The Baltimore Catechism

[Fidelis]

I’ll go down as somebody who just doesn’t like the BC. To me it’s the knuckle-rapping version of Catholicism. It may get the facts right, but it gives a distorted view of the entire faith. I can definitely see some of the post-Vatican II excesses as (over) reactions against it.

I would agree with you if a person’s religious education stopped with the Baltimore Catechism at age 10. But it’s real value is in building a firm foundation. After these basic truths have been inculcated, further RE must build upon it, growing in depth and complexity as the person matures.

One of the reason we have so many adult Catholics walking around now with a child’s knowledge of the truths of the Faith is that they stopped learning after they graduated from the BC. Because of the vaucity of RE after Vatican II, there was nothing for the children of the sixties and seventies to feed their minds. What a terrible waste.

With all the great resources out there these days, however, there’s no excuse for it. The Catholic Faith is so profound and rich, one could --and should-- never stop learning.