A new youth catechism was formulated to help parents teach the Catholic faith to their children.Following the success of the popular YOUCAT (Youth Catechism) for teens that was created by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna, a team of theologians and parents set out to create a new catechism for younger children.
The result was the YOUCAT for Kids, based on the original Catechism of the Catholic Church. It is presented in a question/answer format, with the primary text written with children in mind.
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In a foreword to the YOUCAT for Kids, Pope Francis writes, “When flipping through the pages of YOUCAT for Kids, I come across questions children ask their parents and catechists millions of times. That is why I consider this catechism as useful as the big Catechism, in which you can find answers to the most important questions of life: Where does this world come from? Why do I exist? How and why shall we live here? What happens after death? YOUCAT for Kids is a catechism very different from the one I used to have. YOUCAT for Kids is suitable for children and parents to spend time together and, in doing so, discover God’s love more and more.”
Pope Francis continues, “Dear parents, keep this little catechism with you and take the time to contemplate it together with your children page by page, mystery of faith by mystery of faith, question by question. Help your children discover the love of Jesus! It will make them strong and brave. I entrust you with YOUCAT for Kids.”
Supplemental materials are written in the margins for parents or catechists, helping them explain the faith to children.
The YOUCAT for Kids was given as a gift to all the families present at the World Meeting of Families in Dublin, Ireland and encourages parents to share it with their children at an early age.
The new catechism recalls and emphasizes the following verse from the original Catechism, “Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children. They bear witness to this responsibility first by creating a home where tenderness, forgiveness, respect, fidelity, and disinterested service are the rule. The home is well suited for education in the virtues” (2223).
