Kinshasa, May 12th 2021 (CPA).– Pope Francis has just instituted the ministry of catechist « Motu proprio Antiquum » in his apostolic letter published in the liturgical memory of St John of Avila, priest and doctor of the Church a learned on Wednesday CPA from the Vatican news site.
“I institute the lay ministry of catechist while inviting the congregation for divine worship and the discipline of the sacraments to ensure as soon as possible to publish the rite of institution of the lay ministry of catechist and the episcopal conferences to make it effective by establishing the necessary formation criterion and the normative criteria… ”, indicated Pope Francis after having examined all the aspects, by virtue of the apostolic authority.
For the Sovereign Pontiff, the service of teaching finds its initial form among « those who have the responsibility of teaching, to whom the apostle refers in writing to the community of Corinth, among those whom God has placed as well as in the Church, there are first apostles, second prophets, third, those who have the charge of teaching, then there are miracles and then the gifts of healing, of assistance, of government, the gift of speaking various mysterious languages.
But he points out that not everyone is obviously an apostle or prophet or to work miracles … but therefore invites us to seek with ardor the gifts of the great (1 Cor. 12, 28-31).
It presents the catechist as a witness of the Faith, master and mystagogue, accompanist and pedagogue who instructs in the name of the Church, an identity that only through prayer, study and direct participation in the life of the community can be achieved develop with consistency and responsibility.
According to the source, the ministry of catechist in the Church is very old. Theologians agree that the first examples are already found in the writings of the New Testament (Antiquum ministerium). ACP/Kobongolo