Kairos

The primary and secondary school religious education texts produced by the Archdiocese of Melbourne have been officially recognised by the Holy See as a major contribution to the transmission of the Catholic Faith.

Archbishop Denis Hart has received confirmation that the To Know, Worship and Love series of textbooks has been granted ‘recognitio’ status by the Congregation for the Clergy and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

In a letter to Archbishop Hart dated 27 May, the congregations confirmed that the series conformed with the provisions of Canon Law, the General Directory for Catechesis and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
The ‘recognitio’ provides the ultimate assurance that the series may be freely used as an approved catechetical instrument in transmitting the Faith.

The series was commissioned in 1997 by then Archbishop George Pell, who convened a committee for religious education texts, chaired by Professor Bernie Daffey. Then Mgr Peter Elliott returned from the Vatican as Episcopal Vicar for Religious Education and general editor. He supervised the planning of the series and the trialling of sample chapters.

Writers from the Catholic Education Office (primary texts) and the Australian Catholic University (secondary texts) worked with artists and layout experts on the project. Between 1999 and 2006 the series of 13 books appeared, along with teacher resources and a website.

When Archbishop Pell was transferred to Sydney, the texts became a joint Melbourne-Sydney project and revised editions appeared. The Dioceses of Armidale, Lismore, Wollongong, Wagga and Parramatta have since adopted To Know, Worship and Love. An international edition is in preparation.

In the letter, the Congregation for the Clergy conveyed a high commendation to all involved in the preparation of “a unique series in the English language”.

The Congregation stated that it had “not seen another catechetical series spanning the entire years from kindergarten through to secondary school levels”, and expressed its hope that “this seminal work will bear much fruit in the transmission of the Faith to succeeding generations”.