Catechism helps faith spring from intelligence, bishop says

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Feb 13, 2012 / 16:06 pm

Archbishop Hector Aguer of La Plata, Argentina said the Church makes the Catechism available so that Catholics can know the truths of the faith, which spring “from intelligence and the will” and not from “irrational emotion.”

During his program Keys to a Better World on Feb. 4, the archbishop recalled that this year marks two decades since the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church at the request of Blessed John Paul II, “and this commemoration is an appropriate opportunity to recall the usefulness of this text.”

“This is very important because the faith is not a mere sentiment or religious emotion, but is rather the personal adherence of the intellect and the will to God and to what God has revealed to us in Christ, which is that which the Church transmits to us for belief,” he said.

“Faith entails knowledge and thought,” the archbishop underscored. “And the knowledge of the contents of the faith is very important so that this adherence to the truth of the faith, who is a person, Jesus Christ, be firm, consistent and free.”

Through the Catechism, the Church is addressing a problem in modern culture, which is the question of truth, “and here we are offered the foundation of the Truth revealed by God, who illuminates the meaning of man’s life.”

Archbishop Aguer said Pope Benedict XVI’s Compendium of the Catechism, made up of questions and answers, “offers very concise definitions of the truths of the faith, of the sacraments, of the precepts of the Church, of the way of the Christian life, of prayer, with citations from the Holy Fathers, theologians and doctors of the Church, from saints – even those of recent times – and other authors.”

He also noted that Youcat, or the Catechism for young people, created for World Youth Day Madrid 2011, was aimed at “the young men and women who are the hope of the Church of tomorrow and of humanity.”

“Cardinal Newman said we believe because we realize that it is good to believe, and therefore the studying of the contents of our faith helps us. And so this is a good opportunity to recommend once again that we return to the 'Catechism of the Catholic Church,'” he said.