Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church

PUBLISHER: Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops Publications Service

PUBLICATION DATE: 2005

The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is a shorter version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It covers all of the Catholic moral teaching and the doctrine of the faith. The Compendium is not a substitute for the Catechism but rather a complimentary text which will surely find its place in the Catholic canon. The practical question and answer format makes it easier for many readers to access the information. Pope Benedict XVI describes the Compendium as:

“ a faithful and sure synthesis of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It contains, in concise form, all the essential and fundamental elements of the Church’s faith, thus constituting, as my Predecessor had wished, a kind of vademecum which allows believers and non-believers alike to behold the entire panorama of the Catholic faith.”

Bishop Donald Wuerl, past chairman and current member of the American bishops' Committee on Catechesis, had this to say about the Compendium: "[It] offers a concise yet complete presentation of the faith. It presents an overview of the whole Catechism [of the Catholic Church] without going into all of the details that enrich the Catechism. Its primary focus is to provide ready access in a concise manner to the content of the faith."

Like the Baltimore Catechism, the Compendium’s question and answer format is sure to make it an essential reference tool for many Catholics. It was Cardinal Silvio Oddi, the Prefect for the Sacred Congregation of the Clergy, who defended this traditional format from the attacks of representatives of "progressive" religious instruction. He countered with the argument that "specialists in internal medicine, engineering, and chemistry arm themselves with question and answer manuals to check themselves on recent developments in their respective fields." Not concerned with political correctness the wise cardinal had this to say to those who strongly disagreed with the book’s prescriptive structure:

"Critics have objected that the Faith is not a series of answers to contrived questions but a way of life. The answer to this objection might well be another question: How can we live a Christian life until we first 'know the truth' (John 8:32)?"

The Compendium is easy to use and does manage to clearly explain the “truth”. Certainly, most readers will want to read it from cover to cover, but another important way of using this book is to look up topics about the Catholic faith, in both its table of contents and in the index, and then turn to the relevant pages for the answers. In order to teach the foundations and the moral precepts of the Catholic faith, it will undoubtedly become an indispensible reference text for parish groups, parents and religion teachers. While it uses a reader friendly conversational structure to organize the contents, the Compendium contains the same four sections as the Catechism: “The Profession of Faith”, “The Celebration of the Christian Mystery”, “Life in Christ” and “Christian Prayer”. As questions are answered about the faith, there are reference numbers to the paragraphs of the Catechism, and this makes it easier for readers who want to read further and deepen their understanding of the topics explained.

Further, the accessible question and answer format will help readers, especially the young if encouraged, to memorize the “truths” of the faith. This is one of the reasons that Pope Benedict gave for publishing the Compendium. The style of the Compendium is direct, and the language is clear and concise. The reader soon realizes that in its content and style there’s a deep spirituality. It was written with much care and attention. Here’s an example with question 97: “How does Mary cooperate in the divine plan of salvation?”

“By the grace of God Mary was kept free from every personal sin her whole life long. She is the one who is “full of grace” (Luke 1:18), “the all holy”. When the angel announced to her that she would give birth to “the Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:32), she freely gave her consent with “the obedience of faith” (Romans 1:5). Mary thus gave herself entirely to the person and work of her son Jesus, espousing wholeheartedly the divine will regarding salvation.”

This too is HMWN Radio Maria’s mandate: to imitate Mary and use the modern medium of radio to give itself entirely to the “obedience of the faith”. Finally, it’s also worth noting that the book is beautifully designed. There are a number of high-quality colour reproductions, with explanations, of religious art. The Compendium consists of 598 questions and answers in less than 200 pages. Included is an appendix of common prayers and formulas of Catholic doctrine that many readers will find useful.

For the cost of a pizza you can give yourself, a friend or someone in your family, a special gift this Christmas and like Mary we can follow her Son, in order to find the way to salvation as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, an eternal gift given to all of us through the Church. Try shopping around. I know there’s no better deal!

Report written by Lou Iacobelli.
You can contact Lou at louiac@hotmail.com

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Virtuous Leadership: An Agenda for Personal Excellence
PUBLISHER: Scepter Publishers, Inc.
PUBLICATION DATE: 2007
Book review for November - December 2008

Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church
PUBLISHER: Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops Publications Service
PUBLICATION DATE: 2005
Book review for November - December 2008 ________________________________________________________________

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