United States Catholic Catechism for Adult

I bought this book to help me understand the teaching of the Catholic Church while I go through the RCIA process. I found it to be a useful foundation for the teaching we get in RCIA and the readings that we are supplied with in that process. The information is concise and well written and is organized in such a way as to be useful to those who are reading it all the way through or those who wish to use it as a reference. I would strongly recommend anyone going through the RCIA process or, those from other faith backgrounds who are curious as to what the Church actually teaches, to read this book. I have to say that many of the things which are often portrayed as being taught by the Church are not accurate. Those who are interested should get it right from the source.Furthermore, some of the less positive comments on this text have suggested that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops had no reason to develop this catechism and everyone could have just used the original. It is true that we could all use the original and it is a fantastic resource. However, it is completely false to suggest that there was no need to develop cultural specific catechisms. In fact, that is one of the stated purposes of the this catechism: [...]. "It is meant to encourage and assist in the writing of new local catechisms, which take into account various situations and cultures, while carefully preserving the unity of faith and fidelity to catholic doctrine". Blessed Pope John Paul IISo, you have heard the good, now for the bad. The section on Catholic Social doctrine is good for the most part, but there are some disturbing problems. For instance, the manner in which the doctrine of Subsidiarity is portrayed in this Catechism is as if it was of minimal importance, when the CCC and the Compendium for the Social Doctrine of the Church treat it as essential, and a major aspect of Catholic Social Teaching. This gives the impression that the Church is in support of governmental action in all parts of our lives, which is not remotely the case. "CCC 1883 states:1883 Socialization also presents dangers. Excessive intervention by the state can threaten personal freedom and initiative. the teaching of the Church has elaborated the principle of subsidiarity, according to which "a community of a higher order should not interfere in the internal life of a community of a lower order, depriving the latter of its functions, but rather should support it in case of need and help to co-ordinate its activity with the activities of the rest of society, always with a view to the common good."7You will need to look very carefully to see the difference. You will note that CCC 1883 talks about "in case of need" -- not mentioned in the USCCB Catechism. Also, note that the CCC talks about "a community of a higher order..." while the USCCB Catechism talks about "governments". We know that communities of higher order can talk about the immediate family, the extended family, the neighborhood, the town, the parish, the diocese, and so on..."communities of higher order" are not limited to governments. Yet, if you teach catechism based solely upon the USCCB document, you would not recognize that.Next, on page 421ff, there is a presentation talking about the Reflections of the Catholic Bishops of the United States on the Church's Social Teaching: Major Themes.This portion is a condensation of the USCCB "Pastoral Letter" Economic Justice for All. Economic Justice for All was written by Robert Weakland in 1986. To my knowledge, it did not receive unanimous consent by the US bishops nor did it receive a Recognito from the Holy See (ref CIC Can 455 and Motu Proprio Apostolos Suos). In other words, it is not Magisterial, but it is in the USCCB Catechism which gives the impression that it is authoritative, and this is a problem, a major problem.The bottom line is that this text does a good job of presenting the Faith overall in a clear and direct fashion, something which cannot be said for the Universal Catechism (CCC). Unfortunately, the presentation of the Church's social teaching is significantly hampered by the presentation of a very socialistic view which is not in line with authoritative Church teaching on the subject. I wish I could say that this is surprising, but it is not considering some of the other things which have come out of the conference. In future editions, if the issues in this area were fixed, it would be an excellent text to use.Having said all of that, I think people would be better served to pick up the wonderful Catechism by Fr. John Hardon, SJ. It is readable, faithful, clear and direct, etc.; all the things that a good catechism should be.  The Catholic Catechism: A Contemporary Catechism of the Teachings of the Catholic Church Good luck and God Bless...

My first comment pertains only to the Kindle edition, which I purchased today, for convenience of availability, as I lead a Faith Formation department at a large parish --The Kindle edition does not include Page Numbers! How silly! If I want to mark something in my Kindle edition, that I've noticed in my print edition, the closest I can immediately come is the CHAPTER -- not the page! Then, I have to check the print edition, to see what's on the page, and go back to the Kindle edition to find a page that looks like that in the chapter. In the Kindle edition you can only find things by Chapter. You could find your exact page, IF you already knew the "location number" that is assigned to that page in the Kindle version. The problem is, that you can't know that until AFTER you find the correct page. Sorry, Amazon, I love ya, but this is NUTS. This is THE reason why I give the KINDLE VERSION of this Book 4 stars, instead of 5. It's a demerit for KINDLE, not for the Book itself.The Kindle Version also leaves out all of the photos that appear in the print version.Now, I'll take a breath, and speak to the print edition of the Book, which I have also purchased through Amazon.It's excellent -- provided that you also own, and have ready at hand, a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The US Catholic Catechism for Adults is not an official doctrinal/dogmatic work; it is an instrument for catechesis, based upon the CCC. I keep my CCC, and the Compendium CCC at hand, to look up the references. As a leader of a Faith Formation department, I feel a responsibility to be able to "back up" what appears in any teaching instrument, with the actual text from the CCC and/or other official Church documents.

The United States Catechism for Adults (US Catechism) is THE book for RCIA in the United states. I am in my 7th year as director of an RCIA program in DC and use it in our RCIA program as the book the students read at home; the book that has assigned readings for each week. Then I ask the students to write in the "Reader's Journal for the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults" (Readers Journal), which they bring to class for small group discussions each week. They only have to bring the Readers Journal to class.In class we use questions from the "Compendium : Catechism of the Catholic Church" (Compendium) to launch into topics and teaching, and read aloud from paragraphs in the "Catechism of the Catholic Church" (CCC) to reinforce the points. As the teacher I am aided by the "Study Guide for the U.S. Adult Catholic Catechism" (Study Guide), which identifies what questions in the Compendium and what paragraphs in the CCC match the Chapter of the US Catechism.Then for video supplementation we are aided by components of the Catholicism series by Fr. Barron, and by the great new resource arrangement at Word on Fire (http://www.wordonfire.org/resources/browse/catechism/) which has Fr. Barron's 10 minute topic video pieces arranged by the Chapters of the CCC.Arranging the delivery and coverage of content at RCIA has gotten a lot easier!!

Book an assigned textbook for class

This book is easy to read and understand. It is fun to read and I am really enjoying the journey!

I had to read the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults for a course that I took. I expected it to be very dry and boring. I admit that it was well-written and simple to understand. The book is divided into thirty-six chapters and deals with the Catholic creed, the sacraments, Christian morality, and prayer. My favorite aspect of this volume is how each chapter is introduced with a relevant saint or holy person of the Catholic faith. Each chapter ended with discussion questions, a meditation, and a prayer. I found it to be edifying and enjoyable. This could also be a valuable reference book.

Arrived as promised. Easy read.