Catechism of the Catholic Church: Second Edition

I don't consider myself to be a Catholic or a Christian, however I do enjoy studying religion. As a part of my studies, I wanted to learn about the beliefs and practices of the Catholic Church. This book was excellent for that purpose. The book is well-structured and extremely comprehensive. It is not an easy book to read. It is long and assumes certain knowledge about Christian and Catholic theology. If you are looking for a "Catholicism for Dummies" type book, then this is not the book for you. However, if you want to know what the Catholic Church authorities say is doctrine and practice, and you are willing to put in the work outside of the book researching unfamiliar terminology, concepts, history, scripture, and so on, then you will find this book to be both highly engaging and educational. Beyond its contents, I found the book to be well constructed and in good condition. It is compact, but thick. It feels well bound and sturdy (especially considering its high page count). The font is on the smaller side, but I didn't have trouble reading it. And the paper is thinner than an average book, but thicker than the paper found in many bibles. I fully recommend this book if you want to understand Catholic doctrine, but don't expect it to be your typical non-fiction read.

Get the answers to your questions... I’m 36, grew up Catholic—Mass every Sunday, fish on Fridays, the whole thing—but half the time I had no clue why. Grabbed this Catechism to get a better understanding of Catholic teaching and to understand the bible better. This has 2000 years of Church history and passages from the bible to learn from. It's honestly a great start to understanding your faith. If you never read the bible front to back before... start here. It's a lot easier to understand. Pros: Straight-up answers: Why confession? Why Mary? Why no birth control? Boom—Scripture, history, done. Four sections: Belief, Sacraments, How to live, Prayer. I skip to whatever I’m wondering about. Short paragraphs (like 2-3 sentences). Tons of footnotes—Bible verses, old councils, popes. Feels legit, not made-up. Index in the back is clutch. Look up “divorce” or “hell” and go right to it. Cons: Some parts are thick—like the chapter on grace. I just skim and come back. Zero pictures I just wanted to know my own faith. This book delivers. Took this on my trip to the Philippine and was able to experience my faith around the world in our beautiful universal church. God gave us a Church and our Church gave us both the Bible + Catechism to be more connected to Jesus Christ.

This is a compact edition 7.2 x 4.5 x 1.7 (825 pages) of the larger, more current and easy to use edition 9 x 6.7 x 2 inches (920 pages) by USCCB Publishing. Yet, this is more suitable when travelling and on the road. Nota Bene: This edition was published in April 1995. Although called the Second Edition, this is not therefore the "Catechism of the Catholic Church: revised in accordance with the official Latin text promulgated by Pope John Paul II" which was published in April 2000. In fact, there is a proviso on the copyright page that says, "This translation is subject to the Latin typico edition (editio typica) when it is published." Anyway, there are a number of different good Catechisms that are in print. To name a few, Father John A. Hardon gave us The Catholic Catechism: A Contemporary Catechism of the Teachings of the Catholic Church and The Question & Answer Catholic Catechism . Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl authored the Teaching of Christ and later The Gift of Faith: A Question and Answer Catechism Version of the Teaching of Christ . Better known as the Roman Catechism (Resources for catechetical teachers) , there is the less known version of The Catechism of the Council of Trent , which has a history like no other. Each of these has its unique format. However, examining the Roman Catechism, one finds it is divided into four parts which correspond to the divisions followed by the Church since early Christian times: 1. Catholic belief presented in an explanation of the twelve articles of the Apostles' Creed. 2. The seven sacraments are explained at length, instituted by Christ as a means for the living of the demands of faith. 3. The Ten Commandments in a New Testament setting showing how Christ brought the Old Law to perfection. 4. After a detailed treatise on prayer: its nature, its necessity, and the practice of prayer in general, including an exposition of the seven petitions of the Lord's Prayer. If we look at the new Catechism of the Catholic Church, we notice an apparent likeness in how it corresponds to the format of the Roman Catechism, having four main and similar divisions: 1. The Profession of Faith 2. The Celebration of the Christian Mystery (and the Sacraments) 3. Life in Christ 4. Christian Prayer So, we can say that the new Catechism in many ways is really update of the Roman Catechism and the teachings and practices that Church has clung to throughout the centuries from early Christian times. This gives much credibility to the permanence, and uninterrupted nature of the Church's beliefs, doctrine, and the Christian Life espoused for 2000 years. We could call the Catechism of the Catholic Church a "Defender of the Faith" for what it does. It could also be called "Defender of Scripture" because it cites Sacred Scripture more than anything else, which certainly takes us back to early Christian times. There are also great references to Vatican II Documents, other Council & Papal documents, plus the writings of the Church Fathers and the Saints. You could say that it "teaches with authority!" It is a great reference book, not something the average person will sit and read from cover to cover.

Superbly written - a fantastic resource for understanding the teaching of the Catholic faith. Love it!

This edition is portable and sturdy, and the type is pretty easily readable. The binding is a little stiff at first, but if you gently work it open in various places the binding loosens up quite a bit. It's a good size for toting to Bible study classes, many of which seem to refer to sections in the Catechism. When I purchased this edition it was cheaper than the paperback edition! A good buy.

Every Catholic should have a copy of the Catechism. It keeps one rooted and reminded of the Truths in the Church's deposit of faith and helps serve as guide in the way we lead our everyday lives. Promulgated in 1992, matters of faith and morality are explained in the contest of today's realities and issues as we understand and encounter them. The most important explanations and answers to one's own and other Catholics questions about his Faith are found in this comprehensive volume: Holy Tradition, real presence, doctrine of the BVM, the Paschal Mystery, etc. This CCC is the most complete and the official CCC of the Church. All other new Catechism books are (or should be) derived from this one. A bit heavy reading though. And it might take time before one finishes the entire tome and could be difficult at some portions. The language is a bit difficult especially for ordinary persons like me who have may not have had formal lessons in theology. Many words used are a bit unfamiliar. However, this should not stop anyone from reading it. A solution would be to read the Compendium or any other shorter forms of the Catechism written in simpler language. The CCC can thus be used as a "resource" or "reference" book when one wants more detailed or deeper explanation of things. Every Catholic should have at least read the CCC once as a "refresher" or introductory course. The small-sized Doubleday printing of the 2nd edition is a handy companion to the Roman Daily Missals that provide cross references to the Catechism. It's a good copy to keep on hand for meditation or reflection purposes. (It has enough content to help in meditation.) The binding looks sturdy enough to last a long time and carry along. Convenient enough to carry around and squeeze into tiny spaces in the car. My problem with this printed version is that the texts are too small worse with the footnotes), not at all reader-friendly. The texts are even smaller than the ones in the tiny missal I use. I can hardly see anything when I used it under subdued lighting. The publishers might have missed out some practical aspects of the Catechism's uses. If you need the Catechism for other purposes like a reference for writing or research, this printed version is a bit troublesome to use. Unlike the small missals, it doesn't stay open when you lay it out on your desk for reading. No space for writing side notes for study. Still, I purchased the copy I needed to have a copy of the Catechism (2nd edition); unfortunately, it is the only one available at Amazon when I bought it. If not for this inconvenience and as there are many alternative copies by other publishers, I would have given it 5 stars.

Beautiful and deeper in faith

Have been able to understand a bit better about religion.