General Directory for Catechesis
The General Directory for Catechesis is a document written by the Congregation for the Clergy of the Roman Catholic Church, based in Rome.
Following publication of the General Catechetical Directory in 1971, the Holy See realised importance of a wealth of new developments in the life of the Church and of the world, and so in 1997 the first edition of the General Directory for Catechesis was produced.
The document largely discusses practical and theoretical aspects of linking catechesis to evangelization. It is addressed both to the clergy and lay catechists. It points to the Catechism of the Catholic Church as a primary reference source for the teaching of faith, religious instruction and the new evangelization.
The document is extensively referred to by the Statuta of the Neocatechumenal Way, regarding basic aspects of the catechesis in the Church:
- Christian initiation as basic and fundamental for a parish:
- role of a parish priest, no 225, and of teams of catechists - no 268
- community dimension:
- fostering vocations - no 86
- transmitting faith by parents to their children - nos 226-225 and 255, cf. CIC c.774 §2; CCEO c. 618.
