Spanish bishops encourage use of Compendium in conjunction with full Catechism

Madrid, Spain, Jun 28, 2005 / 22:00 pm

The bishops of Spain have expressed their satisfaction at the publication of the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, presented by Pope Benedict XVI this Tuesday at the Vatican, and they encouraged its use, not isolated from but in conjunction with the full Catechism approved by John Paul II in 1992.

In a statement issued by the Bishops’ Conference of Spain, the director of the Secretariat of the bishops’ Subcommittee on Catechesis, Juan Ignacio Rodriguez, said, “The text will fulfill its purpose if it is not used independently of the Catechism itself.  This is not something isolated; rather it acquires meaning based on the very structure of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and in complete relation to its contents.”

The statement reiterates the responsibility of all believers in the catechetical mission of the Church, but it makes particular mention of the importance that catechists “have a deep knowledge of the Catechism of the Catholic Church,” and that this Compendium will provide them with another instrument to accomplish this goal.

The Holy Father presented the new Compendium during a ceremony in the Clementine Hall of the Vatican.  “It is not a new Catechism, but rather a Compendium that faithfully reflects the Catechism of the Catholic Church” and “maintains all of its authority and importance intact,” he said. 

Likewise during the ceremony, Archbishop Angelo Amato, secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, clarified that the Compendium “is not an autonomous work and is not intended in any way to be a substitute for the Catechism of the Catholic Church.”  He noted the Compendium contains detailed references to the Catechism and follows its same structure and layout.