What are authoritative sources on Catholic teaching?

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Ormond said:
Yes, indeed. If the Pope says invade the Holy Land in a bloody campaign of ruthless conquest, don’t ask questions, just do it. If the Pope orders public executions of Protestants and other inconvenient Christians try this at home if you can. Also, if the Pope instructs you to convert American Indians away from religions that have served them perfectly well since long before the emergence of Christianity, don’t ask questions, just march in to their villages with your guns and small pox infected blankets, steal their land, and solve the problem. If the Pope hires Bishops who sweep child rape by priests under the rug thus endangering more children, know that you can’t go wrong following whatever the Pope says and does. If the Pope gets mired in some behind the scenes scandal that forces him to resign quietly rather than be forced out, know that you are in good hands.
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Do you mind if i pray for you Ormond? It must be very painful to be where you are in a state of confusion about truths. :highprayer:

Peace and truth be with you friend!
 
adf417 said:
Do you mind if i pray for you Ormond? It must be very painful to be where you are in a state of confusion about truths. :highprayer:

Peace and truth be with you friend!
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I don’t know about ormond, but I will take all the prayer I can get. The Catholic Church is making intellectual sense to me, but I don’t have assurance about it being right in terms of faith. My wife refuses to talk about it with me. My parents would have fits if I they had any idea how deep the rabbit hole goes. I just want to follow Jesus no matter what.
 
Mammoths said:
I don’t know about ormond, but I will take all the prayer I can get. The Catholic Church is making intellectual sense to me, but I don’t have assurance about it being right in terms of faith. My wife refuses to talk about it with me. My parents would have fits if I they had any idea how deep the rabbit hole goes. I just want to follow Jesus no matter what.
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On my way to bed now and I will certainly say a prayer for you Mammoths.

Peace be with you always!
 
Here are some other examples of conflicts in different Catholic sources. I have heard that the Catechism of Trent expressly discounts the idea that anyone could be saved without being a professing Catholic. That this whole idea of “invincible ignorance” as a possible way to heaven, is a Modernist heresy or something.

I’ve also seen many Catholics of a more Traditional mindset claim that the Limbo of the (Unbaptized) Infants was and still is an official Church doctrine, that it’s merely revisionist history to claim that it was just a theological hypothesis, that anyone who states there’s a hope such infants are in heaven, are just encouraging people to have false hope.

I’ve also read some claims from those who emphasize Marian devotion, that it’s actually possible for God to relent and agree to save a soul that deserves to be damned, if Mary asks for that favor. This strikes me as almost blasphemous and attributing salvific powers to Mary that she does not have. Though this may be a misunderstanding on my part of what Mary’s role actually is.

And I have no idea at this point, what “Official Church Teaching” is when it comes to the thorny issue of offering divorced and married Catholics to receive Communion.
 
Your best bet is to find an apologist you trust and read the catechism. Most of these issues are covered. Relying on private interpretations is not the best way to do things from a catholic view. Additionally, we also believe it is not biblical.
 
I am starting to see his point though. It can be hard to nail down the correct teaching on a point where there is a difference of opinion. The issue with how to view outsiders is one such point as protestants and Jews were persecuted in the past. It’s fine if now we see that as a mistake, but I presume the Catholics who engaged in this thought they were acting in congruence with the church. So, it’s easy to see how one might be concerned about winds of heresy that take centuries to correct.

One of the feasts that just passed us was for a saint in the 1100s who’s virtuous legacy includes opposing some of the same corruptions Martin Luther is famous for opposing. I suppose sometimes it is hard to find the mustard tree beneath the birds.
 
ToeInTheWater said:
Here are some other examples of conflicts in different Catholic sources. I have heard that the Catechism of Trent expressly discounts the idea that anyone could be saved without being a professing Catholic. That this whole idea of “invincible ignorance” as a possible way to heaven, is a Modernist heresy or something.

I’ve also seen many Catholics of a more Traditional mindset claim that the Limbo of the (Unbaptized) Infants was and still is an official Church doctrine, that it’s merely revisionist history to claim that it was just a theological hypothesis, that anyone who states there’s a hope such infants are in heaven, are just encouraging people to have false hope.

I’ve also read some claims from those who emphasize Marian devotion, that it’s actually possible for God to relent and agree to save a soul that deserves to be damned, if Mary asks for that favor. This strikes me as almost blasphemous and attributing salvific powers to Mary that she does not have. Though this may be a misunderstanding on my part of what Mary’s role actually is.

And I have no idea at this point, what “Official Church Teaching” is when it comes to the thorny issue of offering divorced and married Catholics to receive Communion.
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I think you are on the right path. Being Catholic isn’t about memorizing every Bible verse and every dogmatic teaching of the Church. Sometimes we just need to submit to authority. Admit that salvation isn’t mapped out in a book that Jesus left us without a GPS to guide us on our journey.

I love GPS, you plug in an address and it tells you where you are going, how long till you get their and if there is any road problems that will slow down your progress to your destination. It blows my mind that people recognize that man can make something that would guide us while reading something as simple as a map, but Jesus didn’t create something that would guide us in reading something as complicated as the Bible. There has been and always will be people with their opinions of what they think the church teaches. You are in a good place though, this website is a wealth of knowledge than you can trust and that will help point out the misunderstandings.

Now as for the “Official Church teaching” ask a Priest or send a message to an apologist on this site. We don’t need to know all the answers, there is no test for entrance into heaven. The best we can do, as it seems you are doing already, is to be able to tell when something sounds a little fishy. That’s when I come here.

God Bless
 
The simple answer to the question posed in the thread title is:

The authoritative source of Catholic teaching is Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, which is preserved, passed down, and articulated by the Magisterium of the Church.

That simple answer requires some unpacking, of course. It’s easy to be clear on what Sacred Scripture is, because it is a tangible and finite collection of books. Sacred Tradition is harder for us to wrap our minds around and exactly who the Magisterium is and what documents are considered binding can trip people up.

The documents of the magisterium are primarily writings from popes and ecumenical councils.

Something like the Catechism, though it is a “sure norm for teaching the faith”, does not technically possess an authority of it’s own. It is authoritative in so far as it references Scripture and authoritative magisterial teaching. But it is not an exercise of the magisterium on it’s own.

Which is not to say, of course, that it can’t be trusted. It can. But it helps to be clear on what the purpose of a catechism is. It is the convenient packaging of magisterial teaching, but it’s not the source of magisterial teaching. New dogmas would not be proposed in a catechism. Those come about through exercises of the Magisterium: ecumenical councils or (particular) papal documents.

In general, it’s not particularly necessary or worthwhile for the average Catholic in the pew to spend a whole lot of time parsing out every line of every extant Catholic writing in order to come up with some Catholic “theory of everything” which will provide exacting parameters for every required Catholic belief as it applies to every imaginable lived scenario outside of which everything else can be summarily dismissed as so much chaff.

A little filial trust goes a long way. And I put more stock in what our current pope and bishops have to say than in how some random Catholic blogger interprets some Catholic writings (for example, on the topic of limbo that you brought up).

Which is not to say that we check our brains at the door and don’t ask questions. But at the end of the day, I’d rather be listening to the voice of the Magisterium (which is a living office) rather than those who oppose that voice.
 
Joe_5859 said:
The simple answer to the question posed in the thread title is:

The authoritative source of Catholic teaching is Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, which is preserved, passed down, and articulated by the Magisterium of the Church.

That simple answer requires some unpacking, of course. It’s easy to be clear on what Sacred Scripture is, because it is a tangible and finite collection of books. Sacred Tradition is harder for us to wrap our minds around and exactly who the Magisterium is and what documents are considered binding can trip people up.

The documents of the magisterium are primarily writings from popes and ecumenical councils.

Something like the Catechism, though it is a “sure norm for teaching the faith”, does not technically possess an authority of it’s own. It is authoritative in so far as it references Scripture and authoritative magisterial teaching. But it is not an exercise of the magisterium on it’s own.

Which is not to say, of course, that it can’t be trusted. It can. But it helps to be clear on what the purpose of a catechism is. It is the convenient packaging of magisterial teaching, but it’s not the source of magisterial teaching. New dogmas would not be proposed in a catechism. Those come about through exercises of the Magisterium: ecumenical councils or (particular) papal documents.

In general, it’s not particularly necessary or worthwhile for the average Catholic in the pew to spend a whole lot of time parsing out every line of every extant Catholic writing in order to come up with some Catholic “theory of everything” which will provide exacting parameters for every required Catholic belief as it applies to every imaginable lived scenario outside of which everything else can be summarily dismissed as so much chaff.

A little filial trust goes a long way. And I put more stock in what our current pope and bishops have to say than in how some random Catholic blogger interprets some Catholic writings (for example, on the topic of limbo that you brought up).

Which is not to say that we check our brains at the door and don’t ask questions. But at the end of the day, I’d rather be listening to the voice of the Magisterium (which is a living office) rather than those who oppose that voice.
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I have the privilege of being here when you turn over 20,000.
 
ToeInTheWater said:
Thanks for the thoughtful replies.

To clarify, I did not mean when I stated that “I know the Bible by itself is not considered authoritative for Catholics” that the Bible is not relevant at all to Catholics. I simply meant that some Church doctrines, while certainly not contradicting Scripture, also are not explicitly mentioned therin, such as some of the Marian doctrines. So I don’t think it’s possible to prove simply from the Bible that Mary is indeed the Queen of Heaven. Support, yes. Prove, no.
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Sacred Scripture is not the only authoritative source on Catholic Teaching. Sacred Tradition stands by it’s side.

The video below is an excellent short explanation of Mary and her role.

youtube.com/watch?v=kUdYeYy3NQA

Good luck on your journey. 👍
 
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