I teach theology. In my experience, the large, green, second edition is worth buying even if you have another edition. It alone contains a glossary of terms that richly pulls together many pages of text into 20 words to give a deep, complete understanding at a quick glance. If you intend to use the book more than two or three times a month, I strongly recommend the hard cover edition because the paperback binding begins to fail under frequent usage.

Peace be with you!
A Sinner

This book is a must have in any Catholics home library. It is definitely reader friendly!

As a very minimum, this book should be in every Catholic home, next to the Holy Bible. No more questions concerning the Catholic Faith, it's foundation and beliefs. Excellent teaching tool, and great reference for non-Catholics interested in researching Catholic beliefs, and the Church's foundation.

This book give you information on the practices of the catholic church and where the ideas come from. While it does not address the laws and rules, it does give the solid backboane to the faith. It has biblical referance, historical notes and reference to other document which will be helpful to the reader.

I found this book too wordy. It is more a trade book than one for a lay person who wants quick explanations.

I was baptised Catholic but not raised in the faith, or any other. I bought this book to learn about what it meant to be Catholic and what these believers stood for, as an institution.

It's an extremely well-written book, for one. It has an amazingly intricate structure, divided between parts, sections, chapters, articles, etc., and every paragraph is numbered, which makes it really easy to refer to. The table of contents is extensive and so you can find whatever topic you want in a relatively short time.

Most of the time I found this book to be both concise and clear. Every time something is referred to or quoted, you get a note that tells you where this is from. There's an extensive glossary at the end of the book which is mighty useful for people who aren't used to the jargon and other theological concepts, as well as all things Catholic and Christian.

The CCC is quite a big book, nearing the 1000 pages,but I figure its main usage isn't in a cover to cover reading like I did, but more like a guide to refer to about any given topic one may have. Despite the length, I never got bored, even though the point of the CCC isn't about thrilling its reader, it was still well written enough to sustain my attention from page 1 to the end.

The paper quality is absolutely awesome and the printing of the letters is faultless. The hardcover is a model of texture and all in all, it's a classy book on all aspects.

Definitely a standard book for anyone's knowledge of the Catholic faith.

This book answered all of my questions when I converted to Catholicism two years ago. Every Catholic should read this. It's well-written, understandable, and enjoyable.

This book is a must have for any Catholic. If you want to read it online you can go the Vatican's own web site and read it or print it out. However, having a copy of your own that is well made and clearly printed is a must for any Catholic. Why? It is because most Catholics have no idea where to go to get a full document of the stated beliefs of the Catholic religion. Well, my friend, this is it! Finally we have the authoritative teachings of the Catholic Church written down in one large book. That's what this book is. It has taken a long time for this document to come about. It was fought for and Pope John Paul the second finally made it happen.

I will warn you, it is very long and very wordy. It is a scholarly work to say the least. If you have ever read the works of St. Thomas Aquinas then you will have some idea of what caliber this book is. It is not a question and answer session as many other books are. Instead, this book takes you from step one to step 100 in standard book format so that it is as clear as possible given the complexity of the subject matter. It will take you some time to read, at least it is me. But it was worth every penny.

If you want to know more about being a Catholic then definitely get this book and read it. If you are running a Catechism class or teaching young ones then as well get this book and use it. That's why it was made. This book was created to teach you what we as Catholics believe. It is worth gold. Use it in conjunction with the Bible.

Great little book. It includes everything you need to know, right there.

Love it.

The book was in excellent condition. It was exactly what I expected.

Has answered many of my questions. Very helpful with teaching a confirmation class.

You get wonderfully lost 'in' this Big Green Book - in the wonder of it all - when you start to look up something in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. My husband and I were Converts and, although we knew the Bible very, very well when we came into full-Communion in the Catholic Church, we still had a lot to learn. We both had our own copies of the Big Green Book (this one) as well as several copies of the small light weight white one which went into our book bags. However, this larger Catechism has everything - the best foot notes and an excellent Glossary. The Glossary was written by former Archbishop William Levada, of the Archdioceses of San Francisco Agana, who is now William Cardinal Joseph Levada, the Prefect of the Congregation of the Faith. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is to promote and safeguard the doctrine on the faith and morals throughout the Catholic world - the former role of our new Pope Benedict XVI. Cardinal Levada was the only American to work on the new Catechism.

My husband always called the Big Green Book a page-turner as he just could not stop reading. He would pick up the book to look up one thing and keep reading for hours.

The Amazon price is so amazingly low and you will find it is a great gift. Catholics who feel they must defend their faith - which has lasted over 2,000 years - or just want to learn more about what they believe - will want to own this book. Terrence J. Sexton commented in his review of this Catechism, one of the best comments of all: "Fulton Sheen once wrote that there are only a handful of Americans who hate the Catholic Church, though there are millions who hate what they think the Church is." I have discovered that many cradle Catholics say they came from a very poorly Catechized time and they, too, need and appreciate this book. Truth, and that is Truth with a capital "T" is so clear in this Catechism and topics are all easy to locate.

We, unlike any other Christian group, have the Authority of the Church. It is wonderful to know What we Believe and Why we Believe It.

You get wonderfully lost 'in' this Big Green Book - in the wonder of it all - when you start to look up something in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. My husband and I were Converts and, although we knew the Bible very, very well when we came into full-Communion in the Catholic Church, we still had a lot to learn. We both had our own copies of the Big Green Book (this one) as well as several copies of the small light weight white one which went into our book bags. However, this larger Catechism has everything - the best foot notes and an excellent Glossary. The Glossary was written by former Archbishop William Levada, of the Archdioceses of San Francisco Agana, who is now William Cardinal Joseph Levada, the Prefect of the Congregation of the Faith. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is to promote and safeguard the doctrine on the faith and morals throughout the Catholic world - the former role of our new Pope Benedict XVI. Cardinal Levada was the only American to work on the new Catechism.

My husband always called the Big Green Book a page-turner as he just could not stop reading. He would pick up the book to look up one thing and keep reading for hours.

The Amazon price is so amazingly low and you will find it is a great gift. Catholics who feel they must defend their faith - which has lasted over 2,000 years - or just want to learn more about what they believe - will want to own this book. Terrence J. Sexton commented in his review of this Catechism, one of the best comments of all: "Fulton Sheen once wrote that there are only a handful of Americans who hate the Catholic Church, though there are millions who hate what they think the Church is." I have discovered that many cradle Catholics say they came from a very poorly Catechized time and they, too, need and appreciate this book. Truth, and that is Truth with a capital "T" is so clear in this Catechism and topics are all easy to locate.

We, unlike any other Christian group, have the Authority of the Church. It is wonderful to know What we Believe and Why we Believe It.

This great book is the sure norm for Catholic belief and teaching, which is great in this age of heterodoxy.

This is certainly a hard book to review. Its not a book that fits into many recognizable categories. But, I will say that anytime I have a question about my own catholic Faith this book is always a fantastic place to start. From what the Catholic Church teaches, to why, this is a must have for all Catholics.

This Review is honest and i must say that if one has a hard time reading the Bible then get this Awesome Catechism book. Everything that you read here is important, but one aspect that i will focus on is on (Prayer). It is important that one Prays to The Son of God: Jesus Christ. He is Salvation. Please only place your trust in Jesus Christ, always, even when reading this book. Don't pray to saints nor to anyone but to Jesus Christ-always and forever.
Other books that i recommend to you are the following:

1.The way to Christ by Pope John Paul the Second.
2.Satan is alive adn well on this planet earth by Hal Lindsey
3. Books on Pastor John Hagee
4. Christian Cartoon: Flying House. (The flying house is a beautiful cartoon that kids and adults will love.)
5. How to avoid Hell by Friar Schouppe(very important book for Salvation).
6. Passion of the Christ (Movie)
7. KJV: King James Bible Version Christian Bible(in case you want to get the item as well and have it along with the Catechism.)
8. Kids Bible By Anne DeGraaf. (Very approachable for anyone-teen and adult-who need introduction to Christianity,but who are novices to the field,but who seek Christ God.)

***i am a Christian, and i am working for Salvation but here are some steps for you to follow: 1. Follow the Ten Commandments, 2.Always Pray to Christ, the poor, the kids, the elders, the dead, the homeless, people mentioned in the obituaries(the newspaper), and your parents. 3. Stressing once again: Prayer. Anyone can pray. It is easy. If you don't know many prayers, learn Our Father, and say that with feeling everytime you pray it and see and feel the inner peace in your life. I would say to pray Our Father like 20 times a day....you can take an hour of your life and pray it.

Your last ticket for Eternal salvation is for one not to take the mark of the beast. Reject the mark and have Eternal salvation with the Lord. Your maker.

All books are recommended, even this Catechism book. Christ Loves You so reject Sin. Prepare for Rapture!

Let Christ God be your Pilot for Eternal Salvation.

I have this Green Catechism book and it really is not bad at all but read it so you can get a great picture as to what the Church says but always place more trust to the King James Version Bible, and Follow Christ. Christ is God!

Of everything that came out of the twenty-six years of John Paul II's pontificate, I believe this book is the most important and will have the most lasting impact.

I love how this expertly-composed book removed so much of the confrontation-inducing confusion about Church doctrine and made teachings clear. This is a sort of "rule book" for the game of Catholic life. Anyone within or outside the faith can easily find answers to questions about what Catholicism teaches is right and wrong. In the process this admirably useful and straightforward work can readily dispel many persistant myths about the world's largest and most frequently misunderstood religion. I joked to friends in high school, about the time this first revision of catechism in 400 years came out, that unless we read this book "how are we going to know what we should stop doing?" But there's much more than that to the catechism. This is akin to a written constitution for a religion founded in stages of revelation and fits of growth spurts that lasted in some cases for centuries. Is it the all-time final word on Catholic beliefs? Probably not. But for this present age it is exactly the document needed for the education of the world in which the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church resides.

"If God...the creator of the ordered...world, cares for his creatures, why does EVIL exist? To this question, as pressing as it is unavoidable and as painful as it is mysterious, no quick answer will suffice. [...] There is not a single aspect of the Christian message that is not in part an answer to the question of evil." [CCC, Part One, Paragraph 309.]

Here it is, the Catholic synthesis of that answer: an absorbing, utterly monumental one. This book, more than anything else, constitutes the late pope John Paul II's real legacy to the world: an immensely important contribution to man's life. Written in a positive but unambiguous tone, both scholarly and peaceful, this Catechism will have an epochal influence, make no mistake. Much nonsense has been said and written about what Catholics believe, not least by Catholics themselves. This book thows light into the real interest of this millenary institution, the Christian church. Real bread to eat.

PART ONE, _The Profession of Faith_, is a clear, nuanced guide to Revelation and Dogma, written in non-contentious, non-apologetic, clear prose.

PART TWO, _The Celebration of the Christian Mystery_, is a treatise on the life of the sacraments, the church's sacred actions.

Part Three, LIFE IN CHRIST, is an indispensable guide to Christian Living-ascesis-whilst Part Four, CHRISTIAN PRAYER, would, bound by itself, constitute a classic on spirituality.

This is a book to live, have a dialog, with.

The book provides great quotes very good book to use If your converting or for the catholic society, I loved it. You'll love it. It explains the bible out in detailed scripture of you

I would give it 5 stars because it's a good reference book to the Catholic faith but could be organized a little easier for the average person.

This book has received severe criticism for several quite justifiable reasons. It presents the Catholic faith as monolithic and inflexible, and draws no distinctions between those things that must be believed and those things that the magisterium would like to be believed. That being said, it is an excellent source for learning what the official Catholic stance is on a number of issues-though often with very little explanation of why that stance is taken.

Have you ever had the opportunity to share your religious views with other, but you don't know where to start? This book is a perfect example on how 2,000 years of philosophy & theology have culminated into a comprehensive thesis on what we ask when we pray and, thus, the mysteries of our faith. Our own attitudes toward the truth can greatly benefit from these wise pages. Overall, it is a valiant effort and may it please God.

Being a Protestant, yet deeply respectful and, at the same time, curious about the Catholic Church, I was looking to learn more about Her. Regrettably, there are many misguided people out there who have very one-sided, skewed, and often just plain incorrect views of the Catholic Church. Sometimes, as a Protestant who just didn't know any better, it was difficult for me to seperate the fact from the fiction.

That's where this book came in. I found that if you want answers on something, go to the source. And the Catechism of the Catholic Church is just the source I needed. I found this book extremely useful in learning exactly what the Catholic Church believed without all that outsider bias.

For anyone outside the Catholic faith who really wants to know more true, bare facts about what it is to be Catholic and hold Catholic beliefs, this is book is a great start.

Unbelievable. As a lifetime Catholic for 43+ years and just made my spouse recently convert, I wanted to purchase a book that can tell us about the Roman Catholic faith in simple words. Unfortunately, this book is a huge turnoff and extremely difficult to read and comprehend. I do not think I can find any text in this book that I can understand. I would strongly advise purchasing this 'informative' book on the Catholic Church. I wish I can find a book that is more to my liking.

This is the Catechism. What you see is what you get. Before I bought this book, I thought I might convert to Catholicism, but after reading a considerable portion of it, I have decided not to convert. Too much of Catholic doctrine has no Scriptural authority, even in the Apocrypha. I will, however, continue to refer to this important book.

If you ever wanted to know what the Church teaches and why, you can't go wrong with this new edition of the catechism. The catechism is written in a coincise and easy-to-understand manner making even the most perplexing doctrines and moral stances understandable to everyone from the layman to the advanced theologian. While it is not a thorough apologia for any of the topics mentioned, it provides a good foundation for anyone, Catholic or otherwise, to understand church teachings.

This book sets forth the official moral teachings of the first and biggest Christian Church. It organizes the teachings in accordance with the Nicene Creed and the Ten Commandments. The table of contents and index are extremely helpful in assisting one to find a particular concept.

The Catechism succinctly explains the Catholic faith. All Christians can benefit from a reading of the Catechism of the Catholic Church because is accurately and forthrightly explains much of the dogma that all Christians share (i.e., Trinity, Divinity of Christ).

The Catechism is broken down largely into three categories. They are the Creed (both Nicene and Apostles), the Ten Commandments and prayer. Another useful reason to read the Catechism if you are Catholic is because you will learn what your faith teaches you. The index is very easy to use and scripture citations are plentiful.

If you are not Catholic, you can actually find out from the source what the Catholic Church teaches. This may be very helpful in resolving some very common misconceptions often held about the Catholic faith.

The Catechism is easy to read. I would recommend using the index and reading it topically rather from beginning to end. Take small portions at a time because the reading can be a bit dense at time. If you read to fast in order to "get through" it you will missing some good stuff.

The Catechism comes very highly recommended.

It's such an honor to be given the chance to learn about His beautiful Church, which, with 2000 years of the Holy Spirit's guidance, has grown to be our taste of heaven here on earth. In learning more about Him and His ways(through the Catechism), I have been able to grow in love and discipline. I love this book and recommend it to all! God bless.

Excellent! Definitive! Its all right here. No study of the Catholic faith could possibly be complete without this wonderful book. It is definately the next most important book after the Bible.

Want to learn about The Most Significant Event in the Catholic Church in the past several hundred years; Vatican Two? Get another book. The Cathechism of the Catholic Church doesnt even footnote this monumental change.

Extremely difficult to read. This is a reference book...a dictionary where nearly every sentence contains arcane, codified words or phrases. I bought it for my children and hid it in embarrassment for my church leadership.

The high-brow, cluttered editorial style of this book is regretable and very off-putting. My wife joked it was ghost written by William F. Buckley on double martinis.

There is no author listed. I dont wonder why.

As someone who has studied the Catholic faith, both as a believer and a doubter I can tell you that this book is a necessary part of Catholic reading. It gives you all the principles behind the rules, and the theological basis for Catholic beliefs. For someone who is not Catholic, the book makes a good introduction to what Catholics really believe, as well as St. Thomas Aquinas. I gave this book a slightly lower rating only because I am no longer convinced of the whole truth of the Catholic faith. Don't let that disturb you. If you're Catholic and want to live the faith you need this.

Straightforward and easy reading, while attending RCIA I was handed this book as a guide and more than a year later I am still always reading it, over and over again! It is a primer for new Catholics, and a book that Cradle Catholics should have on thier bookshelf. One of the best resources for Roman Catholics to know more about thier Church and thier faith. A must have!

This book spells out the beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church. Be sure and go to the source of the Catholic faith by reading what the Bishops and Popes actually profess.

This book takes the Apostle's Creed and the sacraments as a foundation and builds the beliefs of the Catholic faith around them. The Catechism uses the Bible, the Church Fathers, the Doctors of the Church and Vatican II to detail out the real facts of the Catholic Church.

Get this, read it and decide for yourself!

Also, the leather binding and the pages are of high quality. The book is a value and when you get it you will wonder why it does not cost 3 times more!

If "The Catechism of the Catholic Church" had been less like the Bible, I think it could have been insightful and educational. I wanted badly to learn more about my faith, but I had a difficult time understanding all the rhetoric, the talking in circles, the vague and confusing explanations. Plain English is what this book needs. There were many parts that intrigued me, and many parts I found beautifully written, but it sure was hard to follow for the most part and I think it could have been made a lot easier for the lay person with some simple explanations. So far, the best I have learned about my faith is in church. This book will more than likely confuse the person trying to learn about this beautiful faith.

After reading The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Catholicism, I wanted to figure out a few more things and go further in depth on a lot of topics. I know there were plenty of other deeper works out there, but I wanted to go straight to the proverbial horse's mouth. I was expecting a very difficult read and even tougher scholarly language. To my delightful surprise, the book is accessible and very readable. You really need this book if you want to have a solid reference book on Catholicism. Take my word for it - you won't end up flipping through pages of jargon, but instead you'll find yourself curiously reading about the Church's teachings and the reasons for them.

This is it. Usually, the Roman Catholic church relies on local or regional definitions of the complete Faith. Every several hundred years, she pulls it together into something universal. We happen to have lived in a time when the world can enjoy a contemporary text that distills and elucidates Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition within the context of the Magesterium (teaching authority of the church via the bishops). Every Roman Catholic should have this book. Everyone else who wonders what Roman Catholicism is about should get a copy. I finally got through my first reading of this Catechism, and am getting the first dark glimpse of the Big Catholic Picture. I'm looking forward to going through it again and again. The cross-referencing to Sacred Scripture, Councils, etc. is phenomenal.

When those questions come up for Catholics about just why do we do thus-and-so on Sunday, what do we believe, etc., there is no other source for modern readers that you need turn to. Every Catholic household should have one. Also, if anyone wants or needs to know exactly what the Catholic church teaches on something, this is the place to turn.
The book itself, though, is a little dry to read. It is very well organized as a reference book, but it's not very exciting to read straight through. I'm a bit disappointed that it doesn't contain more delight in the beauty of our faith, awe at the depths of God's revelation of Himself, or simply more practical examples for day-to-day living.
Just as you wouldn't read the encyclopedia from cover-to-cover, neither will you read this book straight through. However, it's very easy to look up any individual question you have, and get the straight story.

Even after my recent initiation into the Roman Catholic Church, which followed several months of fairly intense study in the RCIA program, I didn't really understand much about Church Tradition, traditions, liturgy, Dogma, doctrine, Sacraments, and its position on individual and social issues. For help, I turned to the Catechism, which proved to be a concise, well written, logically organized, and often inspirational teacher. The Catechism not only provides clear definitions of Church rites and beliefs, it explains how those definitions came about and evolved, and how they are firmly rooted in Divine Revelation. For many years I had great misconceptions about the Church, I guess primarily because I viewed Church practices and beliefs as something man-made, not God-made. After doing some investigation and study, I discovered how wrong my view had been. Reading the Catechism will deepen your understanding of the relationship between the Church and Scriptures, and the "whys" behind the "whats" of how we practice our faith.

Re above headline, I have had this paperback version of the Catechism for some time, and have read it over and over with Gerry Rauch's "One Year Guide to the Catechism of the Catholic Church"(Claris Pubs.) I recently bought the second edition (Yes I know all the hype about it, thank you)Other than a small dictionary and many aids for the studious, the "Green Catechism" has little more to merit a price twice that of the mass-market edition that I am rating.
Furthermore, Catholics who would never THINK of buying a catechism: they remember the old "Baltimore" with less than fond memories (grin)--Catholics in this category MIGHT spend the ... for this mass-market edition. Armed with Rauch's guide (which takes only about 10 mins. a day), if they stick to reading, will find out they've read frist half, then the whole of the catechism without even realizing it!
IF YOU REALLY want to enhance your reading of the Catechism, THEN buy the "Green Edition" and "The Companion to the Catechism of the Catholic Church"(Ignatius Pubs.) "The Companion" is more MASSIVE than most PRINTED dictionaries found in an office; it is also easy to use to track down actual quotations referred to in the Catechism: One-stop researching; they're all here! Problem is: it's hard to find, but worth hunting down. (BTW, if you haven't read the e-book "Hunted Down" by Dickens offered on Amazon; it's a REAL Victorian mystery, do so, it takes less than an hour to read, and it is, as usual, written like only the ancestor of W. Burnett/H. Robbins could write! (As far as plot-subplot building is concerned; I know; I write.)

I grew up Catholic, served as an altar boy, followed the sacraments and thought I was a Catholic.

I received this as a gift from my parents. While thumbing through it, I had no idea what being a Catholic was.

"Catechism of the Catholic Church" -- officially published by the Vatican -- is used by both protestant and Catholic schools to teach what Catholics believe. The top evangelical college in America (Wheaton College) even uses it for their Catholic theology course.

I realized while reading this I had no idea what a Catholic baptism was, what the Catholic Church said about saints, what Rome has to say about Catholics who have converted to another Christian faith. And I learned some things the priest in our Chicagoland parish was not teaching Catholic doctrine.

Whether you are Catholic or not, there is a fair chance you've bought into some of what pop-culture has said Catholic is and is not. This easy-to-read (thick, but well-organized) book will give you the Catholic position on the matter.

I fully recommend "Catechism of the Catholic Church."

Anthony Trendl

Two of the biggest problems faced by the Catholic church are solved by this book. #1. Catholics who don't know or are wrong about their own church's beliefs and #2. Non Catholics (both critics and supports of the church) who have a false idea of what the church teaches.

As simply a reference tool this book is vital to any scholar of religion. Judged as a reference it is well done, Very organized and easy to reference. In addition to the standard index in the back on topics, each section concludes with a summery of basic themes of that section. Even more useful is the very complete use of numeric margin references to other section on similar topics. Quite useful , but if you are just reading it through resist the urge to jump to those sections or you will be jumping all over the place. It also references many church works which are available on the internet for clarification.

I didn't have the page problem that other reviews have talked about and I've had two different copies of the book.

As an explaination of faith and duty it is complete and uncompromising, sometimes painfully uncompromising. If you want to know what the church thinks about almost anything you will find it here. It is not a blunt instrument but it says what it says and removes ignorance as an option.

Put simply if you really want to know what the church thinks vs what some people say it teaches, read this book, if you have your own agenda or don't really want to be told something is wrong (and we all sometimes feel that way) then avoid it like the plague.

I bought this particular version of the catechism and returned it to the book store two days later. The book is not decently made and the pages start coming off of the binding as soon as you start looking through the book. In trying to read one of the first chapters, the pages just kept falling out. I also know two other people that this happened to with this version of the catechism.

Buy any other version, but not this one.

The "Catechism of the Catholic Church" is the definitive source for anyone interested in the teachings of the Catholic Church on almost any topic on which the Church has taken an official position.

The catechism, the first in four centuries, is divided into four parts. Each part is divided into Sections, Chapters, Articles and subordinate divisions. The principles of each article are summarized in a conclusion entitled "In Brief".

The Catechism is well indexed. The footnotes provide citations to sources including the Bible, the writings of the Doctors of the Church, documents of Ecumenical Councils and other authoritative writings.

Part One- "The Profession of Faith", begins with the sources of Revelation, followed by Man's Response to God's Revelation. It concludes with a clause by clause analysis of the ancient Creed of the Church.

Part Two- "Celebration of the Christian Mystery" explains Church teachings on the liturgy and the sacraments through which God touches and nourishes the life of man.

Part Three- "Life In Christ" presents the Church's teaching on Christian morality, including a study of each of the Ten Commandments.

Part Four- "Christian Prayer" examines man's communication with God.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church is an invaluable resource for anyone seeking the know the truths which the Catholic Church teaches. For the Catholic, it is a guide to a deeper understanding of the truths which we profess. For one investigating the Catholic Faith, the Catechism is a reliable presentation of the teachings from the highest ecclesiastical authority. Whether read in its entirety or consulted for a specific question, The Catechism of the Catholic Church deserves a place in every Catholic home as well as in the home of every seeker of truth.

I found my answers to my questions about my Catholic faith. Most of it is easy to read and understand. One of the things about the book I like it that it goes in detail about the 10 commandments.

The true meaning of the Roman Catholic Church is truly expressed in this magnificent testament. I think no one should dare judge the Church before reading the Catechism. This is a must for all those who are Christian, Protestant or Catholic. Buy it!

This most recent edition of The Catechism of The Catholic Church has been and certainly will continue to be an absloutely invaluable and indispensible resource for me as a baptised and confirmed Catholic in the process of returning to the Church. To clear up a possible misconception that could result form a review I read here (which has, I think, been addressed by another reviewer as well, but I want to say this too) "This Catechism aims at presenting an organic synthesis of the essential and fundamental contents of Catholic Doctrine, as regards both faith and morals, in the light of the Second Vatican Council and the Church Tradition"(Prologue, p.9). And again on page 11 of the Prologue, "This catechism os conceived as an organic presentation of the Catholic faith in its entirety." Aside from thatm I'd like to add that, although the Glossary, as has been correctly pointed out here "is faithful to the language of the text of the Catechism, it does not participate in the approval of the text of the Catechism given in the Apostolic Constitution Fidei depositum of Pope John Paul II" although it "is an additional instrument by which readers may find assistance in their use of the Catechism itself" (p.864), its definition of FAITH is " Both a gift of God and a human act by which the believer gives personal adhereence to God who invites his response, and freely assents to the whole truth that God has revealed. It is this revelation of God which the Churh proposes` for our belief and which we profess in the Creed, celebrate in the sacraments, live by right conduct that fulfills the twofold commandment of charity (as specified in the ten commandments), and respond to in our prayer of faith. FAITH IS BOTH A THEOLOGICAL VIRTUE GIVEN BY GOD, AND AN OBLIGATION WHICH FLOWS FROM THE FIRST COMMANDMENT OF GOD (caps mine-p. 879, however the reader of this definition in the Glossary is referred to specific sections of the Catechism: 26,142, 150, 1814, and the one I found especially helpful-2087- which says in part, " St. Paul speaks of 'the obediance of faith " as our first obligation. he shows that 'ignorance of God' is the principle and explanation of all moral deviations. Our duty is to toward God is to believe in him and to bear witness to him...The first commandment requires us to nourish and protect our faith with prudence and vigilence, and to reject everything that is opposed to it. The are various ways of sinning aginst faith, p. 506 ). Also, in the text of the Catechism under The Natural Moral Law " The natural law, present in the heart of each man and established by reason is univeral in its precepts and its authority extends to all men. It expresses the dignity of the person and determines the basis for his fundamental rights and duties: For there is a true law: right reason. It is in conformity with nature, is diffused among all men, and is immutable and eternal; its orders summon to duty; its prohibitions turn away from offense....To replace it with contrary law is a sacrilege; failure to apply even one of its provisions is forbidden; no one can abrogate it entirely." I do not think that any baptised Catholic should be without this book, nor should anyone else who is interested either. I am glad this it is available at this site, and in paperback, and that I was able to find it here and buy it.

This newly revised and canonicaly correct Catechism is to be held as one of the greatest instructional manuals the Church has ever implemented. This indeed is the first Catechism I have purchased, and I am merely a Catechumen myself; but in the exploration of answers to questions that we who are at a very inquisitive state in the faith are found here in a very concise manner. The subject index in the back makes it very easy to find what you are looking for. Then when you have found the subject, the footnotes and cross-references help to give you a more definitive and sound understanding. There are many who wish to come to the knowledge of the mystery of the Catholic faith, and this particular booklet is the prestige of instruction.

This volume, with its hard cover, is the nicest and most up-to-date issue of the new Catechism of the Catholic Church. As far as being a compendium of invaluable reference material for the pastoral minister, the student of theology or anyone interested in learning about Roman Catholic history or doctrine, this book is a good resource. If offers reference aids which can make any student of the subject appear to be an expert and it offers notes which can lead one in many directions for further research.

The problems associated with the publication are major, though they are not a product of the text itself. Instead, the problems associated with the use of this catechism are a result of the manner in which it is being used by many. This document is meant to be a reference and a guide (literalists may confirm this by referring to Sec. III, pars. 11 and 12); it is not the sum total of Roman Catholic doctrine. It simply cannot adequately explain all of Roman Catholic doctrine in such a single volume! Also, as its editors have pointed out, it is not meant as a textbook and should not be used in such a manner as is presently happening in many parochial schools.

The document itself is being misused and abused in many other ways as well. For those who are excessively conservative or traditionalist in their ways, this has been hailed as the definitive and final edition of Roman Catholic doctrine. These persons often fail to realize that in catholic theology, doctrine is always in a state of development (the fact that this is the second edition of the "new catechism" demonstrates this!). There can be no final say in doctrine, because Christ is alive and active in the Church and God's people are always involved in a process of reform and development of new insights.

Perhaps one of the greatest problems being faced by the Church today is the reality whereby our greatest theological minds no longer hold positions of leadership in the hierarchy, for the most part. This was not the case in early Christianity when the great christological doctrines were defined by strong theological and philosophical minds who could effectively enunciate new formulations of doctrine.

Today's Church leaders are often hampered by a lack of theological competency or are hamstrung by the desire to "get ahead" in ecclesiastical circles and they falsely believe that the only correct formulations of doctrine are those which come directly from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Even Church documents these days all refer back to this catechism as if the final word has been spoken and no new insights are available. They utilize a circular argument, one document referring to another and all of them returning to the new catechism! The greatest problem is that those who continue to boldly offer their new theological insights are investigated and condemned and we are liable to lose the best theological minds of the Church because of the short-cited leadership in Rome and in the local dioceses.

For those with a myopic vision of how the Church used to be and who desire to return to that, this text will seem to be a God-send. Before the changes of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), religious education was seen not as an act of giving freedom and assisting a person to grow in faith, but was understood as a strictly cognitive exercise of indoctrination. The "right answers" were repeated and repeated until memorized. The emphasis was on orthodoxy, but no concern was placed on orthopraxy. I, for one, do not wish to return to that vision of Church. It was a vision that borders on the cultic and it smacked of an ecclesiastical fundamentalism that was unhealthy and unrealistic.

There are many who are entirely uncomfortable with the Roman Catholic Church since Vatican II. Often, these groups of people are comprised in great part by those who have fled to the Church from liberal Protestant denominations. For obvious reasons, they fear liberalism in the Roman Catholic Church and blame progressives for diluting authentic catholicism.

A strong and vocal movement is afoot in the Church to repeal the vision of Vatican II. When used in a poor manner, this catechism is a tool for the repeal of that vision. Many educators and diocesan officials are buying into the repeal of the vision of Vatican II when they insist on using only textbooks which are built entirely upon the new Catechism. There is no reason for this reaction and it portends disaster for the future of religious education and catechesis.

For those who may share these concerns, I recommend that you read Francoise Darcy-Berube's little book entitled, *Religious Education at a Crossroads.* You will find it listed here on Amazon.Com, along with my review. I also invite you to contact me directly by way of the email address listed on this site for further dialogue.