Catholicism 101: What is the Magisterium?

November 5, 10:23 PMRoman Catholic ExaminerPamela Luther

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Roman Catholic Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Often Roman Catholics are asked if they believe in the Bible. Of course they do! Where do people think the Bible came from?  The Catholic Church teaches that its authority comes from Holy Scriptures and the Magisterium or Sacred Authority.

What is that, you may ask. The Magisterium is defined as the teaching authority of the Church. Fr. William Most writes:

“It [the Magisterium] consists of the Pope and Bishops. Christ promised to protect the teaching of the Church: "He who hears you, hears me; he who rejects you, rejects me, he who rejects me, rejects Him who sent me" (Luke 10. 16)

What it boils down to is that when Jesus and the apostles were at the Last Supper, He told them:

'The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you (Jn. 14, 26). 'When the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you to the complete truth' (John. 16,13).

The Magisterium is infallible. What that means is the Pope and the Bishops, who have received their position through the continuation of apostolic succession as we read about in the book of Acts, are the living teaching authority of the Church.

In Acts,  we read that after Judas’ departure, they came together and drew lots to choose a new apostle to replace him. Matthias was chosen. (Acts 1:26 ) This selection process has continued on throughout the centuries as the Holy Spirit leads in the choice of new leaders. When they, the Bishops and the Pope, are in unity in matters of teaching and doctrine, it is infallible. We know this with confidence because Jesus said it would be like this. We also can read from the early Church fathers about the next generation of apostles and the successor to St. Peter as the Pope.

Some people may question the last statement. If one believes that if Christ said that the Holy Spirit would teach the apostles everything and later that He would “… never leave us or forsake us”, why is it so difficult to believe that the Holy Spirit still leads in His Church? If His work through the apostles was infallible with His inspiration in their writing the Holy Scriptures, then wouldn’t He have been involved in the preservation of the writings?

The early church leaders met at the Council of Hippo in 383 A.D. under Pope Damascus I. There they discerned which writings were infallible and which were not. The Bible that we use today was settled then. No more can be added to it. The Bible comes from the teaching authority of the Holy Catholic Church (Matthew 28:19). When Catholics or Protestants read Scripture, they are reading the writings that were approved from the teaching authority of the Church.

Christians believe in the doctrine of the Trinity which was discerned by the teaching authority of the Church. The writings of Paul exhort us to follow him in what he has written AND what he has said through his teachings.

Had it not been for the preservation of the writings of the apostles by the Church and the early fathers, there would be no Bible. The Church does not come from the Bible; the Bible comes from the Church.

All of this is part of the early Magisterium. Catholics believe that the Bible and the doctrinal teachings of the Church are both infallible and inspired by the Holy Spirit, as Jesus promised He would do. The Magisterium is that second vital stamp of infallibility in Church doctrine.

Don't miss a story! Hit the "Subscribe to Email" button near my picture on this page and receive an email each time a new story is published.