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.

Very handy. I’m using it to deepen my understanding when pre-reading for mass, since related CCC sections are listed in the Great Adventure Bible footnotes. It’s also brought much needed clarity to what is - or is not - sinful. It would be probably a profound cover to cover experience too, one day. Already at a great price as far as books go, this is turning into a well used little book and carries higher value than most.

Nice catechism. The older ones are better, but this newer one is for the modern Catholic Church. Great quality.

This digital edition is easy to use and a good value for the price. The content speaks for itself, as a clearly written statement, put with remarkable succinctness, of approved explanations of RC doctrine and practices.

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.

Great informative book

It's better than I expected. It's beautiful and tough. The pages are thick and I'm able to highlight it with no bleed through. With the colors yellow and pink you can hardly tell, but with colors like purple, dark blue, and green you can barely see it. The print is easy to read (good size). I also wanted a small catechism book and it's size is perfect for travel. Great quality for the price.

Easy to read, portable, beautiful and and overall great little reference book. This book is a must-have for Catholics. We are so fortunate as Catholics to have Church with can guide us and provide for us such a comprehensive guide to the Church and our Faith. You will gain so much knowledge just picking this book up and reading it for a few minutes every day, especially with all the resources available to guide us through it.

Beautiful. Arrived so fast. Cant wait to learn more about the Catholic religion! And the size of the book is so unique and pretty, if that makes sense. :)

I'm so happy they have delivered this before the expected delivery date. Hey all, I'm really happy if you're seeing my message from anywhere around the world. I'm a convert catholic from Istanbul, Turkey and I'm honored to be able to recieve the book of 'Catechism of the Catholic Church." I can't wait to learn more about our Lord and savior. There's only two days to Easter, so buona pasqua to everyone, rejoice because by his wounds we were healed! God bless all of you who made sure I recieved it in time, the package came in so fast! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

This second edition volume is an essential addition to any suburban home library for those looking to study church history and teaching. The cross-referencing system and subject index are phenomenally detailed, allowing you to trace specific topics across scripture, papal encyclicals, and early church fathers with absolute ease. The binding is durable enough to withstand daily page-flipping during intensive study sessions.

Einen Katechismus braucht man, wenn man katholisch sozialisiert ist. Auf Deutsch und auf Englisch. Das sind die Sprachen, die ich spreche. Wie bei der Heiligen Schrift auch. Manches kommt oft in der anderen Sprache deutlicher an. Diese Ausgabe ist ein Taschenbuch-Ausgabe. Für den sporadischen Gebrauch perfekt.