How much authority does the Catechism of the Catholic Church carry?
The short answer
The Catechism presents doctrines previously taught with varying degrees of authority; to know a given doctrine's weight, trace its history through the footnotes. John Paul II called it a statement of the Church's faith and "a sure norm for teaching the faith."
Varying authority
The Catechism presents doctrine the Church has already taught with differing degrees of authority. To know the weight of a particular teaching, investigate its history.
Use the footnotes
The footnotes point to councils, Church documents, canon law and Scripture, each of different authority.
A sure norm
Whatever the authority of individual doctrines, John Paul II called the Catechism a statement of the Church's faith and doctrine, attested to or illumined by Scripture, Tradition and the Magisterium, and a sure norm for teaching the faith (Fidei Depositum 3).
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