This page provides information about the Catechetical Accompaniment Process for publishers. Any publisher who wishes to submit a text or series for review should read this page and then contact Mr. Thomas Nee, Accompaniment Specialist for the Subcommittee on the Catechism, to discuss next steps and to get a list of current reviewers.

Phone: (202) 541-3032
Fax: (202) 541-3055

Handbook on the Catechetical Accompaniment Process

To learn more about the work of the Subcommittee on the Catechism through the Institute on the Catechism, refer to the Handbook on the Catechetical Accompaniment Process, which can be downloaded here:

Handbook on the Catechetical Accompaniment Process

The Handbook provides instructions on how to use the Protocols—which were developed by the Subcommittee on the Catechism—in the development of catechetical materials:

Protocols for Conformity

What is the Handbook on the Catechetical Accompaniment Process?

The Handbook on the Catechetical Accompaniment Process is a resource developed by the Institute on the Catechism, a work of the Subcommittee on the Catechism, under the Committee of Evangelization and Catechesis at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. This resource is designed to serve the Institute on the Catechism and those who collaborate with the Institute in the work of cultivating a culture of evangelizing catechesis in the United States.

The Institute on the Catechism was discerned as a response to a changing catechetical landscape, as well as in response to the guidance provided by the 2020 Directory for Catechesis. The Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis worked with the Subcommittee on the Catechism to renew their approach to their mandate to oversee the use and presentation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church in catechetical resources in the United States, with guidance from the Directory, moving towards a proactive method of accompaniment.

Who is the Handbook meant for?

This resource is meant especially for publishers who wish to have their catechetical materials included on the Conformity Review List. The Handbook gives instructions on the process and provides an overview of what publishers can expect when working with the Institute on the Catechism.

The Handbook is also useful for bishops and diocesan personnel who assist the bishop in selecting and implementing catechetical programs within their dioceses, since it describes the means by which the bishops of the Subcommittee ensure that catechetical materials produced for use in the United States are meant to help foster an evangelizing catechesis.

What is evangelizing catechesis?

At the heart of the Church’s mission to all people, an evangelizing catechesis seeks to deepen a personal encounter with Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit:¹ It proclaims the core message of the Gospel, the kerygma;² it accompanies people to a response of faith and conversion to Christ;³ it provides a systematic exposition of God’s revelation within the communion of the Catholic Church;⁴ and it sends out missionary disciples as witnesses to the good news of salvation⁵ who promote a new vision of life, of humanity, of justice, and of human fraternity.”⁶

1. The Directory for Catechesis (DC) offers a more expanded description in paragraphs 55 and 56.
2. cf. DC, 2: The kerygma “manifests the action of the Holy Spirit, who communicates God’s saving love in Jesus Christ and continues to give himself so that every human being may have the fullness of life.”
3. cf. DC, 3: The process of accompaniment leads to an internalizing of the Gospel which “involves the whole person in his unique experience of life.”
4. cf. DC, 4: “The act of faith is born from the love that desires an ever-increasing knowledge of the Lord Jesus, living in the Church.”
5. cf. DC, 4: “All believers are active participants in the catechetical initiative…and because of this are called to become authentic missionary disciples.”
6. cf. DC, 60: “Since ‘The kerygma has a clear social content’…the efficacy of catechesis is visible not only through the direct proclamation of the Lord’s Paschal mystery, but also through its revelation of a new vision of life, of humanity, of justice, of social existence, of the whole cosmos which emerges from the faith and which makes its signs concretely present.”

Assessing Materials for Conformity to the Catechism of the Catholic Church

Introduction

In his apostolic constitution, Fidei depositum, Pope John Paul II points out that the Catechism of the Catholic Church "is meant to encourage and assist in the writing of new local catechisms, which take into account various situations and cultures, while carefully preserving the unity of faith and fidelity to Catholic doctrine" (Pope John Paul II, Fidei depositum, no. 3). In light of this objective and the charge of the Administrative Committee of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Subcommittee on the Catechism is reviewing catechetical materials voluntarily submitted as to their conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

To guide this process and to provide as objective an instrument as possible, the Subcommittee on the Catechism has developed this Protocol. The Administrative Committee of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops gave initial approval of this Protocol to be used ad experimentum for a year. After a survey consultation of publishers, bishop reviewers and their consultants, the Protocol was revised and submitted to the Administrative Committee.

In September, 1997, the Administrative Committee approved the Protocol for Assessing the Conformity of Catechetical Materials with the Catechism of the Catholic Church as the standard review instrument for the Subcommittee on the Catechism.

The following points introduce some important caveats in the use of the Protocol in the review of catechetical materials:

• As far as possible, the evaluative points of reference employ the language of the Catechism of the Catholic Church in order to underscore its dependence on the Catechism
• The review process and assessment presume that all catechesis is a gradual unfolding of the deposit of faith and consequently that the Church's teaching can be presented on a basic level in the early years and on a more advanced level in the later years

According to our Guidelines for Doctrinally Sound Catechetical Materials, the first principle for assessing the conformity of catechetical materials to the Catechism of the Catholic Church is "that the Christian message be authentic. For expressions of faith and moral teachings to be authentic, they must be in harmony with the doctrine and traditions of the Catholic Church, which are safeguarded by the bishops who teach with a unique authority" (Guidelines for Doctrinally Sound Catechetical Materials, United States Catholic Conference, p. 7).

Authenticity

In order for catechetical materials developed from the Catechism to be authentic, the following criteria should be observed:

• Minimally, the catechetical materials should contain nothing contradictory to the Catechism
• They should encourage and assist in the development of a common language of faith within the Church
• They should promote a healthy and vital Catholic identity in such a way that the believer is encouraged to hear the message clearly, live it with conviction and share it courageously with others
• Since the Catechism should not be reduced to its in brief sections, catechetical materials should evidence the wider context of teaching from which the in brief sections are drawn

In order for catechetical materials developed from the Catechism to be authentic, the theological structure as indicated below should be at least implicit in the catechetical materials:

• Trinitarian organization

  The Catechism does not simply treat of the Holy Trinity when it treats of God or expounds the creed. The creative and saving initiative of God the Father, the salvific mission of God the Son and the sanctifying role of God the Holy Spirit permeate the Catechism's treatment of worship and liturgy, the life of grace underpinning the moral life and the life of prayer.

• Christological centrality

  The Catechism breathes the person, life and mission of Jesus Christ. The entire Catechism is a breaking open of the mystery of the Word made flesh. Christ is presented as fully God and fully man.

• Ecclesial context

  The Catechism's treatment of the Church is not restricted to a commentary on the article of faith in the Creed that focuses on the Church. The entire Catechism presents the continuing presence and mission of Christ in and through the Church by the power of the Holy Spirit. Adherence to Christ through faith involves immersion in the life of the Church.

• Treatment of the sacraments within the paschal mystery

  The Catechism presents as an underlying and unifying motif in its treatment of the sacraments the Christian's participation in the paschal mystery of Jesus Christ. Sacraments receive their origin and receive their efficacy in relationship to the paschal mission of the Savior and his presence in the sacramental encounter with his people.

• Presentation of the moral life in the personal and social teachings of the Church as a new life in the Holy Spirit

  The Catechism makes clear that the moral life is not a merely human endeavor nor is it simply a series of dos and don'ts. It is rooted in a real new life made possible by the presence of the Holy Spirit and the gift of grace within the human person.

• The Church's teachings on the dignity of human life related to the section on the 5th Commandment

The Church's teaching and commitment to life should be integrated into the treatment of moral life, and the nuances provided should show both the distinctiveness and the relationship of the various life issues to one another.

• The Church's teachings on human sexuality related to the section on the 6th and 9th Commandments

  The Catechism treats human sexuality within the context of education in sexual morality. This arrangement now supersedes the development of separate segments on education in human sexuality apart from the moral teaching.

• The Church's teaching on social justice related to the section on the 7th and 10th Commandments

  The Catechism offers a succinct presentation of the Church's teaching on social justice both in the introduction to the Commandments and in the treatment of the 7th and 10th Commandments. This presentation also preserves the relationship between teaching and social justice with the rest of the moral teaching of the Church.

Completeness

The second principle for assessing the conformity of catechetical materials to the Catechism is "that the Christian message be complete" (Guidelines, p. 7).

In order for catechetical materials developed from the Catechism to be considered complete, the doctrines of the Church should be presented as an integrated whole and there should be an intrinsic cohesiveness to the presentation of the faith:

• The materials should reflect the four pillars of the Catechism: such materials should include the articles of the Creed, the sacraments, the Commandments and the petitions of the Lord's Prayer
• They should also include an appropriate presentation of the rootedness of the teaching in Sacred Scripture
• They should reflect in an appropriate manner the variety and multiplicity of the sources of the faith found in the Catechism, for example, the teachings from the Councils, the Eastern and Western Fathers, liturgical texts and spiritual writings
• They should show that God's love is revealed primarily in the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ
• They should give proper importance to the biblical, anthropological, liturgical, moral and spiritual, as well as to the ecumenical and missionary dimensions of the Catechism

These principles and criteria are the most fundamental ways in which catechetical materials should reflect the Catechism of the Catholic Church. They touch the underlying theological teaching and give spirit to the specific content which Part Two fleshes out in a more concrete way.

Looking for the former Handbook on the Conformity Review Process?

The former Handbook on the Conformity Review Process, which explains the Conformity Review Process that was in place prior to the implementation of the Catechetical Accompaniment Process, is still available for download:

Handbook on the Conformity Review Process