General Directry fr Catechesis: Key Cncepts Jesus Christ, after his Resurrectin, tgether with the Father, sent the Hly Spirit in rder that He might accmplish frm within the wrk f salvatin and that He might animate His disciples t cntinue the missin t the whle wrld. He was the first and supreme evangelizer. He prclaimed the Kingdm f Gd as the urgent and definitive interventin f Gd in histry, and defined this prclamatin the Gspel, i.e. the Gd News. T this Gspel, Jesus devted his entire earthly life: He made knwn the jy f belnging t the Kingdm, its demands, its magna carta, the mysteries which it embraces, the life f fraternal charity f thse wh enter it and its future fulfillment. (GDC 34) GD 1
Table f Cntents General Directry fr Catechesis: Key Cncepts Revelatin Cnversin and Faith The Sacraments f Initiatin Evangelizatin Evangelizatin and Catechesis Ministry f the Wrd and Catechesis Catechesis Rle f the Parish Cmmunity in Catechesis: Six Fundamental Tasks f Catechesis The Meaning f Inculturatin in the General Directry What Is Inculturatin? Wh Des the Wrk f Inculturatin? What Is the Rle f Catechesis in Inculturatin? What are the Agents which Catechesis Uses t Effect Inculturatin? What is the Rle f Language and Media in Inculturatin? Where is Inculturatin Directed? GD-3 GD-4 GD-5 GD-6 GD-7 GD-8 GD-10 GD-11 GD-11 GD-13 GD-13 GD-14 GD-15 GD-17 GD-18 GD-19 GD 2
Revelatin Gd truly reveals Himself as ne wh desires t cmmunicate Himself, making the human persn a participant in His divine nature. In this way Gd accmplishes His plan f lve. Fully revealed in Jesus Christ and realized by the pwer f the Hly Spirit, the prvidential plan f the Father implies: the Revelatin f Gd, f His innermst truth, and f the true vcatin and dignity f the human persn; the ffer f salvatin t all, as a gift f Gd s grace and mercy, a gift which brings freedm frm evil, sin and death; the definite call t gather int the family f Gd all f His scattered children. (GDC 37) Gd uses a pedaggy t reveal Himself t the human persn: He uses human events and wrds t cmmunicate His plan. (GDC 38) Gd revealed Himself prgressively thrugh the prphets and thrugh salvific events, until He brught t cmpletin His self-revelatin by sending His wn Sn. Jesus is indeed the Father s ne, perfect and unsurpassable Wrd. (GDC 40) GD 3
Cnversin and Faith Christian faith is, abve all, cnversin t Jesus Christ, full and sincere adherence t His persn and the decisin t walk in His ftsteps. Faith is a persnal encunter with Jesus Christ, making f neself a disciple f Jesus. This demands a permanent cmmitment t think like Him, t judge like Him and t live as He lived. In this way the believer unites himself t the cmmunity f disciples and apprpriates the faith f the Church. (GDC 53) This Yes t Jesus Christ, wh is the fullness f the revelatin f the Father, is twfld: a trustful abandnment t Gd and a lving assent t all that Gd has revealed t us. This is pssible nly by means f the actin f the Hly Spirit. (GDC 54) Faith invlves a metania, i.e. a change f life, a prfund transfrmatin f mind and heart. Faith and cnversin arise frm the heart, that depth f the human persn which invlves all that the persn is. By meeting Jesus Christ and by adhering t Him the human being sees all f his deepest aspiratins cmpletely fulfilled. He finds what he has always been seeking and finds it superabundantly. Faith is a gift frm Gd. It can nly be brn as a cmpletely free respnse t the prmptings f the Hly Spirit wh mves the heart and turns it tward Gd, and wh makes it easy t accept and believe the truth. (GDC 55) Faith is destined t grw in the hearts f believers. Adhering t Jesus Christ sets in mtin a prcess f cntinuing cnversin which ges n fr the whle f ne s lifetime. (GDC 56) GD 4
The Sacraments f Initiatin Faith, mved by divine grace and cultivated by the actin f the Church, underges a prcess f maturatin. Catechesis, which is at the service f this grwth, is als a gradual activity. The gradual nature f catechesis is inspired by the stages f the great catechumenal traditin f the Church. In the baptismal catechumenate, frmatin is articulated in fur stages: the pre-catechumenate: the lcus f the first evangelizatin leading t cnversin, where the kerygma f the primary prclamatin is explained, the catechumenate: the cntext f integral catechesis beginning with the handing n f the Gspels, the time f purificatin and illuminatin: a mre intense preparatin fr the sacraments f initiatin, including the handing n f the Creed, and the handing n f the Lrd s Prayer, the time f mystaggy: the experience f the sacraments and entry int the cmmunity. (GDC 88) There is a fundamental difference between pre-baptismal catechesis and pst-baptismal catechesis. Hwever, sme elements f the pre-baptismal catechumenate must inspire pstbaptismal catechesis. The pre-baptismal catechumenate: cnstantly reminds the whle Church f the fundamental imprtance f initiatin and the basic factrs which cnstitute it: catechesis and the sacraments f Baptism, Cnfirmatin and Eucharist; is the respnsibility f the entire Christian cmmunity and thus increases awareness f the imprtance f every frm f faith-educatin that the Church ffers; is cmpletely permeated by the mystery f Christ s Passver; thus all catechesis must be inspired by the Paschal Mystery; is an initial lcus f inculturatin since the Church receives catechumens integrally, tgether with their cultural ties; all catechetical activity incrprates int the cathlicity f the Church, authentic seeds f the wrd scattered thrugh natins and individuals. Is a prcess f frmatin and a schl f the faith whse catechesis is characterized by: cmprehensiveness and integrity f frmatin, gradual character expressed in definite stages, meaningful rites, symbls, biblical and liturgical signs, cnstant references t the Christian cmmunity. (GDC 90 and 91) GD 5
Evangelizatin The Church exists in rder t evangelize, i.e. t carry frth the Gd News t every sectr f the human race s that by its strength the Gd News may enter int the hearts f human beings and renew the human race. (GDC 46) Evangelizatin is the prcess by which the Church, mved by the Spirit, prclaims and spreads the Gspel thrughut the entire wrld. The elements in the prcess f evangelizatin are: Christian Witness: Urged by charity, evangelizatin impregnates and transfrms the whle tempral rder, apprpriating and renewing all cultures; it bears witness amng all peples f the new way f being and living which characterizes Christians; Primary Prclamatin: Evangelizatin explicitly prclaims the Gspel and calls t cnversin; this is addressed t nn-believers and thse living in religius indifference; Christian Initiatin: By means f catechesis and the sacraments f Christian Initiatin, evangelizatin initiates int the faith and the Christian life thse wh cnvert t Jesus Christ r thse wh take up again the path f fllwing Him, incrprating them int the Christian cmmunity; Cntinuing Educatin in Faith within the Christian Cmmunity: Evangelizatin nurishes cmmunin amng the faithful by means f cntinuus educatin in the faith (hmilies and ther frms f catechesis), the sacraments and the practice f charity; Arusal t Missin: Evangelizatin sends the disciples f Christ t prclaim the Gspel by wrd and deed thrughut the whle wrld. (GDC 48) In fusing ne s cnfessin f faith with that f the Church herself, the Christian is incrprated int the Church s missin: t be the universal sacrament f salvatin fr the life f the wrld. (GDC 83) GD 6
Evangelizatin and Catechesis Catechesis plays an integral part in each element f the prcess f evangelizatin. Primary Prclamatin (pre-catechesis): Many wh present themselves fr catechesis require genuine cnversin. Only by starting with cnversin can catechesis fulfill its prper task f educatin in the faith. Catechesis educates the cnvert in the faith and incrprates him int the Christian cmmunity. Catechesis prmtes and matures initial cnversin. (GDC 61 and 62) Christian Initiatin (Initiatry Catechesis): Catechesis is a fundamental element f Christian Initiatin and is clsely cnnected with the sacraments f initiatin, especially with Baptism, the sacrament f faith. The prfessin f faith is at nce an element inherent in Baptism and the gal f catechesis. The aim f catechetical activity is t encurage a living, explicit and fruitful prfessin f faith. Thse wh have cnverted t Jesus Christ and wh have been educated in the faith, receive the sacraments f Christian Initiatin and are delivered frm the pwers f darkness. Having died, been buried and risen with Christ, they receive the spirit f adptin as children and celebrate with the whle peple f Gd the memrial f the Lrd s death and resurrectin. (GDC 65 and 66) Initiatry catechesis lays the basis fr the Christian life f the fllwers f Jesus.(GDC 69) Cntinuing Educatin in Faith within the Christian Cmmunity (Cntinuing Catechesis): The prcess f cntinuing cnversin ges beynd what is prvided by basic catechesis. Cntinuing frmatin in faith is directed t the individual Christian in the jurney twards hliness. It is als directed t the Christian cmmunity as such s that it may mature in its spiritual life, its lve fr Gd and neighbr and its penness t the wrld as a missinary cmmunity. This demands f the cmmunity a great fidelity t the actin f the Hly Spirit, the cnstant nurishment f the Bdy and Bld f Christ and cntinuing educatin in the faith, listening all the time t the wrd f Gd. In the Christian cmmunity the disciples f Jesus Christ are nurished at a twfld table: that f the wrd f Gd and that f the Bdy f Christ. The Gspel and the Eucharist are the cnstant fd fr the jurney t the Father s Huse. (GDC 70) GD 7
Ministry f the Wrd and Catechesis The ministry f the wrd is a fundamental element f evangelizatin. Thrugh the Church it transmits Revelatin by using human wrds. These, hwever, always refer t wrks: wrks which Gd has dne and cntinues t d, especially in the liturgy; the witness f Christians, the transfrming actin which these Christians achieve, tgether with s many peple f gdwill thrughut the wrld. The Hly Spirit is the principal agent f the ministry f the wrd, the ne thrugh whm the living vice f the Gspel rings ut in the Church and thrugh her in the wrld. (GDC 50) The ministry f the wrd des this in five ways: By Primary Prclamatin: The mst immediate expressin f the missinary mandate f Jesus, it is directed t nn-believers thse wh have chsen unbelief, thse Christians wh live n the margins f Christian life, thse wh fllw ther religins. The religius awakening f the children f Christian families is an eminent frm f this prclamatin. By Christian Initiatin: Thse wh are mved by grace t decide t fllw Jesus are intrduced int the life f faith, f the liturgy and f the charity f the Peple f Gd. The Church achieves this fundamentally by catechesis, in clse relatin with the sacraments f initiatin (whether these are abut t be received r have already been received). Imprtant frms include: catechesis f nn-baptized adults in the catechumenate, catechesis f baptized adults wh wish t return t the faith, catechesis f baptized adults wh need t cmplete their initiatin, catechesis f children and f the yung, Christian educatin in families, religius instructin in schls. By Cntinuing Educatin in the Faith: Christians already initiated in the basic elements f the Christian faith need t nurish and deepen their faith cntinually thrughut their lives. This is accmplished thrugh a great variety f frms: systematic and ccasinal, individual and cmmunity, rganized and spntaneus. GD 8
By Liturgy: This takes different frms: the hmily which is ne f the mst imprtant, celebratins f the wrd, instructin received during the administratin f the sacraments, immediate preparatin fr receptin f a sacrament, celebratin f sacramentals, and, abve all, participatin in the Eucharist. By Thelgy: Thelgy seeks t develp understanding f the faith. Thelgy must cnfrnt philsphical frms f thught, varius frms f humanism and the human sciences and dialgue with them. It is articulated whenever the systematic treatment and the scientific investigatin f the truths f the faith are prmted. (GDC 51) This ministry f the wrd serves the prcess f full cnversin: - the first prclamatin f the Gspel is characterized by the call t faith; - catechesis gives a fundatin t cnversin and prvides Christian life with a basic structure; - nging educatin in the faith prvides the necessary nurishment that every baptized adult needs.(gdc 57) Catechesis is that particular frm f the ministry f the wrd which matures initial cnversin t make it int a living explicit and fruitful cnfessin f faith: - Initiatry Catechesis, bth befre and after the receptin f Baptism, prepares fr this decisive undertaking. - Cntinuing catechesis helps t mature this prfessin f faith, t prclaim it in the Eucharist and t renew the cmmitments which it entails.(gdc 82) GD 9
Catechesis Catechesis, fr its part, transmits the wrds and deeds f Revelatin and makes clear the prfund mysteries they cntain. Catechesis nt nly recalls the marvels wrked by Gd in the past, but als in the light f the same Revelatin, interprets the signs f the times and the persn s present life, fr it is in these that the plan f Gd fr the salvatin f the wrld is realized. (GDC 39) Jesus is the fullness f Revelatin and catechesis is Christcentric. The mystery f Christ is the center frm which all ther elements are structured and illuminated. (GDC 41) Catechesis is an essentially ecclesial act. The true subject f catechesis is the Church which, cntinuing the missin f Jesus the Master and animated by the Hly Spirit, is sent t be the teacher f the faith. The Church transmits the faith which she herself lives: her understanding f the mystery f Gd and His salvific plan, her visin f the human persn s highest vcatin, the style f evangelical life which cmmunicates the jy f the Kingdm, the hpe which pervades her, the lve which she has fr humankind and all Gd s creatures. (GDC 78) The definitive aim f catechesis is t put peple nt nly in tuch, but als in cmmunin and intimacy, with Jesus Christ. It prpses t help thse wh have just cnverted t knw better: this Jesus t whm they have entrusted themselves, His mystery, the kingdm f Gd prclaimed by Him, the requirements and teaching cntained in His Gspel, the paths that He has laid dwn fr anyne wh wishes t fllw Him. Catechesis seeks t slidify and mature this first adherence. Baptism, the sacrament by which we are cnfigured t Christ, sustains this wrk f catechesis with the help f its grace. (GDC 80) Cmmunin with Jesus Christ, by its wn dynamic, leads the disciple t unite himself with everything with which Jesus Christ himself was prfundly united: with Gd his Father, wh sent Him int the wrld, with the Hly Spirit, wh impelled His missin; with the Church, His bdy, fr which He gave himself up, with humankind whse lt He wished t share. (GDC 81) GD 10
The Rle f the Parish Cmmunity in Catechesis Catechesis runs the risk f becming barren if n cmmunity f faith and Christian life welcmes the catechumens, sustains them and frms them in faith. The accmpaniment which a cmmunity gives t the initiated is eventually transfrmed int their being ttally integrated by the same cmmunity. (GDC 69) The Six Fundamental Tasks f Catechesis T Prmte Knwledge f the Faith: By intrducing the disciples f Jesus t a knwledge f Traditin and f Scripture, catechesis leads t the gradual grasping f the whle truth abut the divine plan. Catechesis nurishes the life f faith and equips it t explain itself t the wrld. It teaches the meaning f the Creed as a cmpendium f Scripture and f the faith f the Church. T Prmte Liturgical Educatin: Cmmunin with Jesus Christ leads t the celebratin f His salvific presence in the sacraments, especially in the Eucharist. Catechesis, alng with prmting a knwledge f the meaning f the liturgy and the sacraments, als educates the disciples f Jesus Christ t that full, cnscius and active participatin which is required by the very nature f the liturgy and the dignity f the baptismal priesthd. T Prmte Mral Frmatin: Cnversin t Jesus Christ implies walking in His ftsteps. Catechesis transmits t the disciples the attitudes f the Master Himself. The Sermn n the Munt, in which Jesus takes up the Decalgue and impresses upn it the spirit f the beatitudes, is an indispensable pint f reference fr the mral frmatin which is mst necessary tday. Catechesis teaches the scial cnsequences f the demands f the Gspel. T Teach t Pray: Cmmunin with Jesus Christ leads the disciples t assume the attitude f prayer and cntemplatin which the Master himself had. T learn t pray with Jesus is t pray with the same sentiments with which He turned t the Father: adratin, praise, thanksgiving, filial cnfidence, supplicatin and awe fr His glry. All f these sentiments are reflected in the Our Father, the prayer which Jesus taught His disciples and which is the mdel f all Christian prayer. GD 11
T Educate fr Cmmunity Life: Christian cmmunity life des nt happen spntaneusly. It is necessary t educate fr it carefully. Catechesis prepares the Christian t live in cmmunity by inculcating the attitudes Christ calls fr in the Gspel: the spirit f simplicity and humility (Mt. 18:3), slicitude fr the least amng the brethren (Mt. 18:6), particular care fr thse wh are alienated (Mt. 18:12), fraternal crrectin (Mt. 18:15), cmmn prayer (Mt. 18:19), mutual frgiveness (Mt. 18: 22), fraternal lve which embraces all these attitudes (Jn. 13:34). Catechesis als encurages fraternal attitudes tward members f ther Christian churches and ecclesial cmmunities. It gives a clear expsitin f all the Church s dctrine and als a suitable knwledge f ther cnfessins with which there are shared elements f faith. It aruses and nurishes a true desire fr unity. T Educate fr Participatin in the Life and Missin f the Church: Catechesis prepares the Christian t participate actively in the life and missin f the Church. It seeks t equip and prepare the disciples f Jesus t be present as Christians in sciety thrugh their prfessinal, cultural and scial lives, and t cperate in the different ecclesial services, accrding t their prper vcatin. Catechesis nurishes the evangelical attitudes which Jesus taught His disciples when He sent them n missin: t seek ut the lst, t prclaim and heal, t be pr, t knw hw t accept rejectin and persecutin, t place ne s trust in the Father and in the supprt f the Hly Spirit, t expect n ther reward than the jy f wrking fr the Kingdm. (Mt. 10: 5-42, LK 10: 1-20) Catechesis als prepares fr interreligius dialgue, i.e. meaningful cmmunicatin with men and wmen f ther religins. Catechesis helps t recncile and at the same time t distinguish between the prclamatin f Christ and interreligius dialgue. (GDC 85-86) GD 12
A Synthesis f the Meaning f Inculturatin in the General Directry fr Catechesis What Is Inculturatin? In the Incarnatin, the Wrd f Gd became man in space and time, an individual rted in a specific culture. This is the riginal inculturatin f the wrd f Gd and the mdel fr all evangelizatin by the Church. (GDC 109) The Gspel message seeks inculturatin because the Gd News is destined fr all peples.(gdc 97) The Church sets ut t meet each persn taking int serius accunt diversity f circumstances and cultures and maintains the unity f many in the ne saving Wrd: (GDC 169) Inculturatin is nt simply an external adaptatin designed t make the Christian message mre attractive. It is the penetratin f the deepest strata f persns and peples by the Gspel, which ges t the very center and rts f their cultures. (GDC 109) The questin psed by the Secnd Vatican Cuncil is still valid: What is t be dne t prevent increased exchange between cultures -- an exchange which ught t lead t genuine and fruitful dialgue between grups and natins -- frm disturbing the life f the cmmunity, verthrwing its traditinal wisdm and endangering the character prper t each peple? - In many places there is an acute awareness that traditinal cultures are being assailed by pwerful external frces and by alien imitatins f imprted life styles, with the result that the identity and values prper t peples are thus being gradually erded. - The widespread influence f the cmmunicatins media, ut f ecnmic r idelgical interest, ften impses a visin f life which des nt respect the cultural distinctiveness f the peples whm they address. Thus, with inculturatin, evangelizatin encunters ne f its greatest challenges. In the light f the Gspel, the Church must apprpriate all the psitive values f a culture and f cultures and reject thse elements which impede develpment f the true ptential f persns and peples. (GDC 21) GD 13
Wh Des the Wrk f Inculturatin? The wrk f inculturatin is dne by all the peple f Gd. It takes place gradually and is an expressin f the cmmunity s Christian experience (GDC 109) The whle Peple f Gd reflect the authentic sensus fidei which must never be lst sight f. Inculturatin needs t be guided and encuraged, but nt frced, lest it give rise t negative reactins amng Christians. It must be an expressin f the cmmunity s life, ne which must mature within the cmmunity itself, and nt be exclusively the result f erudite research. The thrust t incarnate the Gspel requires the cperatin f all wh live in the same cultural cnditin clergy, pastral wrkers, Catechists and laity. (GDC 206) The Peple f Gd d the wrk f Inculturatin by the fllwing means: - principally by the ecclesial cmmunity. The Church cmmunity is represented by a Catechist wh has a prfund religius sense, a living scial cnscience, and is wellrted in the cultural envirnment. - by lcal catechisms which present the Gspel in relatin t the demands, hpes, questins and prblems f the cultures t whm they are addressed. - by catechetical institutes and the catechumenate which incrprate, as apprpriate, the language, symbls and values f the culture in which thse t be catechized live. In each Dicese, catechetical prgrams and materials shuld be updated and revised. (GDC 213) If there are several linguistic r ethnic grups in the dicese, prgrams, guides and directries shuld be prvided in the varius languages. (GDC 214). - by preparatin f thse wh are t prclaim the Gspel s that they becme capable f giving reasns fr their hpe in cultures ften pagan r pst-christian. (GDC 110) The direct invlvement f thse persns wh can best indicate effective ways f prclaiming the Gspel in a specific culture is fstered by widespread catechesis. (GDC 214) GD 14
What Is the Rle f Catechesis in Inculturatin? (GDC 202 t 214) Catechesis, like evangelizatin in general, is called t bring the pwer f the Gspel int the very heart f culture and cultures. T d s, Catechesis must: - knw in depth the culture f the persns being catechized and the extent f that culture s penetratin int their lives. - recgnize a cultural dimensin in the Gspel itself; the Gspel des nt spring frm sme human cultural humus, but it cannt be islated frm the cultures in which it was initially inserted and in which it has fund expressin thrugh the centuries. - witness t the transcendence f the Gspel and at the same time discern thse seeds f the Gspel present in culture: The Christian cmmunity must discern which mdes f thught, which criteria and which lifestyles f the culture are cmpatible with the faith; these it adpts. It must discern which are cntrary t the Kingdm f Gd; these it seeks t purify and transfrm. (GDC 109) This discernment is gverned by tw basic principles cmpatibility with the Gspel, and cmmunin with the universal Church. (GDC 109) The methdlgy which catechesis uses is a dynamic prcess cnsisting f the fllwing interactive elements: listening t the culture f the peple fr an ech f the wrd f Gd, discerning what has an authentic Gspel value r is at least pen t the Gspel, purifying what bears the mark f human frailty r sin (passins, structures f evil), stimulating dialgue, fstering an attitude f radical cnversin t Gd and patient interir maturatin. - translate the authentic essentials f the Gspel message int a definite culture language. (GDC 112) GD 15
Catechesis must transmit the gspel message in its integrity and purity, taking diligent care t present faithfully the entire treasure f the Christian message. But Integrity must be accmpanied by adaptatin; cnsequently, catechesis must explain the elements f the faith in a manner adapted t the capacity f thse being catechized. - prclaim the prfund change,i.e the cnversin, which the Gspel, as a transfrming, regenerating frce, wrks in culture. - prmte a new expressin f the Gspel in accrdance with evangelized culture: In the cmplex relatinship between inculturatin and the integrity f the Christian message, the criterin t be applied is a Gspel attitude f a missinary penness t the integral salvatin f the wrld. This must always unite acceptance f truly human and religius values with the missinary task f prclaiming the whle truth f the Gspel, withut falling either int clsed inflexibility r int facile accmmdatins which enfeeble the Gspel and secularize the Church. Gspel authenticity excludes bth f these attitudes which are cntrary t the true meaning f missin. (GDC 113) GD 16
What Are the Agents which Catechesis Uses t Effect Inculturatin? The agents are: - the Christian Initiatin prcess which has imprtant cultural implicatins such as: acquiring new mtivatins in life, educatin f cnscience, learning a biblical and sacramental language, knwledge f the histrical density f Christianity. The baptismal catechumenate is an initial lcus f inculturatin. Fllwing the example f the Incarnatin f the Sn f Gd, made man in a cncrete histrical mment, the Church receives catechumens integrally, tgether with their cultural ties. All catechetical activity participates in the functin f incrprating int the cathlicity f the Church, authentic seeds f the Wrd, scattered thrugh natins and individuals. (GDC 91) - the Family, the central and primary agent f an incarnate transmissin f faith. - liturgical Catechesis with its richness f signs and with its accessibility t s many peple by such things as: the Sunday hmily, the cntent f the Lectinary, the structure f the liturgical year, ccasins f particularly significant catechesis such as marriages, funerals, visits t the sick, feasts f patrn saints. - multi-ethnic and multi-cultural situatins which lead t a greater discvery and appreciatin f the resurces f diverse grups t receive and express the faith. GD 17
What Is the Rle f Language and Media in Inculturatin? Inculturatin f the faith is a linguistic task. In rder t express its meaning and demnstrate its existential imprtance, Catechesis must: - respect and value the language prper t the message, especially biblical language, as well as the histrical-traditinal language f the Church (creed, liturgy) and dctrinal language (dgmatic frmulatins). - enter int dialgue using frms and terms prper t the culture f thse t whm it is addressed and speaking a language suited t tday s children and yung peple, t intellectuals and scientists, t the illiterate, t peple f simple culture, t the handicapped, etc.; - stimulate new expressins f the Gspel in the culture in which it has been planted. (GDC 208) The evangelizatin f mdern culture depends t a great extent n the influence f the media. Catechesis must: - have a greater appreciatin f the media s use f the language f the image and balance it with the language f the wrd; - safeguard the genuine religius meaning in selected frms f expressin; - prmte deep persnal discernment and mature criticism f what is being received frm the media; - develp and prvide catechetical aids t help accmplish these aims. The cperative effrts f all thse engaged in Catechesis are needed. (GDC 209) GD 18
Where is Inculturatin Directed? The Gspel seeks a catechesis which reaches peple where they live, especially where the mst elementary and fundamental cultural exchanges take place: family, wrk envirnment, free time. The light f the Gspel must enlighten such frums f mdern sciety as: cmmunicatins; civil campaigns fr peace, develpment and liberatin f peples; the prtectin f creatin; the defense f human rights especially f minrities, wmen and children; scientific research; internatinal relatins. (GDC 211) It is necessary t distinguish inculturatin in cuntries f recent Christian rigin, where the primary prclamatin f the Gspel must yet be cnslidated, frm inculturatin in cuntries f lng Christian traditin which have need f a new evangelizatin. (GDC 212) Accunt must be taken f situatins which are pen t cnflict and tensin deriving frm factrs such as: ethnic pluralism, religius pluralism differences in develpment which smetimes are strident, urban, rural and suburban life styles, massive secularizatin in sme cuntries and strng religisity in thers. (GDC 212) Respect must be given t the cultural tendencies f the varius scial and prfessinal strata, such as: men and wmen f science and culture, the wrld f wrkers, the yuth, the maginalized, freigners, the disabled. (GDC 212) Attentin must be paid t the diverse cultures existing in ne and the same peple r natin. (GDC 212) GD 19