Posted on 07/26/2006 3:18:25 PM PDT by NYer
The first official catechism produced by the United States Catholic Bishops since the creation of the Baltimore Catechism, will be available this week.
The United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, available from USCCB Publishing, is an adaptation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church promulgated by Pope John Paul II in 1992.
At that time, the Pope urged that local catechisms be developed to better address specific situations and cultural realities in different countries. This catechism reports to do just that.
Unlike the Baltimore Catechism with its 421 questions and answers, the new catechism is aimed specifically at adults and is said to promote a command of Catholic faith, prayer life, and morals through a more accessible writing style and numerous features.
The United States Catholic Catechism for Adults was six years in the making. It was authorized by the U.S. bishops in June 2000 and, prior to publication, went through three national consultations and drafts. The adult catechism was approved overwhelmingly by the bishops at their November 2004 general meeting and received the necessary recognitio from the Holy See in November of 2005.
Each chapter includes a story or lesson of faith. It draws a relationship between Catholic teaching and culture, offers questions for discussion and suggestions for meditation and prayer. It also includes related doctrinal statements.
The Preface and each of the 36 chapters opens with a story about a saint, a biblical figure, or other exemplary Catholic - most of them American - including Archbishop John Carroll, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Rose Hawthorne Lathrop, John Boyle O’Reilly, Sr. Thea Bowman, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, Dorothy Day, Cesar Chavez; St. Katherine Drexel, and Archbishop Fulton Sheen.
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I think I'll stay with the Roman version, and spare myself the base alloy of Amchurch modernism.
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Why would you believe that the new American version of the catechism is going to be at odds or be any less than the Roman version? If they are both Roman Catholic and approved as such by the church, I would think there would be 100% agreement in all areas.
I see you share my dubious thoughts on this. I see that there are comments about the Bishops approval, but was it approved by the Vatican? THAT will be the standard on which I base my decision on whether or not to purchase it.
I do not trust the USCCB. The Roman Catholic bishops are in the minority.
**approved by the Vatican? **
Agree with you here!!
Lilllabettt wrote: "I've never seen Cesar Chavez on a list of "exemplary Catholics" before. Perhaps he was. But I associate him with zeal for leftist politics, not zeal for the faith." Same for Dorothy Day. The inclusion of these two is a cause of concern for me. I have zero faith in the USCCB.
Bernardin? Cesar Chavez? Aggh.
Dorothy Day, whom I knew personally, was actually an extremely devout Catholic. She was a pacifist and had a sort of utopian-agrarian-community ideal, not unlike Chesterton and many other Catholic intellectuals of her time and a little before. Before becoming a Catholic, she had been a Communist, and the Worker unfortunately became a magnet for all sorts of flakes during the Vietnam War (think Berrigan Brothers). But she herself was not a flake, was enormously, traditionally pious and had a great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.
Agree with you here!!
This is from the USCCB website:
The adult catechism was approved overwhelmingly by the bishops at their November, 2004 general meeting and received the necessary recognitio from the Holy See in November of 2005.
United States Catholic Catechism for Adults Available July 31
I don't understand why we just can't go with the Roman one. Why do we need another one?
Yikes. How do you think they stay in power if they cause this kind of reaction by a lay Roman Catholic? Don't you think it would get back to Rome and they would do something about it? They serve at the appointment of the Pope, I believe.
We be not smart enough for big book.
Considering how many millions of copies of the Catechism have been purchased, I wonder if there is much of a market for this abbreviated version.
I like the Catechism.
Oh, is that it? LOL!Considering how many millions of copies of the Catechism have been purchased, I wonder if there is much of a market for this abbreviated version.
Not in my plans to buy one. I'm with you, I like the one I already have.
Excuse my lousy editing on last post to you.
There was nothing wrong with the Baltimore Catechism. The US did not need a new catechism. The USCCB just wanted to distract everyone from their lack of backbone while wasting more $$ from the faithful.
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