Why a Confraternity

of Cfiristian Doctrine

in Every Parisli?

The Most Reverend Samuel A. Stritch, D.D.

Archbishop of Milwaukee

The Milwaukee Provincial Catechetical Congress

of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine

La Crosse, Wisconsin, April 27-29, 1939

Under the patronage of

His Grace, The Archbishop of Milwaukee

at the invitation of

His Excellency

The Most Reverend A. J. McGavick, D. D.

Bishop of La Crosse

The Most Rev. William R. Griffin, D. D.

Auxiliary Bishop of La Crosse

Congress Director

National Center of the Confraternity of Christian

Doctrine, National Catholic Welfare Conference,

Washington, D. C.



Copyright 1939 by

The National Center of

The Confraternity of Christian Doctrine

Washington, D. C.

Imprimi potest.

Fr. Jerome Dawson, O. F. M.,

Minister Provincialis.

Nihil ohstat.

Arthur J. Scanlan, S. T. D.,

Censor Librorum.

Imprimatur.

88 Stephen J. Donahue, D. D.,

Administrator, New York.

New York, April 27, 1939.

{

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA



Why a Confraternity of

Christian Doctrine in Every Parish?

i

I

T IS particularly fitting that this fifth Provincial
Conference held this year in the United States

under the auspices of The National Center of

the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine should

open its sessions on the Feast of St. Peter Canisius.

In our times Holy Church has made and is mak-

ing strenuous efforts to widen the scope of cate-

chetical instruction, to improve its methods and

to give to pastors of souls, who by virtue of their

office are the principal catechists, aids and co-

workers, by holiness of life, ardent zeal and proper

training equal to their task.

Pope Pius X, of holy memory, in his celebrated

Encyclical letter Acerbo nimis of the 15th of

April, 1905, does not hesitate to say in plain,

vigorous language that the sole reason why faith

is languishing and is almost moribund in our age,

is because the office of transmitting Christian Doc-

trine is being either discharged negligently or

ignored; and offers timely remedies for this tragic

evil. In the Code of Canon Law, completed in his

Pontificate, eleven canons directly refer to cate-

chetical instruction. Amplifying the legislation of

the Council of Trent, the Code of Canon Law de-

fines the duty of the ordinary to teach the faith-

ful, and particularly children and youths, Chris-

tian Doctrine; greatly extends his authority over

such teaching in his diocese; and gives him the

1



right to compel clerics, even those exempt from his

authority, to come to his assistance in this im-

portant work of the Gospel. It fixes definitely the

grave obligation resting on priests in care of souls

to give catechetical instruction, and sets up a pro-

gram for such teaching. And it emphasizes the

very grave obligation of parents to provide reli-

gious instruction for their children. Pope Benedict

XV, even during the days when the great World

War raged, often encouraged, praised and com-

mended the work of the catechist and pointed to

it as the very main exercise of the Preaching Office

in our day. Pius XI, of blessed memory, in season

and out of season stressed the importance of cate-

chetics. In his Motu proprio of the 12th of Janu-

ary, 1935, he ordered the institution in every dio-

cese of a Diocesan Catechetical Bureau, defined its

functions, and commanded that everywhere each

year there be observed a Feast of Christian Doc-

trine or Catechetical Day. Among many other

wise provisions in this same Motu proprio, this

Pontiff urged the ordinaries to associate with the

pastors of souls in the discharge of their duty of

teaching Christian Doctrine, qualified catechists

of both sexes, and did not hesitate to say that the

work of these catechists was a very essential part

of the program of Catholic Action. This Pope

set up in the Sacred Congregation of the Council

at Rome a special section on Catechetics to super-

vise and promote all catechetical activity in the

Catholic Church, and commanded ordinaries to

present to this Sacred Congregation every five years

a full, comprehensive report on catechetical in-

struction in their dioceses.

2



These are but a few evidences of the contribu-

tion of the Popes of our time to the Catechetical

Renaissance in the Church. One such effort, first

incorporated in the Code of Canon Law and

strengthened by Pope Pius XI, I have not men-

tioned before for it seems to me to comprehend

all the others so fully that it may well serve as a

resume of them. I refer to the law requiring the

canonical erection in every parish of the Confra-

ternity of Christian Doctrine. This canonical re-

quirement must be uppermost in our minds when

we discuss our office as catechists.

Now the efforts and appeals of the Roman

Pontiffs have not been in vain, for we see about

us under the leadership of our bishops everywhere

a Catechetical Renaissance, growing more vigor-

ous day by day and giving forth fair fruits. We
rightly assert that in the Church today our spiritual

leaders hold and proclaim the teaching of the

Catechism to be the first need of religion and the

remedy for the maladies which grieve us. We
fully agree with Pope Pius X and assert with him
that the maladies which have befallen the Chris-

tian body all spring from a neglect or faulty dis-

charge of the duties of the catechist in the Church.

This may seem a hard saying and yet it stands

the test of rigorous proof. In countries which we

have been accustomed to call Catholic, and where

certainly the great majority still call themselves

Catholic, these latter days have seen anti-religious,

anti-Catholic and pernicious doctrines gain such

a sway that their protagonists have been able to

reach positions of domination. In these countries

workingmen, sorely tried by unquestionable injus-

3



tices, in their distress have strangely sought relief

from the hands of godless leaders. Strange books,

redolent of sheer materialism, have come from the

pens of writers, and the press has aligned itself

with teachers who have no knowledge of the Chris-

tian vision. True, in these countries there are

staunch Catholics, vigorously defending Christian

truths and seeking to apply them to life’s problems;

but they are a minority, and even in popular elec-

tions win but scant support.

All this is a scandal and we rightly seek the

reason for it. It is not hard to find. The teach-

ing of Catechism was neglected; the poor did not

have the Gospel preached to them. Complacency

with fine institutions and forgetfulness of the sorry

plight of the masses conspired to bring about this

tragical condition. No matter how cleverly the

popular apologist may sum up excuses for the ig-

norance of religious truths prevailing in the masses

in these countries, Pius X boldly points out the
truth and Pius XI repeats it. The trouble is that

Catechism was not taught or that it was not well

taught. This indeed should be a lesson for us.

But some lethargic minds, who call back for an

example to the days when self-satisfaction begot

the tragedies now overwhelming some Christian

peoples, say: "Why here in the United States for

years we have been carrying on the greatest cate-

chetical apostolate since early Christian days!”

They point to our schools and proudly boast that

our children and youths know their religion. With-

out disparaging the catechetical work of our

schools, to which we owe the present happy con-

dition of Religion in our midst, let us be honest

4



with ourselves and fair to Holy Church. Not

more than one-half the Catholic children of the

United States are in Catholic schools, and only a

small percentage of our youths enjoy the blessing

of Catholic higher education. We are too prone

to look at the large congregations in our churches

on Sundays, and at our crowded altar rails, and

forget those who are not in church.

It is a fact that our principal pastoral problem

today has to do with the very large number of

Catholics who are not practical. A recent survey
of a typical city parish in Wisconsin revealed that

our losses are happening not among the poor but

among lower-middle-class people, and that they

are very large. Indeed, with the spectacle of

crowded churches before our eyes today, we are

suffering greater losses than ever before in the

history of the Church in the United States. These

are not exaggerations and I stand ready to offer

proof of them. Do we ask the reason? Foremost

among the reasons is ignorance of Christian Doc-

trine. We have not made efforts in the past to
gather together for religious instruction children

not in our schools and youths dangerously exposed

to false systems. True, we have stressed from our

pulpits the obligation of parents to send their

children to Catholic schools, and for the most

part we have taught Catechism to children not in

our schools; but we have not walked the streets

of our parishes and sought the hearing of parents

who do not hear the words we utter from our

pulpits. Look at the tragic consequences! And

let us be very honest with ourselves in estimating

the worth of catechetics in our schools. Does not

5



our daily experience show a lamentable ignorance

of religion in our Catholic laity? It is appalling

to find frequent ignorance of fundamentals where

we would expect enlightenment. All is not well

in Israel.

Now if we look at the matter closely, we easily

discover that in man the intellect ministers to the

will. If the mind is not enlightened with truth,

then surely we may not expect virtue. How true

this is in the realm of the supernatural! Faith is

the supernatural light of the intellect. One of the

most mysterious truths of the Gospel is stated

briefly by St. Paul: "Faith comes from hearing.”

In the incomprehensible plans of Divine Provi-

dence, the Saviour decreed that the Apostles must

teach, and that faith would come from their teach-

ing. This ministry of the Word plants faith,

waters it and develops it; and where this ministry

is not exercised or is poorly exercised, we find that

Christian life languishes and dies. Christian life

is no more and Christian virtue is unknown.

Now Pope Benedict XIV says: "Two chief

obligations have been imposed by the Council of

Trent on those who have the care of souls; first

that they speak to the people on divine things on

feast days; and, secondly, that they instruct the

youth and the ignorant in the rudiments of the

law of God and of faith.” Here we have a clear,

definite inclusion of catechizing in the ministry of

the Word, and Holy Pontiffs have declared that

it is fundamental even to pulpit preaching and in-

struction. Therefore when the Saviour com-

manded, "Going teach all nations,” He very defi-

nitely and positively commanded His Apostles to

6



catechize. Early church history offers abundant

evidence of the fact that this was their under-

standing of His command. Without catechetics

there is no effective preaching of the Gospel, for

there is no basic knowledge of it.

Still we must not limit our notion of catechetics

to a mere inculcation of a knowledge of Christian

Doctrine. Such would be a sorry mistake. In a

few brief sentences Pope Pius X describes for us
the end and the method of catechetics: "The task

of the catechist is to take up one or other of the

truths of faith or Christian precept and explain

it in all its parts; and, as the scope of his instruc-

tion is always directed to amendment of life, he

should institute a comparison between what is re-

quired of us by our Lord and our actual conduct.

He should therefore make use of examples skil-

fully selected from Holy Scripture, church history

and the lives of the saints, using persuasion with

his hearers, and pointing out to them how they are

to shape their conduct. He should conclude with

an efficacious exhortation, in order that they may

be moved to shun and avoid vice and to practise

virtue.”

Here we have stated clearly the formal purpose

of catechetics, namely, to foster Christian life and

virtue. It differs from mere instruction in that it

aims to train the child or youth in Christan truth

and life. Merely to consider the task of the cate-

chist as imparting Christian truth is a mistake; he

must train and drill the child in Christian life .

Since rational life starts with the intellect and is

directed by the will, his task is clearly and prac-

tically to present the truth and then to train the

7



child in its practical realization. In keeping with

this formal purpose, Pope Pius X briefly outlines
the method of the catechist, a method which has

the sanction of the centuries of the experience of

the Church. All too frequently this method is

discarded with sorry results and strange substitu-

tions for it are made. However, there is a need of

calling on pedagogy for help in making this

method efficient. We must discuss catechetical
methods among ourselves and courageously incor-

porate in them all the valid findings of the modern

pedagogue. In so important a matter there is need

of great diligent work and co-operation. Confer-

ences such as this are a means to this end. Our

principle, however, must be never to depart in our

elaborations of it from the substance of this meth-

od as described by our Pope Pius X.

Now the task of the catechist is indeed difficult.

The first impediment he meets is the opinion wide-

ly prevailing that his work is secondary and al-

most negligible when compared to that of the

preacher. Again Pope Pius X writes: "We are
quite willing to admit the merits of those pulpit

orators who, out of genuine zeal for the glory of

God, devote themselves either to the defense or

maintenance of the Faith or to eulogizing the

heroes of Christianity. But their labor presup-

poses labor of another kind, that of the catechist.

Where the latter is wanting, the foundations are

wanting, and they labor in vain who build the

house. Too often it happens that ornate sermons

which win the applause of crowded congregations

serve only to tickle the ears, and fail utterly to

touch the heart Whereas catechetical instruc-

8



tion, when performed as it should be, never fails

to be of profit to those who listen to it.” It is

very much more difficult to prepare properly a

catechetical instruction than a sermon. It is this

very difficulty which so frequently defeats the

proper performance of the catechist. Somehow it

has come to pass that many think that only a

knowledge of the catechism is necessary and that,

for the priest, catechetics is a small matter. We
ought frankly to face our failures in catechetics

and admit the difficulty involved in properly cate-

chizing. Once we do this, we shall realize that

the proper teaching of Christian Doctrine is a

challenge to our zeal. Then we shall understand

the place of catechetics in the seminary, the need

of Catechetical Conferences and the usefulness of

training schools for catechists both in religious

families and in dioceses. In a word, it is urgently

necessary that we sit down and think this matter

of catechetics through and gather together the

thoughts and experiences of catechists for our en-

lightenment. Let us keep in mind the words of

Pius X: "It is much easier to find a preacher ca-

pable of delivering an eloquent and elaborate dis-

course than a catechist who is able to impart in-

struction entirely worthy of praise.”

We need no arguments to identify in our minds
the care of the poor and the helpless with Chris-

tian duties. Let me read a quotation from the

letter of Pius X: "Assuredly the alms with which

we alleviate the trials of the poor is highly praised

by the Lord. But who will deny that a far greater

measure of praise is due to the zeal and labor ex-

pended, not on the fleeting welfare of the body,

9



but on the eternal welfare of the soul, by teach-

ing and admonition? In truth there is nothing

nearer or dearer to the Heart of Jesus Christ, the

Saviour of souls, Who through the lips of Isaias

affirmed of Himself: I have been sent to preach

the Gospel to the poor.” Like the Saviour, we

must not only teach the Gospel to the spiritually

poor, but we must go about seeking them out. We
shall never gather together the spiritually neglected

children and youths of our flocks by merely in-

stituting catechetical classes for them in our par-

ishes. On foot we must walk the streets of our

parishes and spend ourselves in gathering these

children into our classes. This is a hard task, for

frequently they live in the homes of careless par-

ents. Not one visit but repeated visits we shall

find necessary. This is the feeding of the poor in

the most excellent manner. This is walking in the

footsteps of the Good Shepherd.

We have referred several times to assistant cate-
chists. The pastor and those charged with the care

of souls are the catechists. To do their work well

they have need of aides. There are good Religious

in our schools who not only in school but fre-

quently out of school hours and in vacation schools

are at our call when we need them to help us

catechize. Then, too, it is the mind of the Church

to train and engage as assistant catechists pious

lay persons of both sexes who will devote them-

selves assiduously to this work of charity. These

need instruction and training, and the whole work

of catechetics in a diocese needs unification and

strengthening from the central catechist in every

diocese, the bishop. Very wisely has the Holy See

10



commanded that in every diocese there be set up

a Bureau of Catechetics through which the bishops

efficiently supervise, encourage, order and direct

the teaching of Catechism in parishes, schools and

centers. Under this Bureau there should be erected

training schools for catechists. It should license

properly prepared and fitted catechists. It should

keep constantly in touch with all catechetical activi-

ties and seek to extend their embrace to every

child and youth in the diocese. I think that it is

urgently necessary that this training of lay cate-

chists be given more thought and attention. Let it

not be said that we fed the orphan and clothed

the poor and neglected to break the Bread of Life

to the spiritually starving of our flocks.

It would be unfair not to acknowledge the widen-

ing and deepening of the Catechetical Renaissance

in our midst. Every year we witness the gathering

together of more children and youths for religious

instruction and the raising of the standard of this

instruction. Still, we ought not to be contented

with our achievements. They are so partial that

they should beget in us a holy discontent with

ourselves. If we are to meet this gravest of our

problems, we must with the enthusiasm of cru-

saders go out to bring the Gospel to all our chil-

dren and youths.

In the beginning of my discourse I said that it

was fitting that this Conference opened on the

Feast of St. Peter Canisius. He lived at a time

when the full catastrophe of the breaking asunder

of Christian unity in Europe was apparent. Rightly

he judged that the cause of this break was a wide-

spread ignorance of Christian Doctrine among the

11



people. It never could have occurred if the people

had been properly instructed; history attests that

thousands of them held to the Church more as a

tradition than as a reality. Courageously he

started a catechists’ crusade, and gave large areas

of Europe to the Church. We face today a world
which has wandered away from the Church and

Christ. To bring it back we need a vigorous,

strong Catechetical Renaissance. When our people

know their religion and by proper training acquire

the habit of its practice, then indeed shall we

witness Christ again in the world about us, which

is seeking water where there is no water, light

where there is no light. If Catholic Action is to

be triumphant, its vanguard must be the catechists.

12





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