Hierarchy of Truths

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The CCC Glossary lists the Hierarchy of Truths as: The order (hierarchy) of the truths in Catholic doctrine, insofar as they vary in their relation to the central mystery and foundation of Christian faith, the mystery of the Holy Trinity (90, 234).

CCC 90 reads: The mutual connections between dogmas, and their coherence, can be found in the whole of the Revelation of the mystery of Christ. “In Catholic doctrine there exists an order or ‘hierarchy’ of truths, since they vary in their relation to the foundation of the Christian faith.” and CCC 234: The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God in himself. It is therefore the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them. It is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the “hierarchy of the truths of faith.” The whole history of salvation is identical with the history of the way and the means by which the one true God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, reveals himself to men “and reconciles and unites with himself those who turn away from sin.”

I see in Article 234 that the Trinity is #1 … Great! HOWEVER, is there a list of all the “truths” and their “hierarchy” order ?

Thank you in advance.

God Bless,
Davis
 
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Well, the Cathechism is an attempt to map out all those essential tenets of the faith.

And as for where things are in the hierarchy, the hierarchy is a causal and maybe epistemological hierarchy.

So, the faith’s hierarchy is kinda logical. It is less formal if you know what I mean.
 
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The concept of “Hierarchy of Truths” is commonly misunderstood. It does not mean that one point of Catholic teaching is more important or more true than others. It refers to the reaction the faithful must have in response to the teaching of the Church with regards to dogma and the different levels of doctrine. For example, a Catholic must firmly and actively believe in the Trinity as a Dogma, however they may not be able to understand the the Church’s moral doctrine about not using artificial birth control and simply avoid it because the Church says not to use it. Both these are appropriate to their respective place in the Hierarchy of Truth, also known as the three levels of magisterial teaching.

This is a good, if technical, article about what the three levels:


God Bless,
Br. Ben, CRM
 
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