Will a New Catechism Turn the Tide?
By Awake! correspondent in Italy
“A CATECHISM for the Year 2000,” “The List of New Sins,” “New Image for the Church”—these are some recent headlines in the Italian press on the new Catechism of the Catholic Church, published so far in French, German, Italian, and Spanish. In Italy the sales of the catechism rose to 110,000 copies in less than three weeks. Of course, in a Catholic country of nearly 58 million people, that figure is somewhat short of sensational. An Italian writer said that any who buy it “only seeking a catalog of new sins” will be in for a “disappointment.”
On December 7, 1992, Pope John Paul II officially presented the 450-page book that he called a “compendium of Catholic faith and morals.” It had taken more than six years of drafting and redrafting, along with much criticism from the Catholic world, to produce this volume. Naturally, it perpetuates Christendom’s mystery “of the Most Holy Trinity . . . , the central mystery of the faith.” It also says that “every spiritual soul is created directly by God . . . , and it is immortal.” (Compare 1 Corinthians 15:28; Matthew 24:36; see also Ezekiel 18:4, 20.) But why was a new catechism deemed necessary?
One Catholic scholar wrote: “Many catechisms published by diocesan centers for catechism are extremely rash, full of dogmatical errors and extravagance.” Yet these have been used for years to indoctrinate faithful Catholics. The Catholic publication La Civiltà Cattolica stated that the new text was to give “an important help in guaranteeing the unity of the faith,” which has been shaken in recent decades. The pope himself stated: “It is not easy to see what developments this catechism will bring about. However, . . . it could be a valuable, fruitful instrument for deeper knowledge and an authentic spiritual and moral renewal.”
Will that really be the case? Will this catechism heal the disunity of Catholics? These divisions have been particularly evident in the way Catholics worldwide react to such issues as abortion, contraception, liberation theology, and participation in so-called just wars (even when they result in Catholics killing Catholics). At a higher level, antipathy and division have been brewing between the now powerful Opus Dei, backed by the pope and many influential members of the hierarchy, and the Jesuits, now displaced in the pope’s affections.
Will this catechism change the hearts and the conduct of the thousands of Italian political and business leaders recently involved in corruption and scandals? Just how deeply will this document really affect the conduct of the ruling elite of Italy? If it fails to change the ethics of the ruling class, why should the average Catholic be influenced? Since the volume has 450 pages—and reading is not the most popular activity of the masses—is a lasting impact on behavior to be expected?