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.
Well then it just sounds like they could have used this money on better things.
I just bought a Baltimore Catechism a few months ago. I really like it. I don't see anything wrong with it. However, the libs in the Church today may find it to be too "rigid" and "Conservative".
Therefore, I ask the Church's Pastors and the Christian faithful to receive this catechism in a spirit of communion and to use it assiduously in fulfilling their mission of proclaiming the faith and calling people to the Gospel life. This catechism is given to them that it may be a sure and authentic reference text for teaching Catholic doctrine and particularly for preparing local catechisms. [. . .] This catechism is not intended to replace the local catechisms duly approved by the ecclesiastical authorities, the diocesan Bishops and the Episcopal Conferences, especially if they have been approved by the Apostolic See. It is meant to encourage and assist in the writing of new local catechisms, which must take into account various situations and cultures, while carefully preserving the unity of faith and fidelity to Catholic doctrine. (John Paul II, Apostolic Constitution Fidei Depositum, Oct. 11, 1992)
Putting the American saints in the catechism was a good idea, in my opinion. No idea how Bernardin got in there, though!
No, I'm not kidding. She was very devout, and was even permitted to keep the Blessed Sacrament in the chapel at the rural place run by the Worker in Upstate New York. While she and Cardinal Spellman agreed on virtually nothing, it was widely rumored that he left her the proceeds from the sale of his very valuable coin collection upon his death to assist in things like the soup line on the Bowery, etc. She was always very obedient and said that if the Cardinal ever told her to stop her work, she would do it immediately. But he never did.
One may disagree with her pacificism or some other aspect of her opinions, but they came out of her faith. Incidentally, this does not apply to the people who came to the Worker, particularly in the 1970s, such as the Berrigans and their groupies, who were motivated by a combination of egoism, exhibitionism and arrogance and, of course, extreme left-wing ideology.
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