RCIA programming in diocese

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
Feb. 14, 2008

While RCIA is unique to each parish throughout the world, Mark Thomason would like to see a few uniform qualities in the RCIA programs in the Diocese of Sioux City.

"One of the major parts of RCIA is that it is very independent," said Mark Thomason, director of catechesis, evangelization and RCIA for the Diocese of Sioux City. "There is no centralization in RCIA."

He has visited a few RCIA programs in the diocese and hopes to visit more in the future.

"On one side, I would like to see a growth in the universal norms as far as diocesan elements, but those elements always need to be put together in a way that fits the particular needs of the community and the person themselves," said Thomason. "That can only be done by the pastors and the great work they are doing."

He compared it to a recipe that needs the essential ingredients, but they can be put into the bowl in a different order and still produce the same end result.

"The formal elements of RCIA as far as what we require on the diocesan level are still in review and experimentation," said Thomason. "The basics are a sound knowledge of faith, profession of beliefs in the creed and all the parts of the creed and a firm allegiance to the holy mother church."

There are other parts of RCIA that are being looked at and things under review.

He said that within two to five years 50 percent of people who go through RCIA fall back into the pattern of not going to church.

"That can be attributed to a lot of things," said Thomason. "There are a lot of factors that contribute to people leaving the church - not joining for the right reasons, joining through marriage. That is a fact."

He commented that he thinks sponsors could take a deeper role in RCIA and there is a need for them to follow up with the converts.

"We need to take the sacraments and look at them in a nuptial way, in my opinion. A sacrament should be a marriage, a lifetime - permanent and committed," said Thomason. "It is hard to stick with it. We don't believe in divorce."

He pointed out that nationally one of the flaws of RCIA is that it becomes adult catechesis.

"So often you have volunteers and sponsors say I learned so much about my faith," said Thomason. "That is awesome, but part of RCIA, as I see it, read it and learn it, needs to be an undoing. If you are a Lutheran, you maybe don't know what Luther thought. I think there needs to be very pointed questions and digging into the truth."

He added that there needs to be a conversion. The converts need to learn about their previous religion and how that is different from being Catholic.

"I have heard the comment that we are like Lutheranism but we have a pope now. There are fundamental problems with that attitude," said Thomason. "We need to say what were you? There needs to be follow up on the differences."

What he would like to see, based on what he has read and the ideas about RCIA, the process leading up to the sacrament to be an "undoing and a purifying. The process after the sacrament should be the growing into it."

"The essential question that needs to be asked is a question of faith. This is a question in all catechesis, in all of our lives. Faith and conversion isn't just one moment or one day or when the bishop puts the oil on your face. Conversion is every day," said Thomason. "It is an everyday process. It can really lead people to holiness. Converts are some of our greatest assets. They bring to us something that we sometimes forget."