If the Catechism isn't infallible then what is its point?

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DrawNearToGod

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I am a new Catholic who thought that the Catechism was a summary of the Church’s teachings but I read that it’s not infallible. Why then should I read it?
 
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DrawNearToGod said:
I am a new Catholic who thought that the Catechism was a summary of the Church’s teachings but I read that it’s not infallible. Why then should I read it?
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Because while the Catechism itself isn’t infallible, it contains quite a lot of teachings that are. Those teachings are what are infallible, not the book itself.
 
DrawNearToGod said:
I am a new Catholic who thought that the Catechism was a summary of the Church’s teachings
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That is exactly what it is. The root word of catechism is catechesis— to teach. Catechism are books written to instruct people in the faith.
DrawNearToGod said:
but I read that it’s not infallible.
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This is a basic misunderstanding about infallibility. Books aren’t “infallible”.

Infallibility is a charism given to people. It’s given to the bishops teaching in union with the Pope and the Pope ex cathedra.
 
The recent change regarding the death penalty has exposed a weakness in our current catechism: while it generally describes dogmas in ¶ 88–90, it doesn’t clearly delineate the “hierarchy of truths”. It only clearly notes the Immaculate Conception (¶491) and the Holy Trinity (¶249–56) as dogmas. Obviously there are more, such as the Incarnation, Resurrection, Ascension, the Assumption of Mary, the Eucharist and the sacraments etc. — the catechism doesn’t identify them as dogmas. So that leads to the confusion that everything in the catechism is on the same order of infallible doctrine, which it obviously isn’t.

Cardinal Ratzinger wrote a helpful document about the creed: Profession of Faith that describes this “hierarchy” of doctrine.

My understanding of the moral teachings in the catechism is that they are all based on natural law, so they do not contradict the truth, but they may be incomplete or vague and further refined. The teaching on the death penalty for example, has been further developed to describe what is acceptable in the context of modern times, without contradicting the teaching that the death penalty may be licit in more primitive societies where and when it may be necessary for self-defence.
 
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Neithan said:
The teaching on the death penalty for example, has been further developed to describe what is acceptable in the context of modern times, without contradicting the teaching that the death penalty may be licit in more primitive societies where and when it may be necessary for self-defence.
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So whether or not capital punishment is morally wrong is relative to the culture?
 
DrawNearToGod said:
I am a new Catholic who thought that the Catechism was a summary of the Church’s teachings but I read that it’s not infallible. Why then should I read it?
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Everything in the Catechism is as infallible, or as not infallible, as the documents it is taken from. Some parts are taken from infallible councils but other parts are taken from non-infallible general writings. Unfortunately, the Catechism doesn’t clearly delineate what comes from what, so you have to actually look up the sources listed to figure it out.

It’s better to think of the Catechism as authoritative than infallible.
 
AlNg said:
So whether or not capital punishment is morally wrong is relative to the culture?
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The culture? I’m not sure what you mean.

Killing a person is morally wrong, relative to the circumstances. It may be licit if necessary for self-defence, either individually or corporately. The latter is not justified where there is an effective system of detention.
  1. Recourse to the death penalty on the part of legitimate authority, following a fair trial, was long considered an appropriate response to the gravity of certain crimes and an acceptable, albeit extreme, means of safeguarding the common good.
Today, however, there is an increasing awareness that the dignity of the person is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes. In addition, a new understanding has emerged of the significance of penal sanctions imposed by the state.

Lastly, more effective systems of detention have been developed, which ensure the due protection of citizens but, at the same time, do not definitively deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption.

Consequently, the Church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that “the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person”,[1] and she works with determination for its abolition worldwide.
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[emphasis added]
 
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Neithan said:
The culture? I’m not sure what you mean.
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The death penalty is not morally acceptable in modern societies.
The death penalty was morally acceptable in primitive societies.
Is that not what you have indicated?
 
Right, but the development of an effective system of detention would be the key issue. I guess cultural values could have an effect on whether that happens or not, and the gospel promotes a culture of life. If individual life has no value other than what the state determines, then it’s more difficult to see how capital punishment is an attack on the “inviolability and dignity of the person.”
 
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According to Fr. John Trigilio, PhD, ThD, and Fr. Kenneth Brighenti, PhD, all of the teaching contained within the normal magisterium may be considered to be infallible. This from their popular book Catholicism for Dummies.

For a new, or even seasoned Catholic, I highly recommend it.
 
DrawNearToGod said:
I am a new Catholic who thought that the Catechism was a summary of the Church’s teachings but I read that it’s not infallible. Why then should I read it?
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The CCC per se is not an infallible document but it contains a summary of Church teachings, both infallible and non-infallible, plus disciplines.
It does not matter which of the teachings contained therein are infallible or non-infallible because Catholics are bound by both.
 
Read the footnotes and references. You will find Scripture, Vatican documents, etc. The CCC is a reference tool. You will live a holy life if you follow what is in the Catechism. Even if corrections to translations are made in the future, obeying what was in the CCC won’t steer you wrong, you simply correct course a bit when the changes come down.
 
AlNg said:
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Neithan:
The teaching on the death penalty for example, has been further developed to describe what is acceptable in the context of modern times, without contradicting the teaching that the death penalty may be licit in more primitive societies where and when it may be necessary for self-defence.
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So whether or not capital punishment is morally wrong is relative to the culture?
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Not necessarily “culture”. It’s more a matter of, “can this particular people have relative hope that violent offenders who otherwise would have received the death penalty will remain in prison?” For people like us in the United States who have a modern prison system, we can have this relative hope. Those in underdeveloped nations might not. And so, a government wouldn’t necessarily be wrong to utilize the death penalty because they have a duty to keep their citizens safe. If they can do so without the death penalty, they are obliged to. If they can’t, it is allowable.
 
DrawNearToGod said:
I am a new Catholic who thought that the Catechism was a summary of the Church’s teachings but I read that it’s not infallible. Why then should I read it?
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It is not only the irreformable that Catholics are responsible to assent to.

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Professio fidei (1998):
I, N., with firm faith believe and profess each and everything that is contained in the Symbol of faith, namely:

I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

With firm faith, I also believe everything contained in the word of God, whether written or handed down in Tradition, which the Church, either by a solemn judgment or by the ordinary and universal Magisterium, sets forth to be believed as divinely revealed.

I also firmly accept and hold each and everything definitively proposed by the Church regarding teaching on faith and morals.

Moreover, I adhere with religious submission of will and intellect to the teachings which either the Roman Pontiff or the College of Bishops enunciate when they exercise their authentic Magisterium, even if they do not intend to proclaim these teachings by a definitive act.
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http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/c...c_con_cfaith_doc_1998_professio-fidei_en.html
 
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