 |
Saint Anthony of Padua
14 Phoenix St Shirley Ma 01464 978-425-4588 |
Please click on the links below to view our Religious Education documentation for
Please note that different printers have different settings, to print the documents attached please use your print preview setting to adjust your printer to print the document to proper size.
The
Catechism of the Catholic Church (or CCC)
is the official text of the teachings of the Catholic Church
A catechism has been defined as "a summary of principles, often in question-and-answer format". Although handbooks of religious instruction have been written since the time of the Church Fathers, the term "catechism" was first applied to them in the 16th century, beginning with Martin Luther's 1529 publications. Mostly, they are meant for use in class or other formal instruction.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, for which the usual English-language abbreviation is CCC, is instead a source on which to base such catechisms and other expositions of Catholic doctrine. It was given, as stated in the Apostolic Constitution Fidei depositum, with which its publication was ordered, "that it may be a sure and authentic reference text for teaching catholic doctrine and particularly for preparing local catechisms." The CCC is in fact not in question and answer format. What corresponds the more common idea of a catechism is perhaps the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
CCC is arranged in four principal parts: