Description: YOUCAT is short for Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church, which is the official catechism for World Youth Day. Written for high-school age people and young adults, YOUCAT is an accessible, contemporary expression of the Catholic Faith. The popular format includes Questions-and-Answers, highly-readable commentary, margin pictures and illustrations, summary definitions of key terms, Bible citations, and quotes from the Saints and other great teachers. What's more, YOUCAT is keyed to the Catechism of the Catholic Faith, so people can go deeper. It explains:
What Catholics believe (doctrine)
How they celebrate the mysteries of the faith (sacraments)
How Catholics are to live (moral life)
How they should pray (prayer and spirituality)
The questions are direct and honest, even at times tough; the answers straightforward, relevant, and compelling. After the Bible, YOUCAT will likely become the "go-to" place for young people to learn the truth about the Catholic faith. Pope Benedict XVI wrote the foreword; Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, the editor of YOUCAT and the Archbishop of Vienna, Austria, wrote the afterword.
Brief description: Christoph Cardinal Schonborn, the Archbishop of Vienna, is a highly respected spiritual teacher and writer, and a former student of Pope Benedict XVI. He has written numerous books including Jesus, the Divine Physician, Chance or Purpose?, Behold, God's Son, and Living the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Review Quotes:
What Pope Benedict XVI has to say about the YOUCAT project:
"Study this Catechism with passion and perseverance. Make a sacrifice of your time for it! Study it in the quiet of your room; read it with a friend; form study groups and networks; share with each other on the Internet. By all means continue to talk with each other about your faith."
"YOUCAT combines sound catechesis and faith formation, based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church, with a youthful, dynamic and graphically appealing presentation. I hope that this book and related resources will become tools to assist you and your pastoral collaborators in promoting the New Evangelization and a deepened catechesis among young people." --Archbishop José Gómez, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles
"This book was developed by a common effort and it should create and foster community. A community that is not merely a congenial get-together but intends to be a community of faith, needs a common basis. YOUCAT can and should be a help in this regard." --Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, editor of YOUCAT
"I will admit to a certain skepticism when the Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church was announced, but my dubieties have given way to enthusiasm. The Q&A of a classic catechism is complemented here by deftly chosen, brief selections from Scripture, the Fathers of the Church, great saints, and noble human spirits of many cultures. Good for the 'young' from, say, 18 to 85 or so." --George Weigel, "Books for Christmas" in First Things
"Compiled in an easy-to-use, intuitive format yet unashamedly bold in its proclamation of Truth, the new YOUCAT is a must-have for young and old alike. There has never been a Catechism quite like this one. It is perfect for anyone seeking to understand and explain the richness of our Catholic faith to today's modern culture!" --Jimmy Mitchell, President, Mysterium Records