The Catechetical programs used in the Diocese of Saint John are created and developed by the National Office of Religious Education and mandated for English speaking Dioceses by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Parish catechetical programs are used in the diocese to support parish based catechesis for children and youth. This involves a partnership with children, youth, families, parish communities and parish catechists.
"The parish is, without doubt, the most important locus in which the Christian community is formed and expressed" General Directory for Catechesis (GDC) #257
"Parents are the primary educators of the faith." GDC #255
"This childhood religious awakening which takes place in the family is irreplaceable". . ."It is deepened all the more when parents comment on the more methodical catechesis which their children later receive in the Christian community and help them to appropriate it" GDC#226