Doctrinal Development Speculation

[Apotheoun]

The doctrine of coredemption is a good example of the 'development of doctrine' over time, because the term used to describe it, which only came into vogue about 500 years ago, describes a reality that is antecedent to the use of the term itself. The mysteries of the faith do not change, and in fact they cannot change, but the way in which we describe them can change, so long as the doctrinal formulation does not effect or alter the substance of the mystery which it is meant to convey.

Now it is true that this doctrine has not been declared a dogma of divine and catholic faith by the Extraordinary Magisterium, but it has been taught by the Ordinary and Universal Magisterium as a truth that is at least [i]proxima fidei[/i], which means that it belongs to revelation at least implicitly and thus is true beyond any doubt. In addition, a good argument can also be made that the doctrine of Mary's coredemption is already [i]sententia definitive tenenda[/i], in which case to deny the doctrine would be to fall into theological error, because it has already been infallibly taught through a non-defining act of the Ordinary and Universal Magisterium.

In any case, it is clear that from the earliest centuries Mary has been seen as participating in the redemption through her response to the angel Gabriel, and so, by her act of obedience to the will of God, Mary, the new Eve, untied the knot of the first Eve's disobedience, and in this way she began, as a true but secondary and dependent cause, the work of man's redemption. This being said, whether it is a doctrine [i]proxima fidei[/i] or a doctrine [i]de fide tenenda[/i], to deny the doctrine of Mary's coredemption is clearly rash and dangerous, and may even be the denial of a truth of Catholic doctrine, which would exclude one from full communion with the Catholic Church.

Doctrinal development should not be thought of as an evolutionary process through which one thing becomes something totally different; instead, it should be thought of as analogous to the natural growth of a single living organism. As an example, a baby as it grows through the different stages of its life does not become a totally different being, but is in fact one and the same being as when it was born, the only difference is that it has matured over time. In other words, the latent potencies within its being have developed and grown so that it has reached its full potential. The same holds when we look at the mysteries of the faith, because as the Church meditates upon the truths of the faith, she gains an ever deeper understanding of the realities involved, and this maturation brings greater and greater doctrinal clarity over time.

Edited July 23, 2004 by Apotheoun