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And for catechism teachers. The Holy Father says, in presenting the Catechism:This catechism is not intended to replace the local catechisms duly approved by ecclesiastical authorities, the diocesan bishops, and episcopal conferences, especially those that have received approval of the Holy See. It is intended to encourage and assist in the writing of new local catechisms which take into account the different situations and cultures, but which carefully guard the unity of faith and fidelity to Catholic doctrine.This does not mean that the new catechism is not and should not be accessible to all the faithful. As a matter of fact, I would urge all to go to your Catholic bookstore and procure a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, to read it carefully, to study it, and let it be along with Sacred Scripture itself, a great source of nourishment for your Catholic beliefs, establishing and helping you to intellectualize and conceptualize on a more secure basis what the Lord reveals and teaches us in and through His Catholic Church. It is not an exclusive book for bishops, priests, and catechists, although they are the focus of the publication.There is no doubt that the Church intends the Catechism of the Catholic Church to be the criterion against which local catechisms must be judged and understood.Characteristics of the CatechismWhat are the characteristics of the new Catechism of the Catholic Church? As I mentioned before, it is structured in the basic and traditional catechetical way, that is, the Creed, Sacraments, Commandments, and Prayer. Archbishop Christoph von Schoenborn, who is the principal editor of the Catechism, which in its original language was in French, but which in its official text is to be in Latin, sets down several characteristics that mark this catechetical effort at this time in the Church's

Sacraments. The third part of the catechism concerns the Faith working through love as it is expressed in Christian life, that is, what we must not only believe and celebrate, but what we must do in order to be saved, and the basis of this is the Decalogue or the Ten Commandments. The final part of the Catechism's structure is about how we are related in our belief, our celebration, and our action to God Himself, and this is based on prayer. The prayer structure that is used for this final section of the Catechism is the Our Father.Thirty-nine percent of the text of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is devoted to the Creed, twenty-three percent is devoted to the Sacraments, twenty-seven percent to the Commandments, and eleven percent to Prayer.The doctrines of the Catholic Church are founded and rooted in God, Who is absolutely perfect and totally unchangeable. Consequently, the Catholic Faith is, as St. Jude tells us in the Bible, that which is "delivered once and for all to the saints" so there is a completely unchangeable element in the Catholic Faith.Contrary to what popular press reports have sometimes indicated, the Catechism is not a revision of the Faith or some soft of list of new sins that have recently been discovered and invented. Rather, the Catechism does serve the purpose of applying the unchangeable Catholic Faith in its basic and essential elements to the new conditions and situations of our world.The new Catechism of the Catholic Church is what would be called in old parlance a major catechism or larger catechism. This kind of greater catechism is not meant to be a catechetical textbook to be put in the hands of children and ordinary people on a regular basis. It is intended for bishops, for priests,

Judged orthodox and Catholic, or something less and other.In Catechesi Tradendae, as well as in the new Catechism, our Holy Father is particularly concerned that the Faith be presented in its integrity and its fullness. Beauty and splendor are part of the Faith, but the beauty and splendor of the Faith are seriously marred if the Faith is not presented as an organic whole. To leave out aspects of our Catholic belief and practice because they may not be appealing to certain areas of contemporary society is a grave disservice to our fellow human beings. This is why those charged in a special way with passing on the Faith (the hierarchy of the Church- bishops and their prime collaborators, the priests and deacons-and then, all those who work in the field of education, especially parents, teachers, catechists and religious educators) would be doing a serious disservice to their vocation were they to fall short of an integral presentation of the Faith.From constant discourses, it is clear that the Holy Father considers the Catechism of the Catholic Church to be in many ways the primary work for which his pontificate will be noted in history. He considers the Catechism to be a gift to the Church, to be an ecclesiastical event, without comparison, that manifests the Church in her first divine mark, which is to say, her oneness. The Church, we know, is one in doctrine as well as one in worship and government. It is the Catechism of the Catholic Church which will enable her to shine forth in her unity with renewed splendor and beauty.The Holy Father writes, in introducing the new Catechism of the Catholic Church, that it is a:...sure and authentic source book for the teaching of Catholic doctrine, especially for the composition of local catechisms. It

To His Church and which He fulfills in every age."This is why the Pope says, "The new Catechism of the Catholic Church is the Church itself calling on us to entrust to young Catholics once more the deposit that is their rightful inheritance."The Usefulness of the CatechismNow, the new Catechism of the Catholic Church is a book that should be on the shelf of every Catholic family that wants to be current in ecclesiastical matters. Of course, it is not the kind of book with which one curls up on a cold winter night and reads in one or two sittings. It is a book of reference, and a book that requires a considerable amount of thought and discussion.The way the Catechism is arranged is particularly useful because at the end of each significant section, there is a brief summary of that section, in short, encapsulated statements. This enables the larger text to be somewhat compressed and synthesized. Obviously, it would be a loss simply to refer to these brief summaries at the end of each chapter rather than to the fullness of the Catechism itself, which has an incredibly rich content.Owning and using a copy of the new Catechism will enable an educated Catholic to obtain once more a grasp of the Faith, and an authentic interpretation of Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and I might add, the teaching of the Second Vatican Council. We all know quite well that not only Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, but the teachings of the Council itself have been subject to considerable distortion, mutilation, and even serious misinterpretations by many people, some with malicious and some with benign intention.The Catechism will enable one to look very carefully at questionable expositions of the Faith with a measuring rod by which such expositions can be

The Catechism of the Catholic Church reads "often the texts of Sacred Scripture are not quoted literally but merely indicated as a reference ('Cf.') in the footnotes. For a deeper understanding of those passages, the reader should go to the texts themselves. These Biblical references are a working tool for catechesis."This Companion to the Catechism of the Catholic Church Book of References contains all the passages of Sacred Scripture referred to in the Catechism arranged according to the paragraphs in which the references are made.But that is only a beginning. The Catechism also refers to conciliar texts, papal documents, writings of the Fathers and of the Saints. There are more than 3,600 of these references extending from the earliest credal formulations of the ancient Church to the documents of Vatican II and beyond to the magisterial teaching of Pope John Paul II. The Book of References includes all the texts referred to arranged, along with the Scripture passages, according to the paragraphs of the Catechism in which they are referred.This Book of References is a valuable instrument in teaching, understanding, and implementing the Catechism. It is a handy one-volume reference library for use with the Catechism.