[Natural Law]

The biggest failure of the Church over the last 50 years has been poor catechesis. As a result too many Catholics are in fact practicing Protestants believing that they and their consciences can determine Truth and declare their own Salvation if they are a "good person".

Too many parents and too many Faith Formation personnel believe that Confirmation means graduation from catechism and we are losing people at the most critical time in their formation, their teen years. Too often we don't see them again until they are shopping for a parish that will marry them and then not again until Grandma insists that the babies get baptized.

When we look at the religious education materials, as compared to the high school texts and materials we see the equivalent of comic books, concentrating on "hip" imagery and void of any real theological content. Banners and Balloons are not what young adults need when they are first learning about and struggling with the temptations of all of that new hard ware they just grew and the social and peer pressure to take it for a test drive.

[MarkBsnr]

The biggest failure of the Church over the last 50 years has been poor catechesis. As a result too many Catholics are in fact practicing Protestants believing that they and their consciences can determine Truth and declare their own Salvation if they are a "good person".

Too many parents and too many Faith Formation personnel believe that Confirmation means graduation from catechism and we are losing people at the most critical time in their formation, their teen years. Too often we don't see them again until they are shopping for a parish that will marry them and then not again until Grandma insists that the babies get baptized.

When we look at the religious education materials, as compared to the high school texts and materials we see the equivalent of comic books, concentrating on "hip" imagery and void of any real theological content. Banners and Balloons are not what young adults need when they are first learning about and struggling with the temptations of all of that new hard ware they just grew and the social and peer pressure to take it for a test drive.

[piusv]

The biggest failure of the Church over the last 50 years has been poor catechesis. As a result too many Catholics are in fact practicing Protestants believing that they and their consciences can determine Truth and declare their own Salvation if they are a "good person".

Too many parents and too many Faith Formation personnel believe that Confirmation means graduation from catechism and we are losing people at the most critical time in their formation, their teen years. Too often we don't see them again until they are shopping for a parish that will marry them and then not again until Grandma insists that the babies get baptized.

When we look at the religious education materials, as compared to the high school texts and materials we see the equivalent of comic books, concentrating on "hip" imagery and void of any real theological content. Banners and Balloons are not what young adults need when they are first learning about and struggling with the temptations of all of that new hard ware they just grew and the social and peer pressure to take it for a test drive.

To get this thread back on track and answering the original question appropriately from a Catholic POV, I vote this best post. The only thing I would add is that the poor catechesis we're experiencing isn't just in CCD class. It's at Mass as well. Too many of our priests give watered down versions of our Faith. Probably afraid of upsetting the apple cart. It's not just the kids that are being poorly catechized.