The magisterium of the Catholic Church is the church's authority or office to give authentic interpretation of the word of God, "whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition".(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 85) According to the 1992 Catechism of the Catholic Church, the task of interpretation is vested uniquely in the Pope and the bishops,"The task of interpreting the Word of God authentically has been entrusted solely to the magisterium of the Church, that is, to the Pope and to the college of bishops in communion with Him" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 85, 100) though the concept has a complex history of development. Scripture and Tradition "make up a single sacred deposit of the Word of God, which is entrusted to the Church", and the magisterium is not independent of this, since "all that it proposes for belief as being divinely revealed is derived from this single deposit of faith."
Solemn and ordinary
The exercise of the Catholic Church's magisterium is sometimes, but only rarely, expressed in the solemn form of an ex cathedra papal declaration, "when, in the exercise of his office as shepherd and teacher of all Christians, in virtue of his supreme apostolic authority, [the Bishop of Rome] defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the whole Church," or of a similar declaration by an ecumenical council. Such solemn declarations of the church's teaching invoke the infallibility of the Church.
Pope Pius IX's definition of the Immaculate Conception of Mary and Pope Pius XII's definition of the Assumption of Mary are examples of such solemn papal pronouncements. Most dogmas have been promulgated at ecumenical councils. Examples of solemn declarations by ecumenical councils are the Council of Trent's decree on justification and the First Vatican Council's definition of papal infallibility.
The Catholic Church's magisterium is exercised without this solemnity in statements by popes and bishops, whether collectively (as by an episcopal conference) or singly, in written documents such as catechisms, encyclicals, and pastoral letters, or orally, as in homilies. These statements are part of the ordinary magisterium of the church.
The First Vatican Council declared that "all those things are to be believed with divine and Catholic faith which are contained in the Word of God, written or handed down, and which the Church, either by a solemn judgment or by her ordinary and universal teaching magisterium, proposes for belief as having been divinely revealed."
The Second Vatican Council declared further that not everything contained in the statements of the ordinary magisterium is infallible, but the Catholic Church holds that the Church's infallibility is invested in the statements of its universal ordinary magisterium: "Although the bishops, taken individually, do not enjoy the privilege of infallibility, they do, however, proclaim infallibly the doctrine of Christ on the following conditions: namely, when, even though dispersed throughout the world but preserving for all that amongst themselves and with Peter's successor the bond of communion, in their authoritative teaching concerning matters of faith or morals, they are in agreement that a particular teaching is to be held definitively and absolutely."
Such teachings of the ordinary and universal magisterium are obviously not given in a single specific document. They are teachings upheld as authoritative, generally for a long time, by the entire body of bishops. Examples given are the teaching on the reservation of ordination to males and on the immorality of procured abortion.
Even public statements by popes or bishops on questions of faith or morals that do not qualify as "ordinary and universal magisterium" have an authority that Catholics are not free to merely dismiss. They are required to give that teaching religious submission:
Etymology The word "magisterium" is derived from Latin magister, which means "teacher" in ecclesiastical Latin. (It originally had a more general meaning, and could designate president, chief, director, superintendent, etc., and was only rarely a tutor or instructor of youth.Lewis and Short) The noun magisterium refers to the office of a magister. Thus the relationship between magister and magisterium is the same as the relationship in English between "president" and "presidency".
Since the time of Pope Pius XII, the word "magisterium" has also been used to refer to the persons who hold this office.
Source and criteria The Catholic Church teaches that Jesus Christ is the source of divine revelation. The Catholic Church bases all of its teachings on sacred tradition and sacred scripture. The Magisterium consists in all the infallible teachings of the Church, "Wherefore, by divine and Catholic faith all those things are to be believed which are contained in the word of God as found in Scripture and tradition, and which are proposed by the Church as matters to be believed as divinely revealed, whether by her solemn judgment or in her ordinary and universal Magisterium." (First Vatican Council, Dei Filius, 8.) However, the criteria for the infallibility of "solemn judgment" and "ordinary and universal Magisterium" are different. The sacred magisterium consists of both the extraordinary and dogmatic decrees of the Pope and ecumenical councils, and the Ordinary and Universal Magisterium consists primarily of Papal documents addressed to all the Catholic faithful, such as Rerum novarum.
The Second Vatican Council states, "For this reason Jesus perfected revelation by fulfilling it through His whole work of making Himself present and manifesting Himself: through His words and deeds, His signs and wonders, but especially through His death and glorious resurrection from the dead and final sending of the Spirit of truth." (Dei verbum, 4). The content of Christ's divine revelation, as faithfully passed on by the Apostles, is called the Deposit of Faith, and consists of both Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.
The infallible teachings of the ecumenical councils consist of the solemn dogmatic, theological or moral definitions as contained in declarations, decrees, doctrines and condemnations (traditionally expressed in conciliar canons and decrees) of councils consisting of the pope and the bishops from all over the world. Reasons for a belief in a particular dogma are not infallible but only the dogma itself.
A teaching of ordinary and universal magisterium is a teaching by the Pope or bishops which is binding on one's intellect and will to whom these are addressed. Ordinary magisterial documents are more binding when they speak about the subjects they intend to and the same document may have many statements that are not authoritative. Such a teaching must also be a part of the sensus fidelium.
Levels Only the Pope and bishops in communion with him exercise the office of magisterium; theologians and schismatic bishops do not.Catechism of the Catholic Church 85Archbishop Michael Sheehan, Apologetics and Catholic Doctrine, revised by Fr. Peter Joseph , Saint Austin Press, 2001
Teacher: Level of magisterium: Degree of certitude: Assent required:Applies to: 1. Pope ex cathedra Extraordinary and universal teaching of the Church Infallible on matters of faith and morals Full assent of faithWhole Church; all Catholics 2. Ecumenical council (compare 5 below) Extraordinary and universal teaching of the Church Infallible on matters of faith and morals Full assent of faithWhole Church; all Catholics 3. Bishops, together with the Pope, dispersed but in agreement, proposing definitively (ie, the College of Bishops, its membership collectively) Ordinary and universal teaching of the Church Infallible on matters of faith and morals Full assent of faithWhole Church; all Catholics 4. Pope, encyclical, apostolic constitution Ordinary teaching of the Church Authoritative but not irreformable Papal magisterium to be treated with special reverence via religious submission of intellect and willTo whom the papal documents are addressed 5. A bishop individually, or a bishop joined up in a conference of bishops (eg, a national, or regionally delimited), or a particular council of bishops Ordinary teaching of the Church Authoritative but non-infallible Religious submission of mind, intellect, and willCatholics entrusted to the care of (in the Diocese of) the relevant bishop(s)
Historical development
Early Church
Bishops as authority The most basic foundation of the magisterium, the apostolic succession of bishops and their authority as protectors of the faith, was one of the few points that was rarely debated by the Church Fathers. The doctrine was elaborated by Ignatius of Antioch (and others) in the face of Gnosticism, expounded by others such as Irenaeus, Tertullian, Cyprian, Ambrose, and Augustine, and by the end of the 2nd century AD was universally accepted by the bishops.Congar, Yves. "A Brief History of the Forms of the Magisterium and Its Relations with Scholars." in Curran & McCormick, Readings in Moral Theology: The Magisterium and Morality, p. 315.
Some of the first problems began to arise, however, with the increasing worldliness of the clergy. Criticism arose against the bishops, and an attempt was made to have all bishops drawn from the ranks of monastic communities, whose men were seen as the holiest possible leaders. However, there had also developed in the Church a Roman sense of government, which insisted upon order at any cost, and this led to the phenomenon of the "imperial bishops", men who had to be obeyed by virtue of their position, regardless of their personal holiness, and the distinction between "man" and "office".Olsen, Glenn W. "The theologian and the Magisterium: the ancient and medieval background of a contemporary controversy." Communio 7.4 (1980): p. 310.
Early disagreements This understanding was not universally accepted. According to Robert B. Eno, Origen was one of the most famous critics of the episcopal corruption. He says that throughout Origen's life, many of his writings were considered to be questionably orthodox, and he seemed to espouse the idea of a teaching authority based on theological expertise alone rather than, or at least along with, apostolic succession.Eno, Robert B. "Authority and Conflict in the Early Church." Église et Théologie 7.1 (1976): 49.
Another early disagreement in the Church surrounding the issue of authority manifested itself in Montanism, which began as a movement promoting the charism of prophecy. Montanism claimed, among other things, that prophecies like those found in the Old Testament were continuing in the Church, and that new prophecies had the same authority as apostolic teaching. The Church, however, ruled that these new prophecies were not authoritative, and condemned Montanism as a heresy.Eno, Robert B: p. 47. Other times, private revelations were recognized by the Church, but the Church continues to teach that private revelations are altogether separate from the deposit of faith, and that they are not required to be believed by all Catholics.
Era of the ecumenical councils