Per diocesan policy BK3§504.4.1, textbooks used for catechesis for children and adolescents must be in conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church and found on the Conformity Listing of Catechetical Texts and Series published by the USCCB Subcommittee on the Catechism.

The Conformity Listing is a cumulative listing of catechetical texts and materials which are in conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church and are currently available from publishers. The Conformity Listing is updated on a regular basis.

The Subcommittee on the Catechism of the USCCB determines if a given catechetical text or catechetical series is in conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Catholic publishers voluntarily submit their catechetical materials to the Subcommittee for review. A text is eligible for a conformity review if it falls into one of the following categories:

1) A religion textbook series for students in Catholic elementary schools and/or parish Religious Education programs;

2) A religion textbook series for junior high students in Catholic schools and/or parish Religious Education programs;

3) A religion textbook series or individual high school texts for students in Catholic high schools or parish Religious Education programs;

4) Teacher manuals or catechist manuals designed to accompany any of the above;

5) Student Religion workbooks that are part of a basal series;

6) Sacramental preparation materials that follow the Sacramental Preparation Protocols (working instruments approved in June 2013);

7) Supplemental materials which explicitly and consistently cross-reference an approved basal series.

For a variety of reasons, not all catechetical texts and materials are subject to a conformity review. If a specific item does not appear on the Subcommittee's Conformity Listing this does not necessarily mean that it has been reviewed and found to be deficient. A conformity review is not applicable to materials that fall into one of the following categories:

1) Catechetical materials that provide doctrinal content in teacher or catechist manuals rather than in student materials. The Subcommittee will undertake a conformity review of teacher or catechist manuals only when they complement student materials that already have a declaration of conformity or are under review for conformity.

2) Catechetical materials that are published in the form of regularly updated leaflets or periodicals with frequently changing content. These include materials related to the Church's liturgical year.

3) Individual monographs which focus specifically on individual topics, teachings or devotions, including biblical commentaries and college level student texts.

4) Materials that include biological and physiological content along with catechetical content.

5) Digital media, including websites and DVDs.

For more information and a link to the current Conformity Listing, please visit:

https://www.usccb.org/committees/catechism

Publishing Companies on the Conformity Listing of Catechetical Texts and Series

The following list is specific to publishers.  Each publisher is linked to their home webpage (as of July 3, 2019).  If there is no web link available, it is noted in parantheses. 

• Apostolate for Family Consecration
• Ascension Press
• Ave Maria Press
• Circle Press
• C.R. Publications
• Distance Family Foundation {no weblink available}
• Dynamite Catholic
• Family Foundation {no weblink available}
• Foundation for the Family {no weblink available}
• Harcourt
• Ignatius Press
• Leaflet Missal Company
• Legionaries of Christ
• Loyola Press
• Midwest Theological Forum
• Mother’s House Publishing (RCIA materials) 
• New Hope Publications
• Our Sunday Visitor
• Pauline Books and Media
• Pflaum Publishing Group
• Priority Press {no weblink available}
• RCL Benziger
• Rev. Edmund Siedlecki (not a publishing company – a bilingual Polish/English edition of the Catechism)  {no weblink available}
• Sophia Institute for Teachers
• Sophia Press
• St. Augustine’s Press
• St. Maron’s Publications
• St. Mary’s Press
• Verbum
• Veritas Communication
• Vietnamese Catechetical Community USA  {no weblink available}
• VirTru Powers
• William H. Sadlier, Inc.
• You Turns  {no weblink available}

Disclaimer: The subcommittee does not currently review the following components in catechetical programs that may be found on their approved list: videos, parent/sponsor materials, websites, digital libraries, and any other materials found on the letter on eligibility and applicability from the subcommittee.