I once felt the same way....until I learned that the JPII Catechism is not the same as previous Catholic Catechisms such as the Baltimore or Pius X’s Catechisms.
JPII’s “New” Catechism (as with JPII’s “New” Code of Canon Law) bases its theology on Vatican II, not on the Catholic Faith prior to Vatican II.
It was the Church “reformers” who demanded and got a new catechism, but the JPII and Pope Benedict stepped in and took over, and produced a really excellent, and basically traditional, catechism.
I don’t think that’s true. As an RCIA teacher I have been very favorably impressed by the Ratzinger Catechism’s fidelity to Scripture and Tradition.
The footnotes alone, I think, provide enough substance to challenge the skeptic and nourish the intellectually honest.