RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) is the modern name for the catechumenate and its surrounding processes, a catechetical system developed in the Early Church to prepare and initiate converts into the Church and largely structured by St. Augustine of Hippo in his De Catechizandis Rudibus. The catechumenate fell into disrepair during the Middle Ages as the Edict of Milan legalized Christianity and future emperors made it the official religion of the empire, which prompted mass conversions and led to a decreased need for such a system. Furthermore, the rise of Infant Baptism led to a fall in adult conversions, for which the catechumenate was established. These factors combined allowed the Christian culture of Europe to evangelize on its own, so that a non-Christian desiring to join the Church would already be very aware of the Church's teachings.

The Second Vatican Council restored the Catechumenate in response to the needs of the modern world and the rise of secularism, which changed the culture from being an authentically Christian one that would automatically evangelize its citizens and renewed the need for a system and process of catechesis for non-Christian adults. In restoring the catechumenate under the RCIA, the Second Vatican Council responded to the real need of modern society.

The RCIA is generally used for any adults seeking to join the Catholic Church, even though it is technically only for catechumens, who are non-Christians converting to Catholicism (non-Catholic Christians converting to Catholicism are known as "RCIA candidates").

The catechumenate is a stage of the RCIA process and therefore the two are not technically identical, but the terms are usually used interchangeably. The RCIA consists of the Pre-Catechumenate (a basic, less formal stage of instruction and venue for inquiries about the faith), the Catechumenate (a formal stage of instruction), Purification and Enlightenment (a spiritual preparation before joining the Church, usually during Lent since most RCIA candidates are welcomed into the Church at Easter), and Mystagogy (a post-baptismal period of ongoing catechesis for new Catholics, who are called neophytes).

Vatican II changed a lot of the customs and traditions of the Catholic Church and its faithful. For example, prior to Vatican II, all masses had to be said in Latin and meat was forbidden to eat on every Friday around the year. When Vatican II met, a lot of more liberal priests, bishops, and cardinals influenced its direction. To some, the outcomes of Vatican II seemed to have 'watered down' the devotion that the common Catholic needed to have to be considered a member of the Church of Christ. Even though Vatican II is now nearly 50 years ended, there remain a few Catholics who are opposed to these changes, even angry to the point of leaving the Church claiming that the Church is no longer in union with Christ. Of course, this can never be true, as the Holy Spirit guides the Church and it carefully guided the Church through Vatican II and will continue to do so in trust and faith through the ages to come.

After any great Ecumenical Council there is always a lot of upheaval. The Council of Trent in the sixteenth century called for the abolition of any liturgy that was not at least two centuries old. There were some people who had their own form of the Mass for four or five generations who lost it due to this. There were many other changes that really upset a lot of people back then, we all get used to things and "things" had not changed much in the last five hundred years. This Council had a lot of additional problems because the 1960's happened at the same time, the devil always uses these times of trouble to instigate people to leave the Church and the Sacraments, knowing that it really doesn't matter the reason, if he can separate them from the Church that Jesus Christ founded, he has won, and we have lost.

Real conservative Catholics are those who realize that as long as they remain in communion with the successor of St. Peter, the vicar of Christ, and listen to him, they will be alright. Real conservative Catholics remain humble and obedient and try to conform their lives to Christ's and not worry about what the Bishops are doing. We will be judged by how we treated other people, if we treated them as our brothers in Christ, we will not be judged by whether the Bishop made the right decision in allowing whatever nonsense is current this year or not.