Petition To Recall Youcat - Mark Shea's Take On The Silliness

[Brother Adam]

[quote name='Papist' timestamp='1313533458' post='2289386']

I am not saying there shouldn't be a teen version. I am saying it should not be ambiguous, which the excerpts I have read are. If something is ambiguous it allows the reader to interrupt the teaching to how they think. Sort of like horoscopes.
[/quote]

I agree a catechism should not be ambiguous. Having read a good portion of it I feel that any ambiguity is a minor flaw but I also don't see ambiguity where others do, it is not enough to distract from the message as a whole and I don't doubt we will see revisions down the road. The green CCC after all is not the first edition published of the new catechism. I get the sense that someone had a great idea to publish a teen catechism by WYD 2011, and they ended up pressed for time to get it out in time. Other catechisms have not suffered from the same rush to publication. That is why I have given it 4.5 stars due to some of its short comings, which in my estimation still makes it a stellar resource. I find that it is currently better than anything else targeted to teens today.

edited to add: The other key thing to keep in mind is that this is specifically made for THIS particular WYD. It was not published as a universal teen catechism the way the CCC is published or even a national catechism is published. From what I have read the intention of those commissioned to write it was not to create a lasting teen catechism, but unfortunately for them there is a big need for one, so even a less than perfect catechism (with pictures that will end up dated) is still going to be picked up by a lot of people.

[Papist]

[quote name='Lil Red' timestamp='1313533557' post='2289387']
but is it ambiguous when taken as a whole? that is what i'm not sure of because i haven't read it yet. if you cherry-pick statements out of any book, then it can seem ambiguous.
[/quote]
Agreed.

[Papist]

[quote name='Brother Adam' timestamp='1313534030' post='2289397']

I agree a catechism should not be ambiguous. Having read a good portion of it I feel that any ambiguity is a minor flaw but I also don't see ambiguity where others do, it is not enough to distract from the message as a whole and I don't doubt we will see revisions down the road. The green CCC after all is not the first edition published of the new catechism. I get the sense that someone had a great idea to publish a teen catechism by WYD 2011, and they ended up pressed for time to get it out in time. Other catechisms have not suffered from the same rush to publication. That is why I have given it 4.5 stars due to some of its short comings, which in my estimation still makes it a stellar resource. I find that it is currently better than anything else targeted to teens today.

edited to add: The other key thing to keep in mind is that this is specifically made for THIS particular WYD. It was not published as a universal teen catechism the way the CCC is published or even a national catechism is published. From what I have read the intention of those commissioned to write it was not to create a lasting teen catechism, but unfortunately for them there is a big need for one, so even a less than perfect catechism (with pictures that will end up dated) is still going to be picked up by a lot of people.
[/quote]
I understand completely. I guess the excerpts I read made me nervous b/c of my own catechesis experiences as a youth. That is my primary reason I teach catechesis and do youth ministry.

Let me just add, I better not here a person open a pronouncement with "In the spirit of YOUCAT"

Edited August 16, 2011 by Papist