Customer Reviews

The Catholic Catechism: A Contemporary Catechism of the Teachings of the Catholic Church

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I remember, more than 20 years after the fact, reading this book cover to cover while in college, and realizing for the first time that the whole thing made deep sense. I have recommended this book as a basic adult introduction to the teachings of the Catholic Church many times since, and continue to do so today.

When I was looking at Catholicism in the early 1990s, this was the only book available to me on Catholic doctrine in my public library. I lived in a very small, mostly Mormon town.

This book was a huge influence on my life. I ended up becoming Catholic after my move to Salt Lake City. I have often referred back to this book. It is very clealy written and quite useful to the ordinary Catholic.

You won't find anything in here that is contrary to Catholic teaching. It is a faithful and sure exposition of the Catholic faith.

Fr. Hardon, I am glad to say, is a model of orthodoxy. This book is well-organized, and the sections on abortion and the Virgin Mary are particularly good. The writing, however, is very wordy and sometimes ornate; after 570 pages, it gets to be a bit much. Worse is his tendency to dismiss serious objections to the faith with little more than hand-waving, saying in effect, "Now let me just inform you of a few facts and your objection will vanish." For an overview of the basics, though, it is reliable.

A very informative, lengthy examination of what it means to be a Catholic. While it is true that the book is rather lengthy, it is also true that the book does not have to be read in one sitting. The writing is clear and the book is well-organized and researched. Pull open the book to an interesting looking section (after reading that first section) and you will find a deep well-thought out examination of that topic. If after reading that section you feel a need to take a break, well the book will be patiently waiting for your return. This is not supposed to be medicine, but a clear deep look into the Catholic faith.

Note 1: As might be seen by the "Search Inside" feature (if it is activated), this book is the narrative type of catechism, not the question and answer style catechism.
Note 2: The product information mentions that this is an "up-to-date" book. While that could very well be true, there are Catholic Catechisms published closer to 2005 (as opposed to 1975). I have no reason to believe that the information has been superseded.

I found this gem in 1992, five years before the official CCC was published (2nd edition, corrected to the Latin text). After Vatican II, when Catholics went unjustifiably crazy trying to destroy everything more than five seconds old, there were few, if any, reliable catechisms. Fr. Harden saw the need and filled it. It taught me everything that nine years of catholic school during the 1970s and 80s ignored or mocked.
To compare it unfavorably to the CCC is an unfair anachronism. The CCC is the Church's authoritative reference to her teaching now, but Fr. Harden's catechism was there to teach us authoritatively back when the hierarchy was fiddling while Rome burned. Let's put it this way, this book was silk when the rest of the Church went double-knit polyester.
If you are a theology student, no orthodox professor will punish you for citing it. If you are simply a serious lay person, you will be enriched by it. It is well-written, well-organized, and thoroughly orthodox. It is all we had after the demise of the Baltimore Catechism series and before the new CCC. It deserves our respect and it deserves to be read and referred to often.

Fr. Hardon's book is an excellent companion to the official Catechism of the Catholic Church. It is a wealth of information that goes deep into explaining how the Church developed the Catechism. The material follows the Catechism in order, so it is easy to find commentary. In addition, the index is very detailed, and also provides a quick resource for finding information. This book is a "must have" for anyone learning, teaching, or inquiring into the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Father Hardon was one of the quiet lights of the Catholic Church who labored to bring the Faith to people in the wasteland occasioned by the Second Vatican Council and the collapse of catechesis in the Church following in its wake. This catechism is very well written and very clear and rather than the often dense and sometimes ambiguous way that the new John Paul II catechism is written Father Hardon shoots straight and from the heart in this. It reads more like a history of the Catholic Faith than a catechism and while this might turn some people off it is something I enjoy. Outside the Catechism of the Council of Trent and the trusty Baltimore Catechism this is the next best thing. I still read through my copy regularly. In all this is a great catechism from probably the very last true Jesuit and as such there is no funny business, no heresy and no neo modernism apparent in it. May Father Hardon rest in Christ's eternal peace.

Concise and precise definitions on some of the most important themes on Catholicism. Could not do without for my studies in Roman Catholic Theology.