Catechism of the Catholic Church

This weighty tome merits the time required for anyone who wants to understand Catholocism. I believe it would be fair to call it the official "layman's guidebook." A lot of new ideas were presented to me. It succeeded in conveying the principal tenets of the Catholic Church and at least touched on

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every major issue or question I have had. Two concepts that were completely new to me and considered with high regard: first, a firm declaration that talents were not distributed uniformly and that this profers interdependence among us; second, that the meaning of "blessed are the poor in spirit" actually encourages us all to become poor in our mentality (not to consider our possessions as our strength).

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Very helpful

If you want to understand Post-Vatican II Catholocism, than this is the book for you. Written by the Vatican and translated by the Vatican as the official, most complete answer to "What are Catholics to believe?" Please note that there has already been an updated and revised edition released.

Always a good reference

A must have for every Catholic household and scholar of religion.

A small book loaded with information. This book summarizes all of essential Catholic doctrine and practice into one volume that is easy to read and understand. It also includes elements from the Eastern Rite, so this is truly the catechism of the Catholic Church. Very well-done.

A tremendous resource. The closing section on prayer moves this book into the spiritual reading category as well.

Unfortunately used as a source for "what Catholics believe" the CCC was never meant to be such - the introduction makes it clear that bishops were to develop local catechisms. Few did, and this has become the handy reference book. As such, it's useful - but the lack of local catechisms is annoying.

A great guide to what your Roman Catholic friends profess, even if that's quite another thing than what they might actually believe.

Rating this one was kinda tough...I strongly disagree with areas of the theology, but if one wants to understand Catholocism, then we need to understand Catholic doctrine, and this is a great resource for that! I went with five stars for it's usefullness.

Pretty thorough summary systematically covering the majority of Roman Catholic beliefs and teachings. My only gripe with it is that the language can be a bit academic at times, still I wouldn't say it's inaccessible to the average reader though.

- Peter K.

If you want to know actual Catholic dogma, in a relatively easy to read form, this is the authoratative book in English.

Incredible source of spiritual guidance and the gathered wisdom of the Roman church.

I. F. Stone found it useful to delve into source materials, primary texts and propaganda, and so should we. Very emic!

This book is awesome for anyone who wants to find out what the Catholic Church teaches. It is an authorative book of the teachings of our church. Also, at the bottom of each page it has relevent scripture, church fathers quotes for further reading. If you will only read one Catholic book besides

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the bible this is the most recommended one.

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Regarding local catechisms, there actually are some. The Byzantine Bishops in the United States issued their own local catechism and the U.S. Bishops have issued one.

Hardly pocket sized!

The full, complete exposition of Catholic doctrine, this second edition of the international bestseller has been significantly expanded, enhancing both its content and usability. Revised in accordance with the official Latin text promulgated by Pope John Paul II in 1997, the second edition now

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includes more than a hundred additional pages, offering such new features as a glossary of terms, an index of citations from sources and in-brief texts on core teachings. The essential elements of faith are presented in the most understandable manner, enabling everyone to read and know what the Church professes, celebrates, lives, and prays in her daily life. The first new compendium in more than 400 years, the second edition of the Catechism stands, in the words of Pope John Paul II, as "a sure norm for teaching the faith" and an "authentic reference text." Q: How does the second edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church differ from the first edition? A: The second edition differs in two ways. First, the second edition reflects the changes that were made in the final Latin text in 1997. Second, the second edition includes a new index. The glossary was also added in the American version of the second edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

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Seems silly to rate a book covering the teachings of the Catholic faith, so I won't. The binding was excellent, although the font was a bit small on my hardcover edition, which comes from it being "pocket sized" (an optimistic selling point). It is very dense and took me more than a year to truly

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finish, but will take years to understand.

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It's impossible to overstate the value of the Catholic Catechism of the Catholic Church. The reason for this is that it provides insight into a human community yielded to God, founded by Jesus Christ over 2,000 years ago, the existence of which will never end. It's a comprehensive document of the

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faith and doctrines of the Church. Whether one is religious or otherwise, this great repository of the Church gives concrete information about who God is, his nature and his desire for all humanity. It abounds with wisdom, history, philosophy, doctrine, moral guidance, and 2000 years of Christian thinking and understanding as it has evolved over the centuries. It provides explicit references throughout its 756 pages. It holds to the reality that truth is indeed absolute. It cannot be fully consummated even in a lifetime. This is because each paragraph is like a keyhole-view into an ever broadening array of information on the temporal and the eternal truths. It brings a vision of hope in the discovery of the width, length, depth and height of God's passionate love for all of humanity.

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The constant references are a bit distracting, but I am appreciating this very thorough explanation of the faith.