INTERNATIONAL THEOLOGICAL COMMISSION
THEOLOGY TODAY:
PERSPECTIVES, PRINCIPLES
AND CRITERIA
CONTENTS
Introduction
Chapter 1: Listening to the Word of God
1: The primacy of the
Word of God
2: Faith, the response
to God’s Word
3: Theology, the
understanding of faith
Chapter 2: Abiding in the Communion of
the Church
1: The study of
Scripture as the soul of theology
2: Fidelity to
Apostolic Tradition
3: Attention to the
sensus fidelium
4: Responsible
adherence to the ecclesiastical magisterium
5: In the company of
theologians
6: In dialogue with the
world
Chapter 3: Giving an Account of the
Truth of God
1: The truth of God and
the rationality of theology
2: The unity of
theology in a plurality of methods and disciplines
3: Science and wisdom
Conclusion
***
PRELIMINARY NOTE
The study of the theme
of the status of theology was already begun by the International Theological
Commission in the quinquennial session of 2004-2008. The work was done by a
subcommission, presided by Reverend Santiago del Cura Elena and composed of the
following members: Most Reverend Bruno Forte, Most Reverend Savio Hon Tai-Fai,
S.D.B., Reverends Antonio Castellano, S.D.B., Tomislav Ivanĉić, Thomas Norris,
Paul Rouhana, Leonard Santedi Kinkupu, Jerzy Szymik and Doctor Thomas Söding.
Since, however, this
subcommission had no way of completing its work with the publication of a
document, the study was taken up in the following quinquennial session, on the
basis of the work previously undertaken. For this purpose, a new subcommission
was formed, presided by Monsignor Paul McPartlan and composed of the following
members: Most Reverend Jan Liesen, Reverends Serge Thomas Bonino, O.P., Antonio
Castellano, S.D.B., Adelbert Denaux, Tomislav Ivanĉić, Leonard Santedi Kinkupu,
Jerzy Szymik, Sister Sara Butler, M.S.B.T., and Doctor Thomas Söding.
The general discussions
of this theme were held in numerous meetings of the subcommission and during
the Plenary Sessions of the same International Theological Commission held in Rome
INTRODUCTION
1. The years following
the Second Vatican Council have been extremely productive for Catholic
theology. There have been new theological voices, especially those of laymen
and women; theologies from new cultural contexts, particularly Latin America,
Africa and Asia; new themes for reflection, such as peace, justice, liberation,
ecology and bioethics; deeper treatments of former themes, thanks to renewal in
biblical, liturgical, patristic and medieval studies; and new venues for
reflection, such as ecumenical, inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue.
These are fundamentally positive developments. Catholic theology has sought to
follow the path opened by the Council, which wished to express its ‘solidarity
and respectful affection for the whole human family’ by entering into dialogue
with it and offering ‘the saving resources which the Church has received from
its founder under the promptings of the Holy Spirit’.[1] However, this period
has also seen a certain fragmentation of theology, and in the dialogue just mentioned
theology always faces the challenge of maintaining its own true identity. The
question arises, therefore, as to what characterises Catholic theology and
gives it, in and through its many forms, a clear sense of identity in its
engagement with the world of today.
2. To some extent, the
Church clearly needs a common discourse if it is to communicate the one message
of Christ to the world, both theologically and pastorally. It is therefore
legitimate to speak of the need for a certain unity of theology. However, unity
here needs to be carefully understood, so as not to be confused with uniformity
or a single style. The unity of theology, like that of the Church, as professed
in the Creed, must be closely correlated with the idea of catholicity, and also
with those of holiness and apostolicity.[2] The Church’s catholicity derives
from Christ himself who is the Saviour of the whole world and of all humanity
(cf. Eph 1:3-10; 1Tim 2:3-6). The Church is therefore at home in every nation
and culture, and seeks to ‘gather in everything for its salvation and
sanctification’.[3] The fact that there is one Saviour shows that there is a
necessary bond between catholicity and unity. As it explores the inexhaustible
Mystery of God and the countless ways in which God’s grace works for salvation
in diverse settings, theology rightly and necessarily takes a multitude of
forms, and yet as investigations of the unique truth of the triune God and of
the one plan of salvation centred on the one Lord Jesus Christ, this plurality
must manifest distinctive family traits.
3. The International
Theological Commission (ITC) has studied various aspects of the theological
task in previous texts, notably, Theological Pluralism (1972), Theses on the
Relationship between the Ecclesiastical Magisterium and Theology (1975), and
The Interpretation of Dogma (1990).[4] The present text seeks to identify
distinctive family traits of Catholic theology.[5] It considers basic
perspectives and principles which characterise Catholic theology, and offers
criteria by which diverse and manifold theologies may nevertheless be
recognised as authentically Catholic, and as participating in the Catholic
Church’s mission, which is to proclaim the good news to people of every nation,
tribe, people and language (cf. Mt 28:18-20; Rev 7:9), and, by enabling them to
hear the voice of the one Lord, to gather them all into one flock with one
shepherd (cf. Jn 10:16). That mission requires there to be in Catholic theology
both diversity in unity and unity in diversity. Catholic theologies should be
identifiable as such, mutually supportive and mutually accountable, as are
Christians themselves in the communion of the Church for the glory of God. The
present text accordingly consists of three chapters, setting out the following
themes: in the rich plurality of its expressions, protagonists, ideas and
contexts, theology is Catholic, and therefore fundamentally one, if it arises
from an attentive listening to the Word of God (cf. Chapter One); if it
situates itself consciously and faithfully in the communion of the Church (cf.
Chapter Two); and if it is orientated to the service of God in the world,
offering divine truth to the men and women of today in an intelligible form
(cf. Chapter Three).
CHAPTER 1:
LISTENING TO THE WORD OF GOD
4. ‘It pleased God, in
his goodness and wisdom, to reveal himself and to make known the mystery of his
will (cf. Eph 1:9)’, namely that all people might ‘have access to the Father,
through Christ, the Word made flesh, in the Holy Spirit, and thus become
sharers in the divine nature (cf. Eph 2:18; 2Pet 1:4)’.[6] ‘The novelty of
biblical revelation consists in the fact that God becomes known through the
dialogue which he desires to have with us.’[7] Theology, in all its diverse
traditions, disciplines and methods, is founded on the fundamental act of
listening in faith to the revealed Word of God, Christ himself. Listening to
God’s Word is the definitive principle of Catholic theology; it leads to
understanding and speech and to the formation of Christian community: ‘the
Church is built upon the word of God; she is born from and lives by that
word’.[8] ‘We declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may
have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his
Son Jesus Christ’ (1Jn 1:3).[9] The whole world is to hear the summons to
salvation, ‘so that through hearing it may believe, through belief it may hope,
through hope it may come to love’.[10]
5. Theology is
scientific reflection on the divine revelation which the Church accepts by
faith as universal saving truth. The sheer fulness and richness of that
revelation is too great to be grasped by any one theology, and in fact gives
rise to multiple theologies as it is received in diverse ways by human beings.
In its diversity, nevertheless, theology is united in its service of the one
truth of God. The unity of theology, therefore does not require uniformity, but
rather a single focus on God’s Word and an explication of its innumerable
riches by theologies able to dialogue and communicate with one another.
Likewise, the plurality of theologies should not imply fragmentation or
discord, but rather the exploration in myriad ways of God’s one saving truth.
1. The primacy of the
Word of God
6. ‘In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God’ (Jn 1:1). The Gospel
of John starts with a ‘prologue’. This hymn highlights the cosmic scope of
revelation and the culmination of revelation in the incarnation of the Word of
God. ‘What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of
all people’ (Jn 1:3-4). Creation and history constitute the space and time in
which God reveals himself. The world, created by God by means of his Word (cf.
Gen 1), is also, however, the setting for the rejection of God by human beings.
Nevertheless, God’s love towards them is always infinitely greater; ‘the light
shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not overcome it’ (Jn 1:5). The
incarnation of the Son is the culmination of that steadfast love: ‘And the Word
became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a
father’s only son, full of grace and truth’ (Jn 1:14). The revelation of God as
Father who loves the world (cf. Jn 3:16, 35) is realised in the revelation of
Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, the Son of God and ‘Saviour of the world’
(Jn 4:42). In ‘many and various ways’ God spoke through the prophets in former
times, but in the fullness of time he spoke to us ‘by a Son, whom he appointed
heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds’ (Heb 1:1-2). ‘No
one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s
heart, who has made him known’ (Jn 1:18).
7. The Church greatly
venerates the Scriptures, but it is important to recognise that ‘the Christian
faith is not a “religion of the book”; Christianity is the “religion of the
word of God”, not of “a written and mute word, but of the incarnate and living
Word”’.[11] The gospel of God is fundamentally testified by the sacred Scripture
of both Old and New Testaments.[12] The Scriptures are ‘inspired by God and
committed to writing once and for all time’; hence, ‘they present God’s own
Word in an unalterable form, and they make the voice of the Holy Spirit sound
again and again in the words of the prophets and apostles’.[13] Tradition is
the faithful transmission of the Word of God, witnessed in the canon of
Scripture by the prophets and the apostles and in the leiturgia (liturgy),
martyria (testimony) and diakonia (service) of the Church.
8. St Augustine wrote
that the Word of God was heard by inspired authors and transmitted by their
words: ‘God speaks through a human being in human fashion; and speaking thus he
seeks us’.[14] The Holy Spirit not only inspired the biblical authors to find
the right words of witness but also assists the readers of the Bible in every
age to understand the Word of God in the human words of the holy Scriptures.
The relationship between Scripture and Tradition is rooted in the truth which
God reveals in his Word for our salvation: ‘the books of Scripture, firmly,
faithfully and without error, teach that truth which God, for the sake of our
salvation, wished to see confided to the sacred Scriptures’,[15] and through
the ages the Holy Spirit ‘leads believers to the full truth, and makes the Word
of Christ dwell in them in all its richness (cf. Col 3:16)’.[16] ‘[T]he word of
God is given to us in sacred Scripture as an inspired testimony to revelation;
together with the Church’s living Tradition, it constitutes the supreme rule of
faith.’[17]
9. A criterion of
Catholic theology is recognition of the primacy of the Word of God. God speaks
‘in many and various ways’ - in creation, through prophets and sages, through
the holy Scriptures, and definitively through the life, death and resurrection
of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh (cf. Heb 1:1-2).
2. Faith, the response
to God’s Word
10. St Paul
11. Since Jesus Christ,
the Word made flesh, ‘is himself both the mediator and the sum total of
Revelation’,[18] the response that the Word seeks, namely faith, is likewise
personal. By faith human beings entrust their entire selves to God, in an act
which involves the ‘full submission’ of the intellect and will to the God who
reveals.[19] ‘The obedience of faith’ (Rom 1:5) is thus something personal. By
faith, human beings open their ears to listen to God’s Word and their mouths
also to offer him prayer and praise; they open their hearts to receive the love
of God which is poured into them through the gift of the Holy Spirit (cf. Rom
5:5); and they ‘abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit’ (Rom 15:13), a
hope ‘which does not disappoint’ (Rom 5:5). Thus, a living faith can be
understood as embracing both hope and love. Paul emphasises, moreover, that the
faith evoked by the Word of God resides in the heart and gives rise to a verbal
confession: ‘if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in
your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one
believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth
and so is saved’ (Rom 10:9-10).
12. Faith, then, is
experience of God which involves knowledge of him, since revelation gives
access to the truth of God which saves us (cf. 2Th 2:13) and makes us free (cf.
Jn 8:32). Paul writes to the Galatians that, as believers, they ‘have come to
know God, or rather to be known by God’ (Gal 4:9; cf. 1Jn 4:16). Without faith,
it would be impossible to gain insight into this truth, because it is revealed
by God. The truth revealed by God and accepted in faith, moreover, is not
something irrational. Rather, it gives rise to the ‘spiritual worship [logiké
latreía]’ that Paul says involves a renewal of the mind (Rom 12:1-2). That God
exists and is one, the creator and Lord of history, can be known with the aid
of reason from the works of creation, according to a long tradition found in
both the Old (cf. Wis 13:1-9) and New Testaments (cf. Rom 1:18-23).[20]
However, that God has revealed himself through the incarnation, life, death and
resurrection of his Son for the salvation of the world (cf. Jn 3:16), and that
God in his inner life is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, can be known only through
faith.
13. ‘Faith’ is both an
act of belief or trust and also that which is believed or confessed, fides qua
and fides quae, respectively. Both aspects work together inseparably, since
trust is adhesion to a message with intelligible content, and confession cannot
be reduced to mere lip service, it must come from the heart. Faith is at the
same time a reality profoundly personal and ecclesial. In professing their
faith, Christians say both ‘I believe’ and ‘We believe’. Faith is professed
within the koinonia of the Holy Spirit (cf. 2Cor 13:13), which unites all
believers with God and among themselves (cf. 1Jn 1:1-3), and achieves its
ultimate expression in the Eucharist (cf. 1Cor 10:16-17). Professions of faith
have developed within the community of the faithful since earliest times. All
Christians are called to give personal witness to their faith, but the creeds
enable the Church as such to profess her faith. This profession corresponds to
the teaching of the apostles, the good news, in which the Church stands and
through which it is saved (cf. 1Cor 15:1-11).
14. ‘False prophets
arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who
will secretly bring in destructive opinions’ (2Pet 2:1).[21] The New Testament
shows abundantly that, from the very beginnings of the Church, certain people
have proposed a ‘heretical’ interpretation of the faith held in common, an
interpretation opposed to the Apostolic Tradition. In the first letter of John,
separation from the communion of love is an indicator of false teaching (1Jn
2:18-19). Heresy thus not only distorts the Gospel, it also damages ecclesial
communion. ‘Heresy is the obstinate post-baptismal denial of some truth which
must be believed with divine and catholic faith, or it is likewise an obstinate
doubt concerning the same’.[22] Those guilty of such obstinacy against the
teaching of the Church substitute their own judgement for obedience to the word
of God (the formal motive of faith), the fides qua. Heresy serves as a reminder
that the communion of the Church can only be secured on the basis of the
Catholic faith in its integrity, and prompts the Church to an ever-deeper
search for truth in communion.
15. A criterion of
Catholic theology is that it takes the faith of the Church as its source,
context and norm. Theology holds the fides qua and the fides quae together. It
expounds the teaching of the apostles, the good news about Jesus Christ ‘in
accordance with the Scriptures’ (1Cor 15: 3, 4), as the rule and stimulus of
the Church’s faith.
3. Theology, the
understanding of faith
16. The act of faith,
in response to the Word of God, opens the intelligence of the believer to new
horizons. St Paul St
Augustine invites everyone who seeks truth to ‘believe in order to
understand [crede ut intelligas]’.[23] We have received ‘the Spirit that is
from God’, St Paul
17. Placed in
possession of ‘the boundless riches of Christ’ (Eph 3:8) by faith, believers
seek to understand ever more fully that which they believe, pondering it in
their hearts (cf. Lk 2:19). Led by the Spirit and utilising all the resources
of their intelligence, they strive to assimilate the intelligible content of
the Word of God, so that it may become light and nourishment for their faith.
They ask of God that they may be ‘filled with the knowledge of God’s will in
all spiritual wisdom and understanding’ (Col
18. The intellectus
fidei takes various forms in the life of the Church and in the community of
believers in accordance with the different gifts of the faithful (lectio
divina, meditation, preaching, theology as a science, etc.). It becomes
theology in the strict sense when the believer undertakes to present the
content of the Christian mystery in a rational and scientific way. Theology is
therefore scientia Dei in as much as it is a rational participation in the
knowledge that God has of himself and of all things.
19. A criterion of
Catholic theology is that, precisely as the science of faith, ‘faith seeking
understanding [fides quaerens intellectum]’,[27] it has a rational dimension.
Theology strives to understand what the Church believes, why it believes, and
what can be known sub specie Dei. As scientia Dei, theology aims to understand
in a rational and systematic manner the saving truth of God.
CHAPTER 2:
ABIDING IN THE COMMUNION OF THE CHURCH
20. The proper place
for theology is within the Church, which is gathered together by the Word of
God. The ecclesiality of theology is a constitutive aspect of the theological
task, because theology is based on faith, and faith itself is both personal and
ecclesial. The revelation of God is directed towards the convocation and
renewal of the people of God, and it is through the Church that theologians
receive the object of their enquiry. In Catholic theology, there has been
considerable reflection on the ‘loci’ of theology, that is, the fundamental
reference points for the theological task.[28] It is important to know not just
the loci but also their relative weight and the relationship between them.
1. The study of
Scripture as the soul of theology
21. The ‘study of the
sacred page’ should be the ‘very soul of sacred theology’.[29] This is the
Second Vatican Council’s core affirmation with regard to theology. Pope
Benedict XVI reiterates: ‘where theology is not essentially the interpretation
of the Church’s Scripture, such a theology no longer has a foundation’.[30]
Theology in its entirety should conform to the Scriptures, and the Scriptures
should sustain and accompany all theological work, because theology is
concerned with ‘the truth of the gospel’ (Gal 2:5), and it can know that truth
only if it investigates the normative witness to it in the canon of sacred
Scripture,[31] and if, in doing so, it relates the human words of the Bible to
the living Word of God. ‘Catholic exegetes must never forget that what they are
interpreting is the word of God…. They arrive at the true goal of their work
only when they have explained the meaning of the biblical text as God’s word
for today.’[32]
22. Dei Verbum sees the
task of exegesis as that of ascertaining ‘what God has wished to communicate to
us’.[33] To understand and explain the meaning of the biblical texts,[34] it
must make use of all the appropriate philological, historical and literary
methods, with the aim of clarifying and understanding sacred Scripture in its
own context and period. Thus the historicity of revelation is methodologically
taken into account. Dei Verbum 12 makes particular reference to the need for
attentiveness to literary forms: ‘for the fact is that truth is differently presented
and expressed in the various types of historical writing, in prophetical and
poetic texts, and in other forms of literary expression’. Since the council,
further methods which can unfold new aspects of the meaning of Scripture have
been developed.[35] Dei Verbum 12 indicates, however, that in order to
acknowledge ‘the divine dimension of the Bible’ and to achieve a truly
‘theological’ interpretation of Scripture, ‘three fundamental criteria’ must
also be taken into account:[36] the unity of Scripture, the witness of
Tradition, and the analogy of faith.[37] The council refers to the unity of
Scripture because the Bible testifies to the entire truth of salvation only in
its pluriform totality.[38] Exegesis has developed methodological ways of taking
account of the canon of Scripture as a whole as a hermeneutical reference point
for interpreting Scripture. The significance of the location and content of the
different books and pericopes can thereby be determined. Overall, as the
council teaches, exegesis should strive to read and interpret the biblical
texts in the broad setting of the faith and life of the people of God,
sustained through the ages by the working of the Holy Spirit. It is in this
context that exegesis searches for the literal sense and opens itself to the
spiritual or fuller sense (sensus plenior) of scripture.[39] ‘Only where both
methodological levels, the historico-critical and the theological, are
respected, can one speak of a theological exegesis, an exegesis worthy of this
book.’[40]
23. In saying that the
study of sacred Scripture is the ‘soul’ of theology, Dei Verbum has in mind all
of the theological disciplines. This foundation in the revealed Word of God, as
testified by Scripture and Tradition, is essential for theology. Its primary
task is to interpret God’s truth as saving truth. Urged on by Vatican II,
Catholic theology seeks to attend to the Word of God and thereby to the witness
of Scripture in all its work.[41] Thus it is that in theological expositions
‘biblical themes should have first place’, before anything else.[42] This
approach corresponds anew to that of the Fathers of the Church, who were
‘primarily and essentially “commentators on sacred Scripture”’,[43] and it
opens up the possibility of ecumenical collaboration: ‘shared listening to the
Scriptures … spurs us on towards the dialogue of charity and enables growth in
the dialogue of truth’.[44]
24. A criterion of
Catholic theology is that it should draw constantly upon the canonical witness
of Scripture and should promote the anchoring of all of the Church’s doctrine
and practice in that witness, since ‘all the preaching of the Church, as indeed
the entire Christian religion, should be nourished and ruled by sacred
Scripture’.[45] Theology should endeavour to open wide the Scriptures to the
Christian faithful,[46] so that the faithful may come into contact with the
living Word of God (cf. Heb 4:12).
2. Fidelity to
Apostolic Tradition
25. The Acts of the
Apostles describes the life of the early Christian community in a way that is
fundamental for the Church of all times: ‘They devoted themselves to the
apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers’
(Acts 2:42; cf. Rev 1:3). This succinct description, at the end of the account
of the feast of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit opened the mouths of the
apostles to preach and brought many of those who heard them to faith,
highlights various essential aspects of the Spirit’s ongoing work in the
Church. There is already an anticipatory outline of the Church’s teaching and
sacramental life, of its spirituality and commitment to charity. All of these
began in the apostolic community, and the handing on of this integral way of
life in the Spirit is Apostolic Tradition. Lex orandi (the rule of prayer), lex
credendi (the rule of belief) and lex vivendi (the rule of life) are all
essential aspects of this Tradition. Paul refers to the Tradition into which as
an apostle he has been incorporated when he speaks of ‘handing on’ what he
himself ‘received’ (1Cor 15:1-11, cf. also 1Cor 11:23-26).
26. Tradition is
therefore something living and vital, an ongoing process in which the unity of
faith finds expression in the variety of languages and the diversity of
cultures. It ceases to be Tradition if it fossilises. ‘The Tradition that comes
from the apostles makes progress in the Church, with the help of the Holy
Spirit. There is a growth in insight into the realities and words that are
being passed on…. Thus, as the centuries go by, the Church is always advancing
towards the plenitude of divine truth, until eventually the words of God are
fulfilled in her’.[47] Tradition occurs in the power of the Holy Spirit, who,
as Jesus promised his disciples, guides the Church into all the truth (cf. Jn
16:13), by firmly establishing the memory of Jesus himself (cf. Jn 14:26),
keeping the Church faithful to her apostolic origins, enabling the secure
transmission of the Faith, and prompting the ever-new presentation of the
Gospel under the direction of pastors who are successors of the apostles.[48]
Vital components of Tradition are therefore: a constantly renewed study of
sacred Scripture, liturgical worship, attention to what the witnesses of faith
have taught through the ages, catechesis fostering growth in faith, practical
love of God and neighbour, structured ecclesial ministry and the service given
by the magisterium to the Word of God. What is handed on comprises ‘everything
that serves to make the People of God live their lives in holiness and increase
their faith’. The Church ‘in her doctrine, life and worship, perpetuates and
transmits to every generation all that she herself is, all that she
believes’.[49]
27. ‘The sayings of the
Holy Fathers are a witness to the life-giving presence of … Tradition, showing
how its riches are poured out in the practice and life of the Church, in her
belief and her prayer.’[50] Because the Fathers of the Church, both East and
West, have a unique place in the ‘faithful transmission and elucidation’ of
revealed truth,[51] their writings are a specific reference point (locus) for
Catholic theology. The Tradition known and lived by the Fathers was
multi-faceted and pulsing with life, as can be seen from the plurality of
liturgical families and of spiritual and exegetical-theological traditions
(e.g. in the schools of Alexandria and Antioch), a plurality firmly anchored
and united in the one faith. During the major theological controversies of the
fourth and fifth centuries, the conformity of a doctrine with the consensus of
the Fathers, or lack of it, was proof of orthodoxy or heresy.[52] For
Augustine, the united witness of the Fathers was the voice of the Church.[53]
The councils of Chalcedon and Trent began their solemn declarations with the
formula: ‘Following the Holy Fathers…’,[54] and the council of Trent and the
First Vatican Council clearly indicated that the ‘unanimous consensus’ of the
Fathers was a sure guide for the interpretation of Scripture.[55]
28. Many of the Fathers
were bishops who gathered with their fellow bishops in the councils, first
regional and later worldwide or ‘ecumenical’, that mark the life of the Church
from the earliest centuries, after the example of the apostles (cf. Acts
15:6-21). Confronted with the Christological and Trinitarian heresies that
threatened the faith and unity of the Church during the patristic period,
bishops met in the great ecumenical councils – Nicaea I, Constantinople I,
Ephesus, Chalcedon, Constantinople II, Constantinople III, and Nicaea II – to
condemn error and proclaim the orthodox faith in creeds and definitions of
faith. These councils set forth their teaching, in particular their solemn
definitions, as normative and universally binding; and these definitions
express and belong to the Apostolic Tradition and continue to serve the faith
and unity of the Church. Subsequent councils which have been recognised as
ecumenical in the West continued this practice. The Second Vatican Council
refers to the teaching office or magisterium of the pope and the bishops of the
Church, and states that the bishops teach infallibly when, either gathered with
the bishop of Rome in an ecumenical council or in communion with him though
dispersed throughout the world, they agree that a particular teaching
concerning faith or morals ‘is to be held definitively and absolutely’. The
pope himself, head of the college of bishops, teaches infallibly when ‘as
supreme pastor and teacher of all the faithful … he proclaims in an absolute
decision a doctrine pertaining to faith or morals’.[56]
29. Catholic theology recognises
the teaching authority of ecumenical councils, the ordinary and universal
magisterium of the bishops, and the papal magisterium. It acknowledges the
special status of dogmas, that is, statements ‘in which the Church proposes a
revealed truth definitively, and in a way that is binding for the universal
Church, so much so that denial is rejected as heresy and falls under an
anathema’.[57] Dogmas belong to the living and ongoing Apostolic Tradition.
Theologians are aware of the difficulties that attend their interpretation. For
example, it is necessary to understand the precise question under consideration
in light of its historical context, and to discern how a dogma’s meaning and
content are related to its formulation.[58] Nevertheless, dogmas are sure
points of reference for the Church’s faith and are used as such in theological
reflection and argumentation.
30. In Catholic belief,
Scripture, Tradition, and the magisterium of the Church are inseparably linked.
‘Sacred Tradition and sacred Scripture make up a single sacred deposit of the
Word of God, which is entrusted to the Church’, and ‘the task of giving an
authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in
the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living teaching office of the
Church alone’.[59] Sacred Scripture is not simply a text but ‘locutio Dei’[60]
and ‘verbum Dei’,[61] testified initially by the prophets of the Old Testament
and ultimately by the apostles in the New Testament (cf. Rom 1:1-2). Having arisen
in the midst of the People of God, and having been unified, read and
interpreted by the People of God, sacred Scripture belongs to the living
Tradition of the Church as the canonical witness to the faith for all time.
Indeed, ‘Scripture is the first member in the written tradition’.[62]
‘Scripture is to be proclaimed, heard, read, received and experienced as the
word of God, in the stream of the apostolic Tradition from which it is
inseparable.’[63] This process is sustained by the Holy Spirit, ‘through whom
the living voice of the Gospel rings out in the Church – and through her in the
world’.[64] ‘Sacred Scripture is the speech of God as it is put down in writing
under the breath of the Holy Spirit. And Tradition transmits in its entirety
the Word of God which has been entrusted to the apostles by Christ the Lord and
the Holy Spirit. It transmits it to the successors of the apostles so that,
enlightened by the Spirit of truth, they may faithfully preserve, expound and
spread it abroad by their preaching. Thus it comes about that the Church does
not draw her certainty about all revealed truths from the holy Scriptures
alone’.[65] She draws it also from the Apostolic Tradition, because the latter
is the living process of the Church’s listening to the Word of God.
31. Vatican II
distinguished between Tradition and those traditions that belong to particular
periods of the Church’s history, or to particular regions and communities, such
as religious orders or specific local churches.[66] Distinguishing between Tradition
and traditions has been one of the major tasks of Catholic theology since
Vatican II, and of theology generally in recent decades.[67] It is a task
profoundly related to the Church’s catholicity, and with many ecumenical
implications. Numerous questions arise, for instance: ‘Is it possible to
determine more precisely what the content of the one Tradition is, and by what
means? Do all traditions which claim to be Christian contain the Tradition? How
can we distinguish between traditions embodying the true Tradition and merely
human traditions? Where do we find the genuine Tradition, and where
impoverished tradition or even distortion of tradition?’[68] On one hand,
theology must show that Apostolic Tradition is not something abstract, but that
it exists concretely in the different traditions that have formed within the
Church. On the other hand, theology has to consider why certain traditions are
characteristic not of the Church as a whole, but only of particular religious
orders, local churches or historical periods. While criticism is not
appropriate with reference to Apostolic Tradition itself, traditions must
always be open to critique, so that the ‘continual reformation’ of which the
Church has need[69] can take place, and so that the Church can renew herself
permanently on her one foundation, namely Jesus Christ. Such a critique seeks
to verify whether a specific tradition does indeed express the faith of the
Church in a particular place and time, and it seeks correspondingly to
strengthen or correct it through contact with the living faith of all places
and all times.
32. Fidelity to the
Apostolic Tradition is a criterion of Catholic theology. This fidelity requires
an active and discerning reception of the various witnesses and expressions of
the ongoing Apostolic Tradition. It implies study of sacred Scripture, the
liturgy, and the writings of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, and
attention to the teaching of the magisterium.
3. Attention to the
sensus fidelium
33. In his first letter
to the Thessalonians, St Paul writes: ‘We constantly give thanks to God for
this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you
accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God’s word, which is
also at work in you believers’ (1Thess 2:13). These words illustrate what
Vatican II referred to as ‘the supernatural appreciation of the faith
[sensusfidei] of the whole people’,[70] and ‘the intimate sense of spiritual
realities’[71] that the faithful have, that is, the sensus fidelium. The
subject of faith is the people of God as a whole, which in the power of the
Spirit affirms the Word of God. That is why the council declares that the
entire people of God participates in the prophetic ministry of Jesus,[72] and
that, anointed by the Holy Spirit (cf. 1Jn 2:20, 27), it ‘cannot err in matters
of belief’.[73] The pastors who guide the people of God, serving its faith, are
themselves first of all members of the communion of believers. Therefore Lumen
Gentium speaks first about the people of God and the sensusfidei that they
have,[74] and then of the bishops[75] who, through their apostolic succession
in the episcopate and the reception of their own specific charisma veritatis
certum (sure charism of truth),[76] constitute, as a college in hierarchical
communion with their head, the bishop of Rome and successor of St Peter in the
apostolic see,[77] the Church’s magisterium. Likewise, Dei Verbum teaches that
the Word of God has been ‘entrusted to the Church’, and refers to the ‘entire
holy people’ adhering to it, before then specifying that the pope and the
bishops have the task of authentically interpreting the Word of God.[78] This
ordering is fundamental for Catholic theology. As St Augustine said: ‘Vobis sum
episcopus, vobiscum sum christianus’.[79]
34. The nature and
location of the sensusfidei or sensusfidelium must be properly understood. The
sensus fidelium does not simply mean the majority opinion in a given time or
culture, nor is it only a secondary affirmation of what is first taught by the
magisterium. The sensusfideliumis the sensus fidei of the people of God as a
whole who are obedient to the Word of God and are led in the ways of faith by
their pastors. So the sensusfideliumis the sense of the faith that is deeply
rooted in the people of God who receive, understand and live the Word of God in
the Church.
35. For theologians,
the sensus fidelium is of great importance. It is not only an object of
attention and respect, it is also a base and a locus for their work. On the one
hand, theologians depend on the sensusfidelium, because the faith that they
explore and explain lives in the people of God. It is clear, therefore, that
theologians themselves must participate in the life of the Church to be truly
aware of it. On the other hand, part of the particular service of theologians
within the body of Christ is precisely to explicate the Church’s faith as it is
found in the Scriptures, the liturgy, creeds, dogmas, catechisms, and in the
sensus fidelium itself. Theologians help to clarify and articulate the content
of the sensus fidelium, recognising and demonstrating that issues relating to
the truth of faith can be complex, and that investigation of them must be
precise.[80] It falls to them also on occasion critically to examine expressions
of popular piety, new currents of thought and movements within the Church, in
the name of fidelity to the Apostolic Tradition. Theologians’ critical
assessments must always be constructive; they must be given with humility,
respect and charity: ‘Knowledge (gnosis) puffs up, but love (agape) builds up’
(1Cor 8:1).
36. Attention to the
sensus fidelium is a criterion for Catholic theology. Theology should strive to
discover and articulate accurately what the Catholic faithful actually believe.
It must speak the truth in love, so that the faithful may mature in faith, and
not be ‘tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine’ (Eph
4:14-15).
4. Responsible
adherence to the ecclesiastical magisterium
37. In Catholic
theology, the magisterium is an integral factor in the theological enterprise
itself, since theology receives its object from God through the Church whose
faith is authentically interpreted by ‘the living teaching office of the Church
alone’,[81] that is, by the magisterium of the pope and the bishops. Fidelity
to the magisterium is necessary for theology to be the knowledge of faith
(scientia fidei) and an ecclesial task. A correct theological methodology
therefore requires a proper understanding of the nature and authority of the
magisterium at its various levels, and of the relations that properly exist
between the ecclesiastical magisterium and theology.[82] Bishops and
theologians have distinct callings, and must respect one another’s particular
competence, lest the magisterium reduce theology to a mere repetitive science
or theologians presume to substitute the teaching office of the Church’s
pastors.
38. An understanding of
the Church as communion is a good framework within which to consider how the
relationship between theologians and bishops, between theology and the
magisterium, can be one of fruitful collaboration. The first thing to
acknowledge is that theologians in their work and bishops in their magisterium
both stand under the primacy of the Word of God, and never above it.[83]
Between bishops and theologians there should be a mutually respectful
collaboration; in their obedient listening to this Word and faithful
proclamation of it; in their attention to the sensus fidelium and service of
the growth and maturing of faith; in their concern to transmit the Word to
future generations, with respect for new questions and challenges; and in their
hope-filled witness to the gifts already received; in all of this bishops and
theologians have their respective roles in one common mission,[84] from which
the magisterium and theology each derive their own legitimacy and purpose.[85]
Theology investigates and articulates the faith of the Church, and the
ecclesiastical magisterium proclaims that faith and authentically interprets it.[86]
39. On the one hand,
the magisterium needs theology in order to demonstrate in its interventions not
only doctrinal authority, but also theological competence and a capacity for
critical evaluation, so theologians should be called upon to assist with the
preparation and formulation of magisterial pronouncements. On the other hand,
the magisterium is an indispensable help to theology by its authentic
transmission of the deposit of faith (depositum fidei), particularly at
decisive times of discernment. Theologians should acknowledge the contribution
of magisterial statements to theological progress and should assist with the
reception of those statements. Magisterial interventions themselves can
stimulate theological reflection, and theologians should show how their own
contributions conform with and carry forward previous doctrinal statements of
the magisterium. There is indeed in the Church a certain ‘magisterium’ of
theologians,[87] but there is no place for parallel, opposing or alternative
magisteria,[88] or for views that would separate theology from the Church’s
magisterium.
40. When it comes to
the ‘authentic’ interpretation of the faith, the magisterium plays a role that
theology simply cannot take to itself. Theology cannot substitute a judgement
coming from the scientific theological community for that of the bishops.
Acceptance of this function of the magisterium in relation to the authenticity
of faith requires recognition of the different levels of magisterial
affirmations.[89] These different levels give rise to a correspondingly
differentiated response on the part of the faithful and of theologians. Not all
magisterial teaching has the same weight. This itself is relevant to the work
of theology, and indeed the different levels are described by what are called
‘theological qualifications or notes’.[90]
41. Precisely because
of this gradation, the obedience that theologians as members of the people of
God owe to the magisterium always involves constructively critical evaluation
and comment.[91] While ‘dissent’ towards the magisterium has no place in
Catholic theology, investigation and questioning is justified and even
necessary if theology is to fulfil its task.[92] Whatever the situation, a mere
formal and exterior obedience or adherence on the part of theologians is not
sufficient. Theologians should strive to deepen their reflection on the truth
proclaimed by the Church’s magisterium, and should seek its implications for
the Christian life and for the service of the truth. In this way, theologians
fulfil their proper task and the teaching of the magisterium is not reduced to
mere decorative citations in theological discourse.
42. The relationship
between bishops and theologians is often good and trusting on both sides, with
due respect for one another’s callings and responsibilities. For example,
bishops attend and participate in national and regional gatherings of
theological associations, call on theological experts as they formulate their
own teaching and policies, and visit and support theological faculties and
schools in their dioceses. Inevitably, there will be tensions at times in the
relationship between theologians and bishops. In his profound analysis of the
dynamic interaction, within the living organism of the Church, of the three
offices of Christ as prophet, priest and king, Blessed John Henry Newman
acknowledged the possibility of such ‘chronic collisions or contrasts’, and it
is well to remember that he saw them as ‘lying in the nature of the case’.[93]
‘Theology is the fundamental and regulating principle of the whole Church
system’, he wrote, and yet ‘theology cannot always have its own way’.[94] With
regard to tensions between theologians and the magisterium, the International
Theological Commission said in 1975: ‘wherever there is genuine life, tension
always exists’. ‘Such tension need not be interpreted as hostility or real
opposition, but can be seen as a vital force and an incentive to a common
carrying out of [their] respective tasks by way of dialogue.’[95]
43. The freedom of
theology and of theologians is a theme of special interest.[96] This freedom
‘derives from the true scientific responsibility of theologians’.[97] The idea
of adherence to the magisterium sometimes prompts a critical contrast between a
so-called ‘scientific’ theology (without presuppositions of faith or ecclesial
allegiance) and a so-called ‘confessional’ theology (elaborated within a
religious confession), but such a contrast is inadequate.[98] Other debates
arise from consideration of the believer’s freedom of conscience, or of the
importance of scientific progress in theological investigation, and the
magisterium is sometimes cast as a repressive force or a brake on progress.
Investigating such issues is itself part of the theological task, so as
properly to integrate the scientific and confessional aspects of theology, and
to see the freedom of theology within the horizon of the design and will of
God.
44. Giving responsible
adherence to the magisterium in its various gradations is a criterion of
Catholic theology. Catholic theologians should recognise the competence of
bishops, and especially of the college of bishops headed by the pope, to give
an authentic interpretation of the Word of God handed on in Scripture and
Tradition.[99]
5. In the company of
theologians
45. As is the case with
all Christian vocations, the ministry of theologians, as well as being
personal, is also both communal and collegial; that is, it is exercised in and
for the Church as a whole, and it is lived out in solidarity with those who
have the same calling. Theologians are rightly conscious and proud of the
profound links of solidarity that unite them with one another in service to the
body of Christ and to the world. In very many ways, as colleagues in
theological faculties and schools, as fellow members of theological societies
and associations, as collaborators in research, and as writers and teachers,
they support, encourage and inspire one another, and also serve as mentors and
role models for those, especially graduate students, who are aspiring to be
theologians. Moreover, links of solidarity rightly extend in space and time,
uniting theologians across the world in different countries and cultures, and
through time in different eras and contexts. This solidarity is truly
beneficial when it promotes awareness and observance of the criteria of
Catholic theology as identified in this report. No-one is better placed to
assist Catholic theologians in striving to give the best possible service, in
accordance with the true characteristics of their discipline, than other
Catholic theologians.
46. Nowadays,
collaboration in research and publication projects, both within and across
various theological fields, is increasingly common. Opportunities for
presentations, seminars and conferences that will strengthen the mutual
awareness and appreciation of colleagues in theological institutions and
faculties should be cultivated. Moreover, occasions for inter-disciplinary
encounter and exchange between theologians and philosophers, natural and social
scientists, historians, and so on, should also be fostered, since, as is
indicated in this report, theology is a science that thrives in interaction
with other sciences, as they do also in fruitful exchange with theology.
47. In the nature of
their task, theologians often work at the frontiers of the Church’s experience
and reflection. Especially with the expanded number nowadays of lay theologians
who have experience of particular areas of interaction between the Church and
the world, between the Gospel and life, with which ordained theologians and
theologians in religious life may not be so familiar, it is increasingly the
case that theologians give an initial articulation of ‘faith seeking
understanding’ in new circumstances or in the face of new issues. Theologians
need and deserve the prayerful support of the ecclesial community as a whole,
and particularly of one another, in their sincere endeavours on behalf of the
Church, but careful adherence to the fundamental criteria of Catholic theology
is especially important in such circumstances. Theologians should always
recognise the intrinsic provisionality of their endeavours, and offer their
work to the Church as a whole for scrutiny and evaluation.[100]
48. One of the most
valuable services that theologians render to one another is that of mutual
questioning and correction, e.g. by the medieval practice of the disputatio and
today’s practice of reviewing one another’s writings, so that ideas and methods
can be progressively refined and perfected, and this process generally and
healthily occurs within the theological community itself.[101] Of its nature,
however, it can be a slow and private process, and, especially in these days of
instant communication and dissemination of ideas far beyond the strictly
theological community, it would be unreasonable to imagine that this
self-correcting mechanism suffices in all cases. The bishops who watch over the
faithful, teaching and caring for them, certainly have the right and the duty
to speak, to intervene and if necessary to censure theological work that they
deem to be erroneous or harmful.[102]
49. Ecumenical dialogue
and research provides a uniquely privileged and potentially productive field
for collaboration between Catholic theologians and those of other Christian
traditions. In such work, issues of faith, meaning and language are deeply
pondered. As they work to promote mutual understanding on issues that have been
contentious between their traditions, perhaps for many centuries, theologians
act as ambassadors for their communities in the holy task of seeking the
reconciliation and unity of Christians, so that the world may believe (cf. Jn
17:21). That ambassadorial task requires particular adherence to the criteria
outlined here on the part of Catholic participants, so that the manifold gifts
that the Catholic tradition contains can truly be offered in the ‘exchange of
gifts’ that ecumenical dialogue and collaboration more widely always in some
sense is.[103]
50. A criterion of
Catholic theology is that it should be practised in professional, prayerful and
charitable collaboration with the whole company of Catholic theologians in the
communion of the Church, in a spirit of mutual appreciation and support,
attentive both to the needs and comments of the faithful and to the guidance of
the Church’s pastors.
6. In dialogue with the
world
51. ‘The people of God
believes that it is led by the Spirit of the Lord who fills the whole
world’.[104] The Second Vatican Council said that the Church should therefore
be ready to discern in ‘the events, the needs and the longings’ of today’s
world what may truly be signs of the Spirit’s activity.[105] ‘At all times the
Church carries the responsibility of reading the signs of the times [signa
temporum perscrutandi] and of interpreting them in the light of the Gospel, if
it is to carry out its task. In language intelligible to every generation, she
should be able to answer the ever recurring questions which [people] ask about
the meaning of this present life and of the life to come, and how one is
related to the other. We must be aware of and understand the aspirations, the
yearnings, and the often dramatic features of the world in which we live’.[106]
52. As they live their
daily lives in the world with faith, all Christians face the challenge of
interpreting the events and crises that arise in human affairs, and all engage
in conversation and debate in which, inevitably, faith is questioned and a
response is needed. The whole Church lives, as it were, at the interface
between the Gospel and everyday life, which is also the boundary between the
past and the future, as history moves forward. The Church is always in dialogue
and in movement, and within the communion of the baptised who are all
dynamically engaged in this way bishops and theologians have particular
responsibilities, as the council made clear. ‘With the help of the Holy Spirit,
it is the task of the whole people of God, particularly of its pastors and
theologians, to listen to and distinguish the many voices of our times and to
interpret them in the light of the divine Word, in order that the revealed
truth may be more deeply penetrated, better understood, and more suitably
presented’.[107]
53. Theology has a
particular competence and responsibility in this regard. Through its constant
dialogue with the social, religious and cultural currents of the time, and
through its openness to other sciences which, with their own methods examine
those developments, theology can help the faithful and the magisterium to see
the importance of developments, events and trends in human history, and to
discern and interpret ways in which through them the Spirit may be speaking to
the Church and to the world.
54. The ‘signs of the
times’ may be described as those events or phenomena in human history which, in
a sense, because of their impact or extent, define the face of a period, and
bring to expression particular needs and aspirations of humanity at that time.
The Council’s use of the expression, ‘signs of the times’, shows that it fully
recognised the historicity not only of the world, but also of the Church, which
is in the world (cf. Jn 17:11, 15, 18) though not of the world (cf. Jn 17:14,
16). What is happening in the world at large, good or bad, can never be a matter
of indifference to the Church. The world is the place in which the Church,
following in the footsteps of Christ, announces the Gospel, bears witness to
the justice and mercy of God, and participates in the drama of human life.
55. Recent centuries have
seen major social and cultural developments. One might think, for instance, of
the discovery of historicity, and of movements such as the Enlightenment and
the French revolution (with its ideals of freedom, equality and fraternity),
movements for emancipation and for the promotion of women’s rights, movements
for peace and justice, liberation and democratisation, and the ecological
movement. The ambivalence of human history has led the Church at times in the
past to be overly cautious about such movements, to see only the threats they
may contain to Christian doctrine and faith, and to neglect their significance.
However, such attitudes have gradually changed thanks to the sensus fidei of
the People of God, the clear sight of prophetic individual believers, and the
patient dialogue of theologians with their surrounding cultures. A better
discernment in the light of the Gospel has been made, with a greater readiness
to see how the Spirit of God may be speaking through such events. In all cases,
discernment must carefully distinguish between elements compatible with the
Gospel and those contrary to it, between positive contributions and ideological
aspects, but the more acute understanding of the world that results cannot fail
to prompt a more penetrating appreciation of Christ the Lord and of the
Gospel[108] since Christ is the Saviour of the world.
56. While the world of
human culture profits from the activity of the Church, the Church also profits
from ‘the history and development of mankind’. ‘It profits from the experience
of past ages, from the progress of the sciences, and from the riches hidden in
various cultures, through which greater light is thrown on the mystery of man
and new avenues to truth are opened up’.[109]The painstaking work to establish
profitable links with other disciplines, sciences and cultures so as to enhance
that light and broaden those avenues is the particular task of theologians, and
the discernment of the signs of the times presents great opportunities for
theological endeavour, notwithstanding the complex hermeneutical issues that
arise. Thanks to the work of many theologians, Vatican II was able to
acknowledge various signs of the times in connection with its own
teaching.[110]
57. Heeding God’s final
Word in Jesus Christ, Christians are open to hear echoes of his voice in other
persons, places, and cultures (cf. Acts 14:15-17; 17:24-28; Rom 1:19-20). The
council urged that the faithful ‘should be familiar with their national and
religious traditions and uncover with gladness and respect those seeds of the
Word which lie hidden among them’.[111] It specifically taught that the
Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is ‘true and holy’ in non-Christian
religions, whose precepts and doctrines ‘often reflect a ray of that truth
which enlightens’ all people.[112] Again, the uncovering of such seeds and
discernment of such rays is especially the task of theologians, who have an
important contribution to make to inter-religious dialogue.
58. A criterion of
Catholic theology is that it should be in constant dialogue with the world. It
should help the Church to read the signs of the times illuminated by the light
that comes from divine revelation, and to profit from doing so in its life and
mission.
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