Angelus News | September 23, 2022 | Vol. 7 No. 19

would set out Catholic doctrine in
light of Vatican II as its predecessor had
done after Trent?
The synod’s answer was a resounding
yes. The pope readily agreed. Conceptually,
at least, the Catechism of the
Catholic Church had been born.
A commission of 12 cardinals chaired
by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect
of the Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith, was established to draft the
text, assisted by a committee of seven
diocesan bishops. Looking back many
years later, Cardinal Ratzinger — now
known to the world as Pope Benedict
XVI — called it “a miracle … that this
project was ultimately successful.”
One obvious reason for his surprise
was the sheer magnitude of the project.
The synod participants had asked
for “a catechism or compendium of
all Catholic doctrine regarding both
faith and morals” to serve as a point of
reference for national catechisms. The
presentation of doctrine, they said, had
to be “biblical and liturgical” as well
as “suited to the present life of Christians.”
That would have been asking a lot
in the best of circumstances, and the
circumstances surrounding the writing
of the catechism were far from best. In
fact, not everyone welcomed the idea
of a universal catechism, especially
those who found doctrinal dissent and
confusion congenial to their purposes
and were happy to have it continue.
Looked at from that perspective, an
authorized text setting out the faith of
the Church in black and white would
only get in the way.
Despite the opposition, however,
over the next seven years Cardinal
Ratzinger’s “miracle” moved steadily
ahead. Written in French, nine separate
drafts were prepared. The commission
of cardinals sent a preliminary
text to the world’s bishops seeking their
comments, and soon the responses
were pouring in. While reaction to
the text was generally positive, 24,000
separate comments arrived proposing
additions, subtractions, and changes.
The approved text was finally published
on Oct. 11, 1992 — significantly,
the 30th anniversary of the opening
of Vatican Council II — together with
an “apostolic constitution” by Pope
John Paul titled “Fidei Depositum”
(“The Deposit of Faith”).
Just as St. Pope John XXIII had
convened the council with the aim
of safeguarding the body of doctrine
entrusted to the Church and making
it more accessible, so also, Pope John
Paul said, the Catechism of the Catholic
Church now stood as “a sure norm
for teaching the faith and thus a valid
and legitimate instrument for ecclesial
communion.”
Citing the first letter of St. Peter, the
pope said the catechism was intended
for the Church’s pastors in their capacity
as teachers, for lay Catholics seeking
to deepen their faith, and for anyone
looking for “an account of the hope
that is in us … who wants to know
what the Catholic Church believes.”
Adopting the same structure as the
Catechism of the Council of Trent,
the text organizes its 2,865 numbered
paragraphs in four major sections
(“pillars”): the creed, the liturgy and
sacraments, the Christian way of life
considered according to the order of
the Ten Commandments, and prayer
discussed in reference to the petitions
of the Our Father.
In presenting the catechism, Pope
John Paul
St. Pope John Paul II
tasked Cardinal Joseph
Ratzinger, the future
Pope Benedict XVI, with
overseeing the drafting of
the catechism during the
1980s. Pope Benedict later
called the completion
of the seven-year process
a “miracle.” | CNS/
CATHOLIC PRESS
emphasized
the Christ-centered
nature of
this structure:
“Having died and
risen, Christ is
always present
in his Church,
especially in the
sacraments; he is
the source of our
faith, the model
of Christian
conduct, and the
teacher of our prayer.”
While doctrinal formulations are
the heart of the catechism, the text
includes a lot else besides. One of the
features of the catechism is its extensive
use of material drawn from sources that
include the Old and New Testaments,
the Fathers and doctors of the Church,
ecumenical councils, papal documents,
and canon law. In this way the
reader comes in touch with the lived
faith as it has been transmitted over the
centuries and expressed by persons as
diverse as St. Augustine and St. Thomas
Aquinas, St. Teresa of Ávila and St.
Thérèse of Lisieux.
But for readers who don’t want quite
so many words, the Vatican in 2005
published a Compendium of the
Catechism of the Catholic Church
described by Pope Benedict XVI as
a “faithful and sure synthesis” of the
older, longer work. Organized on the
same plan as the catechism, he said, it
states the elements of Catholic belief
September 23, 2022 • ANGELUS • 11