Theological Certainties
The Magisterium of the Church is directed to guard, preserve and teach divine truths which God has revealed with infallibility (De fide). A rejection of Church Magisterial teachings is a de facto rejection of divine revelation. It is considered the mortal sin of heresy if the heretical opinion is held with full knowledge of the Church's opposing dogmata. The infallibility of the Magisterium extends also to teachings which are deduced from such truths (Fides ecclesiastica). These Church teachings or Catholic truths (veritates catholicae) are not a part of divine revelation, yet are intimately related to it. The rejection of these "secondary" teachings is not heretical, but involves the impairment of full communion with the Catholic Church.
There are three categories of these "secondary" teachings (Fides ecclesiastica):
- Theological conclusions: (conclusiones theologicae) religious truths, deduced from divine revelation and reason.
- Dogmatic facts (facta dogmatica) historical facts, not part of revelation but clearly related to it. For example the legitimacy of the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI, and the Petrine office
- Philosophical truths, such as existence of the soul, "freedom of will", philosophical definitions used in dogmas such as transubstantiation
| Theological certainty | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | De fide | Divine revelations with the highest degree of certainty, considered infallible revelation |
| 2. | Fides ecclesiastica | Church teachings, which have been definitively decided on by the Magisterium, considered infallible revelation |
| 3. | Sententia fidei proxima | Church teachings, which are generally accepted as divine revelation but not defined as such by the magisterium |
| 4. | Sententia certa | Church teachings without final approval but clearly deduced from revelation |
| 5. | Sententia communis | Teachings which are popular but within the free range of theological research |
| 6. | Sententia probabilis | Teachings with low degree of certainty |
| 7. | Opinio tolerata | Opinions tolerated within the Catholic Church, such as pious legends |
Read more about this topic: Roman Catholic Dogma
Famous quotes containing the words theological and/or certainties:
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