Zasady doboru treści katechezy

Abstract

In constructing a catechetical curriculum one has to hear in mind both the goals of catechesis and the level of religious awareness of the pupils. The latter mainly depends on the external circumstances of their life. In the light of this fact the author puts forward some principles that ought to be observed in reforming the existent curriculum or creating a new one. The basic and leading principle of catechesis is its being faithful to God and to man, and a number of further principles follow from it. Catechesis ought to: combine lay and religious elements, culture and Revelation, faith and morality; rest on both word (the Bible) and sacrament (liturgy); recognize the pupil’s individuality and the values of community life; concentrate on the pupil’s immediate environment while being open to the wider society; answer the basicexistential problems and serve the whole of the Christian message; appealto the pupil’s experience as a basis for instruction; contain both elements of information and those of formation. The principles are to some extent correlated with the principles governing the choice of the subject matter of instruction and education in the school system, i.e. the principles of: scientific basis of instruction; didactic and elastic approach; inclusion of social and political elementa; unity of education and instruction; linking theory with practice; permanent and parallel education; structuralization of the content of instruction; objectivity; pupil activity.