Already, 566,000 copies have been sold. And there is an additional 375,000 on press with a third printing of about 250,000 copies ordered. Originally intended for church professionals-bishops, parish priests, educators and catechists-the book had an estimated audience of 40,000. But the catechism is being scooped up by ordinary lay Roman Catholics. And not just from religious bookstores. A spokesman for Borders says the paperback edition ($19.95) is expected to reach the chart’s top five best sellers and the hardback ($29.95), its top 20. Last week USA Today’s sales reports from secular bookstores put the catechism in fifth place among best-selling religious books.
Officials of the U.S. Catholic Conference, which is selling the catechism through 15 Catholic publishers, are astonished by the volume’s unexpected popularity. “For some, I suppose, it’s an icon, like a family Bible that gets bought but not read,” says Daniel Juday, director of publishing services. “But we shouldn’t underestimate the intelligence of the average Catholic. Most, I think, are buying it because of the contents.” What they’re getting is the first “universal” catechism of the church in 400 years and one that aims, in a conservative fashion, to incorporate the teachings of Vatican Council II into its exposition of the fundamentals of the Catholic faith. The catechism couldn’t be more authoritative: the writing was supervised by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, head of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and the final text was edited by Pope John Paul II himself.
It’s selling well overseas, too. The Spanish edition (including Catalan) has sold 800,000 copies in seven months. In religiously blase France, more than a half-million copies have been purchased-from supermarkets as well as from bookstores. And with more than 100,000 copies sold or on order, the new English translation has moved into 12th place on a British best-seller list.
More than other editions, however, the English-language version has provoked controversy. The initial English translation, completed more than a year ago, was bitterly attacked by conservatives for its use of gender-inclusive language. Ratzinger ordered a revised translation, one that repeatedly uses “man” for humankind. As a result, it is already a target of feminist critics. In Britain, a group of liberal theologians is preparing a critical commentary that also faults the catechism for not reflecting the latest theological scholarship And in the current issue of America, the Jesuit weekly published in New York, executive editor Thomas H. Stahel observes that for a supposedly universal catechism, the text relies heavily on citations from the current pope. “This means,” he notes dryly, “that the catechism will date quickly.” That’s good for publishers-a reason to come out with a second edition.
