135 Maciej Zachara, MIC Catechesis and Teaching The topic of my conference is very close to that of Fr. Dariusz Mazewski’s conference about evangelization. I would like to open with two statements. First, we most frequently understand catechesis as a formal system of religious education of children and the youth. I won’t speak of this kind of catechesis because I am not competent in it: I served as a catechist for only the two fi rst years of my priestly life. In this talk, I understand catechesis in a much broader sense of the word. Secondly, my intervention will insert a series of presentations on the theme of the Marian apostolate. By the term “Marian Apostolate,” I fi rst and foremost understand the participation of the entire Congregation of Marian Fathers in the apostolic mission of the Church. However, I do not want to use this term exclusively, as an apostolate that must in all places have some specifi cally Marian features and to always strive for features that are different from other apostolates conducted by other communities. For this reason, I don’t want to talk about any specifi cally “Marian” catechesis. Instead I would like to indicate a certain trend, which the Church follows in the understanding of catechesis. I believe it to be in conformity with the motto of our renewed Congregation: “For Christ and the Church.” Two documents are particularly helpful in understanding the Church’s actual concept of catechesis: The General Catechetical Directory published in 1997 by the Congregation for Clergy (the fi rst such Directory was published shortly after Vatican II and is being presently updated and revised in accord with post-Vatican papal documents, particularly Evangelia nuntiandi of Paul VI, and also Catechesi tradendae and Redemptoris missio of John Paul II. A 1990 document of the International Council on Catechesis, which is an organ of the above-mentioned Congregation Adult Catechesis in the Christian Community. Some principles and Guidelines. • •
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