Apostolic Exhortation of His Holiness Pope John Paul II. - Catechesi Tradendae on Catechesis in Our Time [antikvár]

INTRODUCTION Christ s Final Command 1. The Church has always considered catechesis one of [' her primary tasks, for, before Christ ascended to His Father i after His resurrection. He gave the apostles a final com- î mand—to make disciples of all nations and to teach them to observe all that He had commanded.' He thus entrusted them f with the mission and power to proclaim to humanity what f they had heard, what they had seen with their eyes, what they S had looked upon and touched with their hands, concerning the | Word of Life.2 He also entrusted them with the mission and | power to explain with authority what He had taught them, His ! • words and actions. His signs and commandments. And He ; gave them the Spirit to fulfill this mission. I Very soon the name of catechesis was given to the whole ¦. of the efforts within the Church to make disciples, to help peo- | pie to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, so that believing | they might have life in His name,^ and to educate and instruct | them in this life and thus build up the Body of Christ. The ij Church has not ceased to devote her energy to this task. Paul VFs Solicitude 2. The most recent Popes gave catechesis a place of eminence in their pastoral solicitude. Through his gestures, his preaching, his authoritative interpretation of the Second Vatican Council (considered by him the great catechism of modern times), and through the whole of his life, my venerated predecessor Paul VI served the Church's catechesis in a particularly exemplary fashion. On March 18, 1971, he approved the General Catechetical Directory prepared by the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy, a directory that is still the basic document for encouraging and guiding catechetical renewal throughout the Church. He set up the International Council for Catechesis in 1975. He defined in masterly fashion the role and significance of catechesis in the life and mission of 3