Sunday 19 November 2017

DOCAT: Catholic Social Teaching for Youth - YOUCAT

DOCAT: Catholic Social Teaching for Youth
YOUCAT
Bernhard Meuser (Editor)
Ignatius Press
ISBN 9781621640493
eISBN 9781681497051
ASIN B01M10336X




This past year I decided to read through the Catechism in a year. And I ended up ahead of schedule, so when I finished the Catechism of the Catholic Church, I moved on to The Compendium to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. So I decided to read DOCAT: Catholic Social Teaching for Youth and I really enjoyed it. In fact I enjoyed it so much I am now reading YOUCAT: The Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church. But back to DOCAT: Catholic Social Teaching for Youth.

Like many other Catechisms this one is in the question and answer format. The subtitle of this book is ‘What to do?’ It focuses on the social teachings of the Catholic Church. There are four symbols in the book. A Bible which highlights passages from the bible. Quotations which highlights specific meanings in the church. A Picture of a church which contains magisterial teachings. And an Exclamation Mark where words are defined or explained. There are also three colored arrows blue for the Compendium of Social Doctrine, grey for the Catechism, and Yellow for quotes from YOUCAT.

Each chapter has a number of points the questions and answers, And then there are a number of quotes from church documents to highlight those teachings. The chapters in the book are:

1 God’s Master Plan: Love 1-21
2 Together We Are Strong: The Church’s Social Mission 22-6
3 Unique and Infinitely Valuable: The Human Person 47-83
4 The Common Good, Personhood, Solidarity, Subsidiarity: The Principles of the Church’s Social Teaching 84-111
5 The Foundation of Society: The Family 112-133
6 Occupation and Vocation: Human Work 134-157
7 Welfare and Justice for All: Economic Life 158-194
8 Power and Morality: The Political Community 195-228
9 One World, One Humanity: The International Community 229-255
10 Safeguarding Creation: The Environment 256-269
11 Living in Freedom from Violence: Peace 270-304
12 Personal and Societal Commitment: Love in Action 305-328

Though this book is written for youth and young adults, I found it well worth the time and effort to read it. The social teachings of the Catholic Church have been a growing focus for a long time now. In this book you will get a concise clear picture of those teachings, and though the quotes from church documents see some of their progression and refinement over time. This is the first book from the YOUCAT series that I have read but I know I will be reading many more. And in fact I cannot wait for the last few to be available in English in North America.

A great read, informative and challenging. This book was so good that before I even finished it I had picked up YOUCAT and the YOUCAT Bible to have to read as soon as I finished this one. It is a wonderfully informative book and part of what looks like an incredible series!

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2017 Catholic Reading Plan!

Books from YOUCAT:
YOUCAT: The Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church
YOUCAT: Study Guide
YOUCAT: Youth Prayer Book
YOUCAT: Confirmation Book: Student Book
YOUCAT: Confession Book
YOUCAT: Bible
DOCAT: Catholic Social Teaching for Youth
DOCAT Study Guide: What to Do?










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