Weighing and |i Interpreting f Documents of the Magisteriumkes te Dele Def dhe Creative Fidelity Weighing and Interpreting Documents of the Magisterium Francis A. Sullivan, SJ. aa, Nai th HURT Ee BRLIEVEN V4 HHON OUSIDE THE CHURCH Copy © 198 by the Soca fous of New England Alrighs serve. Nop of histo may be reproduced or tans in ty em ory any mes Sst oe mechani nating eon, ‘cording ot any ntaon worage snd rec se Whours ‘Sonn wing om the uber ary of Congres Catalin Pubiaton Data Satin, Francs loss Clee ly weighing nerpeting documents ofthe nagitrom 7 tytranes A Salas pm Inc ibtiogropia references inde. ISN ami Seed |, Cable Chteh-Teching fc. 2. They Method Tie. X57 1855 ‘i 6 oge2 20 an blithe by Pali Pres Mable MfD490 Contents Abbreviations Foreword 1 Weighing and interpreting documents of the igen: Whats 2 Why do? 2 Bsaluating the level of authority exercised in documents of the magisterium 8. What is dogma of fit? 4. denying defined dogmas in conciliar decrees: A. Giteria 5. Wenifying defined dogmas in coneiiae decrees 1. Application of eiteria 1s Mentiying defined dogmas in papal documents 4. Anleined dogmas the inerpretation of doctrinal texts + Sone examples oF interpretation ih occas of te ordinary magisterin 11 aft st interpretation ofthe documents ot Vatican w 1 chvitable duty AnantAcknowledgements "ne ein iy eed he eligi Fer om stan eh ila stn fe Toga the Cogn bt he mn che aie he th Cpe So ‘Sy an tare ty wee pes +10 Ramin Cale nea Commision. Capi iy C1S/SPCR. rst Chai Meg na i cnet by Ra cst ee a nt Sap hg Regn er vt hatha et stom tn of Or ei a AAS ARCIC csEL. bs Abbreviations ‘Acta Apastalio Sis Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission ‘Congregation forthe Doctrine of the Faith Corps seriporu elsiasticora inoue Denainger Schnmetzer, EnciiionSymboorum Definition Declarations, ed 36, Barcelona FreburgRomeNew York: Herder, 1976. amen gentiom Sacrrum Coniorum Nove Colts {J Neuner lJ. Dupuis ed, The Christian Faith inthe ocuents the Cahaic hac, 5th ed, Bangalore: ‘Theologica Publications in India, 1991 New Joome Bibel Commentary oti Biblical Commission hoagie cues comple, eri graca Puig cursus compl series ana SS. Honus Aqui, Suma Thole Nevin Tanne, Deret ofthe Eeumenical ‘Couaris,2vols, London: Shed e Wards Washington: Coangeten Univesity Press, 190. Kt Rat, haga Fetigations 169M Phe StnSeveral years ago, while I was sill teaching a the Gregorian University, the council of the faculty of theology decided that Candidates forthe lceniate needed a more systematic inode: tion to the use of the basic sources of theology. Among the courses that were introduced to meet this need was the one that | vs asked 0 give, on the evaluation and interpretation of docu ments ofthe magisterium, I gave such a course in Rome before retiring from the Gregorian, and since then Ihave taught simi- lav course in the department of theology at Boston College. The present book has profited from the comments of students in Fah ofthese institutions Iv Tus profited even more fom the comments of several good. ‘ios. take this opportunity to express my gratitude wo Teresa ‘Clements, Michael A. Fahey, Willam H. FiuGerald, Gerald ‘O°Calins ane Christopher O'Donnel, who have read the book ipl and given me many helpful suggestions for its inajarneinet, Taicate this ook to all the Jesuits, both ving and dead, wt whom T shave Hie and worl during my thirty-six years at the rej University Francis A Sullivan Peneecost, 19951 || Weighing and Interpreting Documents of the Magisterium What Is It? Why Do It? Magister Magister in clasical Latin meant “master” no only in the sense of “schoolmaster” or teacher, but inthe many senses in Which a peran cin be a “master” eg, of ship of servants ‘an argoreade i che word magisterial Latin meant Ge role ind thority of oe who was a master in any of the varidur- applications of the term. Ta the woeabulry of the medieval schoolmen, magisterium generally meant the ole and authority of the teacher. The traditional symbol of teaching shorty was the chai, and St, Thomas speaks of two kinds of ‘woysterium: tha of the pastoral chair ofthe bishop, and that of the aeaemie chai of the theologian. ‘in moder Catotie wage, the tern “magistrium” has come swscated almost exclusively with the teaching role and suthority ofthe hierarchy. An even more recent development is "hat "makisterin” is now often used t refer not to the teaching ice as sc, but to those who exert i namely, the pope and Second Vatican Council several times describes 1s mogistvium authenticum. Here the Latin audhentium vrs ok mean "genie" but “authoritative” as is clear, for ‘4 ion of bishops ax “authentic ea, ats, eae enndoned wit the authority of Christ, eat tte pple consti to then the fit they mas Tes ap a pravtice™ bat te ps vt tn ty eying he tea of diocese has esponsibility ‘oF Chiat eine if 1 Aaasees He exercises this responsibilty by his own teaching, ‘ether orally in para ear and by his promotion ef ‘ound teaching inthe etechetie and edactona stations a his diocese. The bishops of tation or region exerese thc teaching fonction let inepcopa cornea Al coun. More rare, the entre episcopal college, together vith its head the pope, gues in an ccumeniel oul (0 decide maters of greater moment for the ile of the church During the usually Tong intervals beeen ecumenial council the supreme teaching authority i exercised by the popes who Vauican I defined, bas the same inal in defining doctine 2 do ecumenical cunci. However, popes have ery eel exc. theirauthoriy wo defi doctrine forthe most part they Dower, inch documents as eneyetals apostle leer: The Vatican Cong eaton forthe Doering of the Faith abo sues doctrinal statements which priate in the pope's teaching authority but notin eta] Documents ofthe megisteriun A complete collection of the documents which have been issued by bishops, councils and popes in the exercise of their 'eaching office during the almost two thousand years of the life of| te church would fll ibrary. Obviously, the stent of theology wil need to have at hand manageable colletion of the most ig niticant of these documents. Until recently, the only such eolle. ‘ion available aas_the Encifion Spubalorint Daft Diclarationum de Rebus Fidei et Morum, the fits edition of which ‘ws publish By Heinzich Des 1854. An Enchridion ia handbook; SpmbolaAre creeds Datos are the solemn and lefinitive pronoancements of Beamenical councils or popes speaking eathedra The term Declarations in the tte includes all other documents of the magisterium which do not have the ‘wright ofa solemn definition, The urefuness ofthis handbook i sl by the fact that it has been revised and brought up to date hy suecessve editors im no less than thiry'seven editions, the nat tegent of which i the work of Peter Hnermann.? "he volume begins with a collection of the creeds and profes: fh othe Fine five centais ‘Te deniton” and Thc follow in chronological onde, without 31) srpanatin been the two Kinds of documes. I hisnodie ‘into the 3th eon, Adolf Sehdnmetzer aid that had been Stal hat he nse some editor device to mark ot the dog thie definitions from eveything ese in the enchirdion; Be Wnty feted fo take up the challenge, correct leaving that Minto theologians Howeer, he did greatly improve the work, peel by tehisorical and crea ioductionshe provided ioemanyof the tex “Tin handbook, the only ellection ofits kind for over a cents sy. so widely sed by both students and teachers of theology thar gwe re tothe peoratve term: Denzingertheology” Ax Kat Renner and oer ave wed this trm it meant doing thal ty as though theologians ao ther ask than wo defend and al pronouncement ofthe magitriu ning with lie regard for theology” by hho means implied disdain for the enchiridion as such; in fat, he thought itso important that he devoted a good deal of his own time between 1952 and 1957 to seeing the 28th, 2th and Oth ‘editions through the pres. As Yves Congar has poioted out, the vay to avoid the stigma of doing "Denzingertheology” is not by Uhrowing this book ou, bu by using it correctly* ‘While the use of Denzinger requires a good knowledge of Latin (or German, forthe latest edition), students who must rely on an Frglish. translation now have a handbook comparable Denzinger in the volume edited by J. Neuner and J. Dupuis ent Le ee Debates fe Cat ‘haze? tn Neuner Dupuis, these documents are arranged accord- ing to topics, 0 that one finds together, in chronological order, Hiocuments concerning "Revelation and Fait,” “Tradition and Scripture “The Triune Gad," *Man and the World,” et. Inusing Deuvinger, whose documents are given simply in chronological Toeate the documents tht pertain wo specific topics hy consulting the exhaustive index atthe end ofthe volume. ‘Anwar important relerence work, now avaiable in English is the decrees ofall the ecumenical letssi ete withthe original text on one se, andl an English inansbtion om the fcing page. The edition ofthe original texts was done by a group of scholars led by Ginseppe Albergo Nolo, ay the English version was edit by Norman Tinaoe ‘wh alist twentpnine fellow Jesuits od the ansating” aluation of dcrnents termination of the relative ny Lac amy parece o ‘caching authori. nts Fron nthe Ea Van le "hen, the Congregation for the Doce ofthe Fah ad that theologians “must ae ino account the prope cara of every xereseof the Magister, conseing ic extent oh its authority i engaged" I utr attributed to thealgiaete task “to assess accurately the authoriatvenes ofthe tere ‘ions whieh becomes cea fom the nature ofthe documents the insitence with which teaching is epeated and he very wy hich itis expressed One should, of curse, add that aches ‘roca ft in asesng the aubortatnenes feel ore Inet isthe source fom whieh the document was sted. ‘Pis so! be an ecumenical couc ppe speatng wed, 2 sional cancian picopal ood pope wring an nea ler. a Roman congregation an episcopal conference ors ina, “lal bishop in hit does. Each ofthese sources of agra hoc il aes orm specie weigh of authoty Interpretation of dcuments is means applying the principles of the science of ermeneutis tothe documents ofthe magiserum. No-one now ‘westions the necesty of applying such principles to the ince !metation of bly scripture. Mis only recenlthat the necessiy of slnng such principles alo to the documents of the mage WEIGHING AND INTERPRETING MAGISTERIUM DOCUMENTS. 5 now it il suffice to note the two major steps that must be taken: the firs to determine the meaning ofthe document in its his ‘grail context, and the second Ito delermine the contempo- tary meaning of that document and to expres that same sreainginconepisandnguag tht wll make inlet people tft ody ‘Why shoul Catalin as ha teat ond ner soomment of ta rapes 7 “The anawer is bated on what t means to bea Cathlictheolo- «gian, I will spell this out if-four theR@%: 1) Theology is faith seek- tng understanding. 2) Theologians are perans who are onnmited to seeking 2 contemporary understanding oftheir {ath 3) Catholic heooglan does this rom within the Catholic tradition. 4 tis imposible to engage seriously the search for 2 contemporary understanding of the faith from within the Catholic tradition without knowing how to evaluate and inte pret documents ofthe magiterism 1 Theology is ith woking understanding, ‘Almost nine centuries have passed since Anselm of Canterbury defined theology in three words as ides quaerens| intlectom (Faith seeking understanding). Each of these words deserves comment Fides ‘he frst word of St. Anselm's definition means that theology arts wit faith, presupposes i, and is required by it Theology springs from faith insofar as faith asks itself about itself and sccks to understand itself faith turns into theology tothe extent that iC asks endless questions and secks without acknowledging Units. "The faith that seeks understanding i necessarily the faith ‘of the theologian himself or hers Jn the cage ofthe Catholic thew, this ith wil borin ceclesialna Catholic. fe iC Hvsti ha t aes Chita ts orf God sy, Hs eves tha it a th hat we Base Hot4 found by oursehes, but that we have received from the church Feclesial faith trusts that the Holy Spitt has maintained the church inthe truth ofthe gospel and that therefore in sharing the faith of the church we canbe sure that our personal faith soundly based on the word of God, As Avery Dulles has pointed bbea true theologian, one must dell in sprit within the community of fith; one must participate inthe Christian syne bols and in their meaning forthe community. This kind of par ‘cipatory knowledge wil make it possible to see the formule iy ‘elation to the unexplict meaning which they carry for those who share in the tradition." our faith is Catholic, we engage in the science of theology from within the Catholic tradition. This means that we do theet gy as committed participaes in the faith, life and worship of the Catholic Church. The redo eclsiom of our baptisms prefer sion means that we look upon the Catholic Chureh withthe eyes (oF faith. We sce the church a the fruit of Chris's definitive nc {ory one the powers of evil, assured ofthe abiding presence of the Holy Sprit, the Spirit of truth that will ead it ito all wath Our credo ecesam means ako that we believe that the episcopal nd papal structure of the Catholic Church corresponds! wo God's design for his church. We believe that the authority with hich bishops and popes lead and teachin the church coves to them ulkimately from Christ, and that in the exercise of thelr ‘office they enjoy a special assistance ofthe Holy Spirit, in vrtos ot which we believe tha when they teach ina definitive way will not lead the church into serious errors in is fith, an tad xen in their nonfiniive teaching they provide gencaly rok able witness othe fsith of the church. [To sum ups the faith that secks understanding when we do the- logy is necessrily our own fit, and that means that ne sec lunderstanding of faith that is Christian, ecclesia and Cathet Quarens rhe seckingthatis the esence of the science of theology is ware of is presuppositions and ef the requirement Of ts mental process as universally validate 's, carried om in accordance with th ‘bject, ts cearaeter as rection on f ors set by its and isp pose a en wy erent understanding of tt Peratedcomen in their ae om i ee ee tual eve ofthe vidal Wee and erie — = Seeing ere en ea ttre alt Anslogo, here wan anders the fi took the story of the fall in chapter feos rane tatly aa Weyer theologians to do, ited to seeking a contemporar 2), theologian ia peron whois commited to seking understanding of his rhe faith. nee ere Tact pete ti seonieats, be“xpresy a contemporary understanding ofthe ih, meaning tothe people of fith in that period and in ta cane nending series new calenges othe it mae rete gain and again to seek a deeper undcrtanding te goed alleng while at insane ‘ime fathflly maintaining the substance of the sige {age In each generation it bas been the ask of Teaoyianesy seek conenporsyundentanding othe ash aah itn coneptr and terms tht weal take i ineigikaena meaning he peopl oft tine ZA Sat hein nah somite sting crimp ing the faith fom within he Catai This means, in the frst place, that a Catholic theologian shares in the contemporary faith and life ofthe Catholic Church, avid Tracy has described the goal ofall systematic theology as ‘the reinterpretation ofa religious tradition by committed and informed thinkers in that tradition."* He insists that only those who are fully commited toa religious tradition can grasp the ‘meaning of that tradition in such a wayas tobe abe to achleve a reliable reinterpretation of it. Catholic theologians, therefore will be those who frst strive to know and understand the Catholic tradition of faith, and then seck to translate their Understanding of it into concepts and terms that will make it ‘more meaningful and intelligible forthe Catholic faithful today. ‘This leads us to our fourth thesis: Z +4. lis imposible ob commited to th a possible to be commited othe search fora contemporary sadetaning of fot fom atin Cat tee ows tulad intr amen of heme Ieisof course true that magisterial doc ial documents such as decrees of councils and doctrinal promo cements of popes ar not the ‘ont surc in which one can find the Cth reion a ing been handed down from generation to generation, Vaca has made it clear thatthe “scred deposit of the word of Got has been committed to the church” (that is to the whole people od, faithful as well ne pastors), and that “the church, in 1 teaching, ie and worship, perpetuates and hands on to all g ions all that she hersct i, all that she believes.” I is Church as a whole, then, and not only its leaders and offi teachers, that as perpetuated and handed on all that she i llthat she believes, The church has done this not only by tea ing, But also by is life and worship and, above all, by its sa ‘weal liturgy, in which ic hands on the very reality of Christ lite and faith to each succeeding generation, The handing or the deposit of faith by teaching has been accomplished not o boy councils and popes, bu also by the fathers and doctors of caries centuries, by theologians in every age, and by many oth ‘who, without being professional theologians, have been led the Spirit into profound insights ito the meaning of the (a ave have shared their insights by their words and writings ‘Whereis this tradition to be found? The fruit of it found im the faith and life of the contemporary chureh. the very nature ofthe case, our acces to the tradition ofthe ‘cnturies wil be primarily through the medium of texts in wl this tradition has been recorded in writing, The first and important ofthese texts i, ofcourse, the bile. But we also b precious witnesses to the faith of the early church in the t tismalerceds that have been preserved in writing. Liturgical laments record the way in which the church in every practiced its sacred worship, and thus also manifested its f The writings of the fathers ofthe church, many of whom also bishops, tell us how they interpreted the faith forthe pe ‘ol their own generation, and thus handed it on asa living f tou nota dead eter. And, finaly, we have the documents iss hy popes and councils in which they gave authoritative ansy tothe questions that each age posed to the faith of the churc Now itis obvious that no one person, in one lifetime, cc ven read all these documents, lt alone be competent 0 i wet thet all. As Bernard Lonergan insists, method in theo fis to involve funciona specialties, and no one can expect i master al then alo” However, there isa certain level of con tee that every theoluggan worthy of the nae can be rig fpeciea to arhise, Stiely every Chistian theologian mus10 eextive many familie with the principles to be applic inthe interpretation wf sacred scripture. Iti equally certain that Catholic theo rst be falar with the principles for the evaluation and pretation ofthe documents of the magisterium, since these dct rmenis represent key moments in the development ofthe Caolic tradition of faith in which they stanel and of which they seck 3 contemporary understanding. In order to interpret a tration ‘one must know tat tradition, and one cannot expect to know the Catholic tradition without being able to interpret the official doc luments in which that adition hat been authoritatively expressed, Lest the fact that have spent most of my life teaching in Rome sight lead the reader to suspect that Lam inclined to attribute ‘mote importance tothe evaluation and interpretation of magis- terial documents than most other Catholic theologians would tend todo, 1 shal conclude this chapter by invoking the author: ty of three ofthe mort respected Catholic theologians af our cen tury. I shall begin by quoting two passages from the writings of Karl Rahner on the subject with which we are dealing. leis asa member of the Church and in the light of ft that she theologian must wor, areal posesion of the object offhand ‘neal contact wth through grace Inthe log ram the eorvet hes of our arguments and deductions from the propesitions of {ai ean only proceed from the heart ofa fith Known by being lived. But his orignal faith ean only be expiated when we attend to the binging formulations in which i has never Filed to ‘expres itself and necessary in objective propositional for.” 1 theologians want to liven the Church wih the theology they ‘want to te with, then thei theology mus relly be an ede ‘One and it must have in principle an open and posive relation ip to the eccesial teaching office Those days ate certainly gone ‘when theology could be a Densnger theology inthe neoschoas- ticsiyle ofthe nineteen century or the ist hal ofthe went ‘century. But that ia farcry fom saying thatthe only way young, ‘theologians ean make their theology relevant ody te by beg a rine enough o eschew all contact with the doctrinal decisions of ‘the Church and by atempting vo purse theology without formal and continuing dialogue with the Church, its teaching oie and ‘ts theological history" alana Scileteery as expressed hired sis tia i the alling statement ia cee arcane ne Can cma ee Se he cin 2 Se a cin orl 1 ete pei a is ernest I shall conclude with a quotation from Avery Dulles whi 1s up what we have been saying in this chapter “The task of theology it 1 conduct a methodic or systematic reflection on futh As an eedesal discipline, theology is done ‘rithn the believing community, I endeavors give 3 coherent Systematzation of Cristian faith, guided by the symbols and pas formulations, expecially those wich have normative value in the ‘Church. Recogetzing the Church asthe community to which he ‘owes his own faith the Christan theologian will eat its tad tional formulas wth great reverence for only through the expres Sons ofthe faith of past Believers can anyone today become ¢ Chenin.”2 || Evaluating the Level of Authority Exercised in Documents of the Magisterium On October 11, 182, Pope John Paul promulgated the new (Catechism ofthe Catholic Church with an apostolic constitution in whic he dclared this Catechism tbe “a sre norm fr teaching the faith and “a sue nd authentic releence tet for teaching Catholic doctrine Subsequently, the question was raised ae te the degree of dogmatic weight that should be atributed to the doctrines contained in this Catechism, especially in view of its promulgation by the pope. To this question Cardinal Joseph Ratcnger, authoritative spokesman forthe Vatican on questions ‘of doctrine, gave the following answer: “The individual doe tries that the Catechism affirms have no other authority than that which they already possess His answer points to the fact that while all the 2865 numbered paragraphs in the new Catechism affirm what can be generaly described as “Catholic doctrine,” there will be considerable difference among these doctrines as o their respective degree of authority. While the new Catechism does not add to their authority nether does indicate the lve of authority attached to each of ts doctrines i is reasonable to expect that o each degre of authority exercised by the church's magiserium, there will correspond level of sponse expected ofthe Catholic fitful. How are the faithful ‘0 know what kind of response they are supposed to give to any Partculae doctrine conained inthe Catechism? Presumably it the professional theologians who should know how to answer such questions for the ordinary faithful. tn oder tobe able toro ‘they have fo be familiar with the criteria by which one termi the ate dee of any stacked to the a ‘hea te meta he earespndng oe spon eve other. What linen to do here to describe their tha theologian would wen performing thi sk lo not kno any beter may todo thi than to commen 00 she tr Form or he Profesion of Pith wich now must be sey those who re oblige by ean aw oak a pfession ‘tad the binning oftheir term foie in some respons hle postion inthe che? The fst and longest paragraph of thou isthe NceneConstaninopaitn Cree wth hich se pres oth each Sunday The new par ofthe formu, sm ha te ny coments ed nie et pragraphs. As the itrodtory nae explain, this dnsion 1s inended to show the ditnconsinong te ifleret tnd of ‘rath and the corresponding Kinds of nen that are required sion they are proposed, with varying dgres of autor By the magiteriom Isl quote cach o thee bre paragraph, ud then ask Ue questions about cach: 1) What Lind doe Vines are nwo here? 2) With wha degre of authority are they tag? 8) What eel of respons required? Theirs ofthese paragraphs read as ollows “Tabi wf ith cl ne igs ach arcmin in ae el sets em, nd rey the Chuchwheher bse judge ry ordinary nd ‘ot mgr cd ond need ek? What hind of dctrine ore aed he? ere tra question of socrines tht hae Been revealed by God, and thas re pat sf ‘ne "deposit offi” entrusted othe ech They ae truths ht ate prt ofthe wor God sth bas Been hand dwn in Serpte and in tradton. Noval such ruth can be fn xpi nthe ibe, but they must be such asthe eure recognize a really, even nly implicit, contained pon commited her Maw are they laugh? Following an important statement ofthe Wir teas Coun the tex ere diingushes between to seven ways thatch eva tats can be proposed for out tity 4k jgmen nea the extraoinry exer ‘ie of teeing author, weber by an ecumenical cual or inthe pope speaking nen, wher 2 dtrne tineasa dogma of faith This isa rather rate ccurtence, al canon law prescribes that no doctrine is 49 be wnderstod as having lncen so defined! unless this is manifestly the ease? I hou be ‘noted that no such “solemn judgment” was pronounced by the Second Vatican Council even sn the to documents which it called “dogmatic constitutions” The second way that revealed truths can be presented for ur Lath is bythe exereise ofthe “ordinary universal magistrium ” Vatican T explained this to mean the kind of teaching which the whole college of bishops, including the bishop of Rome, do when they are not gathered in ecumenical council The ease th is envisioned heres one where iis evident thatthe pope and ‘the Catholic bishops allover the wold ave been in agreement In teaching a particular doctrine as definitively to be held 38 3 ratter of Catholic faith, eventhough ithas never been solemnly defined as such. As examples of such truths, one could think of| several atiles ofthe “Apostes' Creed” which have never been the specific object of & solemn definition, but which are undoubyedly dogmas of Catholic faith, such a the communion ‘of saints, the resurrection ofthe bods, and if everlasting. What hind of ase ped? When a trth has been solemnly defined, or definitively proposed by the ordinary universal mag term as part of revelation, th assent required isan act of uth, Inthe deree of Vatican Ito which this paragraph ofthe profes sion of ith corresponds, this is described as “divine and Catholic {ai Its called “divine faith” because itis a response to God's ‘word, and thusa personal response to God who has spoken itis called "Catholic faith, because, having been definitively taught by the supreme teaching authority a something divinely revealed it ‘snow an article ofthe normative faith of the Catholic Church, ‘The Fist Vatican Council defined, asa dogma of faith, that when popes and ecumenical councils define a doctrine as a dogina of faith, they teach infalibly in doing so? The Second Vatican Council has farther decared (though not solemnly defined) thatthe whole college of bishops together with the pope teach infallibiy when, inthe ordinary exerese oftheir mag. iserium, they concur in proposing a particular doctrine as defi ively to be held* When itis clear that a doctrine as been this proposed as divinely revealed, an assent of fim faith is called fon The tina vate this to i ist he ini i nt the athority of God who hi Ihe seven of the the Frith is alos: al fim cept an hal ll hae things concerning deci al ith or mova which ae dnt rood by the same Chrch What hind of dctrines are noakoed hr? An authoritative answe ‘o this question has been given by the Congregation for th Doctrine of the Faith in its 1990 Fasruction on the Ele Vcaton of the Theologian. No. 28 of this “Instruction” contain what is obviously a paraphrase ofthe paragraph of the formal fon which we are now commenting. Ie reads: “When th Magisterium proposes “in a definitive way’ truths concernin {ath and morals, which, even if nt divinely revealed, ate neve theless strictly and intimately connected with Revelation, thes ust be firmly accepted and held" This makes i clear that th Actsnes envisioned in this paragraph of the Profession of Fat are not really contained in the deposit of fuith, On the othe hand, they are so closely connected with some revealed trat that the church needs tobe able to speak definitively and exe infaibly about them in order tobe able to defend or expla whats revealed, Such matters are commonly referred to 25th "econdary object of infliility” While itis official Catholic doctrine (though not a dogma c faith) thatthe church's charm of ifaliblty extend t i ‘definitive teaching about such a "secondary object,"* there isn official statement specifying in detail whats included in it, nr’ there unanimity among Catholic theologians about the ex contents of limits ofthis object. One question that has bee ‘much discussed in recent years concerns the exten to which th ‘naural moral aw fils within te scope ofthe church’ inflli teaching authority. Ieshould be dear that those principles or sx cifie norms of the natural hw which ate also contained in th ‘epost of revelation, by that fact belong tothe primary objet infallibily. The Congregation forthe Doctrine of the ath ha lfirmed this in its Juruction on the Bccesal Voaion of Theologian, saying: “Revelation also contains moral teaching hich pers could be known by natura reason. Its doctrine « new paragraphs inthe Profession ¢16 uanve noeury ith that these moral norms can be infallibly taught by the Magisterium.”" The term “these moral norms” obviously refers ‘only to such norms ofthe natural law as are also contained in ev lation, It is generally agreed that there ate ther moral norms accessible to human reason which have not been formally revealed. Since such norms would belong only to the second ‘object of infalibility, it follows that they can be infalily taught, only if they ae so intimately connected with revealed truth as to be required forits defense or exposition, How are such ruts taught bythe cr? ‘This paragraph speaks of doctrines conceming fith of morals which are “definitively proposed” by the chuech. As we have seen above, a doctrine can be recognized as having been “definitively proposed" cither by the fact that an ecumenical councilor a pope has pronounced a “solemn judgment” about it, or by the fact tha the whole college of bishops, together with the pope in thei ordinary exercise of teaching authority, have consistently proposed the same point of doctrine as “definitively tobe held.” What this paragraph envisions, therefore, isa case ‘where the doctrine that has been defined, or bas been univer: sally taught as definitively to be held, is not actually a rewaled truth, but belongs rather to the “secondary objec” of magister ‘um. In stich a case, the church does not define or teach the doc: trine as something revealed; rather, it proposes is teaching on this point as something that is certainly, and even infaliby, What hina of eseni requ? ‘The text of the paragraph we are considering answers our question withthe words: "I firmly accept and hold” The signif «ant point tobe noted i that this formula does not use the words “Lbelien,” or “hold with fit,” which were used in the previous paragraph. What this paragraph of the Profession of Faith equires isa firm interior asent ofthe mind tothe proposition as tue, but not an at of “divine and Catholic faith” In this respect, ‘the new Formula for the Profession of Fath was consistent with the other documents of the magistesium which, see Vi Int spoken ofthe response de o definitive caching waa mat ter tin el reale teamed wi ievelains "Hee i ‘ame asa compet surprise to find the following statement in th ‘cently published Cathie the Cathie Chur I The Churehs Magiseriom exercises the authority i olds From Chris to the fllest extent when defines dogs, that, when it proposes truths contained in vine Revelation or ving 1 necestary connection with them, ina form obliging the Chrician people wan erevoeble adherence of ith 1s obvious that the phrase “or having a necessary connectio ith them” refers to what theologians eal the “secondary obje ‘i infaliblcy” Tis equally obvious tha the catechiem declan ‘hat the magistrium can define sich wnrevealed truths 38 "do ‘nas" and oblige the Cristian people i give them an irevoc De assent of ath,” ere the Catechism has espoused an opinion that as bee lekd by a number of prominent Catholic theologians (son ‘hem, F. MarinSol, Chaeles Journet and Yes Conga) tot clfct that the proper response to infalibly defined doctre ‘wold be an at of divine faith, eventhough the matter in is snot revealed." However, this opinion has been strongly co. ‘ese bya great many Catholic theologians, who isis that on sively revealed trth can be defined as dogma aling for ssn of dvi ath” ‘One does not expect a document of the nature of t Catechism ofthe Catholic Church o tae sides on an se disput ‘anon reputable Catholic theologians. The fc that it has dor ‘rival dhe more suprising in view of the fat thatthe opinic ‘sponse By the new Catechiss on this question bas no suppor vy knowledge, in any previous document ofthe magiseiur ‘Othe many official documents that have suggested or explicit ‘sere hat the magisterivm can speak with infaliily abo. ‘rus that are not revealed, none has described the product uk teaching ava dogua of ith, or as dserbed the respon: "et as. ierevoeble asset of fith, Cardinal Ratzinger ‘nd thatthe detinitive Latin text of the Catechism “would Flies ny after the editions i the ee national languag ti won ake acento observations made in the fst pa ae ee tion ofthe eatchisn.™* Tan hopeil shat whew Tot text lish i il ot sy hat tubs cha ae18 Guanvs posury ‘revealed but only connected with revelation can be defined as ‘dogs calling for an itevorabe asset offi The third and list ofthe bret paragraphs in the Profession of Foch i follows “Rurthermory,Ladhere with religious submaion of wil and inte (0 the doctrines sic ther the Roman Pontiff ori Catee of Bishops. Prope when they execs ther ehortatve leaching afr corn "hogh they dont intend o pratao hae decrines by a Waite What hind of doctrines are inti hee? They are the kind of doctrines concerning which the pastors ofthe ch “ener their authoritative ceaching office" namely, doctrines relating to faith and! morals. The Second Vatican Coureil described bishops as“teachers endowed with the authority of Chris, who preach (0 the people committed them the faith they must beieve ad pu into practice-”” “Mate of ith and moras” embraces what ‘ver pertains to Christian belie and toa Chistian way of ie When the church asserts its claim to speak authoritatively on saters of faith and morals the fatter term inclades not only the ‘nora teaching of the gospel, but abo the natural moral law. Vatican Il expressed this i the following way: "The chutch i, by the will of Christ, the teacher of the trith. Is her duty to give lutterance to, and authoritatively to teach, that truth which i Christ himself, and also to delare and confirm by her authority those principles of the moral order which have thir origin in Fhumar nature itselE" In its Fnstracton on the Beceval Vacation of the Tieologian, the Congregation forthe Doctrine ofthe Faith has further spelled ut the grounds fo thie “By reason of the connection between the orders of ereation and redemption and by reason of the necesity, in view of salvation, of knowing and ‘observing the whole moral lay, the corapetenceof the magistr ‘um also extends to that which concern the natural law" But ‘one must distinguish between competence to speak with author iy, anda claim co speak with nfallibiliy. The later, as we have seen, is limited to truths which are either revealed or are ‘required forthe defense or explanation of some revealed truth ‘The church does not claim to be able to speak with intalibily fon all moral questions, regardless of their conection with divine revelation, fsa mitave or AeMORETY pOCENENTS 19 the eecse of such auhoratve magi, espe) sine the pblctin ofthe enya Rem sera By Pope Ico 8D shows tht he ch doc nace tenhing natn mater fnraastined eos opens iat th egy sured competence fo psd Inet on the Beaders fete oer of man oe) ise these are morlproblens 0 Be determined i 00° {Tce wt the “pines ofthe moral order nich have Chet ‘signin Homan tater al” Tee the dies tag tthe eo spe The par raph we are commen on aes he queston when Whey ch tie tang fhe ting they donot intend to proclim tine cis By 9 tere a." Here sa question of what called herd tye “authenies"nordetitne “nonin,” “non lm xi of heen by he Poe heh college of hop ogeter ath im. is be note tia mension made here only of thn who ate author te tet he universal ere; no mention ade ofthe aching Sie which bop exerote eter india in thei OFF “Tucse or elles in prt synods orm epcopal on eee ene, the forma fers nt dros whieh ae te auoritatvey promulgated by the supreme teaching Marty for aeepne bythe nivel char Sch doting wend for eample in the document ofthe Secon Vasc {snl whieh, onthe one hand, nowhere expressed is nen ttdtaea doce, oon tera dsr ie vseresing the supreme teaching author inthe church ine ealag for the acceptance of teaching by all he Cae ht” : The pope esccs is universal teaching oes, won iwcnig onake dente pronouncement, nhs nc howl later. and.exhorations, and other document hatte vik Cao Chath Hen aoe ata ice by his expt approal of doctrinal een Wiehe promagaed forthe whole euch, By th cen the Detine ofthe ath. ts Psat © Fe at at he Trg hin congeation de ii nese a he Bt The Renu oil20, cwwsriveneuTy «he vais bods ofthe Roman cia, and in particu with that ut the Congregation for the Dotine of the. Faith Consequeny, the documents ised by this congregation expres approved by the pope parcpate in the ondary nag ‘tru ofthe sicetor of Pete Hamer the pope doesnot the sich documents to proc doctrine ns dite wa, nor ‘ould any statement sued y the congregation partiate papa infaliblty,Iced,even with papal appro, sateen Hue by the congregation woul be less authoritative than {hse ted bythe pope this own name, While the Profession of Faith speaks only ofthe exercie of smagiterium by the pope ofthe whole callge of bthops with hi, the Code of Canon Law spe of the teaching shorty ‘ich bishops exercise “wheter they lech india, or episcopal conferences, or gathered together in particular can cli Bishops, the code goes on oy, while nol infallible in the teaching ae the athentenstractors and teaches ofthe fs for Chr atl entaed wo ther are” Obviusy, the authority of statements made by individ bishops, episcopal Conferences, and national oF reponal unc wil be es tan {tat of aatements ned by the pope or an ecumeneal oun forthe unhersal church Tes obvious then that, within the category of the non defn Live magia diferent degres of teaching authority wil be cere Referring to ths face, the CDF “intrtion say “Tere the theologian will need fat ofall to ex accurately the auhortatvenest ofthe inerveitions whic Becomes cleat from the nate of the documents the insence with which teaching i repeated, and the very way in which ls expressed." would sy hat the very st question tobe asked i asesing the athortaineness ofan intervention i “Who is speaking Nondefnitve magiterium can be exercived by an ecumenial council by 3 pop, by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, by a regional coun by am episcopal conference, o by local bishop: Each ofthese sources ponese a ile level of teaching authority. The second question fe "To whom int teaching adesed?” Obvious nly those adresse by teaching who ar obliged by tsar, There ian inp application ofthis principle with regard to papal teaching. All {AMWUATING HE LEVEL OF AUTHORITY IN DocuMENTS 21 Catholics are obliged by the authority ofthe teaching which the pope addresses to the universal chure in such documents as ‘neyelcals, But the pope i also bishop ofthe diocese of Rome, when his teaching is directed specifieally o the clergy and {aithful of his own diocese, only they are obliged by it Similarly, the teaching which the pope gives to groups of people either in Rome or in the course of his travel to other countries, cven though its published by the Vatican, doesnot have the authority ‘of papal teaching addressed to the universal church. ‘A third question is: “What kind of document is issued?” The Second Vatican Council issued two “dogmatic constitutions,” ‘ine “pastoral constitation," one “constitution,” nine “decrees, tind three “declarations” There is no doabt about the intention Sf the council to indicate diferent levels of authority by these “ferent tls. Similay, there are different kinds of papal doct- ‘wets with different level of authoitativeness. One visible sign ‘thie diversity ithe kind of teal affixed to the document. The ‘most authoritative documents are sealed with a lead seal (in ‘Latin bulla) and on that account are called “bulls lesser docu- ‘wns are sealed with was, and on others the papal sali merely stomped in ink Among the document thus versely sealed, the ‘wut authoritative are “apostolic constitutions,” “apostolic let ters” “encyclical eters,” and “apostolic exhortations." Such doc suments ae usually addressed tothe universal church. ‘fourth consideration, i assessing the authoritativeness of sy nondefinitive exercise of magisterium, is suggested by the CDP in its Fnstructon onthe Baclesal Vocation ofthe Theologian * vl it distinguishes among three different ways in which the ‘gsterium can incevene, without intending to act “definitie- Tyo" The firsts that it “teaches a doctrine to aid a better under saning of revelation and make explicit its contents, or to recall Ihe some teaching isin conformity withthe truths of faith, oF Finally to guard again ideas that are incompatible with those twutts” Secondly: the magisteium can intervene in questions tule disenssion whieh involve, in addition to solid principles, Ciacain contingent and conjectural elements. Ic often only Treronies possible with the passage of time to distinguish Ierwoen what is every and whats eoningent” Thirdly there onsite penal onder OF these the CDF sysWhen i comes tothe question of interventions inthe prude tal onder, if could happen that some magisterial documents right not be fee from all deficiencies. Bishops and thei av Sos have not alma taken into immediate consideration every Spector the entre complesity ofa question” Here the CDF has explained, sore clear than | think it ad ever been done off filly before, that one righty distinguishes among many dite cnc leves of authority exercised bythe “oninary” magiserin final question to be asked i asessing the level of authority involved in any exercise of the non-deiniive magisteriam has 0 do with the strength ofthe language which the author ofthe doe tment chose to use. For instance, popes have sometimes used language, in encylicals of other letters addressed tothe whole ‘church, which has indicate ther intention to settle a question that was disputed among Catholics. In his encyclical Human generis of 1950, Pope Pius XII spoke of this in the following terms: “If the supreme pontiff, in their official documents, deliberately pass judgment on a matter hitherto contoverted it is evident to all that, n accordance with the mind and intention fof the sme pons, that question can no longer be considered a subject for fee debate among theologians» The language used ‘by Pope John Paul ln his recent apostolic letter Ondinata sae dots would cary full or even Surpass, the conditions ine ‘ioned by Pius XIL In fact I am noc avare of any document of ‘ordinary papal magisterium that uses language quite so strong the final sentence ofthis recent ete, which reads: "Wherefore, inorder that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance, a mater which pertains to the church’ divine constitution itself, in virtue of my ministry of confirming the ‘wethten (Lk 22:32) I declare tht the chat has no authority ‘whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment ist be definitively eld by all the church's fidhful™ ‘This language comes very close to that of a solemn definition, bout we are assured by Cardinal Ratainger that i was not the intention of John Paul Il to speak ex cathadma™ In any ease, 1 would say that this statement excluding the ordination of women aisle hep ey to the priesthood would have to be put atthe very top of at scale measuring the degece of authority that ha been exercise ly popes in their ordinary magisterium. What kin of repo oe theif exeted to give tthe each, ifthe ordinary, nomdefiive magiteriunt? The Formula forthe Profession of Faith answers this question with the words “Tadhere with religious submission of will a intellect” The oftiial Latin text hax igo wolunats intl ‘us obuguio adhaeeo, These are the terms that were used b Vatican I nits statement on the mater, and they were repeate iw the new Code of Canon Law In rendering the Latin won iscguio by “submission,” Tam in agreement with both the Abbot snd the Fannery versions of the documents of Vatican I, as we ‘swith the tranation of the new code prepared by the Cano: Law Society of Great Britain and Ireland, However, the trast tion of the new code prepared by the Canon Law Society © Aeriea translates obseguinm a “respect,” and versions in othe snodern languages also vary between “submission” and “respect. Tn view of the lack of agreement as tothe proper translation ¢ the Latin word, I suggest that one should atleast not give (0: ‘non a meaning to "submission," oF too weak 2 meaning © “respect” In any ease, the essential ching, in my view, is (0 Hot that abequivm should not be translated simply a8 “assent.” Obquivo denowes an atiude coward the teaching authorie ich the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith ha leseribed a “the willingness to subi loyally tothe teaching tHe magistriumt on matters per se not eeforinable* This "Wil luggess to submit” ssi wo be “the rue,” but the Congregatio ecagizes that “it can happen tha a theologian may, second tothe case, raise questions regarding the timelines, the for, ‘ven the contents of magisterial interventions” urther tight on the meaning of this “willingness to subm loyally to dhe teaching of the magisteriumn” is given in no, 29 the dnatruction, which describes what a theologian soul clo wh isl fave “revo difficulties, (or reasons which appear ¢ Thin weliunded, i accepting a nonsiereformable magi we are tok, “there shoul never be slinisent of thst fandameat openses loyally to accept th es agin i lear tha oy