Saints, advocates and deviance

[LukeS]

In my understanding, to be a saint one muct be checked for deviant doctrine by a devil’s advocate. Yet a priest told bme that one does not have to believe everything a saint says or has written. So, there must be a third category (alongside doctrinal and heretical), the plain old non-doctrinal but not heretical either. Is this corrrect? What are the proper names of the categories (“doctrinal” etc)?

 

[thistle]

In my understanding, to be a saint one muct be checked for deviant doctrine by a devil’s advocate. Yet a priest told bme that one does not have to believe everything a saint says or has written. So, there must be a third category (alongside doctrinal and heretical), the plain old non-doctrinal but not heretical either. Is this corrrect? What are the proper names of the categories (“doctrinal” etc)?

oce.catholic.com/index.php?title=Beatification_and_Canonization

 

[NHInsider]

In my understanding, to be a saint one muct be checked for deviant doctrine by a devil’s advocate. Yet a priest told bme that one does not have to believe everything a saint says or has written. So, there must be a third category (alongside doctrinal and heretical), the plain old non-doctrinal but not heretical either. Is this corrrect? What are the proper names of the categories (“doctrinal” etc)?

Yes. The vast majority of what any of us say or write is opinion, not doctrine. Even the majority of the writings/speeches of the Holy Father or the Councils are not binding doctrine - the exercise of ex cathedra authority is extremely rare. Which doesn’t mean we are free to disregard the teaching of the Magesterium, just that not everything uttered by members of the magesterium becomes binding on the faithful.

Also, and perhaps more in the line of the original query, private revelation, even if vetted and found valid, is still only binding on the person who received the revelation, not on the rest of the Church. So the teaching of faithful scholars and visionaries alike are edifying but not doctrinal, whether they be the statements of Thomas Aquinas or Lucia’s reports of what Our Lady said at Fatima.

The investigation prior to canonization is to prevent confusion to the faithful. (Keep in mind as well that if the Church doesn’t canonize it is not saying that the person is not a saint in the sense of “saved.”)

Hope that helps.

 

[promethius]

So, there must be a third category (alongside doctrinal and heretical), the plain old non-doctrinal but not heretical either. Is this corrrect? What are the proper names of the categories (“doctrinal” etc)?

Third and fourth category: opinion and private revelation. Niether are binding on the body of the faithful.

 

[NotWorthy]

St. Jerome’s thinking on the Deutero’s would have prevented him from being a saint. But what I think helped him was the way he acquiesced to the Pope’s authority on this issue, no matter his personal opinions.

Besides, if everything a saint says has to be doctrinally sound, there’s no hope of there ever being a “St. Notworthy”!!! Why didn’t I get the memo!!!