From: conan@durban.berkeley.edu (David Cruz-Uribe)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian
Subject: Catechisms
Date: 14 Aug 92 07:19:56 GMT
Organization: U.C. Berkeley Math. Department.

This is not an article with a coherent theme; rather, it is a
series of musings and questions on the subject of catechisms.  
Were it better organized, I would be tempted to call it "A
Prologema to any Future Catechism" for reasons which will be
clear below.

As I posted a while ago, Pope John Paul II has approved the 
text of the new universal catechism.  The definitive text is
(presumably) in Latin, and it will be made available once 
translations have been made into other languages.  

According to remarks made by Cardinal Ratzinger, the catechism
grew out of a request by the bishops attending the synod of 
bishops in 1985 (1986?).  The Pope appointed a commission of 
bishops and theologians to draft the document.  Drafts were
circulated to all the bishops and their feedback was incorporated
into the text.  More importantly, the Pope took a personal interest
in the catechism and made substantive contributions to it.  (This
may actually be a good thing--books written by committee usually
sink below the level of the weakest member.  Attempts to write
a catechism after the council of Trent floundered so badly that
St. Robert Bellarmine eventually just adapted the catechism he
wrote for his diocese.)

In the press conference announcing the catechism, Cardinal Ratzinger
stressed the fact that the new catechism was not to become the
single catechism used everywhere in the church--bishops, collectively
or singly, had the responsibility to create catechisms for their
own dioceses, ones which were adapted to the "social, cultural and
pedagogical" needs of the people.  The new catechism was to serve
as a reference and model, and also was intended to be a resource
for catechists.

It should come as no great surprise that reaction to the new catechism
divides along "liberal" and "conservative" lines.  Conservatives seem
to see it as a bulwark against the heresies, errors, and plain
fuzziness they see being propagated.  Liberals seem to fear the
imposition of doctrinal uniformity.  (In fact, a recent article in
the _Nation_ cited the "imposition" of the new catechism as a
sign of the revanchist tendencies of the Pope.)  One of my reasons
for writing this post is to solicit opinions about the new catechism,
and about the prospects of some or all of the American bishops writing
a catechism.  Such a document could be quite exciting:  shortly
after Vatican II the Dutch bishops wrote a catechism which was
good in many parts but was a doctrinal disaster in many others.

More generally, I would be interested in people's opinions about
catechisms.  I was discussing this subject with my spiritual director,
and she indicated that she didn't think that any catechism was of
value--she felt that it led to a reductionist philosophy:  "this 
book contains all the answers".  I disagreed, arguing that since
Catholicism is a faith strong on doctrine, Catholics and especially
catechists need an authoritative reference for answers about the 
faith.  (One way I see a catechism is as a giant FAQ file for the
Catholic faith :-).)  My recent experiences with researching Papal 
infallibility have shown the need for something which allows me
to distinguish between what the Church teaches and what one or
more theologians holds.  

Two final questions:  

1) I quit reading catechisms years ago.  Could I get feedback from
people about what's out there, and opinions about their strengths
and weaknesses?

2) This seems to be a question peculiar to Catholics:  do Protestants
use catechisms?  I know that Luther wrote two, and that some of
the Reformation confessions served dual purpose, but are there more
recent ones?  Who writes them, and is there any mechanism in the
various denominations to give them "approved" status?

Yours in Christ,

David Cruz-Uribe, SFO

[Many Protestants use catechisms.  I believe Lutherans still do.  The
Westminster catechism is famous, and was used until fairly recently in
most Presbyterian and other Reformed churches.  I assume some of the
more conservative branches still use it.  Now and again you'll hear
quotations from it even in the PCUSA.  When I was confirmed in the
Methodist Church (ca. 1962) a catechism was used in confirmation
class, and we were required to memorize one question and answer from
it.  I wish I could remember which catechism it is.  I keep thinking
it was the Shorter Westminster catechism, as unlikely as that might
seem on doctrinal grounds.  --clh]