Family Catechesis and the Filipino Family

Family Catechesis:
True Communication in the Family

Gradual disappearance of "Christian society":
“… even in countries evangelized many centuries
ago, the reality of a ‘Christian society’ … is now gone.”
JOHN PAUL II, Novo Millennio Ineunte, Apostolic Letter at the Close of the Great Jubilee
of the Year 2000, January 6, 2001
GENERAL SITUATION
The studies point to a
progressive marginalization
of Christianity, making it
culturally insignificant,
reduced to the private fact …

“… in countries… where Churches of
ancient foundation… are experiencing a
progressive secularization of society and
a kind of ‘eclipse of the sense of God’…”
(Benedict XVI, First Vespers of the solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul)

“In our own time, it (the mission) has
been particularly challenged by an
abandonment of the faith… There has
been a troubling loss of the sense of
the sacred, which has even called into
question faith in a provident creator
God, the revelation of Jesus Christ as
the one Savior,...”
(Benedict XVI, Ubicumque et semper)

SITUATION IN ASIA
Globalization is the coalescing
of social and cultural factors
which has initiated a process
that is weakening traditions and
institutions and thereby rapidly
eroding both social and cultural
ties as well as their ability to
communicate values and
provide answers to perennial
questions regarding life's
meaning and the truth.”
(Synod of Bishops, Instrumentum Laboris, 47)

At the level of economics,
“Many also admit that it does not in itself guarantee a fair
distribution of goods among the citizens of different
countries.” Hence, economic globalization has worked to the
detriment of the poor.
(JOHN PAUL II, Address to the Members of the Foundation for Ethics and
Economics, 17 May 2001, no. 2.)
SOME DANGERS OF GLOBALIZATION
SITUATION IN ASIA

At the level of culture
“The market has become the medium of a new
culture… And it led to the erosion of traditional
family and social values which are the values
that give the people direction in life.”
(JOHN PAUL II, “Address at Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences”, no. 3.)
At the level of economics
SITUATION IN ASIA

At the moral level
… it fosters a relativist attitude which makes it
more difficult to accept Christ as ‘the way, the
truth and the life’ for everyone.
(JOHN PAUL II, Homily at the Eucharistic Celebration at the Conclusion of the
Extraordinary Consistory, 24 May 2001)
SITUATION IN ASIA

Regarding the practice of faith and
the various forms of ecclesial life
Globalization has these effects: “a weakening of
faith in Christian communities, a diminished
regard for the authority of the magisterium, an
individualistic approach to belonging to the
Church, a decline in religious practice and a
disengagement in transmitting the faith to new
generations.” (Synod of Bishops, Instrumentum Laboris, 48)
At the moral level
SITUATION IN ASIA

Migration
“Poverty and other economic factors are among the
causes that provoke the phenomenon of migration in
great proportions (within Asia and even outside).”
(CAJILIG, Family Catechesis: Contextual Challenges, 110)
SITUATION IN ASIA

Reasons for Migration:
a. Rejection from the country of origin:
Those who flee economic conditions that threaten their lives
and physical safety, are the so-called ‘economic migrants’.
Their movement is more forced than voluntary.
SITUATION IN ASIA
MIGRATION

MIGRATION
Reasons for Migration:
b. An attraction towards the lifestyle of the
country of destination.
SITUATION IN ASIA
a. Rejection from the country of origin

a. Absenteeism of parents, as a result of parents
leaving for work;
b. Parents leaving their children to foreign house
helpers;
(FABC document on Family Catechesis)
CHALLENGES
RAISED BY
MIGRATION

The basic units of Philippine society are the nuclear
family of the husband, wife and children, and the
bilaterally extended family which includes the families
of the husband and the wife.
THE FILIPINO FAMILY

Family is “a group of persons
united by ties of marriage,
blood or adoption; constituting
a single household; interacting
and communicating with each
other in their respective social
roles of husband and wife,
mother and father, son and
daughter, brother and sister;
and creating and maintaining a
common culture”.
THE FILIPINO FAMILY

The Non-Traditional Family Forms
1. Solo-parent family (has 5 Types)
a. widow or widower and his/her child/children;
b. single man or woman and his/her adopted child/children;
c. separated parent and his/her child/children;
d. unwed woman and her child/children; and
e. mistress and her child/children by a married man
2. Step-families or blended families.
3. Formed by homosexuals
4. Childless couples
5. Composed of siblings who have been orphaned,
or those whose parents are away as OCWs
THE FILIPINO FAMILY

The Family Code of the Philippines
Marriage is “a special contract of
permanent union between a man
and a woman entered into in
accordance with law for the
establishment of conjugal and
family life. It is the foundation of
the family and an inviolable social
institution whose
nature, consequences, and
incidents are governed by law and
not subject to stipulation.” (Art. 1)
THE FILIPINO FAMILY

Socialization in the
Filipino Family Socialization is a life-long process of
learning whereby the individual
acquires the accepted beliefs, values,
sentiments, norms and behavior of his
group and society.
Within the family, socialization is an
interactive process between children
and parents. The family is the chief
agent of socialization in the child’s life
because it is primarily in-charge of
nurturing the child during the early
formative years.
THE FILIPINO FAMILY

Faith Formation in the Filipino Family
“Filipino Catholic children receive from their family an
initial but very simple and scanty religious education.
It is because of the increasing break-up of families and
because parents, who are engrossed in work, find no more
time to catechize their children.”
THE FILIPINO FAMILY
“The great majority of Catholic parents do not feel
sufficiently equipped to give their children a more
comprehensive religious instruction. But the unfortunate
result is the growing number of children who are baptized
but never adequately catechized.” (NNCDP 81)

Faith Formation in the Filipino Family
“One reason for inadequacy of
parents and adults… is the lack of
continuing catechesis for them.”
(NNCDP 82)
THE FILIPINO FAMILY

Catholic educational institutions have been making a distinct
contribution to the total well-being of the country.” (PCP II 622)
BUT
THE FILIPINO FAMILY
Many Catholic parents and Catholic school graduates:
Catholic education = a passport to better opportunities for
earning a living
AND SO…
Many graduates of Catholic schools have
been successful economically and politically
but they have also contributed to the
dismal economic and political imbalances
existing in the country.” (PCP II 627)

Risk Behaviors
Findings show a high and increasing pattern of risk behaviors
among young people which are magnified by their tendency
towards multiple risk-taking: “adolescents who are exposed to
smoking, drinking or drug abuse are more likely to be sexually
active and that early sex is associated with other risky sexual
behaviors ...”
The Filipino Youth

Premarital Sex
Some factors:
a. The impact of changing family configuration.
b. The increased mobility of both parents and adolescents
in recent years meant a decline in direct supervision of
parents on their children.
a. The adolescents report the home to be the most
popular venue of the first sexual encounter due to
absentee parenting.
The Filipino Youth

Study made by de Irala et al. in 2009:
a. Students reported that they obtained
information about love and sexuality mainly
from friends (57.5% for males and 69.6% for
females).
b. In the case of males, by the Internet and youth
magazines (27.1%); in the case of females, by
parents (30.7%). But generally, the youth
(especially girls) value parents’ opinion more than
friends’ in most topics.
c. The authoritative sources like priests and
teachers were not anymore in the top three
choices
Discussion of Sex at Home
The Filipino Youth

The Filipino Youth
Actual Situation
a. Parental absenteeism is a
growing reality among the lives
of teens. Almost half (47%) do
not have either one or both
parents around most of the time
with them.
b. But among those whose parents
are more immersive in the lives
of the teens, in 2000 (Metro
Manila), more teens were
benefitting from more time with
parents.

2006 McCann-Erickson survey:
Increase in the time spent with
parents on a nationwide scale.
Both parents are eating breakfast and
dinner, chatting, watching TV, doing
chores, going to the Church, listening to
the music, studying or doing homework,
shopping and eating out more with their
children. They are also doing a better job
at imbibing the interests of the youth – TV
shows, music - as well as a more hands-on
approach when it comes to schoolwork.
(McCANN ERICKSON PHILIPPINES, 2006 McCann Inter-
generation Study. Youth Study Highlights.)
The Filipino Youth

Morality
2006 McCann Intergeneration
Study :
In general, the youth’s personal
standards have not deviated
much . BUT…
Some further ‘loosening’ of moral
standards were detected.
The Filipino Youth

Morality
2006 McCann Intergeneration Study :
a. Only the use of illegal drugs and, to a certain
extent, cheating on one’s boyfriend or girlfriend are
considered outright wrong.
b. For many other things, only 6 out of 10 persons
consider as wrong the following things: taking something
without paying, use of violence, drunk
driving, suicide, marital infidelity, staying away from school
work, hazing and casual sex.
The Filipino Youth

Morality
c. About half think that gambling, relationship with a
married person, pre-marital sex, sex on TV, phone/internet
sex, porn and sexually explicit language is wrong.
d. And less than half think that abortion,
divorce/separation, violence on TV, smoking cigarettes,
getting drunk, paying for sex and gay relationships are
wrong.
McCANN ERICKSON PHILIPPINES, 2006 McCann Inter-generation Study. Youth Study Highlights.
The Filipino Youth

“The Church feels the responsibility to devise new tools
and new expressions to ensure that the word of
faith, which has begotten the true life of God in us, be
heard more and be better understood, even in the new
deserts of this world.” (Instrumentum Laboris, 8)

The Work of Evangelization
Evangelization points that every free movement of
the human heart towards God and towards his
kingdom cannot but by its very nature lead to
Christ and be oriented towards entrance into his
Church. (Cf. DNE 9-10)
Evangelization is our
response because it,
alone, offers to man the
Truth, i.e., God.
(Cf. Doctrinal Note on Some Aspects of
Evangelization 4)

John Paul II
“… a new evangelization. It will be new in its ardor, new in its
methods and new in its expressions.”
(Discourse to the assembly of Celam, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, 9th March 1983)

Benedict XVI
“The New Evangelization is ‘new’ not in its content but..
in its inner thrust, open to the grace of the Holy Spirit which
constitutes the force of the new law of the Gospel that always
renews the Church;
‘new’ in ways that correspond with the
power of the Holy Spirit and which are
suited to the times and situations;
‘new’ because of being necessary
even in countries that have already
received the proclamation of the
Gospel.”
(Homily on the Solemnity of SS. Peter and Paul at the
Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls on June 28, 2010)

Benedict XVI
New Evangelization is,
first and foremost, a
personal “profound
experience of God.”
(Ubicumque et Semper)

Catechesis is an
essential moment
in the process of
evangelization. (GDC
63)
This is not an optional
activity, but basic and
fundamental for building up
the personality of the
individual disciple, as it is for
the whole Christian
community. (GDC 64)

Good Catechesis is essential for the New
Evangelization that catechists provide the
ecclesial communities.
(13th Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization, Proposition no. 29).

ADULT CATECHESIS
One cannot speak of the New Evangelization if the
catechesis of adults is non-existent, fragmented,
weak, or neglected. When these defects are present,
pastoral ministry faces a very serious challenge.
(13th Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization, Proposition no. 29).
Adult catechesis is “the
chief form of catechesis.
All the other forms, which
are indeed always
necessary, are in some way
oriented to it.” (GCD 20)

Proposition 48 : THE CHRISTIAN FAMILY
Established by the sacrament of matrimony, the
Christian family as the domestic Church is the locus
and first agent in the giving of life and love, the
transmission of faith and the formation of the human
person according to the values of the gospel. In
imitating Christ, the whole Church must dedicate
herself to supporting families in the catechesis of
children and youth. In many cases the grandparents
will have a very important role. 
At the same time the New Evangelization should strive
to address significant pastoral problems around
marriage…
NEW EVANGELIZATION and THE CHRISTIAN FAMILY

Christian Marriage, True Way to Form the Family
Christian revelation recognizes two specific ways of
realizing the human vocation to love in its entirety:
marriage and virginity or celibacy. (FC 11)
The communion of love between
God and people finds a
meaningful expression in the
marriage covenant which is
established between a man and a
woman. (FC 12)

Established by the sacrament of matrimony, the Christian
family as the domestic Church is the locus and first agent in
the giving of life and love, the transmission of faith and the
formation of the human person according to the values of
the gospel. In imitating Christ, the whole Church must
dedicate herself to supporting families in the catechesis of
children and youth. In many cases the grandparents will
have a very important role. 
At the same time the New Evangelization should strive to address
significant pastoral problems around marriage…

The Christian Family as the Domestic Church
a. Lumen Gentium 11: “The family is, so to speak, the
domestic Church. In it parents should, by their word
and example, be the first heralds of the faith to the
children.” (LG 11)
b. Gaudium et Spes 3: The
family as “the principal
school of social virtues which
is necessary to every society”
c. Apostolicam Auctuositatem 11:
The family as “the primary (basic)
cell of the society given by God
himself”

The Christian Family as the Domestic Church
d. Gravissimum Educationis 3: …the role of parents is of
such importance that it is almost impossible to provide an
adequate substitute.
e. Christifideles Laici 62: The Christian Family,
as the ‘domestic Church’, also makes up a
natural and fundamental school for the
formation in the faith.
f. General Directory for Catechesis 255: The
family as “an environment or means of
growth in faith.”

1. Forming a Community of Persons
2. Serving Life
The parents have two particular duties:
a. Transmission of Life: Procreation as the
transmission of the divine image from person
to person is the fundamental task of the family
to serve life. (FC 28)
b. Education: Since parents have conferred life
on their children, they have a most solemn
obligation to educate their offspring...Hence,
“the family is the first school of those social
virtues which every society needs.” (GE 3)
Tasks of the Family (From Familiaris Consortio)
3. Participating in the Development of the Society
4. Sharing in the Life and Mission of the Church

“The couples are ‘co-operators of grace
and witness of the faith’. They are the
first to pass on the faith to their children
and to educate them in it.” (AA 11)
Family Catechesis
The Catechetical Role of Parents
“The parents are not called to supplement the process of
growth in faith, but are called to be the first to impart faith
to the children. It is a responsibility and an obligation which
they accept knowingly and consciously when they enter
into marriage and when they ask for baptism for their
children.” (Cf. The Rites of the Catholic Church, Vol. 1)

Triple Responsibility of parents (GDC 226) :
1. that of silent witnessing of a faith that is authentically
lived daily
2. that of accompanying their children in occasion of
particular events in their searching, and
3. that of interiorizing the more systematic catechesis
that the children receive in the community.
Family Catechesis
“Family catechesis precedes, accompanies and
enriches all forms of catechesis.” (CT 68)

“The parents are the most
important guides in addressing the
great problems or issues of their
children.
The children learn from their
parents the orientation for life…
They can be ‘formed’ regarding
their relationship with God.”
(A. BIESINGER, H. BENDEL and D. BIESINGER, Incontro a
Gesù con mamma e papa, In cammino verso la Prima
Communione come catechesi familiare)
Family Catechesis

Family and Migration
Among the rights of
the family is the right
to emigrate as a
family in search for a
better life. But the
right to migrate
includes the right to
be with one’s family.
MIGRATION: THE CHURCH’S INTERVENTION

It is the Christian formation and education in
the faith of the children carried out in the
family, where the parents have a
fundamental role.
Family Catechesis
Nature of Family Catechesis
Frequently the recipients of this catechetical activity are
adults, as future spouses or Christian couples or parents.
(G. CAVALOTTO, La catechesi familiare nella Chiesa Cilena, in “Via, Verità e Vita”, 143
[1993] 80)

Family catechesis becomes “the action of
evangelization and Christian formation directly
addressed to parents and indirectly the whole
family in preparing children for First Communion.”
Family Catechesis

Family catechesis promotes the family in 4 points of view:
Family Catechesis
a. Family catechesis as
the family as its
recipient/object as it
turns itself to every
single member: parents
and children.

Family Catechesis
b. The communion,
the types of
relationship and
communication in
the family in the
light of the Gospel
become the themes
to be discussed.

Family Catechesis
c. Family catechesis makes the
family a central place of
catechesis. Catechesis is realized in
the dialogue at home, between
parents and children. Not only the
parents catechize their children
but often also the children are the
evangelizers of their parents.

Family catechesis promotes the
family in 4 points of view:
Family Catechesis
d. The family is the subject of catechesis not only in the
measure in which the parents are responsible for the
catechesis, but also in that the parents through
encounters with and among them become mature in the
faith and contribute in a decisive manner in shaping and
determining the process of catechesis.

Family Catechesis
Purpose of Family Catechesis
a. To develop the faith of adults.
b. To improve the life of the nuclear family.
c. To help parents to effectively implement the
task of being catechists of their children.
d. To integrate the adults in a stable Christian
community.
e. To engage the adults in building a more just
society.

Family catechesis
must never be
detached from the
concrete life of the
family in order that
it may be effective.
(BIESINGER, BENDEL and BIESINGER,
Incontro a Gesù con mamma e papa,
56)
Family Catechesis
Types of Family Catechesis

Family Catechesis
“Family catechesis assumes very different modalities,
such as witnessing of the faith in the daily life, the
Christian reading of the events, sacramental initiation,
formation of conscience, initiation into prayer life, etc.
It is a Christian education…
more witnessed to than taught,
more occasional than systematic,
more on-going and daily than
structured into periods.” (GDC 255)

In the Philippines, family
catechesis “is done through
family participation in the
weekly Sunday liturgy, the
great liturgical feasts of the
year, special parish
celebrations as well as
through formal catechetical
instruction.” (NNCDP 392)
Family Catechesis

As support to the families, the
Christian community has to keep
watch of the conditions that render
the faith possible, intelligible and
desirable.
Family Catechesis
Role of the Christian Community
The Christian community must help parents in
transmitting well the faith to their children. It must be a
transmission that is founded on closeness of persons –
interpersonal and intergenerational; it does not depend
on doing, but on living in the sense that the subject
commits his own existence to action.

And “in concrete, the Christian
community helps parents
assume their responsibility of
educating their children in the
faith by means of personal
contact, meetings, courses and
also adult catechesis directed
toward parents.” (GDC 227)
Family Catechesis
Role of the Christian Community

The Filipino Christian Family: The Domestic Church
“The Philippine Catholic Church, following the teaching
that the family is the ‘domestic Church; the Filipino family
has the unique advantage of catechizing and instilling
among its young members basic human values.” (NNCDP 66)
“The family is the most significant locus of catechesis in
the Philippines… For Filipino Catholics, the family is both
the context and the agent of catechesis.” (NNCDP 80)
(CBCP, The Christian Family, Good News for the Third Millenium)

Every pastoral plan of evangelization should also include a
respectful invitation to all those who live alone, to
experience God in the family of the Church.
It is necessary to educate people in how to
live human sexuality according to Christian
anthropology, both before marriage as well
as in marriage itself.
The Synod notes with appreciation those
families who leave their homes in order to
be evangelizers for Christ in other countries
and cultures.

Family Catechesis and the Filipino Family

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