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68 of 74 people found the following review helpful: Great new resource, September 1, 2006 By  Lisa M. Hendey "Lisa, CatholicMom.com Webmaster" (Fresno, CA United States) - See all my reviews       I just received my copy of the United States Catholic Cathechism for Adults and am looking forward to studying my way through it in greater detail during the coming months. The book's layout and design are very "user friendly" and promote an immediate interest. The biographical vignettes at the beginning of each segment of the book offer unique and realistic role models for American Catholics. The primary parts of the book are 1) the Creed; 2) the Sacraments; 3) Christian Morality; and 4) Prayer. Additonal and very helpful components of this book as a resource are the scriptural index and the very detailed alphabetical index, which make finding information on specific topics very simple. The book also includes all of the traditional Catholic prayers and a complete glossary. Each chapter also includes discussion questions, doctrinal statements, an inspiring meditation and a closing prayer. The book description notes that this would be an excellent resource for RCIA candidates and those exploring the faith, but I also feel it is a great tool for those, like myself, looking to learn and grow in our own commitment to our Church.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)

73 of 76 people found the following review helpful: Not Your Father's Catechism!, September 6, 2006 By  Carol Blank (USA) - See all my reviews A few weeks before this catechism was released, one of our parish priests said, "We read The DaVinci Code, but we don't have time to study the catechism. There's something wrong with that." He also said every family should own a copy of the catechism. For adults, this new offering from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops would more than fill the bill. While the underlying doctrine of the catechism remains unchanged, this version, like others published since 1992, goes beyond a stripped down question and answer format. As an adaptation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, this adult edition is arranged in four sections: creed, sacraments, moral life, and prayer. Each chapter contains seven elements that bring depth to the material and also allow for flexibility of study by individuals and groups: Story or lesson of faith, foundation and application, sidebars, relationship to culture, discussion questions, doctrinal statements, and meditation and prayer. For example, in the chapter on the second commandment, Reverence for God's Name, the story is about Job's unshakable faith. Foundation and application reviews what the second commandment calls us to do and not do. The sidebar lists three questions and answers on the second commandment from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The relationship of the second commandment to culture reviews scripture passages on the importance of God's name in our faith life; we are reminded to model and encourage proper use of God's name and to discourage others from improper use. The discussion questions relate to practices in the family and workplace. Doctrinal statements encompass blasphemy, baptismal names, and using God's name to witness a perjury or false oath. The chapter closes with a meditation based on scripture and the Divine Praises prayer. The book also contains a glossary, traditional Catholic prayers, reading list, scriptural index, and general index. It is a superior resource for clergy, pastoral leaders, catechists, faith sharing groups, and individuals who would like to know more about the Catholic faith.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)

36 of 49 people found the following review helpful: A Welcome Return to Sound Catechesis, December 31, 2006 By  Rich Leonardi "http://richleonardi.blogspot.com" (Cincinnati, Ohio) - See all my reviews As other reviewers have noted, the bishops have produced a solid, reliable teaching tool with this new U.S. Adult Catechism. Were it to become the standard text in RCIA and parish-based faith formation programs, we might see a needed and much-desired renewal in catechesis. There are a handful of drawbacks, however. (And since other reviewers have already highlighted the book's many virtues, I won't spend time repeating them here.) The bishops chose to include profiles of both Cardinal Joseph Bernardin and labor leader Cesar Chavez. Cardinal Bernardin is a polarizing figure, given his role in promoting the now-discredited "seamless garment" policy toward abortion and his questionable leadership in the Archdioceses of Cincinnati and Chicago. (Virtually all of Cincinnati's sexually-abusive priests were "Bernardin men.") And Chavez's liberal approach to labor relations is by no means a position Catholics are compelled to adopt. The book has been embraced by the catechetical establishment in this country; that is not necessarily a good thing, since they are largely responsible for our current weak state of catechesis. The sections which encourage reflection and discussion could easily become excuses to conduct the sort of dorm-room bull sessions that have characterized all too many parish-based programs. That may not be the fault of the text, but it is nonetheless the context in which it finds itself. And at a hefty 664 pages, it's hardly much shorter than the supposedly too-long-to-read Catechism of the Catholic Church. It's also unclear how this book ought to be squared with the new Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The USCCB claims that book is for younger readers, yet the Holy Father states that the Compendium is "for every Christian believer, regardless of age or nationality." That said, the new U.S. Adult Catechism signals a welcome return of the bishops to sound catechesis. They -- and we -- have come a long way since the days of endless pastoral letters of dubious doctrinal value.  Comments (10) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)