01_CCC

Bible Interpretation / 01_CCC

01_CCC.jpg ISBN: 1-57455-109-4
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
3211 4th Street, N.E.
Washington, DC 20017-1194
www.usccb.org

If you are confused, like I was, as to what the Catholic Church teaches or does not teach, this Catechism of the Catholic Church will help you greatly. You might have heard confusing and contradicting opinions on the Church teaching from the media, from people with certain agenda to promote, from dissent theologians or clergies (yes, it's sad to say but it happens), etc. If you truly want to know what the Catholic Church teaches, then this Catechism is your most trustworthy book that you could have. Together with the Holy Scripture, this Catechism is the book that I use the most to learn about my Catholic faith.

In the words of Pope John Paul the Great:

"The Catechism of the Catholic Church , which I approved 25 June last and the publication of which I today order by virtue of my Apostolic Authority, is a statement of the Church's faith and of Catholic doctrine, attested to or illumined by Sacred Scripture, Apostolic Tradition and the Church's Magisterium. I declare it to be a valid and legitimate instrument for ecclesial communion and a sure norm for teaching the faith. May it serve the renewal to which the Holy Spirit ceaselessly calls the Church of God, the Body of Christ, on her pilgrimage to the undiminished light of the kingdom! "
- Pope John Paul II, FIDEI DEPOSITUM, 11 October 1992.

"With today's promulgation of the Latin typical edition ... the task of composing the Catechism, begun in 1986, is brought to a close ... The Church now has at her disposal this new, authoritative exposition of the one and perennial apostolic faith ... Through the harmonious and complementary efforts of all the ranks of the People of God, may this Catechism be known and shared by everyone, so that the unity in faith whose supreme model and origin is found in the Unity of the Trinity may be strengthened and extended to the ends of the earth."
- Pope John Paul II, Apostolic Letter, Laetamur Magnopere, August 15th 1997.

This Catechism, being the whole teaching of the Catholic Church, could appear to new readers as difficult to understand. If you have never read the Catechism before, you may want to start with the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which is much easier to read.

The Catechism is available in several formats:

Pocket size, softcover, ISBN 0385479670.
Pocket size, hardcover, ISBN 0385508190, Second Edition.
Full size, softcover, ISBN 1574551108, Second Edition.
Full size, hardcover, ISBN 0879739770, Second Edition.

Here are some comments on the second edition from the cover of the full size hardcover version of the Catechism:

The Catechism of the Catholic Church came about as a result of a proposail at a Synod of Bishops in 1985. It appeared first in French in 1992. Subsequently, an English translation was publised in 1994. In September 1997, the Latin typical Edition was approved and promulgated. This second edition in the United States of the English Catechism of the Catholic Church incorporates the modifications that appeared in the Latin text.

Your choice of the Catechism format will depend on how you plan to use the it. If you want it for reading only, then you may want the pocket size that you can carry with you everywhere. The pocket version does not have the comprehensive system of indexation that the full size does.

If you plan to use the Catechism for study, I would recommend the full size version, second edition. Due to extensive use, my full size softcover Catechism is worn out. If I would do it again, I would definitively choose the hardcover version to have a stronger binding and a hardcover that would be more resistant.

As I said earlier, the full size version features a very comprehensive system of indexation, that will facilitate your research. At the end of the full size Catechism, you have 215 pages of index of citations and glossary, that you don't find on the pocket size version. Let's take a few examples of use:

Suppose you want to know what the Catechism teaches about the Gospel of John, chapter 1, verse 1. You would go to the back of the Catechism at page 705 of the Index of Citations of Sacred Scripture. There you'll find that John 1:1 is cited and addressed in paragraphs 241, 291, 454 and 2780 of the Catechism.

Now, let's say you want to know if the Catechism says anything about the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea I (A.D. 325), turn to page 720, at section "Ecumenical Councils" of the Index of Citations. There you will find that paragraph 465 of the Catechism does talk about the Council of Nicaea I.

How about finding out if the Catechism gives you insight into Pope Paul VI's Encyclical Humanae Vitae ? Turn to page 732, section "Pontifical Documents" of the Index of Citations. You read that the Humanae Vitae Encyclical is addressed by paragraphs 2366, 2369, 2370 and 2373 of the Catechism.

The above three examples just show you how powerful the Catechism's system of indexation is. The Index of Citations also covers :

- the Ecclesiastical Documents, page 735,
- the Canon Law, page 736,
- the Liturgy, page 738,
- the Ecclesiastical Writers (the Early Church Fathers), page 741.

This Catechism is truly a masterpiece, a magnificent gift from the Holy Spirit to the Church. I strongly recommend this Catechism to anyone who want to enter deeply into the beauty of the Catholic faith.