Youcat
 | |
| Author | Christoph Schönborn and others |
|---|---|
| Original title | Katholischer Jugendkatechismus |
| Translator | Michael J. Miller |
| Illustrator | Alexander von Lengerke |
| Cover artist | Alexander von Lengerke |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | German (Original) |
| Subject | Catechism of the Catholic Church |
| Published |
2011
|
| Pages | 303 |
| ISBN | 978-1-86082-728-0 |
Youcat, short for Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church, also styled as YOUCAT, is a 2011 publication that aims to be an aid for youth to better understand the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The book, drafted in the form of a conversation, is intended for use by Catholic youths around the world and is available in 25 languages, including Arabic and Chinese. Youcat is based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1997) and the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2005). The catechism has 304 pages and consists of four chapters with 527 questions and answers.
The foreword was written by Pope Benedict XVI. Approximately 700,000 copies of Youcat were distributed in thirteen different languages on behalf of the Pope during World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid.[1]
Background
Youcat began in 2006 under the direction of Viennese Cardinal Christoph Schönborn by German-speaking theologians, religious educators and priests with the participation of over sixty young people, who helped to improve the readability of the text by raising questions and coming up with illustrative pictures.
The first edition was published in German on 25 March 2011. It was then published in fourteen other languages: English, French, Danish, Italian, Croatian, Dutch, Polish, Spanish, Slovak, Slovenian, Armenian, Ukrainian, Russian, Indonesian, and Portuguese. Chinese, Arabic, Malayalam and Latin editions are planned. Overall, the Youth Catechism was slated to have been published in 30 languages by the end of 2012. Over 2 million copies have been sold.
YOUCAT series
The international YOUCAT book series also includes:
A prayerbook:
- Georg von Lengerke / Dörte Schrömges, YOUCAT Youth Prayer Book, Munich 2011. ISBN 9781586177034
A confirmation book:
- Bernhard Meuser / Nils Baer, YOUCAT confirmation book, ISBN 9781586178352
A leader's guide for the confirmation course:
- Nils Baer, YOUCAT Confirmation Leader's Handbook ISBN 9781586178369
Errors
In some translations of the Youcat, such as French, Italian and Spanish, errors have been found that deviate from official doctrine regarding questions about many important issues such as euthanasia and contraception. The Vatican has announced that these mistakes will be corrected in future editions.[2]