TCCB Religious Education Department

The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops - Religious Education Department (TCCB-RE) develops guidelines for catechesis to provide for the development of Parish Catechetical Leaders (PCLs) and the formation of Parish Catechists. These guidelines from the TCCB-RE are offered to assist arch/dioceses in planning for local certification programs.

At its January 2011 meeting, the Religious Education department developed four goals for the next three to five years. The department presented a proposal to the bishops of the Texas Catholic Conference for their consideration and input.

The bishops recommended the following two goals:

1.  Create guidelines for the development of Parish Catechetical Leaders (PCLs) that:

• provide a strong Catholic Intellectual, Human, Pastoral and Spiritual foundation
• form leaders for the reality of communities that are diverse in many ways; promotes multiple modes of delivery;
• lead to reciprocal recognition of formation of PCLs by the various arch/dioceses of Texas.

2.  Create guidelines for the formation of Parish Catechists that:

• provide a strong Catholic intellectual, human, apostolic and spiritual foundation
• develop skills in catechetical methodology

In response to the recommendation from the bishops, the department produced the following two documents at the January 2014 TCC-RE meeting: Guidelines for the Formation of the Parish Catechetical Leader and Guidelines for the Formation of the Parish Catechist.

These documents are based on The General Directory for Catechesis, The National Directory for Catechesis and The National Certification Standards for Lay Ecclesial Ministers, as created by the Alliance for the Certification of Lay Ecclesial Ministers, which were approved by the USCCB Subcommittee on Certification and Accreditation.