Vatican says final editing of minicatechism about to begin

Published: 2004-04-27

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A Vatican committee is about to begin the final editing of a shortened, simplified version of the "Catechism of the Catholic Church," the Vatican announced. A draft of the "Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church" was sent in February to all of the cardinals and the presidents of bishops' conferences around the world. An April 27 statement from Joaquin Navarro-Valls, the Vatican spokesman, said all comments and suggestions were due at the Vatican by April 30. Pope John Paul II commissioned the shorter, simpler version of the 865-page catechism last year; a 10-member commission was charged with drafting the text. The Vatican press office said that after the document was edited on the basis of the consultation and the text translated into the world's major languages publication was expected in late 2004 or early 2005. Navarro-Valls said the draft was "about one-seventh" the size of the main catechism and was written in a "dialogue form" with questions and answers.

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