Abstract

The importance of human contact to both groups and individuals is growing with the current increase in social contacts in the fields of politics, economics, science and technology, culture and religion. In all these fields there is a tendency to give the relations between individuals in groups and larger communities a personal dimension. Modern men aim at social cooperation with little regard for differences of race, background, culture or religious conviction, but they are pertinacious and uncompromising in their straving for individual rights and personal values. This desire to develop and perfect human person.ality, a striking sigu of our time, is markedly visible in spontaneous social contacts. In noble spontaneousness a man's true nature is revealed: he feels free and ready for contact and dialogue, he is more responsible and he recognizes the human dignitiy and the rights of others. These facts and observations ought to be borne in mind by members of communities large and small: civic, religious or catechetic. They should be heeded above all by the educator and catechist if he wants his catechesis to be evangelical and existential, if through Christ, the Church and daily life he wants to bring men into contact with God the Creator, Redeemer and Saviour. Spontaneous social contacts facilitate communication with the young, enliven catechesis and so make the salutary mission of catechesis in the world more fruitful.