KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!
Now before I go any further I wish to simply state that it is my personal belief that the very fact that this book is not readily accessible to Catholics (in the same way as A Simple Prayer Book) constitutes an extreme error on the part of the church in England & Wales. I can not go far enough in my opinion that this is something which must be rectified with urgency.
IF YOU THINK THAT THIS BOOK IS
1. Too small to be taken seriously
2. Has a silly name so can not be taken seriously
3. Old and therefore not relevant today
Then I suggest that you go through ALL its content
& think again.
& think again.
This is life and death stuff which can save souls!
If you don't agree with me then you need to read it again extremely carefully!
I have become increasingly shocked regarding the growing chasm between the evangelical/pentecostal church and the Catholic Church in regard to knowledge of Church & bible teaching. I would go as far to say that although I understand that this chasm as always been there since the reformation - I would now highlight the fact that I believe that this gap is now getting even greater . One of the things that has struck me recently is the growing (some would say meteoric) success of God TV and their ability to get solid (albeit protestant), easily understandable, and easily accessible bible teaching out to the masses. They do not pull their punches when it comes to preaching what is right and wrong.
Their mantra is making sure that ALL evangelicals/pentecostals/etc. know ALL the facts. There seems to be a growing urgency to make sure that fellow Christians are given this knowledge so that they 'Do not dice with their eternity' (this is a recurring phrase).
One of the reason's that this shorter text is not available is because it was replaced in RCIA by the larger Catechism of the Catholic Church. However, Catholics are not on the whole known for their bible knowledge (according to some, most Catholics have never read the bible). Most do not own a copy of the larger Catechism (let alone read it, though I am sure some do. Most can only vaguely remember the smaller 'Penny Catechism'.
This begs the question. Where is Catholic teaching coming from? I am a great supporter of our priests, but many are scared of proclaiming the truth to their liberal congregations (look what has just happened in Canada & Austria with suspended priests telling it 'as it is').
It was at this point that I started looking at the reasons that we do not get this truthful (but stark) message in the Catholic church. This led me to Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice who also champion this text.
I have contacted Pro Ecclesia & the RCIA Network to see what can be done to get this issue on the national agenda, and to get this book out to Catholics once again.
If you haven't seen the Penny Catechism then I suggest that you click on the link to reacquaint yourself.
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