Father Peter Fonseca was going a mile a minute as he laid out the
path of apostolic succession to a group of adults huddled in the church
basement at Queen of All Saints on a Wednesday evening. He had a lot to
cover in just one hour.
Catholicism 101 has been growing in
popularity at the Oakville parish. Each week, the associate pastor
presents a different topic on the faith. It’s open to anyone at the
parish, but it’s timed during Parish School of Religion, so parents can
attend while their children are also receiving catechesis.
In
explaining the primacy of St. Peter, the first pope, and the succession
of popes through our current Pope Francis, Father Fonseca told them,
“where does our unity come from — from being Roman Catholic. We can
trace that back through all of his successors.”
The topics covered
are broad — ranging anywhere from papal infallibility to the role of
Mary in the Church — and are meant to be a refresher for adults. “We
were hoping parents recognize, ‘I don’t have anything to do tonight and
I’ve got my kid over at PSR — let me come over and see if I can learn
something,’” Father Fonseca said.
Sara Rushing, a regular attendee
who has three children in the parish school, said, “I feel like I’m
learning something new every time. And sometimes in your faith you go
through these kicks where you question certain things. Right now I’m
trying to better understand the whole aspect of Mary and how she fits
into the Church.”
Amy Herrick, a mother of two in PSR who went to
Catholic grade school and public high school, sees the class as a
convenient opportunity to be refreshed in her understanding of the
faith.
“When you’re younger, you sometimes don’t really understand
it as well,” she said. “And I can tell my kids I’m going to school,
too. They see it’s important for us as adults as well.”