Katechetyczna myśl Kościoła w świetle „Instrumentum laboris”

Abstract

Recently much has been said and written on the subject of catechesis in the modern world. However, the voice of the 5th Synod of Bishops had special significance in this respect. By means of the Synod the whole Church expressed its views on the need for catechesis, its nature, contents, subject and methods. The present article is an attempt at indicating but also analysing the main problems of catechesis today. The basic material for carrying out this task was the synodal document “Instrumentum Laboris”. The author first discusses the origin of the document, analyses it, and then sets it contents against the achievements of modern catechetics. As a result he concluds that in its work, which found its expression in “Instrumentum Laboris”, the Synod treated the problem of the relation between catechesis and the Church in a significantly deeper way than previously. Taking a critical approach to the document analysed, the author of the article observes that it constitutes a fairly comprehensive catechetical synthesis but that at the same time it is not a coherent logical whole. Drawing on the richness of the document, modern catechetics can, undoubtedly, improve catechesis. At the same time, however, the ideas indicated in the document need to be further developed.