“Ratzinger’s first period as prefect was largely taken up with an argument about the church’s promulgation of doctrine. In the spring of 1983 he was invited by the French cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger to speak in Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris and in Lyon Cathedral on ‘The Crisis of Catechesis and How To Overcome It’. His speech sparked a storm of outrage. He was accused of wanting to turn back the clock. ‘French catechist groups reacted strongly and even bishops protested,’ noted secretary Fink. Ratzinger had lamented that the new religious instruction manuals offered a fragmentary catechesis with constantly changing experiments. It had been a serious error to dismiss the term ‘catechism’ as obsolete. Pope Wojtyła was also outraged. But for different reasons from the critics in France. As a reaction to the abuses, that same year, he gave a new committee the task of creating a worldwide catechism of the Catholic Church. Of course, it was understood who would lead the project, which eventually became one of the most important achievements of John Paul II’s papacy.”
Excerpt From Peter Seewald “Benedict XVI: A Life” Vol. II.