levels of assent

[cmotherofpirl]

[i]assent of faith[/i] to teachings that have been definitively proposed by either the Ordinary or the Extraordinary Magisterium, while giving a [i]religious submission of intellect and will[/i] to the teachings proposed by the Authentic Magisterium.

Please explain the difference with examples.

[Apotheoun]

I wrote this brief explanation of the [u]Professio Fidei[/u] a while back, but it should help to explain the Magisterium's three levels of authority. I will begin by giving the [u]Professio Fidei[/u] with the three concluding or additional propositions, and then I will give a brief explanation of them:

[quote name='The Professio Fidei']    I, N., with firm faith believe and profess each and everything that is contained in the Symbol of faith, namely:

([i]The Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed[/i])

    I believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.  I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not made, of one Being with the Father.  Through him all things were made.  For us men and for our salvation, he came down from heaven:  by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.  For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried.  On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.  He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.  I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father [b][[/b]and the Son[b]][/b].  With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified.  He has spoken through the Prophets.  I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.  I acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.  I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.  Amen.

([i]The Three Additional or Concluding Propositions[/i])

    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.

    I also firmly accept and hold each and everything definitively proposed by the Church regarding teachings on faith and morals.

    Moreover, I adhere with religious submission of will and intellect to the teachings which either the Roman Pontiff or the College of Bishop enunciate when they exercise their authentic Magisterium, even if they do not intend to proclaim these teachings by a definitive act.[/quote]

[quote name='An Elucidation of the Three Concluding Propositions of the "Professio Fidei"']    The [u]Professio Fidei[/u] includes both the Niceno-Constantinopolitan creed, which we sing during the divine liturgy every Sunday and holy day, and three additional or concluding propositions, which concern the three levels of Magisterial authority and the type of assent required of the faithful in relation to the acts of the Magisterium.  It should be noted from the outset that there is no right to dissent from any of the three levels of the Magisterium's teaching authority.  But the assent required does differ according to the level of authority engaged and the nature of the doctrine proposed.

    The first additional or concluding proposition concerns dogmas [i]de fide credenda[/i], which have been taught infallibly by the Magisterium, either Extraordinary or Ordinary, and which require an assent of faith based on the word of God itself, because the doctrines proposed are either explicitly or implicitly contained within the deposit of divine revelation.  A man who denies something taught at this level of authority falls into the sin of heresy.

    The second concluding proposition of the [u]Professio Fidei[/u] concerns doctrines taught infallibly by the Magisterium, either Extraordinary or Ordinary, that are not necessarily divinely revealed, but which are to be held definitively ([i]de fide tenenda[/i]) because they are intimately associated with divine revelation by either a historical or a logical connection; and so, the type of assent required of the faithful to teachings at this level of authority is [i]sententia definitive tenenda[/i], and ". . . is based on faith in the Holy Spirit's assistance to the Magisterium and on the Catholic doctrine of the infallibility of the Magisterium." [CDF [u]Official Doctrinal Commentary on the Professio Fidei[/u], no. 8]  Truths taught at this second level of Magisterial authority can be infallibly confirmed by the Roman Pontiff, through the exercise of his Ordinary Magisterium, even without recourse to an [i]ex cathedra[/i] pronouncement. [see, CDF [u]Official Doctrinal Commentary on the Professio Fidei[/u], no. 9]  A man who denies something taught at this level of Magisterial authority rejects a truth of Catholic doctrine, and as a consequence he would no longer be in full communion with the Catholic Church.

    The third concluding proposition concerns doctrines taught by the Authentic Magisterium of the Roman Pontiff, and the College of Bishops in communion with him.  Although the Authentic Magisterium does not participate in the charism of infallibility, its teachings and directives cannot be rejected by a member of the faithful; instead, he must give a religious submission of intellect and will to what the Authentic Magisterium proposes, because the teachings in question are ". . . presented as true or at least sure, even if they have not been defined with a solemn judgment or proposed as definitive by the Ordinary and Universal Magisterium." [CDF [u]Official Doctrinal Commentary on the Professio Fidei[/u], no. 10]  A man who denies something taught at this level of authority falls into doctrinal error, and in the case of teachings of the prudential order his denial is considered to be ". . . rash or dangerous and therefore [i]tuto doceri non potest[/i]." [CDF [u]Official Doctrinal Commentary on the Professio Fidei[/u], no. 10]

    Finally, as I indicated above, there is no right to dissent from a teaching of the Extraordinary, the Ordinary, or the Authentic Magisterium; instead, the various teachings proposed by the Magisterium require either an assent of faith, or a religious submission of intellect and will, by all the Church's faithful.

Taken from:  [url="http://www.geocities.com/apotheoun/professiofidei"]An Elucidation of the Three Concluding Propositions of the "Professio Fidei"[/url][/quote]

Now, before I give some examples of where different doctrines fit into the overall structure of the teaching of the Magisterium, I will briefly reiterate the three levels of engagement of the Magisterium's doctrinal authority:

(1) A dogma [i]de fide credenda[/i] is something that the Church has infallibly declared to be divinely revealed.

(2) A doctrine [i]de fide tenenda[/i] is something that the Church has infallibly declared to be true, because in some way it is connected to divine revelation or is a part of the natural moral law. Of course this does not exclude the possibility 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." [CDF [u]Official Doctrinal Commentary on the Professio Fidei[/u], no. 7] In other words, some of the doctrines in this category may be divinely revealed, but the Church has not yet declared that to be the case.

(3) A doctrine taught by the Authentic Magisterium is not proposed infallibly, but the Christian faithful must still give a religious submission of intellect and will to the teachings proposed in this way. Now, because doctrines of this type are not proposed by the Magisterium with the charism of infallibility, they are open to later revision. Although it should be borne in mind that doctrines in this category may eventually be defined as either doctrines [i]de fide tenenda[/i] or even as dogmas [i]de fide credenda[/i]. Disciplinary norms and judgments of the prudential order also make up a part of the teachings of the Authentic Magisterium, and these decisions and norms should be respectfully accepted and adhered to by the Christian faithful.


Having briefly reiterated the three levels of Magisterial authority, I will now give a partial list of where various teachings of the Church fit in relation to these categories:

(1) [i]Some of the dogmas infallibly taught by the Church are[/i]: That God is three persons in one nature, that Christ is one divine person in two natures, that Mary was immaculately conceived, that Mary has been assumed bodily into heaven, that Mary is the Theotokos, that the Mass is a true sacrifice, that the Pope has a primacy of jurisdiction in the Church, that the Pope is infallible in the exercise of his Extraordinary Magisterium, that Christ is really present in the Eucharist, that men are born in a state of original sin, that the Church was founded by Jesus Christ, that scripture is inerrant, that Christ instituted the sacraments, etc.

(2) [i]Some of the doctrines infallibly taught by the Church are[/i]: That the marriage of two baptized Christians is sacramental, that fornication is immoral, that God desires the salvation of all men, that grace is a participation in the divine nature, that God can communicate grace outside the sacramental order, that Mary is Co-Redemptrix, that Mary is Mediatrix of all graces, that prostitution is immoral, that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered and gravely immoral, that Christ could not sin, etc.

(3) [i]Some of the authentic teachings proposed by the Church are[/i]: That the Holy Spirit is the soul of the Church, that Mary was free from all motions of concupiscence, that the moral virtues are infused with sanctifying grace, that confirmation perfects baptismal grace, etc. In addition to the various doctrines taught at this level, there are also disciplinary norms and practices that are promoted or given canonical sanction by the Church, things like: the norms for fasting and abstinence for the different rites, etc., and various devotions approved by the Church, i.e., the rosary, the chaplet of divine mercy, the akathist, etc.

God bless,
Todd