I need help in decoding Catechism book footnotes

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smitty575 said:
I certainly hope I have this in the right forum but I need help understand the footnotes in *Catechism of The Catholic Church *ISBN: 0-385-47967-0
On page 260 footnote 439 reads “St. Thomas Aquinas, STb,III,71, 4 ad 3” I think it refers to Question 71 of Third Part Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas but what does “4 ad 3” mean?
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The 4 refers to Article 4 (“Whether it belongs to a priest to catechize …”). “Ad” is the Latin word meaning “to” or “towards,” so “ad 3” refers to the reply to objection 3.
 
Ok let’s lay this out plainly.

Page 260, footnote 439, of Smitty’s edition, corresponds to Paragraph 904 of the Catechism, which reads in full:
904 "Christ … fulfills this prophetic office, not only by the hierarchy … but also by the laity. He accordingly both establishes them as witnesses and provides them with the sense of the faith sensus fidei] and the grace of the word"⁴³⁸To teach in order to lead others to faith is the task of every preacher and of each believer.⁴³⁹
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Here are footnotes 438 and 439:
⁴³⁸LG 35.
⁴³⁹St. Thomas Aquinas, STh. III, 71, 4 *ad *3.
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Footnote 438 is of course Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, paragraph 35. Footnote 439, however, is St Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, Part 3, Question 71, Article 4, Reply to objection 3. Which reads:
Question 71. The preparations that accompany Baptism
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Article 4. Whether it belongs to a priest to catechize and exorcize the person to be baptized?
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Objection 3. Further, a man, when catechized, confesses his faith. Now a child cannot confess its faith by itself, nor can anyone else in its stead; both because no one can bind another to do anything; and because one cannot know whether the child, having come to the right age, will give its assent to faith. Therefore catechism should not precede Baptism.
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Reply to Objection 3. Instruction is manifold. One leads to the embracing of the Faith; and is ascribed by Dionysius to bishops (Eccl. Hier. ii) and can be undertaken by any preacher, or even by any believer. Another is that by which a man is taught the rudiments of faith, and how to comport himself in receiving the sacraments: this belongs secondarily to the ministers, primarily to the priests. A third is instruction in the mode of Christian life: and this belongs to the sponsors. A fourth is the instruction in the profound mysteries of faith, and on the perfection of Christian life: this belongs to bishops “ex officio,” in virtue of their office.
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The bold part is what the footnote is referring to.

Oh, and for the record, “Eccl. Hier. ii” refers to Dionysius the Areopagite, Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, Chapter 2.
 
This is exactly the reason why we need something simple and straightforward to teach the faith to the majority of the people. Three posters needed to decipher a footnote. Too many different ways to interpret what is there or to even read it.

That s the main reason I gave up trying to understand the current catechism. Too difficult to decipher and too complex for most folks.
 
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