711
Pr egledni	znans tv eni	članek/ Article	(1.02)
Bogoslovni vestnik/Theological Quarterly	81	(2021)	3,	711—719
Besedilo	pr eje t o/R eceiv ed:12/2020;	spr eje t o/ Accep t ed:02/2021
UDK/UDC:	272-472
DOI:	10.34291/B V2021/03/P olak
©	2021	Polak,	CC	BY	4.0
Mieczysław Polak
Catechesis in the Church’s Dialogue with the World
Kateheza pri dialogu Cerkve s svetom
Abstract : The	 Chur ch	 is	 fulfilling	 her	 salvific	 mission	 in	 the	 w orld	 en trus t ed	 t o	 her	
b y	 Chris t.	 She	 is	 sen t	 t o	 pr oclaim	 the	 Gospel	 of	 Jesus	 Chris t,	 man’ s	 only	 Sa viour . 	
Thr ough	 her	 pr esence	 in	 the	 w orld,	 the	 Chur ch	 en t er s	 in t o	 dialogue	 with	 it.	 The 	
Sec ond	 V a tic an	 Council	 s tr esse d	 the	 need	 f or	 the	 Chur ch’ s	 dialogic al	 pr esence	
in	 the	 w orld.	 The	 main	 issue	 of	 this	 article	 is	 the	 sear ch	 f or	 an	 ans w er	 t o	 whe th-
er	 c a t echesis	 itself	 has	 a	 dialogic al	 s tructur e	 and	 whe ther	 it	 is	 a	 place	 of	 dia-
logue	 be tw een	 the 	 Chur ch	 and	 the 	 w orld.	 The	 s tudy 	 fir s t	 sho w s	 the	 dialogue 	
of	 salv a tion	 as	 a	 r ela tionship	 betw een	 God	 and	 man.	 Then	 it	 pr esen ts	 the 	
Chur ch’ s	 r ela tionship	 with	 the	 w orld,	 which	 is	 a	 r ela tionship	 of	 dialogue.	 Since	
c a t echesis	 is	 a t	 the	 ser vice	 of	 God’ s	 dialogue	 of	 salv a tion 	 and	 is	 an	 ecclesial 	
ministry, it is therefore also dialogical and can, in a sense, be a place for the 
Chur ch’ s	 dialogue	 with	 the	 w orld.	 Ther e	 is,	 ho w e v er ,	 a	 particular	 specificity	 of	
this	 dialogue,	 which	 is	 based	 on	 the	 spirituality	 of	 dialogue.	 The	 vision	 of	 c a t -
echesis	 is	 c on t ained	 in	 the	 new	 V a tic an	Dir ect ory	 f or	 Ca t echesis,	 which	 de-
scribes	it	as	a	,labor a t or y	f or	dialogue ‘ .
Keywords :	Chur ch,	w orld,	c a t echesis,	dialogue,	a	spirituality	of	dialogue
Povzetek:	 Cerk e v	 v	 s v e tu	 ur esničuje 	 s v oje 	 odr ešenjsk o	 poslans tv o , 	 ki	 ji	 g a	 je	 z aupal 	
K ri s tu s. 	 P o sl an a	 je	 o zn an j e v a ti	 e v an g el i j 	 Je z u sa	 K ri s tu sa,	 ed i n eg a	 čl o v ek o v eg a 	
odr ešenik a.	 Pr ek	 s v oje	 na v z očnos ti	 v	 s v e tu	 Cerk e v	 z	 njim	 s t opa	 v	 dialog.	 Drugi	
v a tik anski 	 k oncil	 je	 poudaril	 potr ebo	 dialošk e	 na v z očnos ti	 Cerkv e	 v	 s v e tu.	 Gla v -
na	 t ema	 našeg a	 člank a	 je	 isk anje	 odg o v or a,	 ali	 ima	 k a t ehe z a	 sama	 po	 sebi	 dia -
lošk o	 s truk tur o	 in	 ali	 je	 pr os t or	 dialog a	 med	 Cerkvijo	 in	 s v e t om.	 Razisk a v a	 naj -
pr ej	 pok až e	 na	 dialog	 odr ešenja	 k ot	 odnos	 med	 Bog om	 in	 člo v ek om.	 Na t o	 pr ed-
s t a v i	 odnos	 Ce r k v e 	 do	 s v e t a, 	 k i	 je 	 odnos	 dialog a.	 K e r 	 je 	 k a t e he z a	 v 	 službi	 bo ž -
jega odrešenjskega dialoga in ker je del cerkvenega poslanstva, je obenem di -
alošk a	 in	 je	 lahk o	 nek ak o	 pr os t or	 dialog a	 Cerkv e	 s	 s v e t om.	 T a	 dialog	 je	 r esda 	
specifičen,	 saj	 t emelji	 na	 duho vnos ti	 dialog a.	 P ogled	 na	 k a t ehe z o	 je	 v sebo v an	
v	 no v em	 v a tik ansk em	 K a t ehe tsk em	 dir ek t oriju,	 ki	 jo	 opr edeljuje	 k ot	 ‚labor a t o-
rij	dialog a ‘ .	
Ključne besede :	Cerk e v ,	s v e t,	k a t ehe z a,	dialog ,	duho vnos t	dialog a

712 Bogoslovni vestnik 81 (2021) • 3
1. Introduction 
Jesus	 es t ablished	 the	 Chur ch	 in	 or der	 t o	 pr oclaim	 the	 Gospel	 t o	 the	 w orld.	 Those	
who	 r eceiv ed	 it	 w er e	 inc orpor a t ed	 in t o	 the	 c ommunity	 thr ough	 the	 sacr amen ts	 of 	
Chris tian	 initia tion.	 Living	 in	 the	 Chur ch	 c ommunity ,	 the y	 participa t ed	 in	 c a t echesis 	
t o	 deepen	 and	 de v elop	 their	 f aith.	 One	 of	 the	 tr aditional	 de finitions	 of	 c a t echesis 	
sa y s	 tha t	 it	 is	 »educ a tion	 of	 chi ldr en,	 y oung	 people	 and	 adult s	 in	 the	 f aith,	 which	
includes	 especially	 the	 t eaching	 of	 Chris tian	 doctrine	 impart ed,	 g ener ally	 speaking , 	
or g anic ally 	 and	 s y s t e m a tic ally , 	 t o	 initia t e 	 the 	 he ar e r s	 in t o	 the 	 fullne ss	 of	 Chr is tian 	
lif e«	 (C T	 18).	 The	 Chur ch	 c onducts	 c a t echesis	 in	 a	 specific	 cultur al, 	 social	 and	 r eli-
gious	 c on t e x t	 (V odič ar	 and	 St ala	 2019,	 1090–1091).	 Ther e f or e,	 its	 under s t anding , 	
f orms	 and	 me thods	 ar e	 adap t ed	 t o	 these	 div er se	 c on t e x ts.	 The	 Dir ect or y	 f or	 Ca-
t echesis	 (DC),	 published	 in	 200 0	 b y	 the	 P on tific al	 Council	 f or	 Pr omoting	 the	 Ne w	
E v ang e liz a tion, presents catechesis as a dialogical event. This does not contradict 
the	 curr en t	 under s t anding	 of	 c a t echesis.	 Ho w e v er ,	 mor e	 than	 it	 has	 been	 the	 c ase 	
in	 the	 Chur ch’ s	 t eaching	 so	 f ar ,	 it	 emphasises	 the	 import ance	 of	 dialogue	 in	 c a-
t echesis,	 no	 long er	 as	 one	 of	 the	 possibilities	 of	 c onducting	 it,	 but	 as	 a	 principle	
tha t	 de t ermines	 its	 iden tity .	 This	 article 	 will	 fir s t	 f ormula t e	 tw o	 pr er equisit es	 tha t 	
c ondition	 dialog ue	 in	 Ca t echesis:	 Ca t echesis	 is	 a t	 the	 ser vice	 of	 God’ s	 dialogue	 of	
salv a tion	 and	 tha t	 the	 Chur ch’ s	 pr esence	 in	 the	 w orld	 is	 dialogic al.	 Then	 the	 spe-
cificity	 of	 the	 c a t eche tic al	 dialogue	 will	 be	 outlined	 and	 the	 meaning	 of	 the	 spiri -
tuality	 of	 dialog ue	 will	 be	 pr esen t ed.	 This	 spirituality	 de t ermi nes	 the	 import ance	
of	c a t echesis	in	the	Chur ch’ s	dialogue	with	the	w orld.	
2. God’s Dialogue of Salvation
The	 necessity	 of	 dialogue	 in	 c a t echesis	 arises	 fir s t	 of	 all	 fr om	 the	 dialogic al	 r ela ti-
onship	 be tw een	 God	 and	 man.	 In	 the	 Dogma tic	 Cons titution	 on	 Divine	 R e v ela tion, 	
the	 Sec ond	 V a tic an	 Council	 s t a t es:	 »It	 pleased	 God,	 in	 His	 g oo dness	 and	 wisdom,	
t o	 r e v eal	 himself	 and	 t o	 mak e	 kno wn	 the	 m y s t er y	 of	 his	 will	 /... 	 /. 	 Thr ough	 this 	
r e v ela tion, 	 the	 in visible	 God,	 out	 of	 the	 abundance	 of	 His	 lov e,	 speak s	 t o	 men 	
as	 friend s.«	 (D V	 2)	 R e v ela tion	 is,	 ther e f or e,	 an	 enc oun t er	 and 	 dialogue	 be tw een	
God	and	man.	
F aith,	 being	 a	 r e sponse	 t o	 God’ s	 r e v ela tion,	 is	 also	 dialogic al.	 »F aith	 is	 a	 gift	 of	
God	 and	 a	 superna tur al 	 virtue	 tha t	 c an	 be	 born	 in	 the	 dep ths	 of	 the	 soul 	 as	 a	 fruit 	
of	 gr ace 	 and	 a	 fr ee 	 r esponse 	 t o	 the	 c all	 of	 the	 Holy	 Spirit,	 who	 mo v es	 the	 heart 	
t o	 c on v e r sion	 and	 dir ects	 it	 t o	 God	 /...	 /«	 (DC	 19)	 F aith	 is	 ultim a t ely	 e xpr essed	 in	
the	 dial ogue	 of	 lo v e	 t o	 which	 God	 enables.	 »Jesus,	 in	 giving	 himself	 t ot ally	 f aith -
fully	 t o	 the	 fulfi lmen t	 of	 the	 F a ther ’ s	 will,	 r eorien ts	 humanity	 back	 t o	 God.	 Chris t	
restores humanity to the glory of the Father since in him and through him the 
human	 being	 r eceiv es	 God’ s	 gift	 tha t	 mak es	 him	 able	 t o	 r espond	 t o	 divine	 lo v e 	
with	the	lo ving	surr ender	of	his	o wn	e xis t ence.«	(Brug ar olas	2020,	561)
This	 unique	 r ela tionship 	 betw een	 God	 and	 man	 is	 the	 basis	 of	 the	 pas t or al 	
principle	 known	 as	 the	 dialogue	 of	 salv a tion.	 God	 pla y s	 the	 leading	 r ole	 in	 this 	

713 Mieczysław Polak - Catechesis in the Church’s Dialogue with the World
dialogue	 bec ause	 He	 sa v es	 and	 sanctifies	 (P olak	 2012,	 241–245).	 Ca t echetic al 	
dialogue	 ser v es	 only	 t o	 help	 deepen	 or	 disc o v er	 the	 dialogic al	 r edemp tiv e 	 r ela-
tionship	 be tw een	 man	 and	 God.	 Its	 basis	 is	 God,	 who	 imparts	 Himself	 unc ondi-
tionally	 and	 a	 man	 who ,	 in	 his	 fr eedom,	 c an	 t ak e	 up	 or	 r eject	 God’ s	 initia tiv e	 (St egu 	
2020,	429–430).	
The 	 dia log ue 	 of	 sa lv a tion	 is	 a 	 spe c ific 	 t y pe 	 of	 c on v e r sa ti on	 t ha t 	 G od	 t he 	 F a t he r	
initia t ed	 and	 es t ablished	 with	 man	 thr ough	 Jesus	 Chris t	 in	 the	 Holy	 Spirit	 (E S	 71).	
Including	 the	 principle	 of	 the	 dialogue	 of	 salv a tion	 in	 c a t echesis	 is	 primarily	 e x -
pr essed	 in	 an	 appr opria t e	 pas t or al	 a ttitude	 (Dajcz ak	 2001,	 40–41).	 It	 is	 manif es t -
ed	 b y	 the	 a v aila bility	 of	 a	 c a t ec his t,	 cr ea ting	 appr opria t e	 opportunities	 f or	 in t er -
per sonal	 c ommunic a tion,	 shaping	 an	 a tmospher e	 of	 trus t,	 and	 the	 ability	 t o	 lis t en 	
c orr ectly ,	 c onsis ting	 in	 r eaching	 the	 other	 per son	 without	 f ear	 and	 in	 fr eedom	 and 	
off ering 	 c omple t e	 disposal.	 As	 P ope	 Fr ancis	 t eaches: 	 »Only	 thr ough	 such	 r espect -
ful	 and	 c ompassiona t e	 lis t ening	 c an	 w e	 en t er	 on	 the	 pa ths	 of	 true	 gr owth	 and 	
a w ak en	 a	 y earning	 f or	 the	 Chris tian	 ideal:	 the	 desir e	 t o	 r espond	 fully	 t o	 God’ s	 lo v e 	
and	 t o	 bring	 t o	 fruition	 wha t	 He	 has	 so wn	 in	 our	 liv es.«	 (E G
 
171)	 E qually	 import an t 	
is	 pa tience	 and	 gr adualness,	 and	 the	 a w ar eness	 tha t	 the	 fruits	 of	 a	 pas t or al	 en-
c o u n t er	 ar e	 u l tima t el y	 Go d ’ s	 gr ace. 	 In 	 th i s	 c o n t e x t,	 F r an ci s	 sp eak s	 o f	 an 	 ap p r o p ri -
a t e	 ‚openness	 of	 heart‘	 which,	 in	 c ommunic a tion	 with	 another	 man,	 enables	 close -
ness	 »without	 which	 g enuine	 spiritual	 enc oun t er	 c annot	 occur«	 (E G	 171).	 The 	
f amily	 pla y s	 an	 essen tial 	 r ole	 in	 shaping	 such	 an	 a ttitude	 of	 dialogue	 (Sla tinek 	
2017,	328–330).	
In	 Je sus’ 	 a ttitude , 	 w e 	 disc o v e r 	 tha t	 the	 though t	 of	 f or cing	 an y one 	 t o	 e n t e r	 in t o	
the	 dialo gue	 of	 salv a tion	 w as	 some thing	 utt erly	 alien	 t o	 Him. 	 He	 dir ect ed	 an	 ‚ ap-
peal‘	 t ow ar d	 man	 which,	 »true,	 imposed	 a	 serious	 oblig a tion	on	 those	 t ow ar d 	
whom	 it	 w as	 dir ect ed,	 but	 it	 le ft 	 them 	 fr ee 	 t o	 r espond	 t o	 it	 or	 t o	 r eject	 it«	 (E S	 75). 	
E v er y	 per son	has	their	o wn	s t or y	 of	lif e	 with	God,	and	their	e xperience	 of	God	is	
a	 deeply	 per sonal	 e v en t	 in t o	 which	 a	 c a t echis t	 c an	 in tr oduce	 man.	 A	 c a t echis t	 c an 	
help	 e xperience	 this	 e v en t	 but	 e v en tually	 mus t	 withdr a w	 t o	 le t	 God	 speak	 and 	
gr ow	 in	 this	 e v en t.	 This	 kind	 of	 a	 c a t eche tic al 	 (pas t or al)	 dialogue	 is	 de fined 	 by 	
Fr ancis	 as	 a	 cert ain	 ,art	 of	 acc ompanimen t ‘ ,	 in t o	 which	 the	 Chur ch	 will	 ha v e	 t o 	
initia t e	 pries ts,	 r eligious	 and	 laity ,	 and	 »which	 t eaches	 us	 t o	 r emo v e	 our	 sandals	
be f or e 	 the 	 sac r e d	 othe r «	 (Ex od	 3 : 5 )	 (E G 	 1 6 9 ).	 The 	 abo v e 	 pr inc iple 	 is	 fundam e n t al	
in the context of contemporary cultural and social trends that characterise deep 
individualis tic	 t endencies:	 »The	 cultur e	 of	 individualism	 is	 r e flect ed	 in	 the	 char -
act eris tic	 of	 the	 dominan t	 tr ends	 of	 c on t empor ar y	 W es t ern	 socie ty	 such	 as	 c on -
sumerism,	 popular	 cultur e:	mass	 socie ty	 g oes	 hand	 in	 hand	 with	 individualism.«	
(Baho v ec	2015,	339)
Therefore, catechesis is a dialogical event because it is at the service of the 
dialogue	 of	 salv a tion	 God	 c onducts	 with	 man.	 The	 Dir ect or y	 f or	 Ca t echesis	 f or -
mula t es	 this	thesis	 as	 f ollo w s:	 »c a t echesis	 is	 inspir ed	 b y	 the	 pedag ogy	 of	 God	 al-
r e ady 	 de scribe d	 he r e .	 A s	 a	 r e sult, 	 it	 be c ome s	 a	 pe dag og ic al	 activity 	 a t	 the 	 se r vice	
of the dialogue of salvation 	be tw een	God	and	man.«	(DC	165)

714 Bogoslovni vestnik 81 (2021) • 3
3. Dialogical Presence of the Church in the World
P ope	 P aul	 VI,	 in	 his	 ency clic al	 E cclesiam	 suam,	 indic a t ed	 a	 gr ea t	 v arie ty	 of	 w a y s	 in 	
which	r ela tionship s	be tw een	the	Chur ch	and	the	w orld	c ould	be	e ff ectiv e.	
He	s t a t ed:	
»The	 Church	 could	 perhaps	 justifiably	 reduce	 such	 contacts	 to	 a	 minimum, 	
on	 the	 plea	 that	 it	 wishes	 to	 isolate	 itself	 from	 secular	 society. It might 
content	 itself	 with	 conducting	 an	 inquiry	 into	 the	 evils	 current	 in	 secular	
society, condemning them publicly, and fighting a crusade against them. 
On	 the	 other	 hand,	 it	 might	 approach	 secular	 society	 with	 a	 view	 to 	
exercising a preponderant influence over it and subjecting it to a theocratic 
power. 	 But	 it	 seems	 to	 us	 that	 the	 sort	 of	 relationship	 for	 the	 Church	 to	
establish	 with	 the	 world	 should	 be	 more	 in	 the	 nature	 of	 a	 dialogue, 	
though theoretically other methods are not excluded. «	(E S	78)
P ope	 P aul	 VI’ s	 s t a t emen t	 e xpr e sses	 the	 messag e	 of	 dialogue	 sen t	 t o	 the	 w orld	
b y	 the	 Sec ond	 V a tic an	 Council	 (Baho v ec	 2015,	 341).	 The	 ne w	 Dir ect or y	 f or	 Ca t e-
chesis,	 appar en tly	 without	 an y	 doub t	 or	 c aution,	 indic a t es	 dialogue	 t o	 fulfil	 the 	
e v ang elising	 mission	 of	 the	 Chu r ch.	 It	 sa y s:	 »In	 the	 pr ocess	 of	 e v ang elisa tion,	 the	
Chur ch	 /…/	 appr oaches	 ev ery one	 in	 the	 a ttitude	 of	 solidarity ,	 sharing	 and	 dialogue, 	
thus bearing witness 	t o	a	ne w	w a y	of	lif e.«	(DC	31)	
God’ s	 di alogue	 of	 salv a tion	 de t ermines	 the	 na tur e	 of	 the	 Chur ch’ s	 pr esence	 in	
the	 w orld.	 W e	 r ead	 in	 the	 Dir e ct or y	 f or	 Ca t echesis:	 »In	 the	 school	 of	 the	 mir acu-
lous dialogue of salvation ,	 whi ch	 is	 a	 r e v ela tion,	 the	 Chu r ch	 under s t ands	 her self	
bett er	 and	 bett er	 as	 the	 one	 c alled	 t o	 dialogue	 with	 people	 of	 her	 time. 	 The	 Chur ch 	
should	 en t er	 in t o	 dialogue 	 with	 the 	 socie ty	 in	 which	 she	 liv es.	 Thus,	 the	 Chur ch 	
t ak es	 the	 f orm	 of	 the	 w or d,	 messag e	 and	 dialogue.«	 (DC	 53)	 The	 Chur ch’ s	 dia -
logic al	 r ela tionship	 with	 the	 w orld	 is	 r oot ed	 in	 the	 My s t er y	 of	 the	 Inc arna tion	 in	
which	 »Jesus	 en t er s	 in t o	 an	 inner	 dialogue	 with	 man,	 and	 it	 is	 fr om	 this	 dialogue	
tha t	it	assumes	its	f orm,	t aking	on	its	qualities«	(DC	53).
The	 abo v e	 s t a t emen t	 applies	 t o	 the	 r ela tionship	 be tw een	 the	 Chur ch	 and	 the	
w orld.	 Does	 it,	 ho w e v er ,	 also	 apply	 t o	 c a t echesis?	 Ther e	 is	 no	 doub t	 about	 it.	 Ca t -
eche tic al	 activity	 is	 one	 of	 the	 f orms	 of	 the	 Chur ch’ s	 pr esence 	 globally ,	 its	 dialog -
ic al	 pr esence.	 The	 Dir ect or y	 f or	 Ca t echesis puts	 it	 in	 this	 w a y:	 »A t	 the	 time	 of	 ne w 	
e v ang elisa tion,	 the	 Chur ch	 wishes	 c a t echesis	 t o	 emphasise	 this	dialogical style, 
in	 or der	 t o	 sho w	 the	 f ace	 of	 the	 Son	 who ,	 as	 in	 the	 c ase	 of	 the	 Samarit an	 w oman	
a t	 the 	 w e ll, 	 s t op s	 t o	 t alk 	 t o	 e ach	 pe r son	 and	 g e n tly 	 le ad	 him	 t o	 disc o v e r 	 the 	 liv ing	
w a t er	(Jn	4:5-42)	.«	(DC	54)	
4. The Specificity of a Catechetical Dialogue 
Ca t echesis	 is,	 ther e f or e,	 a	 space	 f or	 dialogue.	 It	 is	 true	 tha t	 »the	 v er y	 e tymolo-
gy	 of	 the	 t erm	 c a t echesis	 indic a t es	 the	 necessity	 t o	 en t er	 in t o	 dialogue	 be tw een	

715 Mieczysław Polak - Catechesis in the Church’s Dialogue with the World
a	 c a t e chis t	 and	 the 	 c a t e chise d.	 This	 c on v e r sa tion	 is	 both	 an	 a tt e mp t	 t o	 disc o v e r 	
t he 	 t r ut h	 of	 salv a tion	 in	 fr on t	 of	 t he 	 c a t e c hise d, 	 and	 also	 se r v e s	 a	 c a t e c his t 	 t o	 pe -
ne tr a t e	 be tt er 	 the	 m y s t eries	 of	 f aith«	 (T omasik	 2009,	 62),	 and	 »the	 ins truction, 	
which	 is	 c a t echesis,	 is	 not	 only 	 one-sided	 as	 a	 lectur e	 but	 is	 also	 r ealised	 thr ough	
dialogue,	 asking	 ques tions	 and	 pr oviding	 ans w er s«	 (John	 P aul	 II	 1987,	 13–14). 	
Hence,	c a t echesis	c annot	impose	the	truth	but	should	r e f er	t o	fr eedom	(DC	59).
Ho w e v er ,	 it	 is	 in	 c a t echesis	 tha t	 the	 truth	 is	 pr eached.	 The	 purpose 	 of	 the	 pr oc -
lama tion 	 of	 the	 truth	 is	 a	 c on v er sion	 fr om	 sin	 and	 leading	 t o	 c ommunion	 with 	
Chris t	 and	 the	 Chur ch.	 F or	 this	 r eason,	 dialogue	 c an	 ne v er	 r eplace	 or	 w eak en	 the	
pr eaching	 of	 the	 truth.	 Genuine	 dialogue	 ser v es	 the	 purpose	 of	 tr ansmitting	 this	
truth	 and	 r ealising	 it	 thr ough	 the	 measur es	 le ft 	 b y	 Chris t	 t o	 the	 Chur ch	 in	 pas t or al 	
c ar e	 (Prz yb yło w ski	 2009,	 48).	 Dialogue	 in	 c a t echesis	 is	 supposed	 t o	 c on v e y	 the 	
tr ut h.	 Ho w e v e r , 	 it 	 also	 doe s	 not 	 e x c lude 	 se e k ing 	 it 	 in	 dialog ue 	 be c ause 	 »the 	 tr ut h 	
r e v eals	 itself	 as	 an	 in t erper sonal	 e v en t	 among	 people	 who	 open	 up	 t o	 each	 other , 	
t o	 the	 w orld,	 t o	 God.	 This	 openness	 trig g er s	 the	 ability	 t o	 per ceiv e	 oneself ,	 other s 	
and	 cultur e	 fr om	 a	 diff er en t	 per spectiv e	 and	 t o	 e v alua t e	 -	 oneself ,	 other s,	 and 	
cultur e	-	acc or ding	t o	v arious	crit eria«	(K a w ecki	2009,	269).
Truth and dialogue are not mutually exclusive, although dialogical communica-
tion	 does	 not	 alw a y s	 lead	 t o	 the	 ultima t e	 disc o v er y	 of	 the	 truth.	 Bec oming	 sensi -
tiv e	 t o	 the	 truth,	 the	 sincer e	 desir e	 t o	 disc o v er	 the	 truth,	 the	 will	t o	 adher e	 t o	 it,	
and	 the	 willingness	 t o	 ser v e	 it	 ar e	 gr ea t	 lessons	 in	 pr eparing	 f or	 dialogue.	 The	 v er y 	
pur suit	 of	 the	 truth	 is,	 in	 a	 sense,	 a	 w a y	 of	 disc o v ering	 it.	 Ther e f or e,	 it	 is	 essen tial	
t o	 shape	 an	 openness	 and	 ar ou se	 the	 desir e	 t o	 g e t	 t o	 kno w	 the	 truth	 in	 c onduct -
ing	 a	 c a t eche tic al 	 dialogue.	 A	 unique	 r ole	 in	 this	 r espect	 is	 t o	 be	 pla y ed	 b y	 the 	
school,	 a	 ‚sacr ed	 space ‘	 of	 seeking	 ans w er s	 t o	 the	 meaning	 of	 lif e	 and	 its	 secr e ts	
(P olak	2015,	414–416).
Ho w e v er ,	 c a t ec hesis	 c annot	 be	 under s t ood	 solely	 as	 a	 dialogu e	 tha t	 e xpr esses	
an	 a ttitude	 of	 c ons t an t	 sear ch. 	 W e	 r ead	 in	 the	 adhort a tion	Catechesi tradendae:	
»Cert ain	 c on t empor ary	 philosophic al	 schools, which	 seem	 t o	 be	 e x er cising	 a	 s tr ong 	
in fluence	 on	 some	 theologic al	 curr en ts	 and,	 thr ough	 them,	 on	 pas t or al	 pr actice,	
lik e	 t o	emphasi se	 tha t	the	fund amen t al	human	 a ttitude	is	tha t	of	seeking	 the	in -
finit e, 	 seeking	 tha t	 ne v er	 a tt ains	 its	 object.	 In	 theology ,	 this	 vie w	 of	 things	 will 	
s t a t e	 v er y	 c a t eg oric ally	 tha t	 f aith	 is	 not	 a	 cert ain ty	 but	 ques tioning , 	 not	 clarity	 but 	
a	leap	in	the	dark.«	(C T	60)
T aking	 in t o	 acc oun t	 the	 abo v e	 r ela tionship s	 be tw een	 dialogue	 and	 c a t echesis,	
it	 c an	 be 	 s t a t e d	 tha t	 both	 school	 t e aching 	 of	 r e lig ion	 and	 c a t e che sis	 c ons titut e 	 an 	
appr opria t e	place	of	educ a tion	f or	the	a ttitude	of	dialogue	bec ause	
» /… / teaching religion and catechesis are a very important and essential 
place of education for this attitude. First, they provide a proper environment 
for	 shaping	 the	 awareness	 of	 one›s	 own	 identity. They also provide 
important	 information	 in	 the	 range	 of	 knowledge	 about	 cultural	 and	 religious 	
diversity, about the need for interreligious and interfaith dialogue. 
Increasingly	 frequent	 contacts	 with	 followers	 of	 other	 religions	 or 	

716 Bogoslovni vestnik 81 (2021) • 3
denominations	 are	 becoming	 an	 opportunity	 to	 acquire	 the	 skills	 of	 dialogue 	
and tolerance. 	 Education	 for	 dialogue	 and	 tolerance	 is,	 after	 all,	 an	 essential 	
element of the education of young people carried out at school, especially 
during religion lessons or catechesis. «	(Bagr owicz	2006,	247)
School	 and	 parish	 c a t echesis	 ar e,	 ther e f or e,	 a	 kind	 of	 ,labor a t or y	 of	 dialogue ‘ .	
W e	r ead	in	the	Dir ect or y	f or	Ca t echesis:	
»Church	 catechesis	 is	 an	 authentic	 ‚laboratory‘	 of	 dialogue	 because,	 in	 the 	
depths of each person, it encounters vitality and complexity, desires and 
searches, limitations and sometimes errors of societies and cultures of the 
contemporary	 world. Therefore, catechesis should also engage in a 
pastoral	 dialogu e	 without	 relativisms,	 a	 dialogue	 that	 does	 not	 negotiate	
its	 Christian	 identity	 but	 wishes	 to	 reach	 the	 heart	 of	 another	 person,	 other 	
people	 who	 are	 different	 from	 us	 and	 sow	 the	 seeds	 of	 the	 Gospel	 there. «	
(DC	54)
A	 particular	 space	 of	 this	 ,labor a t or y	 of	 dialogue ‘	 c an	 be	 c ons titut ed	 b y	 t each-
ing	 r eligion	 a t	 school.	 Since 	 both	 s tuden t	 belie v er s, 	 s tuden ts	 who	 ar e	 luk e w arm	
in	 their	 f aith	 and	 s tuden t	 non-belie v er s	 usually	 participa t e, 	 it	 opens	 up	 br oad	 per -
spectiv es	 f or	 di alogue	 in	 r eligio n	 lessons.	 A	 r eligious	 lesson	 r e flects	 the	 div er sity	
of	 per sonal,	 cul tur al	 and	 r eligio us	 a ttitudes	 r epr esen t a tiv e	 of	 socie ty .	 Thus,	 it	 be-
c omes	 a	 mee ting	 place,	 an	 opp ortunity	 t o	 initia t e	 and	 deepen	 a	 multidimension -
al dialogue that does not contradict the necessity to achieve the primary goal of 
c a t echesis,	 which	 is	 t o	 inspir e	 c on fidence	 in	 f aith.	 Dialogue	 during	 r eligion	 lessons 	
a t	 school	 is	 possible	 and	 necessar y ,	 although	 it	 is	 not	 its	 primar y	 g oal	 (T omasik 	
2009,	66).
5. Catechetical Spirituality of Dialogue
In	 a	 dialogue 	 in	 c a t echesis, 	 the	 spirituality 	 (cultur e)	 of	 dialogue 	 should	 be	 giv en 	
primacy	 o v er	 the	 me thods	 or	 t echniques	 of	 dialogue.	 K nowing	 or	 e v en	 mas t e -
ring	 the	 me thods	 and	 t echniques	 of	 dialogue	 will	 not	 ensur e	 the	 f orma tion	 of	 an	
a ttitude	 of	 dialogue	 as	 this	 r equir es	 an	 authen tic	 spirituality ,	 men t ality ,	 or	 cultu -
r e	 of	 dia logue,	 bec ause	 »a	 cult ur e	 of	 g enuine	 dialogue	 is	 a	 w a y	 tha t	 enables	 g e-
nuine	 enc oun t er s	 be tw een 	 people	 and 	 cultur es,	 enc our ag es	 cr ea tivity	 and 	 thus 	
emp o w er s	 p eo p l e«	 (Bah o v ec	 2020,	 890). 	 Wh a t	 i s	 al so 	 v al i d 	 wi th 	 d i al o gu e	 i s	 th e 	
principle	 f ormula t ed	 b y	 John	 P aul	 II	 in	 the	 Apos t olic	 le tt er	 No v o	 millennio	 ineun -
te in the c on t e x t	 of	 pr omoting	 the	 c ommunion	 char act er	 of	 chur ch	 c ommunities. 	
Concerning	 the	 cultur e	 of	 dialogue,	 it	 c an	 be	 described	 as	 f ollo w s:	 Be f or e	 w e	 s t art 	
planning	 specific	 educ a tional	 undert akings,	 a	 ne w	 cultur e	 or	 a	 spirituality	 of	 dialo -
gu e	 s h o u l d 	 b e	 p r o mo t ed ,	 emp h asi si n g	 i ts 	 i mp o rt an ce	 as 	 an 	 ed u c a ti o n al 	 p ri n ci p l e	
wher e v er	 a	 per son	 and	 a	 Chris tian	 ar e	 f ormed,	 wher e	 alt ar	 minis t er s,	 pries ts	 and	
c onsecr a t ed	 per sons	 ar e	 tr ained,	 wher e v er	 f amilies	 and	 c ommunities	 ar e	 being 	

717 Mieczysław Polak - Catechesis in the Church’s Dialogue with the World
built	 up .	 Le t	 us	 ha v e	 no	 illusion s:	 without	 such	 a	 cultur e	 (spirituality)	 of	 dialogue,	
ne w	 educ a tional	 pr ogr ammes	 or	 v arious	 me thods	 and	 means	 of	 dialogue	 will	 not 	
achie v e	much.	Dialogue	with	their	help	will	ser v e	a	minimal	purpose	(NMI	43).	
The	 necessar y	 c ondition	 f or	 applying	 the	 me thod	 of	 dialogue	 is	 t o	 adop t	 the 	
a ttitude	 of	 dialogue.	 It	 is	 e xpr essed	 in	 r eadiness	 t o	 open	 up	 t o	 under s t anding , 	
closeness,	 and	 c ooper a tion	 c oncerning	 the	 en vir onmen t	 and	 each	 per son,	 r eg ar d-
less	 of	 ag e,	 origin,	 na tionality , 	 r ace,	 or	 r eligion	 (Dziek oński	 2009,	 75).	 The	 c a t -
eche tic al	 t ask	 is	 t o	 shape	 the	 spirituality	 or	 cultur e	 of	 dialogue.	 It	 is	 a	 challeng e 	
c lose ly 	 r e la t e d	 t o	 the 	 a tti tude 	 of	 a	 c a t e c his t.	 Only 	 a	 c a t e c his t	 w ho	 shape s	 the 	 c ul-
tur e	 or	 spirituality	 of	 dialogue	 in	 him/her self	 and	 in tr oduces	 its	 principles	 in t o	 the 	
c a t eche tic al	 pr ocess	 and	 mee ting 	 c an	 shape	 the	 dialogue 	 in	 the	 c a t echised.	 Au-
then tic	dialogue	is	the	principle	of	the	mee ting:	
»An	 authentic	 contact	 requires	 true	 dialogue ! The dialogue can occur 
whe n	 pe ople 	 re cognise 	 our	 inte rconne ctivity	 (pe r sonal	 principle )	 and	 the	
merits	 of	 the	 cultur al	 c ommunities.	 So ,	 w e	 c an	 sa y	 tha t	 the	 ques t	 f or	 dia -
log ue 	 is	 a t	 the	 sam e 	 tim e 	 a	 s tr iv ing 	 f or 	 a	 r e al	 pe r sonal	 pr inc iple 	 and	 pe r -
sonalisa tion	 (not	 individualisa tion)	 and	 de v eloping 	 true 	 mutual	Gemein-
schaftlike	 in t erper sonal	 r ela tionship s,	 not	 mer ely	 a	 c on tr actual	 socie ty ,	 but 	
a	c ommunal	spirituality	and	a	cultur e	of	fr a t ernity .«	(Baho v ec	2015,	344)
S hapi ng	 the	 cul tur e	 of	 di al ogue	 i s	 a	 sl o w	 pr ocess	 and	 r equ i r es	 a	 gr ea t	 deal 	 of	
educ a tional	 w ork	 bec ause	 it	 is	 not	 about	 acquiring	 c ompe t encies	 or	 skills,	 but 	
about	changing	men t ality:	
»One cannot change the mentality and deeply entrenched attitudes by 
some ordinance or administrative injunction. 	 T h i s	 req u i res	 f u n d amen tal 	
organic	 work	 which,	 through	 e ducation	 not	 only	 in	 the	 family 	 and	 school	
but also through the proper atmosphere of social life, shapes appropriate 
attitudes and organises the hierarchy of values. «	(Bagr o wicz	2006,	231)
Besides	 the	 pr oper	 a ttitude,	 c a t echesis	 educ a t es	 people	 t o	 adop t	 dialogue	 b y	
shaping appropriate intellectual and moral competencies. Appropriate intellec -
tual	 and	 mor al	 dispositions	 ar e	 the 	 basis	 of	 the 	 cultur e	 of	 dialogue .	 The	 f ollo wing 	
dispositions	 ar e	 critic al	 her e:	 hones ty ,	 sincerity ,	 truth fulness,	 pa tience, 	 prudence, 	
r eliability	 and	 g en tleness.	 The y	 r equir e	 self -abneg a tion,	 lif e	 asce ticism	 and	 w ork	
on	 oneself ,	 v alu es	 tha t	 do	 not	 alw a y s	 char act erise	 a	 y oung	 per son’ s	 a ttitude.	 Hu-
man	 limit a tions	 also	 hamper	 dialogue	 not	 only	 in	 mor al	 but	 also	 in	 in t ellectual 	
and	 emotional 	 spher es.	 It	 is	 mainly	 about	 dogma tism,	 r ela tivism	 and	 sh yness, 	
suspicion,	 and	 dis tr us t.	 The se 	 limit a tions	 c ons titut e 	 a	 se v e r e 	 ob s t acle 	 in	 dialog ue	
(P olak	2015,	418–419).
The	 pr oper	 educ a tional	 c oncep t	 tha t	 enables	 dialogue	 in	 c a t echesis	 is	 the	 ped-
ag ogy	 of	 dialogue.	 It	 w an ts	 t o	 open	 up	 space	 f or	 a	 man	 t o	 shape	 a	 pr oper	 w orld -
vie w	 and	 lif e	 in	 a	 plur alis t	 socie ty .	 Indeed,	 c a t echesis,	 especially	 f or	 adults,	 »should 	
support	 the	 f orma tion	 of	 the	 dis tinguishing	 f ea tur es	 of	 a	 Chris tian	 who	 is	 ma tur e	

718 Bogoslovni vestnik 81 (2021) • 3
in	 f aith,	 a	 disciple	 of	 the	 Lor d	 Jesus,	 in	 the	 bosom	 of	 a	 Chris tian	 c ommunity	 c a-
pable	 of	 g oing	 outw ar d,	 tha t	 is,	 inc orpor a t ed	 in t o	 the	 social	 and	 cultur al	 r eality	 in 	
or der	t o	e x er cise	f aith	and	build	the	king dom	of	God«	(DC	261).
6. Conclusion
Thank s	 t o	 the	 dialogue	 c onduct ed	 in	 it,	 c a t echesis	 w an ts	 t o	 educ a t e	 people	 f or 	
t oler ance	 without	 imposing	 an y	 w orldview	 on	 other s.	 It	 also	 w an ts	 t o	 lead	 t o 	
actions	 t o	 cr ea t e	 a	 fr a t ernal	 socie ty	 t o	 mak e	 the	 w orld	 space	 f or	 thinking	 and	 li -
ving.	 Th e	 pedag ogy	 of	 dialogue 	 leads	 t o	 the	 s tr eng thening	 of	 per sonal	 iden tity .	 It	
pr omot es	 ,dialogic al	 t eaching ‘ ,	 emphasises	 the	 gr ea t	 import ance	 of	 a	 g ood	 a tmo-
spher e	 during	 c a t echesis	 (a tmospher e	 of	 dialogue,	 clima t e	 of	 dialogue),	 sho w s 	
th e	 f u n d amen t al 	 i mp o rt an ce	 o f	 th e	 t each er ’ s 	 a ttitu d e,	 su p p o rts 	 th e	 f o rma tio n 	 o f 	
c onscience	 f ocu sed	 on	 action	 and	 pr omot es	 dialogue	 with	 c on t empor ar y	 cultur e	
(Bagr o wicz	2006,	239–243).
Ho w e v er ,	 dialogue	 with	 c on t empor ar y	 cultur e	 is	 cert ainly	 not	 eas y .	 In	 liber al 	
democr a tic 	 socie ties, 	 which	 ar e	 plur alis tic, 	 man y	 social,	 cultur al,	 and	 r eligious 	
gr oup s	 ha v e	 v er y	 diff er en t	 v alu es	 and	 some times	 c on flict	 with	 each	 other .	 In	 this	
c on t e x t,	 a	 critic al 	 t ask	 is	 t o	 look	 f or	 an	 appr opria t e	 languag e	 of	 dialogue,	 which 	
w ould	 e xpr ess	 cert ain	 neutr ality 	 t o w ar ds	 the	 vie w s	 of	 other s	 while	 a t	 the	 same 	
time 	 shifting 	 one ’ s	 v ie w s.	 This	 ope ns	 up	 a	 space 	 f or 	 an	 ‚ e ng ag e d	 dialog ue 	 mode l‘ ,	
a	 part	 of	 pr esen ting 	 one’ s	 v alues	 and	 belie f s.	 Dialogue	 c annot	 be	 neutr al	 but 	
should	 enc our ag e	 parties	 t o	 eng ag e	 (Str aho vnik	 2017,	 271–274;	 Prija t elj	 2017, 	
304–305).
The premises presented above, formulated in individual parts of the thesis, 
allo w	 f or	 the	 c onclusion	 tha t	 c a t echesis	 fulfils	 a	 signific an t	 function	 in	 shaping	 the 	
dialogic al	 a ttitude	 of	 the	 Chur ch	 t o w ar ds	 the	 w orld.	 It	 is	 both 	 a	 space	 f or	 the	 in -
tr a-chur ch	 dialo gue	 and	 the	 Chur ch’ s	 dialogue	 with	 the	 w orld,	 a	 specific	 ,labor a-
t or y	of	dialogue ‘ .	
Abbreviations
 CT 	–	 John	P aul	II	1979	[Exhort a tion	Ca t echesi	tr adendae].
 DC 	–	 The	 P on tific al	 Counc il	 f or	 Pr omoting	 the	 Ne w	 E v ang eliz a tion	 2020	 [Di-
r ect or y	f or	Ca t echesis].
 DV 	–	 Sec ond	V a tic an	Council	1964	[Dei	v erbum].
 EG 	–	 Fr ancis	2013	[E v ang elii	Gaudium].
 ES 	–	 P aul	VI	1964	[E cclesiam	suam].
 NMI 	–	 John	P aul	II	2001	[No v o	millenio	ineun t e].

719 Mieczysław Polak - Catechesis in the Church’s Dialogue with the World
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