Word is Medjugorje, the controversial apparitions the former Yugoslavia, is going to be condemned. In case you did not know, Medjugorje has a notorious reputation among theologians. The immoral actions of the followers and apparitionists is part of the discernment of the Church. They have not been obedient to the Magisterium.
Discernment of Spirits
The highest discernment is found in the dogma of the Moral Law, which includes the Ten Commandments. Violations of these Commandments is indicative of not having a valid vision or apparition. Many theologians have given the various signs of discernment of spirits in regard to extraordinary experiences, like visions,. locutions (voices) and purported miracles.
Certain fruits like peace, humility, certitude (strange hope), persistence of the experience, increase in virtue and other characteristics of the experience are part of the discernment. Also, the person who experiences such a phenomena should wait at least 30 days until he accepts the phenomena as valid. Of course, all the characteristics should be present during this time.
Detachment
No more important characteristic the detachment regarding the experience. If an adherent or visionary is detached and open to being wrong about the experience, they have a good chance of having had a valid experience.
Submission to the Magisterium (Church)
If the purported visionary is submissive to the judgment of the Church, this indicates another good fruit of the phenomena. In the case of Medjugorje, the visions told them to obey their local bishop. This is a problem because it is a dogma of the Church that the local bishop has authority over his flock administratively.
That is, when he issues a decree, it should be obeyed. This is an issue about policy, not doctrine, so the reader should not get confused. Individual bishops only have doctrinal authority when they are in union with the Holy Father and their fellow bishops. A bishop by himself has no doctrinal authority, but does have administrative authority (power of making policy and day-to-day decisions).
A Lesson for Us All
It is easy to Catholics to go astray. Christ gave doctrinal authority to the bishops (Luke 10:14, Lumen Gentium 14) Not to the faithful. The pope has the final say, and can act with the bishops to make a decision. Also the various papal congregations have a limited authority as well.
We should strive to be detached from any such experience and open it up to discernment by others, especially a qualified spiritual director or the Church. In this way, we hold ourselves accountable to that institution that Christ founded with his divine authority of infallibility - The Magisterium of the Catholic Church.
The more humble you are, the more likely your experience is authentic. If you are improperly attached, it is not likely you experienced something from God. If you are in submission to the Church, you cannot go astray, if you remain faithful to her doctrine and directives.
May the Blessed Trinity bless you abundantly and Christ's Holy Mother's prayers always intercede for you that your discerment and life always be true. +
Showing posts with label Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
The Authority of Papal Congregations
This is a heady posting. It delves into the Ordinary Magisterium, which is the day to day teaching of the Church. The Ordinary Magisterium has possibly fallible teachings which are also possibly infallible. In short, we do not know their nature unless we do an exhaustive theological survey, the college of bishops and the pope, or the pope alone states so, possibly by his "manner of speaking" (Lumen Gentium, 25, 1).
There are two general levels of teaching:
This article is not intended to be exhaustive, but to speak in general terms. I will try to boil these concepts to some main points.
Main Points
A great article on the authority of Ordinary Magisterial Teachings (possibly fallible) including Papal Congregations is found here. In it you will find a quote of what Blessed Pope Pius the IX, a great pope according to many accounts and his encyclicals, said about Papal congregations in an apostolic letter, which I have extended below:
This seems to suggest that the teachings of Congregations belong to the Ordinary Magisterium, which is still binding on Catholics in various degrees. This is probably because they have the consent of the pope to engage in their activities, it is from him that they derive their authority.
Correction
The article above, states that such teachings are not infallible, however, that is an incorrect statement. Just because a teaching is not infallibly defined or proposed does not mean it is not infallible, just that it has not been infallibly proposed, spoken or defined. We should reserve judgement on whether it is infallible or not, because the pope could later state it is so, or a theological survey and statement by the pope could reveal it is.
The Bottom Line
We are to treat Congregational Documents (especially from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) as being part of the Ordinary Magisterium, which requires at least religious assent. You cannot marginalize this teaching because it does not agree with your training or opinion.
Please leave comments, requests for articles, or questions below!
There are two general levels of teaching:
- Infallible Magisterium: These are infallible teachings and contain two general levels, the Universal Ordinary Magisterium (the pope and bishops throughout the world teaching together) and the Extraordinary Magisterium (Church Councils, Papal Definitions).
- Ordinary Magisterium: These are day to day teachings, which have the possibility of being infallible, however, could be fallible (contain error).
This article is not intended to be exhaustive, but to speak in general terms. I will try to boil these concepts to some main points.
Main Points
A great article on the authority of Ordinary Magisterial Teachings (possibly fallible) including Papal Congregations is found here. In it you will find a quote of what Blessed Pope Pius the IX, a great pope according to many accounts and his encyclicals, said about Papal congregations in an apostolic letter, which I have extended below:
"it is not sufficient for learned Catholics to accept and revere the aforesaid dogmas of the Church...it is also necessary to subject themselves to the decisions pertaining to doctrine which are issued by the Pontifical congregations..." (Pius IX, Tuas Libenter, Enchiridion Symbolorum).It is assumed by some that Pontifical Congregations are to be ignored. However, Pius IX has explicitly taught otherwise, as quoted above. Pius the IX also goes on to speak of theological truths being binding (called sense of the faithful), but I will not address that here.
This seems to suggest that the teachings of Congregations belong to the Ordinary Magisterium, which is still binding on Catholics in various degrees. This is probably because they have the consent of the pope to engage in their activities, it is from him that they derive their authority.
Correction
The article above, states that such teachings are not infallible, however, that is an incorrect statement. Just because a teaching is not infallibly defined or proposed does not mean it is not infallible, just that it has not been infallibly proposed, spoken or defined. We should reserve judgement on whether it is infallible or not, because the pope could later state it is so, or a theological survey and statement by the pope could reveal it is.
The Bottom Line
We are to treat Congregational Documents (especially from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) as being part of the Ordinary Magisterium, which requires at least religious assent. You cannot marginalize this teaching because it does not agree with your training or opinion.
Please leave comments, requests for articles, or questions below!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Catholic Fantasy Fiction
I have heard many criticisms of Fantasy Fiction in Catholic circles. There have been many blogs about Harry Potter and other fiction being immoral because of the magic involved. Even the pope, prior to his papacy, has spoken on Harry Potter, concerned about young readers and that:
An important point to make, is that Pope Benedict has not spoken on the matter. Only Cardinal Ratzinger did. Thus the statements have no binding authority. They consist of a theological opinion, unless it can be shown that Pope John Paul II had approved the letters.
Full Disclosure
I am a Fantasy Fiction author. For those of you who do not know, I am the author of The Hammer of Justice, a fantasy novel with Catholic underpinnings (read deeply to see them, although some are more obvious). I have considered whether fantasy fiction is moral or not. It is very clear to me that it is, since it is fiction. If I were to portray it realistically, endorsing its practice, I would have failed. In fact, in my novel, I portray sorcerers as practicing evil and juxtapose good clerics against them.
Where I Draw the Line
I have a big problem with realistic magic, that was practiced by witches and sorcerers in that past, favorably portrayed. The Church has been clear about its condemnation of sorcery, and to even suggest that such practice is even morally neutral, is immoral in my book.
Tolkien, of course, is talked about on the Vatican website in a positive light. The challenge with sorcery is to make the word sorcery properly characterized as evil. What do you think?
It is good, that you enlighten people about Harry Potter, because those are subtle seductions, which act unnoticed and by this deeply distort Christianity in the soul, before it can grow properly.Cardinal Ratzinger's concerns were correct. Having every wish fulfilled by the wave of a wand, is problematic for Christianity. There is no submission to the will of God in these acts. However, the courage and determination of Harry Potter to protect others shows the virtue of fortitude. So Harry Potter can be a mixed bag.
An important point to make, is that Pope Benedict has not spoken on the matter. Only Cardinal Ratzinger did. Thus the statements have no binding authority. They consist of a theological opinion, unless it can be shown that Pope John Paul II had approved the letters.
Full Disclosure
I am a Fantasy Fiction author. For those of you who do not know, I am the author of The Hammer of Justice, a fantasy novel with Catholic underpinnings (read deeply to see them, although some are more obvious). I have considered whether fantasy fiction is moral or not. It is very clear to me that it is, since it is fiction. If I were to portray it realistically, endorsing its practice, I would have failed. In fact, in my novel, I portray sorcerers as practicing evil and juxtapose good clerics against them.
Where I Draw the Line
I have a big problem with realistic magic, that was practiced by witches and sorcerers in that past, favorably portrayed. The Church has been clear about its condemnation of sorcery, and to even suggest that such practice is even morally neutral, is immoral in my book.
Thus Ex 22:18 condemned the sorceress to death without explanation. Lv 19:26 and 31 prohibited magic, astrology, necromancy and divination; Lv 20:27 added the calling up of spirits. Dt 18:10-11 summed this up by proscribing soothsayers, astrologers, magicians, sorcerers, charmers, those who summoned up ghosts or spirits and those who consulted the dead (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Christian Faith and Demonology).Even J.R.R. Tolkien portrayed sorcerers as evil. The stronghold of Sauron, Dol Goldur (Hill of Sorcery), is described as a dark, evil stronghold. Sauron is, of course, the dark lord and archenemy of Lord of the Rings.
Tolkien, of course, is talked about on the Vatican website in a positive light. The challenge with sorcery is to make the word sorcery properly characterized as evil. What do you think?
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