,APOSTOLIC LETTER
LAETAMUR MAGNOPERE
IN WHICH THE LATIN TYPICAL EDITION OF THE
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
IS APPROVED AND PROMULGATED
JOHN PAUL, BISHOP
SERVANT OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD
FOR EVERLASTING MEMORY
To my Venerable Brothers the cardinals, Patriarchs, Archbishops, Bishops, Priests, Deacons, and to all the
People of God.
IT IS A CAUSE FOR GREAT JOY THAT THE LATIN TYPICAL EDITION OF
THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IS BEING PUBLISHED. It is approved and
promulgated by me in this Apostolic Letter and thus becomes the definitive text of the
aforementioned Catechism. This is occurring about five years after the Apostolic Constitution Fidei
Depositum of October 11, 1992, which, on the 30th anniversary of the opening of the Second
Vatican Council, accompanied the publication of the first, French-language text of the Catechism.
We have all been able to note with pleasure the broad positive reception and wide dissemination of
the Catechism in these years, especially in the particular Churches, which have had it translated
into their respective languages, thus making it as accessible as possible to the various linguistic
communities of the world. This fact confirms how fitting was the request submitted to me in 1985
by the Extraordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops that a catechism or compendium of all
Catholic doctrine regarding faith and morals be composed.
Drawn up by the special Commission of Cardinals and Bishops established in 1986,
the Catechism was approved and promulgated by me in the aforementioned Apostolic Constitution,
which today retains all its validity and timeliness, and finds its definitive achievement in this Latin
typical edition.
This edition was prepared by an Interdicasterial Commission which I appointed for this purpose in
1993. Presided over by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, this Commission worked diligently to fulfill the
mandate it received. It devoted particular attention to a study of the many suggested changes to the
contents of the text, which in these years had come from around the world and from various parts
of the ecclesial community.
In this regard one can certainly understand that such a remarkable number of suggested
improvements shows the extraordinary interest that the Catechism has raised throughout the world,
even among non-Christians, and confirms its purpose of being presented as a full, complete
exposition of Catholic doctrine, enabling everyone to know what the Church professes, celebrates,
lives, and prays in her daily life. At the same time it draws attention to the eager desire of all to
make their contribution so that the Christian faith, whose essential and necessary elements are
summarized in the Catechism, can be presented to the people of our day in the most suitable way
possible. Furthermore, this collaboration of the various members of the Church will once again
achieve what I wrote in the Apostolic Constitution Fidei Depositum: "The harmony of so many voices
truly expresses what could be called the 'symphony' of the faith" (no. 2).
For these reasons too, the Commission seriously considered the suggestions offered, carefully
examined them at various levels and submitted its conclusions for my approval. These conclusions,
insofar as they allow for a better expression of the Catechism's contents regarding the deposit of
the Catholic faith, or enable certain truths of this faith to be formulated in a way more suited to the
requirements of contemporary catechetical instruction, have been approved by me and thus have
been incorporated into this Latin typical edition. Therefore it faithfully repeats the doctrinal content
which I officially presented to the Church and to the world in December 1992.
With today's promulgation of the Latin typical edition, therefore, the task of composing
the Catechism, begun in 1986, is brought to a close and the desire of the aforementioned
, Extraordinary Synod of Bishops is happily fulfilled. The Church now has at her disposal this new,
authoritative exposition of the one and perennial apostolic faith, and it will serve as a "valid and
legitimate instrument for ecclesial communion" and as a "sure norm for teaching the faith," as well
as a "sure and authentic reference text" for preparing local catechisms (cf. Apostolic
Constitution Fidei Depositum, no. 4).
Catechesis will find in this genuine, systematic presentation of the faith and of Catholic doctrine a
totally reliable way to present, with renewed fervor, each and every part of the Christian message
to the people of our time. This text will provide every catechist with sound help for communicating
the one, perennial deposit of faith within the local Church, while seeking, with the help of the Holy
Spirit, to link the wondrous unity of the Christian mystery with the varied needs and conditions of
those to whom this message is addressed. All catechetical activity will be able to experience a new,
widespread impetus among the People of God, if it can properly use and appreciate this post-
conciliar Catechism.
All this seems even more important today with the approach of the third millennium. For an
extraordinary commitment to evangelization is urgently needed so that everyone can know and
receive the Gospel message and thus grow "to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ"
(Eph 4:13).
I therefore strongly urge my Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate, for whom the Catechism is
primarily intended, to take the excellent opportunity afforded by the promulgation of this Latin
edition to intensify their efforts to disseminate the text more widely and to ensure that it is well
received as an outstanding gift for the communities entrusted to them, which will thus be able to
rediscover the inexhaustible riches of the faith.
Through the harmonious and complementary efforts of all the ranks of the People of God, may
this Catechism be known and shared by everyone, so that the unity in faith whose supreme model
and origin is found in the Unity of the Trinity may be strengthened and extended to the ends of the
earth.
To Mary, Mother of Christ, whose Assumption body and soul into heaven we celebrate today, I
entrust these wishes so that they may be brought to fulfillment for the spiritual good of all
humanity.
From Castel Gandolfo, August 15, 1997, the nineteenth year of the Pontificate.
APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION
FIDEI DEPOSITUM
ON THE PUBLICATION OF THE
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
PREPARED FOLLOWING THE SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL
JOHN PAUL, BISHOP
SERVANT OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD
FOR EVERLASTING MEMORY
To my Venerable Brothers the cardinals, Patriarchs, Archbishops, Bishops, Priests, Deacons, and to all the People of
God.
GUARDING THE DEPOSIT OF FAITH IS THE MISSION WHICH THE LORD ENTRUSTED TO HIS
CHURCH, and which she fulfills in every age. The Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, which was opened
30 years ago by my predecessor Pope John XXIII, of happy memory, had as its intention and purpose to
highlight the Church's apostolic and pastoral mission, and by making the truth of the Gospel shine forth to
lead all people to seek and receive Christ's love which surpasses all knowledge (cf. Eph 3:19).
, The principal task entrusted to the Council by Pope John XXIII was to guard and present better the precious
deposit of Christian doctrine in order to make it more accessible to the Christian faithful and to all people of
good will. For this reason the Council was not first of all to condemn the errors of the time, but above all to
strive calmly to show the strength and beauty of the doctrine of the faith. "Illumined by the light of this
Council", the Pope said, "the Church. . . will become greater in spiritual riches and gaining the strength of
new energies therefrom, she will look to the future without fear. . . Our duty is to dedicate ourselves with an
earnest will and without fear to that work which our era demands of us, thus pursuing the path which the
Church has followed for 20 centuries."1
With the help of God, the Council Fathers in four years of work were able to produce a considerable number
of doctrinal statements and pastoral norms which were presented to the whole Church. There the Pastors and
Christian faithful find directives for that "renewal of thought, action, practices and moral virtue, of joy and
hope, which was the very purpose of the Council".2
After its conclusion, the Council did not cease to inspire the Church's life. In 1985 I was able to assert, "For
me, then - who had the special grace of participating in it and actively collaborating in its development -
Vatican II has always been, and especially during these years of my Pontificate, the constant reference point
of my every pastoral action, in the conscious commitment to implement its directives concretely and
faithfully at the level of each Church and the whole Church."3
In this spirit, on 25 January 1985, I convoked an extraordinary assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the 20th
anniversary of the close of the Council. The purpose of this assembly was to celebrate the graces and
spiritual fruits of Vatican II, to study its teaching in greater depth in order that all the Christian faithful might
better adhere to it, and to promote knowledge and application of it.
On that occasion the Synod Fathers stated: "Very many have expressed the desire that a catechism or
compendium of all Catholic doctrine regarding both faith and morals be composed, that it might be, as it
were, a point of reference for the catechisms or compendiums that are prepared in various regions. The
presentation of doctrine must be biblical and liturgical. It must be sound doctrine suited to the present life of
Christians."4 After the Synod ended, I made this desire my own, considering it as "fully responding to a real
need of the universal Church and of the particular Churches".5
For this reason we thank the Lord wholeheartedly on this day when we can offer the entire Church this
"reference text" entitled the Catechism of the Catholic Church, for a catechesis renewed at the living sources
of the faith!
Following the renewal of the Liturgy and the new codification of the canon law of the Latin Church and that
of the Oriental Catholic Churches, this catechism will make a very important contribution to that work of
renewing the whole life of the Church, as desired and begun by the Second Vatican Council.
1. The Process and Spirit of Drafting the Text
The Catechism of the Catholic Church is the result of very extensive collaboration; it was prepared over six
years of intense work done in a spirit of complete openness and fervent zeal.
In 1986, I entrusted a commission of twelve Cardinals and Bishops, chaired by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger,
with the task of preparing a draft of the catechism requested by the Synod Fathers. An editorial committee of
seven diocesan Bishops, experts in theology and catechesis, assisted the commission in its work.
The commission, charged with giving directives and with overseeing the course of the work, attentively
followed all the stages in editing the nine subsequent drafts. The editorial committee, for its part, assumed
responsibility for writing the text, making the emendations requested by the commission and examining the
observations of numerous theologians, exegetes and catechists, and above all, of the Bishops of the whole
world, in order to produce a better text. In the committee various opinions were compared with great profit,
and thus a richer text has resulted whose unity and coherence are assured.
The project was the object of extensive consultation among all Catholic Bishops, their Episcopal
Conferences or Synods, and theological and catechetical institutes. As a whole, it received a broadly
favorable acceptance on the part of the Episcopate. It can be said that this Catechism is the result of the
collaboration of the whole Episcopate of the Catholic Church, who generously accepted my invitation to
share responsibility for an enterprise which directly concerns the life of the Church. This response elicits in
me a deep feeling of joy, because the harmony of so many voices truly expresses what could be called the
"symphony" of the faith. The achievement of this Catechism thus reflects the collegial nature of the
Episcopate; it testifies to the Church's catholicity.
2. Arrangement of the Material
A catechism should faithfully and systematically present the teaching of Sacred Scripture, the living
Tradition in the Church and the authentic Magisterium, as well as the spiritual heritage of the Fathers,
Doctors and saints of the Church, to allow for a better knowledge of the Christian mystery and for enlivening
the faith of the People of God. It should take into account the doctrinal statements which down the centuries
the Holy Spirit has intimated to his Church. It should also help to illumine with the light of faith the new
situations and problems which had not yet emerged in the past.
