Compendium of social doctrine: It's a compass, not a catechism

Published: 2004-10-29

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- As the Vatican was preparing the "Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church," people repeatedly referred to it as the "social catechism." While it was designed to be a companion volume to the "Catechism of the Catholic Church," it is not a catechism, insisted Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, which drafted the compendium. The catechism, while sometimes using new language or examples, presented the unchanging truths of the Catholic faith. The compendium, on the other hand, was designed to show precisely that, while the church's faith does not change, the issues it feels compelled to address do change because the world changes. "The very fact that it is called a compendium and not a catechism is indicative, because the social doctrine accompanies the evolving of the world, the problems that arise. While the catechism gives an idea of something more defined and fixed, the social doctrine can confront problems that did not even exist yesterday," the cardinal said.

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