Pillar and Bullwarkof the TruthThe Infallible Magisterium of the Catholic Church

Issue: What is the Magisterium?How should the faithful respond tothe Magisterium? What is thecharism of infallibility? How is thatcharism exercised by the Church?

Response: The Magisterium isthe Church’s teaching office estab-lished by Jesus Christ to “guard whathas been entrusted” (1 Tim. 6:20).The Magisterium, in service to theWord of God, authentically interpretsthe Word, whether in Scripture or inthe form of Tradition. TheMagisterium is exercised by the Popeand the bishops in union with him.Because Christ has instituted theMagisterium to communicate His sav-ing truth, the faithful should respondin docility and joy to the Church’steaching out of love for Christ.

Infallibility is a charism wherebythe Holy Spirit protects the Magisteriumfrom teaching error on matters of faithand morals. The Church exercises thischarism when she teaches defini-tively, whether in a solemn manner(i.e., through the extraordinaryMagisterium) or through the ordinaryand universal Magisterium.

Discussion: Jesus sent the HolySpirit to guide His Church into alltruth. The Holy Spirit teaches theChurch “all things,” bringing to mindeverything that Christ first taught Hisapostles (cf. Jn. 14:26). That is whyJesus can say, regarding His apostlesand their bishop successors, “He

who receives you receives me” (Mt.10:40). Chosen by Christ, they exer-cise the Church’s Magisterium orteaching office. Christ sends Hisapostles and their successors as theFather sent Him—with “all authorityin heaven and on earth” (Mt. 28:18).

To provide a sure source ofteaching and to maintain unity in theChurch, Christ established the pa-pacy with supreme authority in theChurch. The Pope’s office is oneof succession from Peter and ismarked by the authority of “the keysof the kingdom of heaven” (cf. Mt.16:18-19; Is. 22:15-25). As the Sec-ond Vatican Council reminds us,“the Roman Pontiff, by reason ofhis office as Vicar of Christ, and aspastor of the entire Church, has full,supreme, and universal power overthe whole Church, a power whichhe can always exercise unhin-dered” (Lumen Gentium, no. 22).Thus, only in union with the Popedoes the college or body of bishopshave supreme and full authorityover the universal Church (ibid.).

Jesus did not leave His peoplevulnerable to the doctrinal whims ofcompeting leaders. Rather, He builtthe Church on the solid foundationof the apostles (cf. Eph. 2:19-20).He gave the Church His HolySpirit, the Paraclete, to enable herto be “the pillar and bulwark of thetruth” (1 Tim. 3:15). Despite thecultural winds that have blownthrough the ages, the faithful have C

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FAITH FACTSThe Answers You Need

always had a visible, easily identifi-able magisterial “rock” on whichthey could safely stand in all seasons.As the Catechism provides, quotingVatican II:

The task of giving an authenticinterpretation of the Word ofGod, whether in its written formor in the form of Tradition, hasbeen entrusted to the living,teaching office of the Churchalone. Its authority in this mat-ter is exercised in the name ofJesus Christ” [Dei Verbum, no.10]. This means that the task ofinterpretation has been entrustedto the bishops in communionwith the successor of Peter, theBishop of Rome (no. 85, empha-sis added).

Jesus declared that the gates ofhell would never prevail against HisChurch (cf. Mt. 16:18-19). This pro-tection from evil includes protectingthe Magisterium from teaching er-ror. Regardless of who the Pope andbishops in union with him may be ata particular time in Church history,the faithful have Christ’s Word thatthe Holy Spirit will guide HisMagisterium in preserving andteaching the truth.

Faith SeekingUnderstanding

Some Catholics will not assentto a particular teaching unless theChurch has demonstrated to theirsatisfaction that the teaching is true.Some go so far to reserve the rightto overrule any magisterial pro-nouncement with a judgment of con-science. In doing so, they errone-ously apply the Church’s teaching onconscience, in essence arguing thatevery Church teaching is subject totheir approval. Faith is not mereagreement, but a humble submissionto God’s authority. Thus the Cat-echism says: “Faith is first of all apersonal adherence of man to God.At the same time, and inseparably, itis a free assent to the whole truththat God has revealed” (no. 150,original emphasis).

Such assent presupposes a joy-ful obedience to God as He reveals

Himself and His saving truth. “Toobey (from the Latin ob-audire, to“hear or listen to”) in faith is to sub-mit freely to the word that has beenheard, because its truth is guaran-teed by God, who is Truth itself”(Catechism, no. 144). As Jesus said,“He who hears you hears me, andhe who rejects you rejects me”(Luke. 10:16). Catholics assent to theChurch’s teachings out of faith inGod, who has invested theMagisterium, the servant of HisWord, with His authority:

What moves us to believe is notthe fact that revealed truths ap-pear as true and intelligible in thelight of our natural reason: webelieve “because of the author-ity of God himself who revealsthem, who can neither deceivenor be deceived. . .” (Catechism,no. 156, footnotes omitted).

Unfortunately, some seek teach-ers “to suit their own likings, and willturn away from listening to the truthand wander into myths” (2 Tim. 4:3).Faith, not our own preferences or lik-ings, is what leads us to truth. Be-cause of God’s faithfulness, becauseof the certainty that comes with Hisdivine light, Catholics can joyfullyecho the words of John Henry Car-dinal Newman when the temptationto withhold assent is put before them:“Ten thousand difficulties do notmake one doubt” (Catechism, no.157, footnote omitted). “Mindful ofChrist’s words to his apostles: ‘Hewho hears you, hears me’ [Lk.10:16], the faithful receive with do-cility the teachings and directives thattheir pastors give them in differentforms” (Catechism, no. 87).

You Better Believe ItDespite the Church’s teaching

on faith and assent, some Catholicsthink that they only have to assentto “ex cathedra” and other “sol-emnly defined” teachings, maintain-ing that only these are guaranteedto be infallible by the Holy Spirit. Asa result, they shortchange them-selves, minimizing the wealth of theChurch’s teachings. Rather, theChurch has three basic types of

teaching, all of which require theassent of the faithful. The first con-sists of “divinely revealed” teachings,those which God has imparted to HisChurch through Scripture and Tra-dition and which are thus part of the“deposit of faith” (Catechism, nos.84; 2033). These teachings requirethe assent of faith, based on the au-thority of God’s Word. One is guiltyof heresy if he denies such teach-ings (cf. Catechism, no. 2089).

The second category consists ofthose teachings on which the Churchhas definitively pronounced. Theseteachings require an assent of faith,but it is based on faith in the HolySpirit’s assistance to the Magisteriumand on the related doctrine of infalli-bility, which the Catechism’s glos-sary defines thus: “the gift of the HolySpirit whereby the pastors of theChurch, the pope and the bishops inunion with him, can definitively pro-claim a doctrine of faith or moralsfor the belief of the faithful. . . “(em-phasis added). As the Code ofCanon Law provides, “anyone whorejects propositions which are to beheld definitively sets himself againstthe teaching of the Catholic Church”(Canon 750 §2).1 While not part ofthe deposit of faith, these teachingsare “required for the holy keepingand faithful exposition of the depositof faith” (Canon 750 §2).

Teachings in these first two cat-egories require full and irrevocableassent. As the Catechism explains,they are taught infallibly:

The supreme degree of partici-pation in the authority of Christis ensured by the charism of in-fallibility . This infallibility ex-tends as far as does the depositof divine Revelation; it also ex-tends to all those elements ofdoctrine, including morals, with-out which the saving truths ofthe faith cannot be preserved,explained, or observed (no.2035, original emphasis).

Thus, these two categories ofteachings, infallibly proposed, areequal in scope to (“is coextensivewith”) the deposit of revelation.There is a third category of teach-

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ings that “leads to a better under-standing of Revelation in matters offaith and morals” (Catechism, no.892). These teachings illuminate un-derstanding, helping revelation tobear fruit. While not definitively pro-posed, they are presented as true orsure. The Magisterium receives di-vine assistance in proposing theseteachings, to which the faithful “‘areto adhere to it with religious assent’which, though distinct from the as-sent of faith, is nonetheless an ex-tension of it” (Catechism, no. 892,footnote omitted). An example wouldbe the Church’s recent teaching thatthe death penalty should not be ad-ministered unless “this is the onlypossible way of effectively defend-ing human lives against the unjustaggressor” (Catechism, no. 2267).

High DefinitionThus, there are three types of

teachings that require our assent, twoof which are proposed infallibly. Howdoes the Magisterium propose teach-ing infallibly? There are two ways:through the extraordinaryMagisterium and through the ordinaryand universal Magisterium.

The “extraordinary Magister-ium” is so named because it issuessolemn or formal pronouncements onrelatively rare occasions. The ex-traordinary Magisterium pronouncesinfallibly through two types of solemndefinitions. The first type of defini-tion is by a Pope alone when hespeaks “ex cathedra”—”from thechair” of Peter—that is, when “act-ing in the office of shepherd andteacher of all Christians, he defines,by virtue of his supreme apostolicauthority, a doctrine concerning faithand morals to be held by the univer-sal Church.”2 Examples include thedogmatic definitions regarding Mary’sImmaculate Conception (Pope PiusIX, 1854) and Assumption into heaven(Pope Pius XII, 1950).

The second type of definitionoccurs when the Pope and the bish-ops in union with him solemnly de-fine a teaching at an “ecumenical”or “general” council—a councilwhose teachings are binding on thewhole Church (cf. canon 750 §2).Examples include the various solemn

definitions made at the Council ofTrent, including on the Mass, the sac-raments, justification, and indulgences.

Some Catholics mistakenly try tolimit infallibility to only those teach-ings that are solemnly defined. Theycite a section of canon law, “no doc-trine is understood to be infallibly de-fined unless this is manifestly dem-onstrated” (canon 749 §2). This sec-tion, however, does not limit infalli-bility to solemn definitions. Instead,it prohibits placing a doctrine on thelevel of a solemn definition unless itcan be shown to be so. A doctrineitself, however, may be infallible onanother level. As Vatican II, theCatechism, and the Code of CanonLaw all affirm, any definitively pro-posed teaching enjoys the charismof infallibility, not simply those whichare solemnly defined.

The ordinary and universalMagisterium is the normal or usualmeans by which the Pope and thebishops in union with him infalliblypropose teachings to the wholeChurch. It is exercised when thePope and bishops agree that a par-ticular doctrine is to be held defini-tively, and is typically carried outwhen the bishops are dispersedthroughout the world in their respec-tive dioceses. The ordinary and uni-versal Magisterium also teaches in-fallibly when, without issuing a sol-emn definition, it definitively confirmsor reaffirms the Church’s teachingsat an ecumenical council, e.g.,through a dogmatic constitution.

If a teaching is taught by theordinary and universal Magisterium,it is necessarily definitive and there-fore infallible. However, controver-sies sometimes arise as to whethera particular doctrine is in fact ateaching of the ordinary and univer-sal Magisterium. On such occasions,the Pope can definitively confirm orreaffirm that a particular doctrine isindeed infallibly taught by thatMagisterium. In such cases, thePope does not make an ex cathe-dra pronouncement. Rather, he in-fallibly and definitively pronouncesthat a doctrine “has been constantlymaintained and held by Tradition andtransmitted by the ordinary, univer-sal Magisterium.”3

The definitive character of suchpapal pronouncements is rooted in thevery Tradition they confirm. Thus, theinfallibility of these reaffirmations fol-lows in part from the infallibility ofprevious teachings they affirm. AsArchbishop Tarcisio Bertone, the sec-retary of the Congregation for theDoctrine of the Faith, has explained,“a papal pronouncement of confirma-tion enjoys the same infallibility as theteaching of the ordinary, universalMagisterium. . . .”4 These definitivepronouncements provide a more con-crete way of knowing that a doctrinehas been proposed infallibly.

Pope John Paul II’s definitivepronouncement that only men can beordained to the ministerial priesthoodis a recent example of an infalliblepapal confirmation. He made hispronouncement in his 1994 apostolicletter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis (OnReserving Priestly Ordination toMen Alone):

[T]hat priestly ordination is to bereserved to men alone has beenpreserved by the constant anduniversal Tradition of the Churchand firmly taught by theMagisterium in its more recentdocuments. . . . Wherefore, in or-der that all doubt may be removedregarding a matter of great impor-tance, a matter which pertains tothe Church’s divine constitutionitself, in virtue of my ministry ofconfirming the brethren (cf. Lk.22:32), I declare that the Churchhas no authority whatsoever toconfer priestly ordination onwomen and that this judgment isto be definitively held by all theChurch’s faithful (no. 4).

Ordinatio Sacerdotalis is agood example of a definitive papalpronouncement that confirms or re-affirms a teaching of the ordinary anduniversal Magisterium. The Popestates that the teaching regardingpriestly ordination is “the constant anduniversal Tradition of the Church.”He thus definitively identifies theteaching as magisterial. The HolyFather then definitively states that hispronouncement is a confirmation (“invirtue of my ministry of confirming

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the brethren”). Finally, affirming thathe is acting to remove all doubt onthe matter, the Pope adds that his“judgment is to be definitively held byall the Church’s faithful.”

Another example of how a Popecan definitively pronounce without anex cathedra statement concerns con-traception. In 1930, the AnglicanChurch broke with longstandingChristian Tradition and taught thatcontraception could be allowed insome “difficult” cases. In response,Pope Pius XI issued that same yearhis encyclical Casti Connubii (OnChristian Marriage). Speaking “in to-ken” of the Church’s “divine ambas-sadorship,” Pius XI reaffirmed thatthis teaching belonged to “the unin-terrupted Christian Tradition,” pro-claiming anew that “any use whatso-ever of matrimony exercised in sucha way that the act is deliberately frus-trated in its natural power to gener-ate life is an offense against the lawof God and of nature. . .” (no. 56).

Pius XI’s definitive pronounce-ment illustrates that the issue of con-traception was definitively settled longbefore Pope Paul VI’s 1968 encycli-cal Humanae Vitae, which itself af-firms that same “uninterrupted Chris-tian Tradition.” Other recent ex-amples include John Paul II’s defini-tive pronouncements regarding abor-tion, murder, and euthanasia in his1995 encyclical Evangelium Vitae(The Gospel of Life).

Christ has provided the Magis-terium as a great gift to His Church,so that the faithful may give free andgrateful assent to the saving truth Godhas revealed to His Church. TheMagisterium enables the faithful tolive God’s truth in the abundantly fruit-ful manner He intended. When theMagisterium pronounces definitivelyon a matter of faith or morals, theHoly Spirit ensures that the Churchwill not teach erroneously. TheChurch can pronounce infalliblythrough the extraordinary Magis-terium as well as through the ordi-nary and universal Magisterium. Hewho hears and obeys the Churchhears and obeys her founder, JesusChrist. And, as Jesus promised, “Ifyou continue in my word, you are trulymy disciples, and you will know the

truth, and the truth will make youfree” (Jn. 8:31-32).

1 Pope John Paul II amended the Codeof Canon Law, adding Canon 750 §2,through his 1998 decree Ad TuendamFidem (To Protect the Faith).2 Vatican I, Dogmatic Constitution onthe Church of Christ, chapter 4; ascited in J. Neuner, S.J., and J. Dupuis,

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The Christian Faith: In the DoctrinalDocuments of the Catholic Church—Sixth Revised and Enlarged Edition(New York: Alba House, 1996), no. 839,297-98.3 Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone,L’Osservatore Romano (WeeklyEnglish Edition), January 29, 1997, 6.4 Ibid.

Last edited 02/11/03