YOUCAT Lesson 13, March 17, 2012 YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth 13. Can the Church err in a question of faith? The faithful as a whole cannot err in faith, because Jesus promised his disciples that he would send them the Spirit of truth and keep them in the truth (John 14:17). [80-82, 85-87, 92, 100] Just as the disciples believed Jesus with their whole heart, a Christian can rely completely on the Church when he asks about the way to life. Since Jesus Christ himself gave his apostles the commission to teach, the Church has a teaching authority (the magisterium) and must not remain silent. Although individual members of the Church can err and even make serious mistakes, the Church as a whole can never fall away from God’s truth. The Church carries through the ages a living truth that is greater than herself. We speak about a depositum Fidei, a deposit of faith that is to be preserved. If such a truth is publicly disputed or distorted, the Church is called upon to clarify again “what has always and everywhere been believed by all” (St. Vincent of Lerins, d. 450). “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you…” St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:23 “Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, then, are bound closely together and communicate one with the other. For both of them, flowing out from the same divine well-spring, come together in some fashion to form one thing and move toward the same goal.” Second Vatican Council, DV MAGISTERIUM (from Latin magister=teacher): term for the mandate of the Catholic Church to present the faith, to interpret it with the aid of the Holy Spirit, and to protect it from falsifications.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 13:23:02 +0000
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