– Fr Daniel Antonio de Carvalho Ribeiro, SCJ
The II International Congress on Catechesis was held at the Paul VI Hall, in Rome From September 20 to 23, 2018. The event was attended by about 2,000 people, including bishops, priests, religious men and women and mainly lay people from approximately 40 countries. The Diocese of Macau was represented by Father Daniel Ribeiro, SCJ, responsible for the Portuguese Language catechesis at the Cathedral of Macau, Madalena Chan, Vice-Diocesan Coordinator of the Catechesis of the Diocese of Macau and Jasmin Yiu, representing O Clarim newspaper and the Diocesan Pastoral of Communication.
The Congress was organized by the Pontifical Council of the Promotion of the New Evangelization and was coordinated and directed by its President, Archbishop Rino Fisichella. The Congress, with the theme “Witnesses to the Mystery,” was marked by several conferences, a moment of small-group dialogue on a catechetical theme and a musical show performed by a Choir of the Archdiocese of Turin. In addition, participants received a motivational video message from Pope Francis and attended a Mass, the closing, celebrated in St Peter’s Basilica.
Among the main messages was that catechists should remember that they do not work as catechists, but they are catechists. Pope Francis even said that being a catechist is a vocation that must penetrate the life of every baptized person. This only happens when the Christian knows Jesus and becomes His friend. A person who knows Jesus, said Dr Schlosser of the Catholic University of the Diocese of Vienna, needs to serve Him, and this is what happens when these people become evangelizers. Therefore, prayer, study and service are three realities that must be inseparable in the life of a Catholic.
Archbishop Francesco Cacucci, Archbishop of Bari in Italy, said that many people have rejected the faith because they do not understand it. Catechists must be aware that knowledge of the Christian mystery in its fullness in not possible. However, this is a historical moment in which the Church needs to develop effective evangelization, especially by devoting herself to training her catechists and using social media with propriety.
After three intense days of the Congress, the representatives of the Diocese of Macau returned to their missions with the certainty that much has been done for catechesis in our Diocese, but that the local church must move forward. As proposal for advancement, the representatives suggested a greater dissemination of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the weekly catechesis that has already been carried out in our Diocese, for adults and children, in the Portuguese, Chinese and English languages, and a more effective work with the youth.
Fr Daniel is Assistant Parish Priest of the Cathedral of Macau and Chaplain of the University of St. Joseph.
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