Bengaluru: An Asian edition of DOCAT, the summary of the Social Teachings of the Church, has been released in Bengaluru, a southern Indian city.

“DOCAT demands that we change ourselves and our surroundings,” Father Gilbert Choondal, president of the Indian Catechetical Association, told the August 27 function to release the youth-friendly adaptation of the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

The youth catechism is not just a tool to learn or discuss social topics but a way to lead every young Catholic to action, the Salesian priest asserted.

The DOCAT was released globally at the July 26-31 World Youth Day in Kraków, Poland. It was published by the Austrian Bishops’ Conference and approved by the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation.

The Bengaluru-based Asian Trading Corporation published the Asian edition of the DOCAT. The program to release the function was held at Grand McGrath Hotel and attended by bishops, priests, heads of Institutes and religious congregations, and Lly animators.

Fr. Choondal introduced the DOCAT in an audio-visual format to the gathering.

DOCAT, he explained, is a social catechism and its name derived from two word, “DO” from the verb, to do and “CAT” the first three letters of catechism.

Apart from the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, the book has incorporated insights from the two social encyclicals of Benedict XVI (Deus Caritas Est and Caritas in Veritate) and the encyclical of Pope Francis (Laudato Sì).

It is written in resonance with the style of Youcat, the priest claimed.

Pope Francis, who has written its introduction, repeatedly challenges young Christians to become actively involved in working for greater justice in the world: “I wish I had a million young Christians or, even better, a whole generation who are for their contemporaries walking, talking social doctrine.”

Archbishop Bernard Moras of Bangalore, while releasing the DOCAT, said, “We need to bring the YOUCAT and DOCAT to every Christian youth.”

He appreciated ATC for undertaking translations of DOCAT in 15 Indian languages.