Compendium to the Cathechism?

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maria_rose

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What is the compendium to the Cathechism ? How does it differ from the Cathechism? :confused:
Please explain!
God love you!
 
Hello Maria,

These words are from the introduction to the Compendium, which should help explain its purpose. 👍
  1. There are three principal characteristics of the Compendium: the close reliance on the Catechism of the Catholic Church; the dialogical format; the use of artistic images in the catechesis.
The Compendium is not a work that stands alone, nor is it intended in any way to replace the Catechism of the Catholic Church: instead, it refers constantly to the Catechism by means of reference numbers printed in the margins, as well as by consistent reliance on its structure, development and contents. In fact, the Compendium is meant to reawaken interest in and enthusiasm for the Catechism, which, in the wisdom of its presentation and the depth of its spirituality, always remains the basic text for catechesis in the Church today.

vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html
 
I like to think of the *Compendium *as the “Reader’s Digest condensed version” of the Catechism. It follows the same basic structure as the full *Catechism *(Creed/Sacraments/Commandments/Prayer), but each topic is covered much more briefly, and in Q&A format. Each section of the *Compendium *has marginal references to the paragraphs in the *Catechism *where you can find the “whole story.”

It’s not a substitute for the whole Catechism, but it is easier to read and more approachable for beginners. We have been using it with some success in our parish as the basic text for our RCIA program this year.
 
maria_rose said:
What is the compendium to the Cathechism ? How does it differ from the Cathechism? :confused:
Please explain!
God love you!
Click to expand...
May I suggest to you that you purchase the US Catechism for Adults? The Compendium is online as is the Catechism.

Compendium at Vatican Website as linked in other reply

Just type into your search engine and you will find that the US Catechism for Adults is available many places, including in the USCCB website.👍

Kelly
 
The original catecism was primarily intended for bishops, priests, etc. and was intended as a foundation and reference for catechesis but not intended as a primary source for someone learning the faith (although it is fine to use it for that).

The compendium is much shorter and easier to read and is intended as a more basic starting point for the average lay catholic so as not to be overwelmed by the hugeness of the original CCC.

The USCCB Adult Catechism is a local catechism developed for the use in the united states specifically for Adult Catechesis. It is a more oriented toward those learning the faith and has prayers and lives of saints etc in each section. The Catechism (CCC) and Compendium are both doctrinal only but the Adult Catechism has a lot more life application type stuff making it very well suited for teaching lessons and etc.

So really all three new Catechism have their own “nitch”. The CCC is the “parent” of the other two and should be referred to for more detailed explainations when questions arise.
 
Thank you so much for your answers. It helped clear this up for me. I have the Cathechism of The Catholic Church, so I’m fine. Just thought I was missing out on something important.
God love you!👍
 
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