What is the weight of authority behind a teaching of the Papal Magisterium?
score:2
Ecumenical Councils are the top of the list, simply because the whole of the Church gets together to promulgate doctrine. These doctrines are signed by the Pope at the end of the Council, and are binding. Some of the doctrines are administrative in nature, and can be modified, changed, added to, or removed. Others, which deal with faith or morals, are eternally binding. An example of this would be in the Council of Trent, where the Catholic Church defined the books of the Bible explicitly (they had done so in the past, but they chose to reiterate it because Luther was removing books), faith vs works, etc., in response to the Protestant Reformation. Those decisions are binding and infallible.
Encyclicals are next on the list, because they deal with specific matters of faith. An example of this would be Humanae Vitae, the encyclical which banned birth control from use in the Catholic Church. Again, that teaching is binding. When the correct wording is used, they also become infallible, such as Ineffabilis Deus, which defined infallibly the Immaculate Conception:
Wherefore, in humility and fasting, we unceasingly offered our private prayers as well as the public prayers of the Church to God the Father through his Son, that he would deign to direct and strengthen our mind by the power of the Holy Spirit. In like manner did we implore the help of the entire heavenly host as we ardently invoked the Paraclete. Accordingly, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, for the honor of the Holy and undivided Trinity, for the glory and adornment of the Virgin Mother of God, for the exaltation of the Catholic Faith, and for the furtherance of the Catholic religion, by the authority of Jesus Christ our Lord, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own: "We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful."[29]
Hence, if anyone shall dare -- which God forbid! -- to think otherwise than as has been defined by us, let him know and understand that he is condemned by his own judgment; that he has suffered shipwreck in the faith; that he has separated from the unity of the Church; and that, furthermore, by his own action he incurs the penalties established by law if he should are to express in words or writing or by any other outward means the errors he think in his heart.
The bold would be what makes it infallible. Another Pope could not undo this doctrine, as it is an infallible statement on a matter of faith. Note too that it is binding on ALL the Church as well, as stated in the last paragraph of the quote.
An Apostolic Exhortation is more of a letter of encouragement. It too teaches, but they tend not to impose a whole lot on the faithful. Rather, they are written to encourage holiness and growth as a Christian.
More post
- 📝 What is the perspective of Emanuel Swedenborg and the New Church (Swedenborgian) on Christ's death and resurrection. Does Jesus' blood cover sin?
- 📝 According to Creationists, what are the strongest arguments against abiogenesis?
- 📝 From a Calvinist perspective, does Limited Atonement make the Gospel offer empty?
- 📝 What are the facts concerning resurrection of Jesus Christ according to general documents like the Bible, contemporary historians etc?
- 📝 What is the Catholic theological basis for the Munificentissimus Deus?
- 📝 What fancy word describing a church's stance on the Eucharist most closely applies to Mormonism?
- 📝 What verses in the Bible indicate that Apostles expected Christ to come back very soon?
- 📝 How do Trinitarians explain the Athanasian Creed saying that the "one God" is the Trinity rather than the Father as in the Nicene Creed?
- 📝 Who was Chuck Smith, and what was his place in Christianity?
- 📝 Baptism of the Holy Spirit according to Martin Lloyd Jones' "Joy Unspeakable"
- 📝 According to Jehovah's Witnesses, when/how do the 144,000 ascend to Heaven?
- 📝 Why did Calvin reject these Catholic doctrines about Mary?
- 📝 What religion did the Wise Men from the East practise?
- 📝 Discrepancy between Yahweh (Christian Bibles) and Eh-yeh (Torah)
- 📝 What was the role of Apollos in the early church?
- 📝 Did Jesus know how to read and write?
- 📝 Why does the bible never specifically condemn premarital sex?
- 📝 Why wasn't Noah's wife name revealed?
- 📝 What is an overview of teachings of Messianic Jewish Christians regarding circumcision?
- 📝 From a Catholic perspective, what do family relationships look like in heaven?
- 📝 When did the Early Church begin and end their twice weekly fasts?
- 📝 Can Catholics or other Christians support ending abortion without making it illegal?
- 📝 Calvinists: How to avoid justification from eternity?
- 📝 Was Jesus' human nature included in the Trinity?
- 📝 How does Samson foreshadow Christ?
- 📝 Are there any denominations that do NOT practice "laying on of hands" with the specific goal of having a new believer receive the Holy Ghost?
- 📝 Question on John 4:13-14 - How do we drink of the water from Jesus?
- 📝 What is meant by "God is Omnipotent"?
- 📝 According to Protestant theology, does God’s omnipresence entail us humans walking into God all the time?
- 📝 "Hell's Best Kept Secret" from a Calvinist Perspective
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What is the weight of authority behind a teaching of the Papal Magisterium?
- 📝 "God Bubble" - Who teaches/believes such a concept and what is the basic teaching behind the concept?
- 📝 What is the reasoning behind the Amish practice of avoiding technological advances?
- 📝 What is the story behind a monk’s tonsure?
- 📝 What is the argument for papal succession?
- 📝 What is the Catholic teaching on the use of animals?
- 📝 What scholarship exists behind the WikiSource translation of the Bible?
- 📝 What specific scholarship is there behind the New World Translation?
- 📝 What is the Word of Faith teaching on "little gods"
- 📝 Absent apostolic succession, what is the argument for the authority of the church?
- 📝 What are the biblical arguments against the papacy and papal succession?
- 📝 What is the basis for the Catholic teaching that artificial birth control is wrong?
- 📝 Does the Catholic Church teach that it has the authority to change what is morally right and wrong?
- 📝 What was the earliest Papal condemnation of slavery?
- 📝 What was Satan's view on the authority of Scripture?
- 📝 What is the theological import behind genealogies?
- 📝 What role did the Donation of Constantine have on the development of the doctrine of Papal supremacy?
- 📝 At what date in history was the last papal anathema officially applied through the death penalty in a papal court against a heretic or protestant?
- 📝 By what authority does the old Catholic Encyclopedia call itself Catholic?
- 📝 What is the difference between Magisterial teaching and Sacred Tradition in Roman Catholicism?
- 📝 How comparable are the concepts of the Teaching Magisterium in the Catholic Church and the Jehovah's Witnesses view of their Watch Tower society?
- 📝 What was C.S. Lewis referring to in The Weight of Glory?
- 📝 What is the earliest extrabiblical teaching of baptism using a trinitarian formula?
- 📝 What could be the reason for Jesus not telling His disciples to write down whatever He was teaching them?
- 📝 What was Jesus' view on the authority of Scripture?
- 📝 What is the basis for the Roman Catholic teaching regarding the Sin of Presumption?
- 📝 What is the Catholic teaching on technology and faith?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for Mary being given immense authority in heaven?
- 📝 Why did John Wycliffe oppose papal authority in the 14th century?
- 📝 What were the circumstances behind the loss of the "True Cross?"