessonsshould deal, in some- what fuller form, with the matter dealt with in the questions and answers of the catechism. The insertion of such lessons would make it possible to omit without loss many questions the answers to which now impose a heavj' burden on the memory of the children. ... If these lessons are written with care and skill, and in a style attractive as well as simple, the children will soon have them learned by heart, from the mere fact of repeatedly reading them, and without any formal effort at committing them to memory" (Irish Eccl. Record, Jan., 1892). An excellent means of assisting the memory is the use of pictures. These should be selected with the greatest care; they shoukl be accu- rate as well as artistic. The catechism used in Venice when Pius X was patriarch was illustrated.

As there are three stages of catechetical instruction, so there should be three catechisms corresponding with these. The first should be very short and simple, but should give the little child some information about all four parts of religious knowletlge. The second cate- chism, for those preparing for first Communion, should embody, word for word, without the slightest change, all the questions and answers of the first catechism. Further questions and answers, dealing with a more extensive knowledge, should be added in their proper places, after the earlier matter; and these will have special reference to the sacraments, more particularly the Holy Eucharist. The third catechism, for those who have made their first Communion, should in like manner embody the contents of the first and sec- ond catechisms, and add instruction belonging to the third stage mentioned above. For scholars beyond the elementary stages this third catechism may be used, with aflditions not in the form of question and answer and not necessarily to be learnt by heart. The great idea running through all the catechisms should be that

the later ones should grow out of the earlier ones, and that the children should not be confused bj- differently worded answers to the same questions. Thus, the an- swer to the questions: What is charity? 'What is a sacrament? should be exactly the same in all the cate- chisms. Further information can be introduced by fresh questions. In some rare cases additions may be made at the end of the earher answers, but never in the middle.

It was mentioned in the historical portion of this article that at the time of the Vatican Council a pro- posal was made for the introduction of a uniform cate- chism for use throughout the Church. As the proposal was not carried out, we may here discuss the advan- tages and disadvantages of a universal catechism. There can be no doubt that the present system of allowing each bishop to draw up a catechism for use in his diocese is open to strong objection. Happily, in these days there is no difficulty on the head of diver- sity of doctrine. The difficulty arises rather from the importance attached to learning the catechism by heart. People do not nowadays remain stationarj' in the neighbourhood in which they were born. Their children, in passing from one diocese to another, are obliged to unlearn the wording of one catechism (a most difficult process) and learn the different wording of another. Even where all the dioceses of a pro\'ince or country have the same catechism the difficulty arises in passing into a new province or country. A single catechism for universal use would prevent all this waste of time and confusion, besides being a strong bond of union between the nations. At the same time it must be recognized that the conditions of the Church varj' considerably in the dilferent countries. In a Catholic country, for instance, it is not necessary to touch upon controversial questions, whereas in non- Catholic countries these must be thoroughly gone into. This will notably be the case with regard to the intro- duction of texts in the actual words of the Holy Scrip- tures. Thus, in the Valladolid Catechism there is not a single quotation from the Old or New Testament except the Our Father and the first part of the Hail JIary — and even of these the source is not mentioned. The Commandments are not given in the words of Scripture. There is no attempt to prove any doctrine; everything is stated dogmatically on the authority of the Church. A catechism on these lines is clearly un- suited for children liWng among Protestants. As al- ready pointed out, the instruction of those who have made their first Communion should embrace proof as well as statement. The Fathers of the Vatican Council recognized the difficulty, and endeavoured to meet it by a compromise. A new catechi,sm, based upon Bellarmine's Catechism and other catechisms of ap- proved value, was to be drawn up in Latin, and was to be translated into the different vernaculars with the authority of the bishops, who were empowered to make such additions as they might think fit; but these additions were to be kept quite distinct from the text. The unhappy events of the latter part of the year 1S70 prevented this proposal from being carried out.

(a) The present pontiff, Pius X, has prescribed a cate- chism for use in the Diocese of Rome and in its eccle- siastical province, and has expressed a desire that it should be adopted throughout Italy. It has been translated into English, French, Spanish, and German, and a movement has begun with a view to extending its use to other countries besides Italy, especially to Spain, wheretheconditions are similar. (See " Irish Eccl. Record", March, 1906, p. 221; "Amer. Eccl. Rev.", Nov., 1906.) This catechism consists of two parts, or rather two distinct books: onefor "lower classes "and one for "higher classes". The first, or "Shorter Cate- chism", is meant for those who have not made their first Communion; the second, or "Longer Catechism", for those who have already been through the other. Both are constructed on the same lines: an introduc-