The Teaching Authority (Magisterium) of the Church

12-22-2024Weekly ReflectionFr. Leonard F. Villa

The three levels of Church-authority:

1. The Extraordinary (or Solemn) Magisterium: This category of magisterial teaching is infallible and is the easiest to identify as being such because of its explicit and definitive nature. It is exercised by either the pope alone (e.g., the papal definitions of the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary), or by the whole college of bishops, with the pope as their head — as, for example, when specific doctrines are defined in an ecumenical council (e.g., the Council of Florence on the necessity of the Church for salvation, Vatican I on papal infallibility, etc.).

2. The Ordinary and Universal Magisterium: This category, like the first, is also infallible but lacks the explicit character of the former. It is expressed when the entire episcopacy of the universal Church, under the headship of the pope, agree that a doctrine concerning faith or morals is to be definitively held by all the faithful.

3. The Ordinary Magisterium: Referred to, at times, as the Authentic Magisterium, this level of magisterial authority, exercised by the pope and bishops, consists of all other magisterial acts that fall outside of the first two categories. Unlike the Extraordinary Magisterium or the Ordinary and Universal Magisterium, it is not infallible. Its teachings, nevertheless — according to Canon 752 of the Code of Canon Law — are to be received with a “religious submission of the intellect and will”. Lacking the safeguard of infallibility, teachings emanating from the Ordinary Magisterium, could, in theory, be erroneous. The benefit of any doubt should, however, still be offered to the pope and bishops who exercise it. The obligation to accept non-infallible papal teaching has been forcefully expressed in many authoritative documents. For example, Pope Pius XII, in Humani Generis §20, says this:

Nor must it be thought that what is expounded in encyclical letters does not of itself demand assent, since in writing such letters the popes do not exercise the supreme power of their teaching authority.

Vatican II, in Lumen Gentium §25, puts it this way: In matters of faith and morals, the bishops speak in the name of Christ and the faithful are to accept their teaching and adhere to it with a religious assent. This religious submission of mind and will must be shown in a special way to the authentic magisterium of the Roman Pontiff, even when he is not speaking ex cathedra; that is, it must be shown in such a way that his supreme magisterium is acknowledged with reverence, the judgments made by him are sincerely adhered to, according to his manifest mind and will.

Pope Benedict XVI pointed out in a homily: This power of teaching frightens many people in and outside the Church. They wonder whether freedom of conscience is threatened or whether it is a presumption opposed to freedom of thought. It is not like this. The power that Christ conferred upon Peter and his Successors is, in an absolute sense, a mandate to serve. The power of teaching in the Church involves a commitment to the service of obedience to the faith. The Pope is not an absolute monarch whose thoughts and desires are law. On the contrary: the Pope's ministry is a guarantee of obedience to Christ and to his Word.

He must not proclaim his own ideas, but rather constantly bind himself and the Church to obedience to God's Word, in the face of every attempt to adapt it or water it down, and every form of opportunism. Pope John Paul II did this when, in front of all attempts, apparently benevolent to the human person, and in the face of erroneous interpretations of freedom, he unequivocally stressed the inviolability of the human being and of human life from the moment of conception until natural death. The freedom to kill is not true freedom, but a tyranny that reduces the human being to slavery.

The Pope knows that in his important decisions, he is bound to the great community of faith of all times, to the binding interpretations that have developed throughout the Church's pilgrimage. Thus, his power is not being above, but at the service of, the Word of God. It is incumbent upon him to ensure that this Word continues to be present in its greatness and to resound in its purity, so that it is not torn to pieces by continuous changes in usage. (emphasis added) Pope Benedict XVI Homily May 7, 2005

A pope is the guardian of the Catholic Faith based on Divine Law, Scripture, and Tradition. He is the protector of the divine deposit of faith given once and for all to the apostles and handed on to their successors who have been given the solemn charge of faithfully preserving it. He is not the source of Catholic teaching as if he could teach anything he wants. For example, we are not bound by the Pope’s opinion on climate change which is a scientific question. A pope cannot overrule Christ’s teaching on divorce and re-marriage, in other words, divine law. (END) See https://onepeterfive.com/submission-non-infallible-papal/ https://onepeterfive.com/doctrinal-confusion-the-magisteriuma-concise-guide-for-catholics