Commentary
Recent surveys of catechetical leaders across the Diocese revealed that only fourteen percent of the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth graders not enrolled in Catholic high schools are receiving religious education. In response, the Office of Religious Education and the Office of Youth Ministry convened an ad hoc Adolescent Catechesis Advisory Committee consisting of experienced youth ministers and directors of religious education to study this problem and make recommendations.
Along with other important recommendations, the committee identified a need for a resource describing effective models of systematic adolescent catechesis within the context of comprehensive youth ministry. After gathering information about various programs from active youth ministers and recognized authorities on youth ministry and adolescent catechesis, the offices collaborated in the preparation of this document. It has three main purposes:
- To assist pastors and catechetical leaders to integrate catechesis within their other youth ministry efforts;
- To update catechetical leaders on developments in adolescent faith formation programs;
- To provide descriptions and illustrations of effective models of adolescent faith formation;
There is a benefit of participation in high quality parish youth ministry programs:
Young people who participate in youth ministry programs are interested in learning more about their faith and they want to do this as members of a group…When asked the areas in which youth ministry has most helped them to grow, youth ministry program participants cite areas of faith or moral formation rather than purely social activities…Those involved in youth programs take their Catholic identity very seriously and exhibit a deep commitment to the Catholic Church. (New Directions in Catholic Youth Ministry: A National Study of Catholic Youth Ministry Program Participants, Executive Summary, July 1996, Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate.)
It is our hope that this resource will inspire a renewed emphasis on the faith formation of adolescents in the context of comprehensive youth ministry.