Vatican sends draft of minicatechism to cardinals for review

Published: 2004-02-09

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican has completed a draft of a 150-page minicatechism and is sending the text to cardinals and bishops' conferences for review, a Vatican source said. Pope John Paul II commissioned the shorter, simpler version of the 865-page "Catechism of the Catholic Church" last year, and a 10-member commission has been working on the text since March. The source said Feb. 9 that over the next few months the commission would consider the input of cardinals and bishops' conferences, and that a final draft is expected to be completed later this year. The minicatechism outlines church teachings in four parts, under the headings of profession of faith, sacraments, commandments and prayer, the source said. The work on the draft was considered unusually fast by Vatican standards. Last year, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, head of the Vatican's doctrinal congregation and president of the drafting commission, said he expected the preparation work to take about two years.

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