Has the Catechism changed since it was first published?

Where was Catholic doctrine written down before the first Catechism?

I just pulled down from the religion section of my bookshelf an 803-page hardback edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, published by Libreria Editrice Vaticana. The print date was 1994, and the preface says it represents a major revision in the Catechism undertaken at the behest of Pope John XXIII at the conclusion of Vatican II. That occurred in the 1960s, and it took a while for the project to reach fruition.

Beyond that, I'll leave it to the knowledgeable Catholics on board to address the rest of your query.

I just read about this last night. They published an extensive one in like 1564. Before then, it was mainly passed on orally. In 1990, Pope John Paul II approved the use of one that was begun in 1986 and 90% of bishops approved. Before then, publications, such as the Baltimore Catechist, were used but they were written in a question-answer form. The new one is much more conceptual to help Catholics really understand their faith instead of just memorizing answers. That's just a brief summary.

The Catechism approved by John Paul is an important and useful summation (and rather concise..) of long-standing doctrine. So yes, it has "changed", but not in any fundamental way concerning faith and morals.

Content and truth:Unchanged

Format:Changed

The current Catechism simply codifies Catholic teaching.

How did Catholics define doctrine before the Catechism?

If two Catholics were arguing over a theological point, what settled the argument?



I realize the format has changed. As to whether the content has changed, I would like to read it for myself. But I need a starting point.

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If two Catholics were arguing over a theological point, what settled the argument?

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Usually, the Holy See (if it got that high) otherwise, if unsettled, it would result in a schism. The one to leave usually lost for at least the next several hundred years.