Magisterium-What is in, what is out

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How does one determine if some “idea” is in the Church’s official magisterium to be believed by all Catholics at all times?
e.g. One may hear something from a sermon and wishes to see if it is really Church teaching, or if the “idea” may actually be opposed to “official” Church teaching.

Conversely, how can one determine that an “idea” is definitely outside the Church’s magisterium?

How does one distinguish between magisterial teaching to be believed by all Catholics at all times vs. “temporary” magisterial teachings?

The CCC often does not answer all the questions that come up.

Thanks,

Bill Miller
 
First of all, the magisterium is the living teaching office/authority of the Church. It is not a set of ideas, but a set of people. Specifically, it is the Pope, and all bishops in communion with him. Note that according to Lumen Gentium, “The individual bishops, who are placed in charge of particular churches, exercise their pastoral government over the portion of the People of God committed to their care, and not over other churches nor over the universal Church.”

So, to answer your question – the way you find out if an idea is an authentic magisterial teaching is to ask your bishop!
 
Hi BillMiller,

The Magisterium is the teaching authority of the Church and all that she officially teaches are counted as “in”.

There are many ways to find out whether or not something is “in” or “out” in regards to what the Magisterium teaches. One way to find out is to ask someone who has an extensive knowledge of what the faith teaches (like Catholic Answers Apologists and the people in here). Another way is to study and read a lot. Starting with a Catholic Catechism and then working your way up by reading what the Popes have to say (past and present) and the official documents of the Church.

Now, that could take a pretty long time so if you want, there are two good books out there.

The first one is Dr. Ott’s Fudiamentals of Catholic Dogma; which gives the teachings of the Church and the various grades of certainty (“dogma” or “de fide” being the highest).

The other one is Denzinger’s: The Source of Catholic Dogma Which is a compilation of the teachings of the Church through Ecumenical Councils, Papal statements etc by topic. (A little pricy but well worth it if you ask me).

Now, these things might be of some help. But if you’re questioning whether or not something is in accordance with the Magisterium; the quickest way to find out is to ask the right people. 🙂

(And even then, they could be wrong; so ask them for a reference to official Church documents or papal statements.)

Miguel.
 
I don’t know if Bill’s question has really been answered.

We cannot seriously expect every Catholic to contact his bishop to find out if a certain doctrine is an article of faith. Likewise, I’m not so sure it was Our Lord’s will that every disciple poses a copy of Ludwig Ott in order to understand the deposit of faith. What if a Catholic can’t read?
 
the phrase “what’s in, what’s out” makes Catholicism seem like a fad (yeah right, a 2,000 year old church cannot be a “fad”)

The Magisterium has ruled on a wide variety of topics. How about posting questions about individual topics.

The Catechism and the Bible are good places to start. However, don’t stop there.
 
I don’t know if Bill’s question has really been answered.
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We cannot seriously expect every Catholic to contact his bishop to find out if a certain doctrine is an article of faith. Likewise, I’m not so sure it was Our Lord’s will that every disciple poses a copy of Ludwig Ott in order to understand the deposit of faith. What if a Catholic can’t read?
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I think his question has to do with how one goes about finding out whether a heard opinion was in accordance with the Magisterium (He gave an example about one hearing something from a sermon and wanting to find out whether it was truly Catholic teaching).

No, we are not required to have a copy of Ludwig Ott’s book or Dezinger’s but if you want to know what the Magisterium teaches, reading correct books and materials (such as the two mentioned) certainly helps.

You can also call and contact the right people (such as Catholic Answers) in order to find out.

Those are some of the ways a person can find out whether a given opinion is Catholic Teachings. So I don’t what exactly hasn’t been answered? :confused:

Miguel.
 
The Magisterium consists of the Pope and all the bishops in union with the Pope. Such is the case of eccumentical councils. It is also the Pope alone when he is speaking ex cathedra. Such was the case when the doctrines of the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption were declared.

In the first few centuries of the Church, there were very few “magisterial” pronouncements. Eventually the Church developed a habit of defining doctrine only in the case of controversy. Though this is certainly not always the case.

(Yes, I am completely aware that this is a 4 year old thread! 😛 I just wanted to inject some new blood from an old donor. :))
 
*Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee. Blessed art Thou among women and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen. *

Come Holy Spirit, come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, your well beloved spouse. Come Holy Spirit, come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, your well beloved spouse. Come Holy Spirit, come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, your well beloved spouse.

**So, is the Cathechism of the Catholic Church Catholic dogma, part of the Magisterium, or is it not? Thanks! **

Come Holy Spirit, come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, your well beloved spouse. Come Holy Spirit, come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, your well beloved spouse. Come Holy Spirit, come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, your well beloved spouse.

*Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee. Blessed art Thou among women and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen. *
 
BillMiller said:
How does one determine if some “idea” is in the Church’s official magisterium to be believed by all Catholics at all times?
e.g. One may hear something from a sermon and wishes to see if it is really Church teaching, or if the “idea” may actually be opposed to “official” Church teaching.

Conversely, how can one determine that an “idea” is definitely outside the Church’s magisterium?

How does one distinguish between magisterial teaching to be believed by all Catholics at all times vs. “temporary” magisterial teachings?

The CCC often does not answer all the questions that come up.

Thanks,

Bill Miller
Click to expand...
Everything in the CCC must be accepted by all Catholics. The CCC contains a summary of all the Church teachings.
 
Perhaps if we had a concrete example because frankly this sounds like the “where is your infallible list of infallible doctrines?” thing we get occassionally.
 
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