"We can say of catechesis, as well as of evangelization in general, that it is called to bring the power of the Gospel into the very heart of culture and cultures". 112CT 53. The principles governing the adaptation and inculturation of catechesis have already been discussed. 113Cf. Part II, chap. 1. It suffices to reaffirm that the catechetical discourse has as its necessary and eminent guide "the rule of faith", illuminated by the Magisterium of the Church and further investigated by theology. It must always be remembered that the history of catechesis, particularly in the patristic period, from several perspectives, is the history of the inculturation of the faith, and as such it merits careful study and meditation. It is, at the same time, an open-ended history which will continue to require long periods of ongoing assimilation of the Gospel. In this chapter, some methodological directions will be expounded concerning this task, as demanding as it is necessary, ever easy and open to the risks of syncretism and other misunderstandings. It can indeed be said on this subject, which is particularly important today, that there exists a need for greater systematic and universal reflection on catechetical experience. Duties of catechesis for inculturation of the faith 114CT 53.
These duties form an organic whole and are briefly expressed as follows: – to know in depth the culture of persons and the extent of its penetration into their lives; – to recognize a cultural dimension in the Gospel itself, while affirming, on the one hand, that this does not spring from some human cultural humus, and recognizing, on the other, that the Gospel cannot be isolated from the cultures in which it was initially inserted and in which it has found expression through the centuries; – to proclaim the profound change, the conversion, which the Gospel, as a "transforming and regenerating" 115Cf. CT 53. force works in culture; – to witness to the transcendence and the non-exhaustion of the Gospel with regard to culture, while at the same time discerning those seeds of the Gospel which may be present in culture; – to promote a new expression of the Gospel in accordance with evangelized culture, looking to a language of the faith which is the common patrimony of the faithful and thus a fundamental element of communion; – To maintain integrally the content of the faith and esure that the doctrinal formulations of tradition are explained and illustrated, while taking into account the cultural and historical circumstaces of those being instructed, and to avoid defacing or falsifying the contents.