BY RITA McINERNEY

Archbishop John F. Donoghue is delighted with the runaway best seller that is now in its third printing and soon will have 1.6 million copies in circulation.

It's orthodox and presents Catholic doctrine very clearly, he said of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. He plans to appoint a committee to examine religious texts now being used in the Archdiocese of Atlanta to be sure their message conforms with that of the catechism.

"It's going to be wonderful that we have everything in one place. We have a reference book against which everything we teach and preach will be judged," he remarked in an interview with The Georgia Bulletin.

He views the new text as a great aid for parents in helping their children learn their faith. In the past, he said, parents didn't have a text they could turn to and find out what the Church says about such topics as confession.

"There is a lot that is confusing now" in some material in circulation. "The content is not there. What content there is is not always correct. This is a great disservice to our people. It is confusing at best and inaccurate at worst." Often teachings are "watered down," he believes, to make them easier for people to accept.

The catechism is presented "without ambiguity, this is what the Church teaches. It underwent revision after revision, was approved by the various congregations in Rome and by our Holy Father." With it people "can be positive they're following Church teaching," he said.

The archbishop has attended meetings of the archdiocesan Board of Education and the Office of Religious Education discussing the formation of clergy and lay pastoral and catechetical leaders on the new catechism.

He is emphatic that he "doesn't want the catechism to be used as a textbook, but as a reference against which all material would be evaluated."

"I am going to establish a committee to evaluate all religions education texts being used in the archdiocese. If they don't stack up to the catechism, we won't use them. This applies," he said, "to material being used in adult and childhood religious education and in Catholic schools." We don't want to be using books not giving true Catholic doctrine."

Members of the Department of Catholic Education led by father Terry Young have been evaluating material used in the archdiocese against guide books issued by the United States Catholic Conference and the National Conference of Diocesan Directors of Religious Education according to Annette Kulasa, consultant for children's catechesis. The Office of Religious Education had also assembled a preferred textbook guide for elementary through eighth grades.

Now the main reference book will be the new catechism, Ms. Kulasa emphasized.

Archbishop Donoghue says the catechism will be useful for reading and discussion by both individuals and small groups. He has began using his own copy in preparing homilies and calls it an excellent reference.

The archdiocesan Office of Religious Education has scheduled, with the archbishop's approval, four programs in 1995 in 1996 focusing on the four pillars of the new catechism: The Creed -- what the Church believes; The Sacraments -- what the Church celebrates; The Commandments -- what the Church lives, and the Our Father -- what the Church prays.

Three of the four programs have been confirmed as to date, topic and speaker. The fourth program will be announced.

Dr. Susan Muto, a widely recognized Catholic writer and director of the Epiphany Association, Pittsburgh, Pa., is scheduled to lead off the series March 10-11, 1995, with the topic, "What We Pray," based on the fourth pillar. Father Benedict Ashley, OP, Aquinas Institute of Theology, St. Louis, Mo, is to speak on September 15-16, 1995, on the third pillar, "What We Live," and father Keenan Osborne, OFM of the Franciscan School of Theology-Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, Ca., is scheduled to discuss the second pillar, "What We Celebrate," on March 1-2, 1996. The programs are scheduled to be held at All Saints Church, Dunwoody.

Discussions of the new catechism will highlight the annual Catechetical Conference sponsored by the archdiocesan Department of Catholic Education. It will take place November 4-5 at the Church of the Holy Cross in Atlanta.

The theme will be "Excellence in Catechesis: Embracing the Challenge to Seeking God's Wisdom."

Father Jeremy Driscoll, OSB, instructor of theology of Mount Angel Seminary, St. Benedict, Or., will speak on "The Catechism of the Catholic Church." He serves as a theological consultant to the Committee on the Liturgy for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Mary Jo Tully, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Portland, Or., will discuss "Utilizing the Catechism in Faith Formation." Before assuming her post in Portland, she was director of religious education for the Archdiocese of Chicago and lecturer in catechetics at St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, Mundelein, Ill.

The third speaker to focus on the catechism will be Joanna Case, director of the catechumenate at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte, N. C. The presenter for the North American Forum on the catechumenate, her topic will be "Initiation Ministry and the Catechism."

On Jan. 27th, 1995, James DeBoy, Jr., director of religious education for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, will address "Attitudinal Approaches to Appreciating the Catechism of the Catholic Church -- Maximizing its Potential for Nurturing Faith Development." The site for this program will be announced.

Carroll Hamilton, consultant for adult faith formation in the ORE, attended a symposium on the new catechism held by the Archdiocese of Portland Or., at which both Father Driscoll and Ms. Tully spoke. She said a video of this meeting is available at the media center of the ORE for loan to parish leaders.

The ORE he has ordered a set of videos being produced on the new text by the National Conference of Catechetical Leadership. This is expected to be available next spring. Already available are sample issues of a new 12-issue series, "Exploring the New Catechism," written by it Msgr. William H. Shannon, professor emeritus in the religious studies department at Nazareth College, Rochester, NY.