Dctrine, Dgma, and Discipline What is the Magisterium? The teaching authrity f the Church Ppe Bishps in cmmunin with the ppe Thelgians as advisrs Rle T instruct the Peple f Gd in the truth Gd revealed The Magisterium presents this truth in different frms They teach the faithful the truth t believe, the charity t practice, the beatitude t hpe fr CCC #2034 These teachings are presented in Dctrines, Dgmas and Disciplines What is Dctrine? Dctrine- Any teaching f the Magisterium n faith r mrals fr the whle Church t believe All Dgmas are Dctrines Nt all Dctrines are Dgmas The Church s teachings are n different levels f authrity, a kind f hierarchy Dgmas are the highest level f authrity They are the mst fundamental teachings upn which all ther teachings rest What is Dgma? a) A truth frmally revealed by Gd b) which has been prpsed by the Teaching Authrity f the Church t be believed as such Revelatin Truth cmmunicated t man by Gd thrugh extrardinary means Scripture and Traditin Cntains all f Public Revelatin Nt private revelatin like visins that can happen t anyne Ended when the last bk f the Bible was written II Peter 120 AD Infallibility- free frm teaching errr regarding faith r mrals But when he, the Spirit f truth, cmes, he will guide yu int all the truth Jhn 16:13 It is nt the human that teaches but the Hly Spirit that teaches thrugh the Magisterium I will give yu the keys f the kingdm f heaven; whatever yu bind n earth will be bund in heaven, and whatever yu lse n earth will be lsed in heaven Matthew 16:19 This is the mst imprtant scriptural evidence fr infallibility
Lsing can be applied t infallible matters, disciplines, and cnfessin Yet this Magisterium is nt superir t the Wrd f Gd, but is its servant. It teaches nly what has been handed n t it Catechism f the Cathlic Church #86 Infallibility The Ppes and Bishps are nt suppsed t let their biases influence their teachings They are t reiterate and apply the truth Gd gave them Scripture and Traditin Otherwise we have the Galile debacle Deals with Faith r Mrals, nt Science Can be infallible in 3 ways Defined infallibly 1. Ppe ( frm the chair ) 2. Ppe and Bishps tgether- In Cuncil, like Trent, nt ver a cup f cffee Taught infallibly 3. Bishps Extrardinary Papal Magisterium- Fancy way f saying the ppe s authrity t teach infallibly An Ex cathedra ( frm the chair ) statement is when the Ppe: Acts as the successr f St. Peter Nt as a thelgian, Jrge Mari Berggli instead f Ppe Francis and prmulgates n faith r mrals nt merely suggested r beating arund the bush fr the whle Church t hld as true It is mstly agreed that there have nly been 2 Ex cathedra statements Ppe Pius IX in 1854 made an ex cathedra statement that defined the Immaculate Cnceptin (that Mary was cnceived withut riginal sin) Ppe Pius XII in 1950 made an ex cathedra statement that defined the Assumptin (that Mary was assumed bdy and sul int heaven) Immaculate Cnceptin Fulfills the requirements fr Ex cathedra statement
Ppe Pius IX is speaking as Ppe Pius the IX and nt as Givanni Maria Mastai- Ferretti Thrugh the dcument he references the authrity cming frm Peter He is clearly defining his statement as true It is clearly t be held by the entire Church Extrardinary Episcpal Magisterium Ecumenical Cuncil- when bishps frm arund the wrld get tgether with the ppe and make decrees which all Christians must hld t be true All 21 ecumenical cuncils have defined infallibly The Cuncil f Ephesus infallibly defined that Mary is the Mther f Gd In these cuncils and papal encyclicals ther things are dealt with that are nn-infallible, such as disciplinary matters and applied teachings And example wuld be Ppe Jhn Paul II s encyclical Redemptr Hminis, he applied infallible teachings t the histrical situatin f cmmunism and capitalism Ordinary Universal Episcpal Magisterium Infallibly taught When all bishps thrughut the wrld, at any ne particular time in histry Des nt exclude the ppe agree n sme matter f faith r mrals teach it definitively nt wishy washy Jhn Paul II said that the evil f abrtin was infallibly taught Therefre, by the authrity which ne Christ cnferred upn Peter and his successrs, and in cmmunin with the bishps f the Cathlic Church, I cnfirm that the direct and vluntary killing f an inncent human being is always gravely immral Evangelium Vitae Cnfirm, as in cnfirming the teaching that had already been infallibly taught but had nt been infallibly defined. Why nt define everything Take these explanatins as yu will With regards t teaching n mrality
With regards t ecumenical reasns With regards t schisms But when he, the Spirit f truth, cmes, he will guide yu int all the truth Jhn 16:13 The Church is a Pilgrim n Earth and the Hly Spirit is ur guide A guide desn t give yu all the directins t the destinatin at the beginning and then leaves, he ges with yu step by step t make sure yu are ging the right way We have the fullness f revelatin within Scripture and Traditin But we are nt able t fully articulate this truth fr every situatin The Church grws and matures as it makes its pilgrimage tward the heavenly glry What are Disciplines? It is imprtant t nte that infallibility desn t mean the ability t perfectly articulate the truth Disciplines- the laws prescribed by the Church t aid the Faithfull in living the Faith Can change with time and place Ppe Bishp Cnferences (USCCB) Dispensatins- the suspensin f a discipline Disciplines Ppe Bishps Friday n meat example Priests [W]e emphasize that ur peple are hencefrth free frm the bligatin traditinally binding under pain f sin in what pertains t Friday abstinence, except as nted abve fr Lent USCCB 1966 The Church prescribed nt eating meat every Friday The Church n lnger prescribes nt eating meat every Friday But, the Church still prescribes a penance every Friday
The USCCB suggests nt eating meat but ther penances are permitted Assent Graph Our standard respnse t teachings f the Church shuld be a assumptin that it is true and then enter int search fr truth. Yu cannt just believe infallible teachings, yu must recgnize the ppe, bishps and priests as Gd s main instruments in cmmunicating his will, thus when Fr. Allen gives a hmily at the mass, while he is nt infallible, yu still must trust Gd is using him t speak t yu. Hwever, there are times in which yu shuld give Faithful Dissent. Giving Assent f faith t matters that require assent f mind and will treats the nn-infallible matters as Infallible and thus ne abandns the search fr truth and just has a srt f blind bedience. Dissent The nly way ne can give faithful dissent is if is passes these three criteria 1. Must be f nn-fallible teaching a. Yu can never give faithful dissent t infallible teachings 2. Must remain faithful t infallible teachings and generally faithful t nn-infallible teachings a. Yu cannt g arund giving faithful dissent t every nn-infallible teaching that displeases yu 3. The basis fr the dissent must cme frm a teaching f the Magisterium that is mre fundamental a. There is a hierarchy f authrity with Dgmas at the tp and yur pure reasning at the bttm i. Reasning is what makes us special. Gd wants us t use ur reasn in search f truth, but he als wants us t use what He has cmmunicated t us as the basis in ur reasning Gd gave us the Magisterium fr a reasn. Christ knew that withut the Magisterium, we wuld all be interpreting Scripture urselves. This is a prblem because f The Fall and Original Sin; it caused ur ability t reasn t be injured, and thus if we cannt be relied upn t interpret Scripture the way Gd intended. This is seen in Acts 8:30-31 When asked by the deacn Philip, D yu understand what yu are reading? he replied, Hw can I unless smene guides me Vatican II says it best. "It is clear therefre that, in the supremely wise arrangement f Gd, sacred Traditin, Sacred Scripture and the Magisterium f the Church are s cnnected and assciated that ne f them cannt stand withut the thers. Wrking tgether, each in its wn way, under the actin f the ne Hly Spirit, they all cntribute effectively t the salvatin f suls."