Not Back Persay, Just A Quick Question.

[Tab'le De'Bah-Rye]

May the peace of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ be with you in faith with hope and love...

 

I feel a bit dumb asking this, and some may not know? But what actually is the Magesterium of the Church. My two guesses where the hierarchy of the church or perhaps God's desire that the church be made holy over time individually and communally, i don't know these two are just guesses. What is the Magesterium of the church ? Because i know that whatever it is it an infallible matter of faith and morals. I should have asked this yonks ago.

 

Onward christian souls.

JESUS iz LORD.

 

JC " seek and you will find,knock and the door will be opened." " Many will say it is here or it is there, but i tell you the kingdom of God is among you."

 

[cappie]

By the Magisterium we mean the teaching office of the Church. It consists of the Pope and Bishops. Christ promised to protect the teaching of the Church : "He who hears you, hears me; he who rejects your rejects me, he who rejects me, rejects Him who sent me" (Luke 10. 16). Now of course the promise of Christ cannot fail: hence when the Church presents some doctrine as definitive or final, it comes under this protection, it cannot be in error; in other words, it is infallible. This is true even if the Church does not use the solemn ceremony of definition. The day to day teaching of the Church throughout the world, when the Bishops are in union with each other and with the Pope, and present something as definitive, this is infallible. (Vatican II, Lumen gentium # 25). It was precisely by the use of that authority that Vatican I was able to define that the Pope alone, when speaking as such and making things definitive, is also infallible. Of course this infallibility covers also teaching on what morality requires, for that is needed for salvation.

 

Taken from The Basic Catholic Catechism
PART FIVE: The Apostles' Creed IX - XII
Ninth Article: "The Holy Catholic Church; the Communion of Saints"

By William G. Most. (c) Copyright 1990 by William G. Most.