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The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' ( la, Catechismus Catholicae Ecclesiae; commonly called the ''Catechism'' or the ''CCC'') is a catechism
promulgated Promulgation is the formal proclamation or the declaration that a new statutory or administrative law is enacted after its final approval. In some jurisdictions, this additional step is necessary before the law can take effect. After a new law ...
for the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
by
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
in 1992. It aims to summarize, in book form, the main beliefs of the Catholic Church.


Redaction

The decision to publish an official catechism was taken at the
Second Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops The Second Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, was held in Vatican City from 24 November to 8 December 1985 on the topic of The Twentieth Anniversary of the Conclusion of the Second Vatican Council. The synod was a gathering of ...
that was convened by
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
on 25 January 1985, to evaluate the progress of implementing the Vatican II council's goals on the 20th anniversary of its closure. The assembly participants expressed the desire that "a catechism or
compendium A compendium (plural: compendia or compendiums) is a comprehensive collection of information and analysis pertaining to a body of knowledge. A compendium may concisely summarize a larger work. In most cases, the body of knowledge will concern a sp ...
of all Catholic doctrine regarding both
faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people ofte ...
and
morals Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of cond ...
be composed, that it might be, as it were, a point of reference for the catechisms or compendiums that are prepared in various regions. The presentation of doctrine must be biblical and
liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...
. It must be sound doctrine suited to the present life of Christians." John Paul II says that in 1986 he formed a commission composed of 12
cardinals Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
and bishops chaired by cardinal
Joseph Ratzinger Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...
to prepare the first draft of the ''Catechism''. The commission was assisted by a committee consisting of seven diocesan bishops, experts in
theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
and catechesis. Reminiscing those days, Ratzinger said in 2011: "I must confess that even today it seems a miracle to me that this project
he ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
was ultimately successful." Cardinal
Georges Cottier Georges Marie Martin Cottier O.P., (25 April 1922 – 31 March 2016) was a Swiss prelate and theologian of the Catholic Church who served from 1990 to 2005 as theologian to Pope John Paul II as Theologian of the Pontifical Household after a ca ...
claims he worked on the ''Catechism''.


Promulgation

The ''Catechism'' was
promulgated Promulgation is the formal proclamation or the declaration that a new statutory or administrative law is enacted after its final approval. In some jurisdictions, this additional step is necessary before the law can take effect. After a new law ...
by
John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
on 11 October 1992, the 30th anniversary of the opening of the
Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...
, with his apostolic constitution ''Fidei depositum'' (in English, ''The Deposit of Faith''). On 15 August 1997—the
Solemnity In the liturgical calendar of the Roman Rite, a solemnity is a feast day of the highest rank celebrating a mystery of faith such as the Trinity, an event in the life of Jesus, his mother Mary, his earthly father Joseph, or another important sai ...
of the
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution ''Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows: We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by Go ...
John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
promulgated the
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
typical edition An ''editio typica'' (Latin) or typical edition is a form of text used in the Catholic Church as an official source text of a particular document—typically in Eccelesiastical Latin—and used as the basis for all subsequent translations into ver ...
, with his
apostolic letter Ecclesiastical letters are publications or announcements of the organs of Roman Catholic ecclesiastical authority, e.g. the synods, but more particularly of pope and bishops, addressed to the faithful in the form of letters. Letters of the pop ...
, ''Laetamur magnopere''.


Publication

The ''CCC'' was published in the French language in 1992. In the United States, the English translation was published in 1994 and more than 250,000 copies had been pre-ordered before its release, with a note that it was "subject to revision according to the Latin
typical edition An ''editio typica'' (Latin) or typical edition is a form of text used in the Catholic Church as an official source text of a particular document—typically in Eccelesiastical Latin—and used as the basis for all subsequent translations into ver ...
(''editio typica'') when it is published." The Latin typical edition, the official text of reference
promulgated Promulgation is the formal proclamation or the declaration that a new statutory or administrative law is enacted after its final approval. In some jurisdictions, this additional step is necessary before the law can take effect. After a new law ...
on 15 August 1997, amended the contents of the provisional French text at a few points. As a result, the earlier translations from the French into other languages (including English) had to be amended and re-published as "second editions".


Doctrinal value

In the apostolic constitution ''Fidei depositum'',
John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
declared that the ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' is "a valid and legitimate instrument for ecclesial communion and a sure norm for teaching the faith", and stressed that it "is not intended to replace the local
catechisms A catechism (; from grc, κατηχέω, "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult c ...
duly approved by the ecclesiastical authorities, the diocesan Bishops and the
Episcopal Conferences Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...
". The ''Catechism'' states:


Contents

The ''Catechism'' is a source on which to base other Catholic catechisms (e.g., '' YOUCAT'' or the ''United States Catholic Catechism for Adults'') and other expositions of Catholic doctrine. As stated in the apostolic constitution ''Fidei depositum'', with which its publication was ordered, it was given so "that it may be a sure and authentic reference text for teaching Catholic doctrine and particularly for preparing local catechisms." The ''Catechism'' is arranged in four principal parts: * The Profession of Faith (the
Apostles' Creed The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith". The creed most likely originated in 5th-century ...
) * The Celebration of the Christian Mystery (the Sacred Liturgy, and especially the sacraments) * Life in
Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
(including
the Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments ( Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...
) * Christian Prayer (including the
Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...
) The section on Scripture in the ''Catechism'' covers the Patristic tradition of "spiritual
exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretation ...
" as further developed through the scholastic doctrine of the " four senses." The ''Catechism'' amplifies '' Dei verbum'' by specifying that the necessary spiritual interpretation should be sought through the four senses of Scripture. The literal sense pertains to the meaning of the words themselves, including any figurative meanings. The spiritual senses pertain to the significance of the things (persons, places, objects or events) denoted by the words. Of the three spiritual senses, the allegorical sense is foundational. It relates persons, events, and institutions of earlier covenants to those of later covenants, and especially to the
New Covenant The New Covenant (Hebrew '; Greek ''diatheke kaine'') is a biblical interpretation which was originally derived from a phrase which is contained in the Book of Jeremiah ( Jeremiah 31:31-34), in the Hebrew Bible (or the Old Testament of the ...
. Building on the allegorical sense, the moral sense instructs in regard to action, and the anagogical sense points to man's final destiny. The teaching of the ''Catechism'' on Scripture has encouraged the pursuit of covenantal theology, an approach that employs the four senses to structure salvation history via the biblical covenants.


Paragraph 2267 (capital punishment)

One of the changes in the 1997 update consisted of the inclusion of the position on the death penalty that is defended in John Paul II's encyclical '' Evangelium vitae'' of 1995. The paragraph dealing with the death penalty (2267) was revised again by
Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
in 2018. The text previously stated (1997): The 2018 change to the ''Catechism'' reads:


Reception

In 1992, cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later
Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...
) stated:
Ulf Ekman Ulf Ekman (born 8 December 1950) is a former charismatic pastor and the founder of the Livets Ord (Word of Life) organization in Sweden, which brought the Word of Faith movement to that country. Ekman is now a Catholic. Ekman is married to Bir ...
, former Charismatic pastor and the founder of Livets Ord, says that the ''Catechism'' is "the best book he has ever read".


Derived works

The ''Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church'' was published in 2005, and the first edition in English in 2006. It is a more concise and dialogic version of the ''Catechism''. The text of the ''Compendium'' is available in fourteen languages on the Vatican website, which also gives the text of the ''Catechism'' itself in eleven languages. '' Youcat'' is a 2011 publication aimed at helping youth understand the ''Catechism''.


See also

* Catechism of Saint Pius X * Roman Catechism * '' The Common Catechism'' *
Baltimore Catechism ''A Catechism of Christian Doctrine, Prepared and Enjoined by Order of the Third Council of Baltimore'', or simply the ''Baltimore Catechism'', was the national Catholic catechism for children in the United States, based on Robert Bellarmine's 161 ...
*
Catholic Catechist The role of a Catholic catechist is to catechise (teach) the faith of the Catholic Church by both word and example. Catechising To catechize means to teach: more specifically, to teach by word of mouth. Prior to the Second Vatican Council, t ...
*
Catholic spirituality Catholic spirituality includes the various ways in which Catholics live out their Baptismal promise through prayer and action. The primary prayer of all Catholics is the Eucharistic liturgy in which they celebrate and share their faith together, i ...
*
History of the Catholic Church since 1962 History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
* Outline of Catholicism * Pastoral care#Catholicism * Timeline of the Catholic Church


Notes


References


Further reading

* *


External links


Promulgations

*
Fidei depositum
', the apostolic constitution promulgating the ''Catechism''

on the promulgation of the ''editio typica'' of the ''Catechism''


Text of the ''Catechism''



(as of 29 May 2021)
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
English – Second edition (revised in accordance with the Latin '' editio typica'')


Text of the ''Compendium''


Compendium at Vatican/Holy See website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Catechism Of The Catholic Church Catholic theology and doctrine Pope John Paul II