Buy the New Compendium of the Catechism

[Fides_et_Ratio]

[quote name='Brother Adam' date='Oct 26 2005, 11:20 AM']has anyone actually gotten a copy? I requested it from an executive sales associate at Our Sunday Visitor and she said she was just on the phone with the USCCB and they said they don't even have a copy yet from the Vatican to start printing.
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[/quote]
amazon.com sent me an e-mail that my order has been "delayed" but didn't say why.

[Ziggamafu]

oh wow...it's like some horrible dream!!!

"here, have a new and updated explanation of universal Church teaching."

"gosh thanks, i --"

"PSYCH!!! HAHA. no, seriously though, you have to wait awhile."

= O

Edited October 26, 2005 by Ziggamafu

[phatcatholic]

haha, for real

[Fides_et_Ratio]

Now Amazon.com says I shouldn't expect it until Nov. 4th-15th!!!!

But when you check it out on a main page it still says it should ship within 24 hours! What gives?! False advertising (lol, or not,cuz I pre-ordered mine in early September!)

[Ziggamafu]

Does anyone have it yet??!!

[Fides_et_Ratio]

Amazon.com e-mailed me (finally) to tell me that now the Compendium was backordered! (BLAH!)

So now it's supposed to come anytime between now and the 15th of November.

[journeyman]

First Edition . . . and it is already sold out and on back order

wow

just checking, how many copies did you order :

[Fides_et_Ratio]

[quote name='journeyman' date='Nov 6 2005, 09:51 PM']First Edition . . . and it is already sold out and on back order

wow

just checking, how many copies did you order  :
[right][snapback]780616[/snapback][/right]
[/quote]


just one! I promise!

[Ziggamafu]

you realize i expect a full report as soon as you get this.

[phatcatholic]

[b][url="http://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/b16pubcomp.HTM"][i]Motu Proprio[/i] for Approval and Publication of the [i]Compendium of the Catechism[/i][/url][/b]
Pope Benedict XVI

To my Venerable Brothers the Cardinals, Patriarchs, Archbishops, Bishops, Priests, Deacons and to all the People of God,

Twenty years ago, work began on the Catechism of the Catholic Church that had been requested by the extraordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops held on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the close of the Second Vatican Council.

I am filled with heartfelt thanks to the Lord God for having given the Church this Catechism, promulgated in 1992 by my Venerated and Beloved Predecessor, Pope John Paul II.

The great value and beauty of this gift are confirmed above all by the extensive and positive reception of the Catechism among Bishops, to whom it was primarily addressed as a sure and authentic reference text for teaching Catholic doctrine and, in particular, for formulating local catechisms. But it was also confirmed by its vast favourable reception in all segments of the People of God, who have come to know and appreciate it in more than 50 translations which to date have been published.

It is with great joy that I now approve and promulgate the Compendium of that Catechism.

The Compendium had been fervently desired by the participants in the International Catechetical Congress of October 2002, which gave voice to a need widely felt in the Church. My Beloved Predecessor, recognizing this desire, decided in February 2003 to begin preparation of the text by entrusting the work to a Commission of Cardinals, over which I presided, and which was assisted by various experts. In the course of the work, a draft of the Compendium was submitted to all the Cardinals and the Presidents of Conferences of Bishops, the vast majority of whom evaluated the text favourably.

The Compendium, which I now present to the Universal Church, is 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.

In its structure, contents and language, the Compendium faithfully reflects the Catechism of the Catholic Church and will thus assist in, making the Catechism more widely known and more deeply understood.

I entrust this Compendium above all to the entire Church and, in particular, to every Christian, in order that it may awaken in the Church of the third millennium renewed zeal for evangelization and education in the faith, which ought to characterize every community in the Church and every Christian believer, regardless of age or nationality.

But this Compendium, with its brevity, clarity and comprehensiveness, is directed to every human being, who, in a world of distractions and multifarious messages, desires to know the Way of Life, the Truth, entrusted by God to his Son's Church.

Through the intercession of Mary Most Holy, Mother of Christ and Mother of the Church, may everyone who reads this authoritative text recognize and embrace ever more fully the inexhaustible beauty, uniqueness and significance of the incomparable Gift which God has made to the human race in his only Son, Jesus Christ, the "Way, the Truth, and the Life" (Jn 14:6).

Given on 28 June 2005, the vigil of the Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, in the first year of my Pontificate

[phatcatholic]

[url="http://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/b16prescomp.HTM"][b]Presentation of the [i]Compendium of the Catechism[/i][/b][/url]
Pope Benedict XVI

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

1. "May he enlighten your innermost vision that you may know the great hope to which he has called you, the wealth of his glorious heritage" in the saints (Eph 1:18).

This is the hope that St Paul raises to the God of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, in the passage from the Letter to the Ephesians that has just been proclaimed.
We can never thank God, Our Father, enough for this immense treasure of hope and glory that he has given to us in his Son Jesus. Our constant commitment is to let ourselves be continuously enlightened by him, so as to become more and more deeply acquainted with his mysterious gift.

The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church which today, at this prayerful celebration, I have great joy in presenting to the Church and to the world, can and must be a privileged means of growth in the knowledge and joyful acceptance of this divine gift.

[b]Compendium: clear and accessible[/b]

2. It sees the light after the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church in 1992. Since then, there has been an ever more widespread and pressing need for a concise catechism that would contain all and only the essential, fundamental elements of Catholic faith and morals, simply expressed in a way that is clear, concise and accessible to all. Moreover, it is precisely in meeting this need that in the past 20 years numerous attempts at summing up the above-mentioned Catechism have been made in various languages and countries, some more successful than others. They brought up certain problems concerning not only the fidelity to and respect of the structure and content, but also the completeness and integrity of Catholic teaching.

Hence, the need arose for an authoritative, reliable and complete text on the essential aspects of the Church's faith, in full harmony with the Catechism mentioned, approved by the Pope and destined for the whole Church.

3. The participants in the International Catechetical Congress expressed this widespread need in October 2002 and presented an explicit request to the Servant of God John Paul II.

It has been just over two years since my Venerable Predecessor decided, in February 2003, on the drafting of a Compendium of this kind, realizing that it would be good not only for the universal and particular Churches, but also for today's world that is thirsting for truth. These have been two years of intense and fruitful work. All the Cardinals and the Presidents of the Bishops' Conferences have also been involved. The vast majority, when questioned on one of the last drafts of the Compendium, expressed a very positive opinion.

[b]Harmonious explanation of faith[/b]

4. Today, on the eve of the Solemnity of Sts Peter and Paul, 40 years after the end of the Second Vatican Council, I feel deep joy in presenting this Compendium, which I have approved, not only to all the members of the Church — most of whose various members are represented here — but also to all of you who are taking part in this solemn meeting.

However, through you, Venerable Brother Cardinals, Bishops, priests, catechists and lay faithful, I would also like in spirit to consign this Compendium to every person of good will who desires to know the unfathomable riches of the saving mystery of Jesus Christ.

It is not, of course, a new Catechism, but a Compendium that faithfully reflects the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which continues to be the source from which to draw for a better understanding of the Compendium, the model to look at ceaselessly in order to rediscover a harmonious and authentic explanation of Catholic faith and morals, as well as a reference point that must encourage the proclamation of the faith and the drafting of local catechisms.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, therefore, keeps intact its full authoritativeness and importance, and this synthesis will be an effective means to make it better known and used as a fundamental vehicle of education in the faith.

5. This Compendium is a renewed proclamation of the Gospel in our time. Furthermore, through this authoritative and reliable text, "let us carefully preserve the faith we received from the Church", in the words of St Irenaeus whose liturgical Memorial we are celebrating today, "because under the action of God's Spirit, like a deposit of great worth contained in a precious vase, it is continuously rejuvenating and also rejuvenates the vase that contains it (cf. Irenaeus of Lyons, Adversus Haereses, 1, 10, 2; Sc 264, 158-160).

The Compendium presents the faith in Christ Jesus. Following the four-part structure of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, it actually presents Christ professed as the Only-begotten Son of the Father, the perfect Revealer of God's truth and the definitive Saviour of the world; Christ, celebrated in the sacraments as the source and support of the life of the Church; Christ, listened to and followed in obedience to his Commandments, as the source of new life in love and in harmony; Christ, imitated in prayer, as the model and master of our prayerful attitude to the Father.

[b]In the form of a dialogue[/b]

6. This faith is expounded in the Compendium in the form of a dialogue. Thus, it intends to "reproduce", as I wrote in the Introduction to the Compendium, "an imaginary dialogue between master and disciple through a series of incisive questions that invite the reader to go deeper in discovering ever new aspects of his faith".

"The dialogical format also lends itself to brevity in the text by reducing it to the essential. This may help the reader to grasp the contents and possibly to memorize them as well". The brevity of the answers fosters the essential synthesis and clarity of what is being communicated.

7. Images have also been incorporated into the text at the beginning of the respective part or section. This choice aims to illustrate the doctrinal content of the Compendium: indeed, images "proclaim the same message that Sacred Scripture transmits through words and help to reawaken and nourish the faith of believers" (Compendium, n. 240).

Images and words are thus mutually enlightening. Works of art always "speak", at least implicitly, of the divine, of the infinite beauty of God, reflected in the Icon par excellence: Christ the Lord, the Image of the invisible God.

Sacred images, with their beauty, are also a Gospel proclamation and express the splendour of the Catholic truth, illustrating the supreme harmony between the good and the beautiful, between the via veritatis and the via pulchritudinis. While they witness to the age-old and fruitful tradition of Christian' art, they urge one and all, believers and non-believers alike, to discover and contemplate the inexhaustible fascination of the mystery of Redemption, giving an ever new impulse to the lively process of its inculturation in time.

The same images are found in the various translations of the Compendium. This will also be a way to identify and recognize this text easily in the variety of languages: the one faith is professed by each member of the faithful in the multiplicity of ecclesial and cultural contexts.

[b]In Latin, for praying in common[/b]

8. The text includes an Appendix at the end which consists of several common prayers for the universal Church and several catechetical formulas of the Catholic faith.

The appropriate decision to add several prayers to conclude the Compendium is an invitation to rediscover a common way of praying in the Church, not only personally but also in community.

In each one of the translations, the majority of the prayers will also be presented in Latin. Learning them, even in this language, will make it easier for the Christian faithful who speak different languages to pray together, especially when they meet for special circumstances. As I said in 1997, on the occasion of the presentation to my Venerable Predecessor of the Typical Edition in Latin of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: "Precisely in the multiplicity of languages and cultures, Latin, for so many centuries the vehicle and instrument of Christian culture, not only guarantees continuity with our roots but continues to be as relevant as ever for strengthening the bonds of unity of the faith in the communion of the Church".

9. I am truly grateful to everyone who has worked on the publication of this important work, especially the Cardinal members of the special Commission and the editors and experts: all those who have collaborated with great dedication and competence. May the Lord God, who sees all things, in his infinite goodness reward them and bless them.

May this Compendium, the fruit of their efforts but above all a gift that God bestows upon his Church in the third millennium, give a new impetus to evangelization and catechesis, on which depend "[not] only her geographical extension and numerical increase, but even more her inner growth and correspondence with God's plan" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 7).

May Mary Most Holy and the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul support with their intercession this hope for the good of the Church and of humanity.

And I impart my heartfelt Apostolic Blessing to you all.

[phatcatholic]

[url="http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/introcomp.HTM"][b]Introduction to the [i]Compendium[/i][/b][/url]
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger

1. On 11 October 1992, Pope John Paul II presented the Catechism of the Catholic Church to the faithful of the whole world, describing it as a "reference text" (John Paul II, Apostolic Constitution Fidei Depositum, 11 October 1992) for a catechesis renewed at the living sources of the faith. Thirty years after the opening of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), the desire for a catechism of all Catholic doctrine on faith and morals, which had been voiced in 1985 by the Extraordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, came to fulfilment.

Five years later, on 15 August 1997, the Pope promulgated the editio typica of the Catechismus Catholicae Ecclesiae and confirmed its fundamental purpose "as a full, complete exposition of Catholic doctrine, enabling everyone to know what the Church professes, celebrates, lives and prays in her daily life" (John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Laetamur Magnopere, 15 August 1997).

[b]Not to replace the 'Catechism'[/b]

2. In order to realize more fully the Catechism's potential and in response to the request that had emerged at the International Catechetical Congress of October 2002, Pope John Paul II, in 2003, established a Commission under the presidency of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which was given the task of drafting a Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, as a more concise formulation of its contents of faith. After two years of work, a draft compendium was prepared and distributed among the Cardinals and the Presidents of Conferences of Bishops for their consultation. The draft, as a whole, was evaluated positively in the great majority of the responses that were received. Therefore, the Commission proceeded to revise the draft and, taking account of the proposals for improvement that had been submitted, prepared the final text.

3. There are three principal characteristics of the Compendium: the close reliance on the Catechism of the Catholic Church; the dialogical format; the use of artistic images in the catechesis.

The Compendium is not a work that stands alone, nor is it intended in any way to replace the Catechism of the Catholic Church: instead, it refers constantly to the Catechism by means of reference numbers printed in the margins, as well as by consistent reliance on its structure, development and contents. In fact, the Compendium is meant to reawaken interest in and enthusiasm for the Catechism, which, in the wisdom of its presentation and the depth of its spirituality, always remains the basic text for catechesis in the Church today.

Like the Catechism, the Compendium has four parts, corresponding to the fundamental laws of life in Christ.

The first part, entitled "The Profession of Faith", contains a synthesis of the lex credendi, the faith professed by the Catholic Church, as expressed in the Apostles' Creed which is further elaborated by the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. In the liturgical profession of the Creed, the Christian assembly keeps the principal truths of the faith alive in memory.

The second part, entitled "The Celebration of the Christian Mystery", presents the essential elements of the lex celebrandi. The proclamation of the Gospel finds its authentic response in the sacramental life, through which Christians experience and witness, in every moment of their existence, the saving power of the Paschal Mystery by which Christ has accomplished our redemption.

The third part, entitled "Life in Christ", recalls the lex vivendi, through which the baptized manifest their commitment to the faith they have professed and celebrated, through their actions and ethical choices. The Christian faithful are called by the Lord Jesus to act in a way which befits their dignity as children of the Father in the charity of the Holy Spirit.

The fourth part, entitled "Christian Prayer", summarizes the lex orandi, the life of prayer. Following the example of Jesus, the perfect model of one who prays, the Christian too is called to the dialogue with God in prayer. A privileged expression of prayer is the Our Father, the prayer that Jesus has taught us.

[b]Question and answer format[/b]

4. A second characteristic of the Compendium is its dialogical format, reflecting the ancient catechetical literary genre of questions and answers. The idea is to reproduce an imaginary dialogue between master and disciple, through a series of incisive questions that invite the reader to go deeper in discovering ever new aspects of his faith. The dialogical format also lends itself to brevity in the text, by reducing it to what is essential. This may help the reader to grasp the contents and possibly to memorize them as well.

5. A third characteristic is the inclusion of some artistic images which mark the elaboration of the Compendium. These are drawn from the rich patrimony of Christian iconography. The centuries-old conciliar tradition teaches us that images are also a preaching of the Gospel. Artists in every age have offered the principal facts of the mystery of salvation to the contemplation and wonder of believers by presenting them in the splendour of colour and in the perfection of beauty. It is an indication of how today more than ever, in a culture of images, a sacred image can express much more than what can be said in words, and be an extremely effective and dynamic way of communicating the Gospel message.

[b]To be used by everyone[/b]

6. Forty years after the close of the Second Vatican Council and in the year of the Eucharist, this Compendium represents an additional resource for satisfying the hunger for truth among the Christian faithful of all ages and conditions, as well as the hunger for truth and justice among those who are without faith. The publication of the Compendium will take place on the Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, pillars of the Church universal and exemplary evangelizers of the ancient world. These apostles saw what they preached and witnessed to the truth of Christ even unto martyrdom. Let us imitate them in their missionary zeal and pray to the Lord that the Church may always follow the teaching of the apostles, from whom she first received the glorious proclamation of the faith.

20 March 2005, Palm Sunday

[b]JOSEPH Cardinal RATZINGER[/b]
[i]President of the Special Commission[/i]