catechisms

catechisms were produced by both Protestant and Counter‐Reformation reformers, to educate clergy and laity in Christian doctrine. The first Irish‐language catechism was John Kearney's Protestant text published in 1571. Catholic catechisms were based on the Council of Trent's 1566 catechism. Basically a priest's text, it functioned as a doctrinal and devotional source book for preaching and teaching, containing a survey of faith and morals, stressing church loyalty, appreciation of the mass, and devotion to Mary. Popular versions in Irish were produced by Irish Louvain Franciscans like Florence Conry (1593) and Bonaventure O'Hussey (1608). Domestic Irish‐language versions included Archbishop Michael O'Reilly's 1739 catechism while Andrew Donlevy's version was published in Paris in 1742. English‐language versions were available from 1687. Archbishop Butler's version appeared in 1777 and in 1829 Jeremiah Donovan translated the May‐nooth Catechism, which was widely used in national and secondary schools and stressed the Christian life as obedience to concrete rules. This Tridentine tradition remained in place until Vatican II. In the 1960s and 1970s various unsuccessful efforts were made to provide a modern catechism, the Dutch Catechism (1967) being a controversial but influential example. The publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church in 1992, with an English translation in 1994, marked a return to a structured statement of the faith but the text awaits its popularizers.

Thomas O'Connor