![]() In fact, he died while traveling to the Second Council of Lyon (an ecumenical council), which had called him to attend in order to seek his advice. John Paul the Great, “In his thinking, the demands of reason and the power of faith found the most elevated synthesis ever attained by human thought” ( Fides et Ratio, 78). He was never made a bishop, yet he has had a profound influence on Catholic doctrine. The most outstanding example of someone outside the Magisterium who has affected doctrine is St. Joseph Ratzinger made important contributions to the Second Vatican Council, which ended twelve years before he was made a bishop. Athanasius was not a bishop when he was one of the leaders resisting the heresy of Arianism at the Council of Nicaea. Over the centuries, the Magisterium has been influenced by many men and women who were not bishops, including at ecumenical councils, which are the most solemn gatherings of bishops and are capable of proclaiming infallible doctrine. Although doctrine is eventually formulated only by the Magisterium, bishops do not exist in a vacuum and work alone. There is no Magisterial definition of doctrine.ĭoctrine reflects the collective wisdom and holiness of the whole Church. But we need to keep in mind that the definition I have just given is not a Magisterial definition of doctrine. As far as I can tell, this definition seems to fit the use of the word doctrine in Magisterial documents. So I suggest a more complete definition of doctrine is: the Magisterium’s authoritative clarification of Revelation and Faith that must be accepted as objectively true in order to be Catholic. (Which is to say nothing about blameworthiness for being mistaken.) Someone who disagrees with it is as mistaken as someone who thinks 2 + 2 = 5. Catholic doctrine is as true about reality as 2 + 2 = 4 is true about reality. Yes, it might not be true to all people (all people might not accept it as true), but it is true for all people. It cannot be “true for me” but not “true for you,” except in a psychological or sociological sense. ![]() The Magisterium has taught truths about both Revelation and Faith.įurthermore, Catholic doctrine is objectively true, which means that it is true for all people at all times and places. Furthermore, God has revealed the Faith we should have in acceptance of His Revelation. Faith and revelation are two sides of the same coin, two sides of the relationship between God and Man. We only have true Faith to the extent we have accepted Revelation. We also need to recall that true Faith is the acceptance of Revelation, as I have explained previously. (See the Catechism of the Catholic Church, # 85.) So it is accurate to say either “The bishops under the leadership of the pope have the Magisterium” or “The bishops under the leadership of the pope are the Magisterium.” Recall that the Magisterium (on which I have written at greater length in a previous column) is the term both for the office or authority of interpreting God’s Revelation and for those who hold that office. (Jimmy Akin also means the Magisterium above). One clarification is that when Father Hardon says the Church, he means the Magisterium, not all those baptized into the Catholic Church. The estimable Father John Hardon, SJ, provided a definition of doctrine in his Pocket Catholic Dictionary: “Any truth taught by the Church as necessary for acceptance by the faithful.” I offer clarification and elaboration of Father Hardon’s definition. I share Jimmy Akin’s sentiment expressed in his same column mentioned above, “It would be nice if the Church had an official dictionary I could use to answer this question, but it doesn’t.” Defining DoctrineĪll is not lost. John Paul the Great when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was prefect of that Congregation). Sometimes it gives you a partial definition or at least clues about what a word means, but in general, it leaves the writing of dictionary-style definitions to the writers of Catholic dictionaries.” Doctrine is one of those terms.Įven one of the most important documents for understanding doctrine does not define the word doctrine: the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s “Doctrinal Commentary on the Concluding Formula of the Professio Fidei” (issued during the pontificate of St. The Problem with DoctrineĪpologist Jimmy Akin once well wrote, “ uses terms in documents and most of the time it expects you to already know them. Let me suggest why doctrine is crucially important now and always. Big hint: That word appears three times in the title of this column. It is a word that might well be needed more than any other word. In all the controversies swirling in our Catholic Church nowadays, even to the point of possible schism, there is a word that is almost never invoked.
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