[This commentary was issued coincident with the promulgation of
"Ad tuendam fidem" by Pope John Paul II, modifying the Oriental and
Latin
codes of canon law.]
1. From her very beginning, the Church has professed faith in the Lord,
crucified and risen, and has gathered the fundamental contents of her
belief into certain formulas. The central event of the death and
resurrection of the Lord Jesus, expressed first in simple formulas
and
subsequently in formulas that were more developed,(1) made it possible
to
give life to that uninterrupted proclamation of faith, in which the
Church
has handed on both what had been received from the lips of Christ and
from
his works, as well as what had been learned "at the prompting of the
Holy
Spirit."(2)
The same New Testament is the singular witness of the first profession
proclaimed by the disciples immediately after the events of Easter:
"For I
handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that
Christ
died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures; that he was buried;
that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve."(3)
2. In the course of the centuries, from this unchangeable nucleus
testifying to Jesus as Son of God and as Lord, symbols witnessing to
the
unity of the faith and to the communion of the churches came to be
developed. In these, the fundamental truths which every believer is
required to know and to profess were gathered together. Thus, before
receiving Baptism, the catechumen must make his profession of faith.
The
Fathers too, coming together in Councils to respond to historical
challenges that required a more complete presentation of the truths
of the
faith or a defense of the orthodoxy of those truths, formulated new
creeds
which occupy "a special place in the Church's life"(4) up to the present
day. The diversity of these symbols expresses the richness of the one
faith; none of them is superseded or nullified by subsequent professions
of faith formulated in response to later historical circumstances.
3. Christ's promise to bestow the Holy Spirit, who "will guide you into
all truth," constantly sustains the Church on her way.(5) Thus, in
the
course of her history, certain truths have been defined as having been
acquired though the Holy Spirit's assistance and are therefore perceptible
stages in the realization of the original promise. Other truths, however,
have to be understood still more deeply before full possession can
be
attained of what God, in his mystery of love, wished to reveal to men
for
their salvation.(6)
In recent times too, in her pastoral care for souls, the Church has
thought it opportune to express in a more explicit way the faith of
all
time. In addition, the obligation has been established for some members
of
the Christian faithful, called to assume particular offices in the
community in the name of the Church, to publicly make a profession
of
faith according to the formula approved by the Apostolic See.(7)
4. This new formula of the Professio fidei restates the Nicene-
Constantinopolitan Creed and concludes with the addition of three
propositions or paragraphs intended to better distinguish the order
of the
truths to which the believer adheres. The correct explanation of these
paragraphs deserves a clear presentation, so that their authentic meaning,
as given by the Church's Magisterium, will be well understood, received
and integrally preserved.
In contemporary usage, the term 'Church' has come to include a variety
of
meanings, which, while true and consistent, require greater precision
when
one refers to the specific and proper functions of persons who act
within
the Church. In this area, it is clear that, on questions of faith and
morals, the only subject qualified to fulfil the office of teaching
with
binding authority for the faithful is the Supreme Pontiff and the College
of Bishops in communion with him.(8) The Bishops are the "authentic
teachers" of the faith, "endowed with the authority of Christ,"(9)
because
by divine institution they are the successors of the Apostles "in teaching
and in pastoral governance": together with the Roman Pontiff they exercise
supreme and full power over all the Church, although this power cannot
be
exercised without the consent of the Roman Pontiff.(10)
5. The first paragraph states: "With firm faith, I also believe everything
contained in the Word of God, whether written or handed down in Tradition,
which the Church, either by a solemn judgment or by the ordinary and
universal Magisterium, sets forth to be believed as divinely revealed."
The object taught in this paragraph is constituted by all those doctrines
of divine and catholic faith which the Church proposes as divinely
and
formally revealed and, as such, as irreformable.(11)
These doctrines are contained in the Word of God, written or handed
down,
and defined with a solemn judgment as divinely revealed truths either
by
the Roman Pontiff when he speaks 'ex cathedra,' or by the College of
Bishops gathered in council, or infallibly proposed for belief by the
ordinary and universal Magisterium.
These doctrines require the assent of theological faith by all members
of
the faithful. Thus, whoever obstinately places them in doubt or denies
them falls under the censure of heresy, as indicated by the respective
canons of the Codes of Canon Law.(12)
6. The second proposition of the Professio fidei states: "I also firmly
accept and hold each and everything definitively proposed by the Church
regarding teaching on faith and morals." The object taught by this
formula
includes all those teachings belonging to the dogmatic or moral area,(13)
which are necessary for faithfully keeping and expounding the deposit
of
faith, even if they have not been proposed by the Magisterium of the
Church as formally revealed.
Such doctrines can be defined solemnly by the Roman Pontiff when he
speaks
'ex cathedra' or by the College of Bishops gathered in council, or
they
can be taught infallibly by the ordinary and universal Magisterium
of the
Church as a "sententia definitive tenenda".(14) Every believer, therefore,
is required to give firm and definitive assent to these truths, based
on
faith in the Holy Spirit's assistance to the Church's Magisterium,
and on
the Catholic doctrine of the infallibility of the Magisterium in these
matters.(15) Whoever denies these truths would be in a position of
rejecting
a truth of Catholic doctrine(16) and would therefore no longer be in
full
communion with the Catholic Church.
7. The truths belonging to this second paragraph can be of various
natures, thus giving different qualities to their relationship with
revelation. There are truths which are necessarily connected with
revelation by virtue of an historical relationship; while other truths
evince a logical connection that expresses a stage in the maturation
of
understanding of revelation which the Church is called to undertake.
The
fact that these doctrines may not be proposed as formally revealed,
insofar as they add to the data of faith elements that are not revealed
or
which are not yet expressly recognized as such, in no way diminishes
their
definitive character, which is required at least by their intrinsic
connection with revealed truth. Moreover, it cannot be excluded that
at a
certain point in dogmatic development, the understanding of the realities
and the words of the deposit of faith can progress in the life of the
Church, and the Magisterium may proclaim some of these doctrines as
also
dogmas of divine and catholic faith.
8. With regard to the nature of the assent owed to the truths set forth
by
the Church as divinely revealed (those of the first paragraph) or to
be
held definitively (those of the second paragraph), it is important
to
emphasize that there is no difference with respect to the full and
irrevocable character of the assent which is owed to these teachings.
The
difference concerns the supernatural virtue of faith: in the case of
truths of the first paragraph, the assent is based directly on faith
in
the authority of the Word of God (doctrines de fide credenda); in the
case
of the truths of the second paragraph, the assent is based on faith
in the
Holy Spirit's assistance to the Magisterium and on the Catholic doctrine
of the infallibility of the Magisterium (doctrines de fide tenenda).
9. The Magisterium of the Church, however, teaches a doctrine to be
believed as divinely revealed (first paragraph) or to be held definitively
(second paragraph) with an act which is either defining or non-defining.
In the case of a defining act, a truth is solemnly defined by an "ex
cathedra" pronouncement by the Roman Pontiff or by the action of an
ecumenical council. In the case of a non-defining act, a doctrine is
taught infallibly by the ordinary and universal Magisterium of the
Bishops
dispersed throughout the world who are in communion with the Successor
of
Peter. Such a doctrine can be confirmed or reaffirmed by the Roman
Pontiff, even without recourse to a solemn definition, by declaring
explicitly that it belongs to the teaching of the ordinary and universal
Magisterium as a truth that is divinely revealed (first paragraph)
or as a
truth of Catholic doctrine (second paragraph). Consequently, when there
has not been a judgment on a doctrine in the solemn form of a definition,
but this doctrine, belonging to the inheritance of the depositum fidei,
is
taught by the ordinary and universal Magisterium, which necessarily
includes the Pope, such a doctrine is to be understood as having been
set
forth infallibly.(17) The declaration of confirmation or reaffirmation
by
the Roman Pontiff in this case is not a new dogmatic definition, but
a
formal attestation of a truth already possessed and infallibly transmitted
by the Church.
10. The third proposition of the Professio fidei states: "Moreover,
I
adhere with religious submission of will and intellect to the teachings
which either the Roman Pontiff or the College of Bishops enunciate
when
they exercise their authentic Magisterium, even if they do not intend
to
proclaim these teachings by a definitive act." To this paragraph belong
all those teachings Ð on faith and morals - presented as true or
at least
as sure, even if they have not been defined with a solemn judgment
or
proposed as definitive by the ordinary and universal Magisterium. Such
teachings are, however, an authentic expression of the ordinary
Magisterium of the Roman Pontiff or of the College of Bishops and
therefore require religious submission of will and intellect.(18) They
are
set forth in order to arrive at a deeper understanding of revelation,
or
to recall the conformity of a teaching with the truths of faith, or
lastly
to warn against ideas incompatible with these truths or against dangerous
opinions that can lead to error.(19)
A proposition contrary to these doctrines can be qualified as erroneous
or, in the case of teachings of the prudential order, as rash or dangerous
and therefore "tuto doceri non potest".(20)
11. Examples. Without any intention of completeness or exhaustiveness,
some examples of doctrines relative to the three paragraphs described
above can be recalled.
To the truths of the first paragraph belong the articles of faith of
the
Creed, the various Christological dogmas(21) and Marian dogmas;(22)
the
doctrine of the institution of the sacraments by Christ and their efficacy
with regard to grace;(23) the doctrine of the real and substantial
presence
of Christ in the Eucharist(24) and the sacrificial nature of the eucharistic
celebration;(25) the foundation of the Church by the will of Christ;(26)
the
doctrine on the primacy and infallibility of the Roman Pontiff;(27)
the
doctrine on the existence of original sin;(28) the doctrine on the
immortality of the spiritual soul and on the immediate recompense after
death;(29) the absence of error in the inspired sacred texts;(30) the
doctrine
on the grave immorality of direct and voluntary killing of an innocent
human being.(31)
With respect to the truths of the second paragraph, with reference to
those connected with revelation by a logical necessity, one can consider,
for example, the development in the understanding of the doctrine
connected with the definition of papal infallibility, prior to the
dogmatic definition of the First Vatican Council. The primacy of the
Successor of Peter was always believed as a revealed fact, although
until
Vatican I the discussion remained open as to whether the conceptual
elaboration of what is understood by the terms 'jurisdiction' and
'infallibility' was to be considered an intrinsic part of revelation
or
only a logical consequence. On the other hand, although its character
as a
divinely revealed truth was defined in the First Vatican Council, the
doctrine on the infallibility and primacy of jurisdiction of the Roman
Pontiff was already recognized as definitive in the period before the
council. History clearly shows, therefore, that what was accepted into
the
consciousness of the Church was considered a true doctrine from the
beginning, and was subsequently held to be definitive; however, only
in
the final stage - the definition of Vatican I - was it also accepted
as a
divinely revealed truth.
A similar process can be observed in the more recent teaching regarding
the doctrine that priestly ordination is reserved only to men. The
Supreme
Pontiff, while not wishing to proceed to a dogmatic definition, intended
to reaffirm that this doctrine is to be held definitively,(32) since,
founded on the written Word of God, constantly preserved and applied
in
the Tradition of the Church, it has been set forth infallibly by the
ordinary and universal Magisterium.(33) As the prior example illustrates,
this does not foreclose the possibility that, in the future, the
consciousness of the Church might progress to the point where this
teaching could be defined as a doctrine to be believed as divinely
revealed.
The doctrine on the illicitness of euthanasia, taught in the Encyclical
Letter Evangelium Vitae, can also be recalled. Confirming that euthanasia
is "a grave violation of the law of God," the Pope declares that "this
doctrine is based upon the natural law and upon the written Word of
God,
is transmitted by the Church's Tradition and taught by the ordinary
and
universal Magisterium".(34) It could seem that there is only a logical
element in the doctrine on euthanasia, since Scripture does not seem
to be
aware of the concept. In this case, however, the interrelationship
between
the orders of faith and reason becomes apparent: Scripture, in fact,
clearly excludes every form of the kind of self-determination of human
existence that is presupposed in the theory and practice of euthanasia.
Other examples of moral doctrines which are taught as definitive by
the
universal and ordinary Magisterium of the Church are: the teaching
on the
illicitness of prostitution(35) and of fornication.(36)
With regard to those truths connected to revelation by historical
necessity and which are to be held definitively, but are not able to
be
declared as divinely revealed, the following examples can be given:
the
legitimacy of the election of the Supreme Pontiff or of the celebration
of
an ecumenical council, the canonizations of saints (dogmatic facts),
the
declaration of Pope Leo XIII in the Apostolic Letter Apostolicae Curae
on
the invalidity of Anglican ordinations ...(37)
As examples of doctrines belonging to the third paragraph, one can point
in general to teachings set forth by the authentic ordinary Magisterium
in
a non-definitive way, which require degrees of adherence differentiated
according to the mind and the will manifested; this is shown especially
by
the nature of the documents, by the frequent repetition of the same
doctrine, or by the tenor of the verbal expression.(38)
12. With the different symbols of faith, the believer recognizes and
attests that he professes the faith of the entire Church. It is for
this
reason that, above all in the earliest symbols of faith, this
consciousness is expressed in the formula 'We believe.' As the Catechism
of the Catholic Church teaches: "'I believe' (Apostles' Creed) is the
faith of the Church professed personally by each believer, principally
during Baptism. 'We believe' (Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed) is the
faith of the Church confessed by the Bishops assembled in council or
more
generally by the liturgical assembly of believers. 'I believe' is also
the
Church, our mother, responding to God by faith as she teaches us to
say
both 'I believe' and 'We believe'".(39)
In every profession of faith, the Church verifies different stages she
has
reached on her path toward the definitive meeting with the Lord. No
content is abrogated with the passage of time; instead, all of it becomes
an irreplaceable inheritance through which the faith of all time, of
all
believers, and lived out in every place, contemplates the constant
action
of the Spirit of the risen Christ, the Spirit who accompanies and gives
life to his Church and leads her into the fullness of the truth.
Rome, from the offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,
June 29, 1998, the Solemnity of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul.
+ Joseph Card. Ratzinger
Prefect
+ Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B.
Archbishop Emeritus of Vercelli
Secretary
1 The simple formulas normally profess the messianic fulfilment in
Jesus of Nazareth; cf. for example, Mk 8:29; Mt 16:16; Lk 9:20; Jn
20:31;
Acts 9:22. The complex formulas, in addition to the resurrection, confess
the principal events of the life of Jesus and their salvific meaning;
cf.
for example, Mk 12:35-36; Acts 2:23-24; 1 Cor 15:3-5; 1 Cor 16:22;
Phil
2:7, 10-11; Col 1:15-20; 1 Pt 3:19-22; Rev 22:20. Besides the formulas
of
confession of faith relating to salvation history and to the historical
event of Jesus of Nazareth, which culminates with Easter, there are
professions of faith in the New Testament which concern the very being
of
Jesus: cf. 1 Cor 12:3: "Jesus is Lord." In Rom 10:9, the two forms
of
confession are found together.
2 Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution Dei
Verbum, 7.
3 1 Cor 15:3-5.
4 Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 193.
5 Jn 16:13.
6 Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution Dei
Verbum, 11.
7 Cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Profession of Faith
and Oath of Fidelity: AAS 81 (1989), 104-106; CIC, can. 833.
8 Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen
gentium, 25.
9 Ibid., 25.
10 Cf. ibid., 22.
11 Cf. DS 3074.
12 Cf. CIC, cann. 750 and 751; 1364 ¤ 1; CCEO, cann. 598; 1436
¤ 1.
13 Cf. Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Humanae Vitae, 4: AAS 60 (1968),
483;
John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Veritatis Splendor, 36-37: AAS 85 (1993),
1162-1163.
14 Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen
Gentium, 25.
15 Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution Dei
Verbum, 8 and 10; Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration
Mysterium Ecclesiae, 3: AAS 65 (1973), 400-401.
16 Cf. John Paul II, Motu proprio Ad tuendam fidem (May 18, 1998).
17 It should be noted that the infallible teaching of the ordinary
and
universal Magisterium is not only set forth with an explicit declaration
of a doctrine to be believed or held definitively, but is also expressed
by a doctrine implicitly contained in a practice of the Church's faith,
derived from revelation or, in any case, necessary for eternal salvation,
and attested to by the uninterrupted Tradition: such an infallible
teaching is thus objectively set forth by the whole episcopal body,
understood in a diachronic and not necessarily merely synchronic sense.
Furthermore, the intention of the ordinary and universal Magisterium
to
set forth a doctrine as definitive is not generally linked to technical
formulations of particular solemnity; it is enough that this be clear
from
the tenor of the words used and from their context.
18 Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen
Gentium, 25; Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Instruction
Donum
Veritatis, 23: AAS 82 (1990), 1559-1560.
19 Cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Instruction Donum
Veritatis, 23 and 24: AAS 82 (1990), 1559-1561.
20 Cf. CIC, cann. 752, 1371; CCEO, cann. 599, 1436 ¤ 2.
21 Cf. DS 301-302.
22 Cf. DS 2803; 3903.
23 Cf. DS 1601; 1606.
24 Cf. DS 1636.
25 Cf. DS 1740; 1743.
26 Cf. DS 3050.
27 Cf. DS 3059-3075.
28 Cf. DS 1510-1515.
29 Cf. DS 1000-1002.
30 Cf. DS 3293; Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution
Dei Verbum, 11.
31 Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Evangelium Vitae, 57: AAS 87
(1995), 465.
32 Cf. John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, 4: AAS
86
(1994), 548.
33 Cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Response to a Dubium
concerning the teaching contained in the Apostolic Letter "Ordinatio
Sacerdotalis": AAS 87 (1995), 1114.
34 John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Evangelium Vitae, 65: AAS 87 (1995),
475.
35 Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 193.
36 Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 2353.
37 Cf. DS 3315-3319.
38 Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen
Gentium, 25; Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Instruction
Donum
Veritatis, 17, 23 and 24: AAS 82 (1990), 1557-1558, 1559-1561.
39 Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 167.
Taken from:
L'Osservatore Romano
Weekly Edition in English
15 July 1998, 3-4
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