WHY CATHOLIC? Frequently Asked Questions

Question 1: Is there a great benefit to meeting in peoples' homes, rather than meeting at the parish?
 There is some benefit in that people are more comfortable in the homes and will experience church in a more intimate way.  Also people are given a chance to be leaders who might otherwise not get a chance.  And some people might feel freer to express themselves, to share more honesty, in an informal setting.

Question 2: At the actual meetings that begin in October, where do we get the music for the opening songs? Is this on a CD, or do we bring a songbook from church and sing from that?
There is a CD available, but it costs extra, $12.95.  Otherwise the group can just use a songbook.    

Question 3: Why Catholic? is based on the Catechism. Our parish kit included a copy of the red soft cover United States Catholic Catechism for Adults.  The blue participant's book #1 has bold numerical references to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Which one does the Why Catholic? program plan to use as a reference?
The primary reference is the Catechism of the Catholic Church, but the US Catholic Catechism is easier to read for adults so it is also referenced.  There is a new revised edition of the participant booklet for the first year that references the US Catechism more.  Originally, the booklet was printed before the US Catechism was published.

Question 4: Does every participant need one or the other catechism?
It is not necessary for each participant to have a Catechism, but it would be useful for further study and learning.  We have ordered 500 copies of the US Catechism and will be selling them to parishes for $20..a $5 discount per book. 

Question 5: Does every participant need to bring a Bible to the sessions? Does every participant need to use the same version of the Bible?
From what I can see, the Bible won’t be used as much in the sessions.  There is one scripture reading in each session.  But since the text of the reading is not in the booklets,  it is not necessary, but good to encourage people to bring the Bible in order to read along.  It is always great to see a Catholic carrying a Bible.  It is helpful if the versions are the same, but not necessary.

Question 6: Here are the books I think I will need, as a small community leader.
Blue participant's book The Profession of Faith: We Believe
United States Catholic Catechism for Adults
Small Community Leader Guide for Why Catholic? A Formation Resource
Prayer Time Cycle: Faith Sharing Reflections on the Sunday Gospels
Are these the books you'd recommend for small community leaders?
I do recommend the first two, Sister Eileen will be bringing a supply of those books to the training.  They can be ordered at that time.  The Prayer Time book is optional.

Question 7: I could not get the Invitation Video to Why Catholic? to open on our home computer. Maybe I was doing something wrong. Wonder if anyone else has had this problem.
It may be a DVD.  Try it on a DVD player to see if it works or the DVD component  of your computer.

Question 8: What portion of the cost of the program do the participants ordinarily bear?
In terms of cost, usually the participants would pay for their booklets which will cost them $10.00 per year.  The RENEW staff recommends that they pay for the booklets themselves.  It increases commitment to the program, if they invest something themselves.