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The Catechism of the Council of Trent

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CATECHISM OF THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. Rev. John A. McHugh, O.P. and Chas J. Callan, O.P. Referred to as the Roman Catechism, it was composed by order of the Council of Trent under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Edited by St. Charles Borromeo. Published by decree of Pope St. Pius V. Prescribed by Pope St. Pius X to be used by all priests in instructing the faithful. Recommended by Pope Leo XIII for all seminarians. Pope Clement XIII said it contains a clear explanation of all that is necessary for salvation and useful for the faithful. Covers the basic knowledge of the Faith by detailed explanations of the Ten Commandments, Sacraments, and each word of the Apostles Creed and the Our Father. Includes over 5 pages, for example, on just the word "Amen" at the end of the Our Father. Easy to read. Cardinal Ratzinger called this "the most important Catholic catechism" the most exact English translation available anywhere today.

Formerly called the Roman Catechism, His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI (Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger) said in this edition of the catechism that this is an important Catholic catechism.

St. Charles Borromeo was the chief editor of this catechism and later published by the degree of His Holiness, Pope St. Pius V. Pope Leo XIII recommended the Roman Catechism to all seminarians. His successor, Pope St. Pius X issued this [the Catechism of the Council of Trent] to be used by the religious to instruct the laity on the Catholic Faith. Recently, Pope Benedict XVI (Cardinal Joseph Alois Ratzinger) recommended it as an important Catholic catechism to be read.

It covers each detail of the Seven Sacraments (*Seven Holy Mysteries) of the Catholic Church including the Our Father (Pater Noster) and Hail Mary (Ave Maria).

*Seven Holy Mysteries is the name of the Seven Holy Sacraments but is commonly used by the Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church (ie. Byzantine, Maronite, etc).

The greatest catechism recommended by the saints--some who were Popes and a great theologian.

Every Catholic home should have this important catechism about the Holy Catholic Faith as it was reaffirmed by the present Holy Father, Benedict XVI to be "an important Catholic catechism".

This greatest of Catechisms was published after the great Council of Trent in response to the errors of the protestant revolt. It was edited under the guidance of Saint Charles Borromeo and was used for centuries (with the approbation of many Popes) as an important part in the formation of Catholic priests. It is specifically written to instruct priests and religious, but as the introduction to the work says, this catechism is designed for, "such as have care of souls in those things that belong peculiarly to the pastoral office . . ." So it is intended ultimately for the instruction of all the faithful.

While it is not a complete and exhaustive explanation of every detail of every dogma, it is designed to present a basic and overall understanding which any Catholic should possess. At a time when many Church teachings are greatly misunderstood by many even among the faithful of the Church, The Roman Catechism speaks with an authority unparalleled by any other catechism due to its centuries of hallowed use and approval by so many Ecclesiastical authorities and Supreme Pontiffs. I highly recommend it to anyone serious about understanding the Catholic Faith.

This is indeed the best catechism available. The translation is excellent. How it teaches matrimony, transubstantiation, the real presence, Christ's death--everything--is pedagogically sublime. It is well footnoted so you can easily find more information in, e.g., the The Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas, and it contains appendices with updated doctrines since the Council of Trent like the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Although I am not a priest and this book's primary audience is the clergy, it still suits every Catholic very well. My favorite part is the "Sermon Program," a subject index that lists page numbers in the catechism pertaining to the dogmatic and moral themes of each Sunday mass and other important masses. For example, on Palm Sunday the "Dogmatic Subject" is "The Death of Our Lord" and the "Moral Subject" is "The Vice of Avarice."

This is the official Catholic Church teaching presented in clear language that cannot be misunderstood by any universalist Modernist.

If you want to know what you must believe as a Catholic, if you want to know what the Roman Catholic Church teaches, this is the book to consult and study!

Catholic doctrines are clearly presented, point by point.

They are phrased along the lines of:

"This is what you MUST absolutely hold and belief in order to be considered a Catholic in good standing. If you do not believe this, anathema sit!"

The phraselogy may not be conciliatory in tone, and can sound strong, but it leaves no room for Liberal or Modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrines. Compare this historical official document to all post-Vatican II publications and the New Modern Catechism!

Understand the old language, tone and the historical contexts that they were set in! In the 16th century, the Church had seen how the Protestant Revolt had torn and dashed the fabric of Christainity into pieces and needed to define itself on where it stood and on what doctrinal grounds.

If you're ever confused as to what Catholics and Protestants believe, this official Catholic book sums them all up.

If today's Sunday school teachers aren't using this book, you may already know that we're now facing another crisis.

The Catechism of the Council of Trent

Really an indispensable reference for anyone who really wants to understand the Church's reaction to the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Counter Reformation.

Includes a 30 page introduction to the actual work that affords the reader invaluable background information in order to put the work into historical perspective.

A careful reading of both this work and the "new" post Vatican II Universal Catechism of the Catholic Church will reveal to the reader, in my opinion, a change in emphasis and presentation of basic Church Dogma without changing the actual dogma itself as so many have claimed.

This is the second copy I have purchased since lending out my first copy to a priest friend of mine. He was equally impressed and enthusiastic about this book so I donated the first copy to the House library for everyone's reference and ordered a replacement copy for my own library.

Really a "must have" for anyone seriously interested in the history of the Catholic Church.

The Roman Catechism, or Catechism of the Council of Trent, is the greatest Catechism the Church has ever seen. Borrowing from the multitude of authoritative and inspired writings of the Saints, Fathers, and Councils, this Catechism provides an invaluable answer to all the questions Faithful and infidels have about the Faith. Avoiding the ambiguity, erroneousness and heretical flavor of modern Catechisms, the Roman Catechism is teeming with orthodoxy. This version, well translated and edited, also has a few excerpts of Papal writings in the appendixes. This Catechism is authoritative and pastoral, and tells the Truth as it is, with utmost simplicity and purity.

Though many years old, the Catechism of the Council of Trent still tells clearly what the Church believes and give a guide for those who preach from the old Lectionary, i.e. 1962 Missal or 1928 Book of Common Prayer. A great review of the Christian Fatih as well for those who want a one volume review.

DO NOT BUY THIS PARTICULAR KINDLE VERSION: It is just a freely available, public domain PDF that someone uploaded to the Kindle service, and the text that results from the conversion process is nearly unreadable. The table of contents (with its interminable punctuation) is unusable and stretches on for scores of pages, and there are numerous other errors and formatting atrocities. You can get a sense of the mess from the free sample portion.

The content of the Trent Catechism itself is an extremely important example of the Catholic Magisterium, for both historical and dogmatic reasons. But this particular Kindle version is NOT the way to read it.

Get the other Kindle version (with the maroon cover featuring painting of the Council), which is a far superior product (with a working Table of Contents, and an elegant layout).

It has many, many typos and does not display well. I am much happier with The Catechism of the Council of Trent (1566), which looks better and fixes those errors. Try the free samples and you can see the difference.