Conformity Review Process
What is the Conformity Review Process?
The Conformity Review Process has served the Church in the United States over the past twenty-five years since the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The review process is meant to assist in the conformity of catechetical texts and series in an authentic and complete way to the Catechism.
Please visit the Handbook on the Conformity Review Process page for further information on and the history of the review process.
If you are hoping to develop and produce catechetical materials and plan to submit these for the Conformity Review Process, please be sure to check out the information on the Conformity Review Process for publishers.
The Conformity Review List is a list of catechetical texts or series which have been judged to be in conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
The conformity review of the Subcommittee on the Catechism generally pertains to content only; therefore, the declaration of conformity given to catechetical materials does not constitute an overall endorsement of any specific series or text by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Commonly Asked Questions about the Conformity Review Process
1) How do I find my local diocesan/archdiocesan requirements for religious education/catechesis?
Please visit your local diocesan website (our Diocesan Locator can assist you) and contact the appropriate office or department (generally Religious Education or Catechesis). Check for requirements or standards that are posted. Staff of the Subcommittee does not have information available concerning specific dioceses/archdioceses requirements.
2) My diocese/archdiocese requires that we use texts from the Conformity List; however, some texts we like are not found on the list. What should we do?
Initially, please clarify with your local diocesan/archdiocesan office concerning the standards for educational/catechetical materials in your diocese. If there is still confusion concerning a text, please consider contacting the publisher. Some texts are not eligible for the conformity review process simply because the process is limited to certain types of texts. The materials that are not on the list may not have been eligible for review. Consider if the text has received approval or permission from your local diocese, as this may be adequate if the text was not eligible for conformity review.
3) I have a text that I believe should be on the Conformity List, but it is not there. What should I do?
As in the situation above, the text or series may not have been eligible for review. Due to confidentiality, the staff of the Subcommittee cannot release information concerning texts that are not on the Conformity List. Please contact the publisher if you have further questions.