Pope marks release of slimmed-down Catechism

Pope Benedict XVI presided over a special ceremony today to mark the release of a slimmed-down version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the 1992 guide on Catholic beliefs.

Pope John Paul II had commissioned the 1992 Catechism to codify church teaching for the 20th century – the first major revision in 400 years that was a major accomplishment of his Papacy.

In 2003, he created a commission to draw up a compendium of the book – a slimmer and simpler version for ordinary Catholics to read. He appointed then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to guide the commission’s works.

Today, Benedict presided over a ceremony to mark the book’s release to the public, surrounded by cardinals and archbishops in the frescoed Sala Clementina of the Apostolic Palace.

He said the new book was a “treasure” of hope and was “accessible to all: clear and concise”.