Best source of Authentic Catholic Teaching

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Genesis315 said:
This is not really a good answer.
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It was an excellent and appropriate answer. The question was not about validity, it was about what is the best source. That remains the current Catechism of the Catholic Church, promulgated by saint John Paul II.

All previous sources, where the doctrine does remain constant, have “gotchas” that are not the current mind of the Church on various matters. Thus they need to be used carefully by people with an already solid grounding in the faith. They should not be used to catechize converts or reverts today.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
Similarly, the fact that the Church now sees certain marriages of Catholics and Protestants in the Catholic Church in a different light is doctrinally based.
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It is seen in the same light. A dispensation is still needed for a mixed marriage or a marriage with another minister witnessing.

The penalty in the past was based on doctrine that is still true today–the unity of the Church. Going to a Protestant minister for marriage without permission or having one’s child baptized by a Protestant pastor without permission witnessed against the unity of the Church. It is why such things are still forbidden. Excommunication is an appropriate penalty because by it’s nature it is a penalty that breaks one’s unity with the Church (so it is an appropriate penalty for sins against unity).

Just letting the sin be a sin without an ecclesiastical penalty is certainly a valid approach, but it doesn’t necessarily elucidate the underlying doctrine as brightly.
 
The Baltimore Catechism (1891) states that a Catholic who marries before a Protestant minister will be “excommunicated”.
This is not done today, and has not been done for decades. The person still has committed a sin, but it does not carry the excommunication penalty under the canon law due to a change in the code. (Confirmed by acanonlawyer on another recent thread.)
It doesn’t matter if you think it “elucidates the underlying doctrine” more brightly to excommunicate people - it’s simply not a ground for excommunication now, and isn’t done.

The Baltimore Catechism (1891) states that a Catholic who marries a Protestant in the Catholic Church cannot have their wedding in the church or in the sacristy, cannot have a Mass, and the priest cannot use holy water, sacred vestments, or bless the ring.
Again, this has not been the case for decades.

I realize that some people will go to any lengths to try to make out that the Catechism hasn’t changed, but the fact of the matter is that it has. Significantly.
The truth of the Catholic faith has NOT changed, but how the Church chooses to express those truths in some cases has. And that change is what’s reflected in the Catechism.

This is my last word on the subject, because anybody who reads the old one and reads the new one gets what I mean.
 
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The Baltimore gives a very concise overview of the basics. Think of it as an outline. It’s a starting point, a syllabus.
 
kill051 said:
Really? Not even the Baltimore Catechism?
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In addition to what has already been said, the Baltimore Catechism was always a local catechism, not a universal one. The last truly universal catechism prior to our current CCC was the Catechism of the Council of Trent.

In addition to the CCC, there is the Compendium and also the YOUCAT. Those latter two are both in Q&A format and are written in more understandable language, while also referencing the CCC for further info. If I feel the larger CCC is “too much” for a person where they are at (and it is too much for some starting out), then I recommend either of those over the Baltimore Catechism.

Not to disparage the Baltimore Catechism. It served it’s purpose. And if people like it and want to keep using it, that’s fine by me. But if someone is looking for the best source of authentic Catholic teaching today, the CCC (and it’s related companions) is a better bet.
 
commenter said:
The Baltimore gives a very concise overview of the basics. Think of it as an outline. It’s a starting point, a syllabus.
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So does the current Compendium though. And it has the benefit of being current.
 
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