DOCTRINE
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tory portion, and then five sections treating in turn
of the Creed, Prayer, the Commandments, the Sacra-
ments, the Virtues, etc. The " Longer Catechism " con-
tains, in addition, in catechetical form, an instruction
on the feasts of Our Lord, the Blessed Virgin, and the
Saints, and a short "History of Religion" (the Old
Testament, the New Testament, and the Church) in
the form of a narrative. But though the two cate-
chisms are on the same main lines, they have very
little connexion with each other. Hardly any of the
questions and answers are the same; so that a knowl-
edge of the wording of the first is of little use, but
rather an obstacle, in learning the second. It is worthy
of note that, though texts of Scripture are not quoted,
the second catechism contains a large number of ques-
tions and answers relating to the Holy Scriptures,
among others the following: "Is the reading of the
Bible necessary to all Christians? — The reading of the
Bible is not necessary to all Christians, because they
are taught by the Church; still, the reading of it is
very useful and recommended to all." Many of the
answers in the second catechism are much longer than
those in other catechisms. The catechism itself, with-
out counting the lengthy instruction on the feasts and
the "History of Religion", fills more than 200 pages
12mo in Bishop Byrne's translation.
(b) Throughout Great Britain only one catechism is officially in use. It was drawn up by a committee appointed by the Second Provincial Council of West- minster(185'5),andis basedupon the Douai Catechism. It has undergone several revisions, the last of these being for the purpose of eliminating the particles Yes and No, and making all the answers distinct categori- cal statements. It is remarkable for its frequent ap- peal to proofs from Holy Scripture. Though it has been subject to many attacks, it is justly considered to be a clear and logical statement of Catholic belief and practice, fitted to the needs of both children and grown-up persons seeking instruction. Perhaps it has this latter class too much in view, and hence it is some- times wanting in simplicity. The omission of Yes and No and the avoidance of pronouns in the answers have been carried to a pedantic excess. Besides this ordi- nary catechism there is a smaller catechism, for younger children, which goes over the whole ground in a more elementary form; it is to some extent free from the objection just mentioned; but this advan- tage involves some verbal differences between the answers of the two catechisms. There is no official advanced catechism. For the more advanced classes a number of excellent "Manuals" are in use, e. g. "Instructions in Chri-stian Doctrine"; Wenham's "Catechumen"; Carr's "Lamp of the Word"; Caffe- rata's "The Catechism, Simply Explained"; Fander's (Deharbe's) "Catechism". Howe's "Catechist" and Spirago's "Method of Christian Doctrine" (ed. Mess- mer) are used by those who are being trained to be teachers. Short Bible Histories, none of them official, are used in the more elementary classes, especially Formby's volumes; in the higher classes, Wenham's "New Testament Narrative", Richards' "Scripture History", and Knecht's "Practical Commentary". There are also separate books of the New Testament, edited by Mgr. Ward and by Father Sydney Smith, etc. It should be added that the elementary schools and the training colleges, besides many of the sec- ondary schools and colleges, are examined in religious knowledge by inspectors appointed by the bishops.
(c) In Ireland the catechism most commonly used at the present time is the " Catechism ordered by the Na- tional Synod of Maynooth for General Use through- out the Irish Church". After a .short Introduction on God and the creation of the world and on man and the end of his creation, it treats in turn of the Creed, the Commandments, Prayer, and the Sacraments. The answers are short and clear, and, though Yes and No are excluded, the form of the answers is not always a
rigid repetition of the words of the question. Various
important improvements have been suggested by
Archhisliijp Walsh (see "Irish Eccl. Record", Jan.,
18912, and fallowing numbers). There is also a smaller
edition uf the Maynooth Catechism. The manuals used
in the advanced classes are much the same as those
used in Great Britain, together with the " Companion
to the Catechism" (Gill). Religious inspection is
general.
(For the United States, see above under Histork OF Catechetics.)
(d) The First Provincial Council of Quebec (1852) ordered two catechisms for use in Canada: Butler's Catechism for those speaking English, and a new French catechism for those speaking French. The latter is called "The Quebec Catechism", and is also issued in an abridged form.
(e) In Australia the JIaynooth Catechism is gener- ally used. But the bishops in the Plenary Council of 1885 decreed that a new catechism should be drawn up for use throughout Australia.
From this enumeration it will be seen how far we are from having any uniform catechism for the English- speaking peoples. If we consider the Continent of Europe, we find that in France, Germany, and Spain different catechisms are in use in the different dioceses. In the German-speaking provinces of Austria there is one single catechism for all the dioceses, approved by the whole episcopate in 1894. It is issued in three forms: small, middle, and large. All of these are ar- ranged on exactly the same lines: a short introduction. Faith and the Apostles' Creed, Hope and Prayer, Charity and the Commandments, Grace and the Sac- raments, Justification and the Last Things. The mid- dle catechism contains all the questions and answers of the small, in exactly the same words, and adds a considerable number of fresh ones. In like manner, the large catechism makes further additions. The small catechism has no texts from Scriptiu'e ; the other two contain many texts, usually placed in notes at the foot of the page. The chief difference between the middle and large catechisms is that the latter deals more with reasons and proofs, and consequently gives a greater number of Scripture texts. Austria is, there- fore, better off than most countries in the matter of the catechism. She has none of the difficulties arising from a multiplicity of manuals, and her single text- book is in the three forms described above as the ideal for all countries. Schuster's excellent Bible History is also in universal use, and is arranged by means of different type and signs so as to be accommodated to the three stages of the catechism. Religious training in Austria has, however, been severely criticized by Dr. Pichler, a high authority in that country. He con- siders the catechism as cumbersome, the work of a good theologian but a poor catechist; he advocates the compilation of a new Bible History on the lines of Knecht's manual; and he advocates the adoption of inductive methods. See " Unser Religionsunterricht, seine Mangel und deren LTrsachen".
One of the best of the German catechisms is that of the Diocese of Augsburg, mainly the work of Kinsel and Hauser, and published in 1904. It is on the lines of Deharbe, but much simplified, and copiously illus- trated. So, too, is the new Hungarian catechism (1907), which is issued in three editions: one for the first and second grade of elementary schools, one for the remaining four grades, and one for the high schools. Bishop Mailath of Transylvania has had the direction of the work. Poland has not been behindhand in reforming her catechetical teaching. A catechism has just been drawn up for the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades by Bishop Likowski and Valentine Gadowski. The answers to be learnt by heart are limited to forty in each year, and are .short and sunple. Each is fol- lowed by a fairly long explanation. This catechism contains 215 illustrations.
