Don’t tar all catechists with the same brush!

by Letters Editor · Published February 23, 2012 · Updated February 20, 2012

From Collette O�Sullivan, Cape Town

I� take great umbrage to a number of erroneous statements in John Lee�s letter, �Evangelised catechism needed� (January 25), not least of which being: �We seem to be scraping the bottom of the barrel in finding truly committed catechism teachers in our parishes�.

Of course, I cannot speak for the parish that Mr Lee attends, but what a truly ridiculously sweeping statement to make!

What studies has Mr Lee conducted to place him in such a position of authority to allow him to insult all catechists?

I belong to a parish which is blessed with quite a number of catechists, young and old, all of whom are God-loving, committed Christians who have a deep and personal relationship with Jesus and who love sharing this with others.

It shows in their attitudes and in their interaction with others. I see it in their smiles and in their interest in the youth of our parish.

These are men and women, and I am one of them, who have dedicated themselves to sharing our faith and their love of Jesus with others.

They study the word, prepare lessons, ensuring that they get the message across in an interesting, fun and age-appropriate manner.

They don�t do this for recognition and certainly not for money. They do it for love. This is not only true for my parish; I am speaking on behalf of hundreds of catechists.

The next time Mr Lee uses this forum to insult catechists he should ensure that he does not include all parishes, and definitely not mine.