When the first American edition of the Catechism came out, it was an unexpected national bestseller. Why? Maybe it was because this book, is an age filled with doubts, teaches with authority. It isn't an interpretation of what Catholics believe; it is what Catholics believe. Here in one volume is the whole teaching of the Church, undiluted and uncompromised. These teachings are eternal. But the Catechism itself is up-to-the minute. From animal experimentation to unemployment, it addresses all the most pressing moral questions of the modern world. The index is a masterpiece in itself, nearly 50 pages of carefully organized references that make it easy to find the Catechism's treatment of any subject. This second edition has been revised in accordance with the official Latin text. It also adds a helpful glossary.