Pope Francis to catechists "lead others to a personal relationship with Jesus"

Pope Francis said on Saturday that catechists have a vital responsibility to lead others to a personal encounter with Jesus through prayer, the sacraments and Scripture.

“The kerygma is a person: Jesus Christ. Catechesis is a special space to foster a personal encounter with him, ”Pope Francis said in the Sala Clementina of the Apostolic Palace on January 30th.

“There is no true catechesis without the testimony of men and women in flesh and blood. Who among us does not remember at least one of his catechists? I want it. I remember the nun who prepared me for first communion and was so good to me, ”the pope added.

Pope Francis received in audience some members of the National Catechetical Office of the Italian Bishops' Conference in the Vatican.

He told those responsible for catechesis that a catechist is a Christian who remembers that the important thing is "not to speak of himself, but to speak of God, his love and his fidelity".

"Catechesis is the echo of the Word of God ... to transmit the joy of the Gospel in life," the pope said.

“Sacred Scripture becomes the“ environment ”in which we feel part of the very history of salvation, meeting the first witnesses of the faith. Catechesis is taking others by the hand and accompanying them in this story. It inspires a journey, in which each person finds his or her own rhythm, because the Christian life is neither uniform nor uniform, but rather exalts the uniqueness of each child of God “.

Pope Francis recalled that St. Pope Paul VI had said that the Second Vatican Council would be "the great catechism of the new times".

The pope went on to say that today there is a problem of "selectivity with respect to the Council".

“The Council is the magisterium of the Church. Either you are with the Church and therefore you follow the Council, and if you don't follow the Council or you interpret it in your own way, as you wish, you are not with the Church. We must be demanding and strict on this point, ”said Pope Francis.

"Please, no concessions to those who try to present a catechesis that does not agree with the Magisterium of the Church".

The pope defined catechesis as an "extraordinary adventure" with the task of "reading the signs of the times and accepting present and future challenges".

"Just as in the post-conciliar period the Italian Church was ready and capable of accepting the signs and sensitivity of the times, so also today it is called to offer a renewed catechesis that inspires every area of ​​pastoral care: charity, liturgy, family, culture, social life, economy, ”he said.

“We must not be afraid to speak the language of today's women and men. To speak a language that is outside the Church, yes, we must be afraid of it. But we must not be afraid to speak the language of the people, ”Pope Francis said.