Product Description

With clear, concise information about the beliefs and practices of the Catholic Church--organized to parallel the Catechism of the Catholic Church so that young people can appreciate the richness of Catholic teaching--this handbook is the most comprehensive available. Teens will appreciate the articles and stories that shed light on issues important to them. Useful sidebars give quick, easy access to Catholicism's basics and include "Pray It!" "Looking Back," "Saintly Profiles," "Did You Know?" and "Live It!"

A full-color design and over 100 photos make the book lively and interesting for teens. Use either the hardcover or paper edition with your parish program, school class, or youth group--or give it as a gift!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #390996 in Books
• Published on: 2003-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 464 pages

From Publishers Weekly
When the Catechism of the Catholic Church was published in 1992 after six years of work by the worldwide church's bishops, it was intended to spawn volumes exactly like this one. Such books, Pope John Paul II and the bishops theorized, would translate the pedantic Catechism, a collection of the beliefs and practices of the billion-member church, into language adjusted for cultural sensitivities. The authors of this handbook for teens have answered the call for such adaptations by producing a version that repackages the big book's teachings into an attractive, accessible format. Following the same outline as the Catechism, they present the doctrinal narrative in a relaxed, conversational style and intersperse it with eye-catching info-blocks. "Did You Know?" offers bits of Catholic trivia; "Live It" provides ideas for putting faith into action; "Looking Back" gives historical snapshots; "Saintly Profiles" tells about 37 interesting saints; and "Pray It!" lists prayer suggestions. Helpful appendices list patron saints and their feast days, describe Catholic prayers and devotions and give a glossary of common Catholic terms. Conservative readers will be pleased to see that the book bears the church's imprimatur and nihil obstat, assuring it is free of doctrinal error. The book's high-quality graphic design and friendly approach suit its young audience, while adults seeking more knowledge about the church may also find it appealing.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

A basic guidebook concerning all things Catholic
The Catholic Faith Handbook For Youth is a basic guidebook concerning all things Catholic. Intended for young adults, yet accessible to anyone who may be fuzzy on the details of Catholicism, The Catholic Faith Handbook For Youth covers creed, sacraments, morality, and prayer, along with articles concerning information on current events from a Catholic point of view, advice for prayer, profiles of thirty-seven Catholic saints, notes on the history of the Catholic Church, and more. Full-color illustrations pepper this highly readible introduction to a spiritual way of life. Especially recommended reading to share with one's preteen and teenage children in order to teach them more about Catholicism and what it means to live one's life by Catholic religious principles.

Flawed
While I applaud the authors' attempt to produce a comprehensive, single-volume guide to the faith for teens, this book is problematic. Far too often the authors make false distinctions between a supposed "old" Church that existed before Vatican II and a "new and improved" Church that exists now. For instance, they describe worshippers before the council as "not participants as much as watchers, separated by distance, architecture, and language." Nowhere in the documents of Vatican II or in authoritative pronouncements from the Magisterium will you find such a sweeping, negative assessment.

The authors also claim that Vatican II removed Latin from the liturgy, when in reality the Council fathers instructed that "[t]he use of the Latin language is to be preserved ..." (albeit with an allowance that some of the vernacular may be incorporated.) Likewise, Vatican II had nothing to do with communion in the hand, an innovation introduced in the United States and other Western countries years later; the authors list it as an achievement of the Council. A frequent theme of this book on liturgical matters is disruption instead of continuity.

In the chapter on the Bible, the authors operate from the presumption readers believe the Gospels were written soon after Jesus' death and Resurrection. To the extent teens have thought about this question at all, it's more likely that they believe the more pervasive false notion that the Gospels were written hundreds of years later. (See Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Code.")

Perhaps one day someone will take the recently-released United States Catholic Catechism for Adults and adapt it for teens. In the meantime, this book is a flawed substitute. Excellent resources currently available are Father McBride's Teen Catechism, the multi-volume Didache series produced by the Midwest Theological Forum, and the Prove It! series written by Amy Welborn.

I highly recommend it for youth and adults
"The Catholic Faith Handbook for Youth" is a very good resource for youth and adults wanting to learn more about the Catholic faith and tradition. It is up to date in it's theology. It provides not only the basic catechism of the church, but also gives great stories and descriptions of some of the lives of the saints. It is easy and enjoyable to read and understand. I use the book for my catechists to help them to pass on our tradition and beliefs to the children and youth they encounter in a language that can be understood.