Religious Education Policies and Procedures

 

General Religious Education

 

  1.           Any person, child or adult, who requests a religious education from the parish, will be taught by the parish (though it is up to the Director of Religious Education, in union with the Pastor, to determine how the person is to be educated) (cf. CIC 776).  Parents are, however, to remain the primary catechists of their children. 

 

  1.           As part of their obligation to raise their children in the Catholic faith, all parents seeking the religious education of their children are expected to fulfill the precepts of the Church.  The precepts of the Church are set in the context of a moral life bound to and nourished by liturgical life.  The obligatory character of these positive laws decreed by the pastoral authorities is meant to guarantee to the faithful the very necessary minimum in the spirit of prayer and moral effort, in the growth in love of God and neighbor (CCC 2041):

 

1.     You shall attend Mass on Sundays and on holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor (CCC 2042).

2.     You shall confess your sins at least once a year (CCC 2042).

3.     You shall receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season (CCC 2042).

4.     You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church (CCC 2043).

5.     You shall help to provide for the needs of the Church (CCC 2043).

 

  1.           At the beginning of each year, the family will asked to make their commitment to their child’s religious education and to fulfill the precepts of the Church via the Religious Education Commitment Agreement form.  If a family is unwilling or unable to make this commitment, they should schedule a meeting with the Pastor and the DRE to discuss their objection or difficulty in doing so.  After such said meeting, the pastor will decide on proper course to follow. 

 

  1.           Since religious education is a parish responsibility and happens within the context of the parish community, all families wishing to enroll their children in the religious education program must be registered parishioners.     
  2.           Any child wishing to receive the sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Communion or Confirmation – whether the child’s preparation occurs at home, within our catholic school, or within our religious education program – must register for the sacrament(s) with the Religious Education office.

 

  1.           The Religious Education program operates on a three-tier tuition system.  The first tier is for those families who support the parish with their time, talent and treasure.  The second tier is for those families who do not.  The distinction of “supporting” or “non-supporting” is a distinction of quality, not one of quantity.  If a family recently joined the parish (within the past month) and have yet to indicate whether they will be supporting or non-supporting, they ought to be asked what they intend to do and then assigned to the tier corresponding to their decision.  The third tier is for those families whose children are taught at home or in a catholic school.  Their fee is simply to cover the expense of the preparation and the celebration of receiving the sacrament(s).

 

Sacramental Preparation, RCIC and RCIA

 

  1.           Following the directive of the Diocese of Lansing that all sacramental preparation must be twelve months in length, Holy Spirit requires every child to be prepared for twelve continuous months or two nine month school years in order to receive the intended sacrament(s).  This preparation may occur at home, within our catholic school, or within our religious education program - all of which are under the direction of the Religious Education office.  If a child is joining the program after missing the first year of preparation, they will have two options.  One, to participate in the year that the child missed immediately and then participate in the second year of preparation the following year.  Two, to work through the textbook of the year that the child missed at home, while at same time, attending the second year of preparation.  If this option is chosen, both text and program must be completed two weeks before the desired sacrament is to be received.  Wherever the child’s formation occurs, it is expected that they are regularly attending and participating in the formation (i.e. too many unexcused absences may result in the delay of the reception of the sacrament).

 

  1.           Following the directive of the Church, children ought to receive the sacraments within their parish community.  Thus the parents of any child wishing to receive a sacrament must be registered here at Holy Spirit parish.  Families registered at other parishes will only be allowed to receive the sacraments within our parish community in very rare circumstances, for good reason, with the permission of the DRE, in union with the Pastor, and with the permission of the pastor where the family is registered (CIC 837).

 

  1.           To be eligible to receive the sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Communion the child must have completed their second grade curriculum and be 7 years old at the time of reception.  All universal, diocesan and parish requirements are to be met two weeks before the date of reception (requirements are listed in the Parish Manual).  Reception of the sacraments will be as a group – regardless of how the child was educated – within the context of the parish community.

 

  1. To be eligible to receive the sacrament of Confirmation the student must have completed their eighth grade curriculum and be 13 years old at the time of reception.  All universal, diocesan and parish requirements are to be met two weeks before the date of reception.  Reception of the sacraments will be as a group – regardless of how the child was educated – within the context of the parish community.

 

  1. Refer to policy #2 regarding the requirement of all Catholics to fulfill the precepts of the Church.

 

  1. If a child is not baptized and is past the age of seven, they will be educated in an RCIC program and will receive all three sacraments of initiation at the Easter Vigil (Rites Manual 157).

 

  1. If a child is not baptized and is younger than age seven, they will be baptized and educated at home, in our catholic school, or in our religious education program and receive the sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Communion at their normal time (R.M. 157).

 

  1. If a child is baptized and missed the sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Communion (i.e. older than age seven), they will receive the sacraments as soon as they are properly prepared.

 

  1. If an adult is not baptized, they will be educated in an RCIA program and receive the sacraments of initiation at the Easter Vigil (R.M. 3).

 

  1. If an adult is baptized and missed the sacraments of Reconciliation, Holy Communion and Confirmation, they will be educated in an RCIA program and receive the three sacraments they missed at the Easter Vigil (R.M. 245).

 

  1. If an adult is baptized and missed the sacrament of Confirmation, they will be encouraged to be educated in an RCIA program.  If this is too big of a commitment for the adult, they may attend the Regional Confirmation Program, which is a shorter program, if they wish.

 

Disabilities and Special Needs

 

  1. Any child or adult who has a disability or special needs – either physical, emotional, spiritual, or social – will be judged on an individual basis by the DRE, in union with the Pastor, whether the child should be “main-streamed”, “main-streamed” with an assistant, or taught on a one-on-one basis.

 

Misbehavior

 

  1. If a child in Religious Education consistently misbehaves before, during, or after class, these four steps will be taken.  First, the catechist will attempt to guide the child to better behavior.  Second, the DRE will attempt to guide the child to better behavior.  Third, the DRE and the child’s parents will meet in the hopes of guiding the child to better behavior.  Fourth, and as a last resort, the DRE, in union with the Pastor, and the parents, will explore other options for the religious education of the child (for example: one-on-one teaching).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These policies and procedures are in effect this day of August 17, 2004.

 

              Fr. William Thomas                                               Sean Lavell

 

       ______________________                   ______________________

(Pastor of Holy Spirit Parish)                         (Director of Religious Education)