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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 7 page paper which looks in detail at Michael Fahey's commentary on the history and cuurent role of the magisterium in the church. Bibliography lists 1 source.
Page Count:
7 pages (~225 words per page)
File: JL5_JLmagister.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
means a task undertaken by a master; however, such a definition is clearly inadequate when it comes to expressing the nuances of magisterium in the theological sense of the word.
If magisterium refers to "doctrinal authority or teaching authority" (Fahey, 2008) then it also implies the idea of a finished body of teaching, a "conclusion". However, if it means "those
persons authorized to formulate official, orthodox doctrinal teaching" (Fahey, 2008) then it signifies a group of people rather than a set of principles or teachings. Fahey goes on to say
that the Vatican has attempted to address this ambiguity by using the capital M to denote the latter meaning, and adding authenticum (ie, authoritative) to show that the individual or
group is authorized as having legitimate teaching authority. This does not, however, resolve the problems entirely. As Fahey states, there are various different
levels of teaching found within the general framework of the magisterium, and the Church teaches that these require different degrees of adherence. Dogma - that is, affirmation of a central
tenet of the faith - demands strict adherence. Doctrine, although it is still official teaching, "requires of the believer a somewhat lesser degree of adhesion" (Fahey, 2008). The distinction is
made somewhat confusing by the fact that those who are responsible for dogma are also those who formulate doctrine; this may take the form of "catechisms, papal encyclical letters, apostolic
exhortations based on discussions at national synods", and so on (Fahey, 2008). These teachings have different levels of authority, which is not always evident from the tone and language of
the communication itself. A teaching which is couched informally can express a core tenet of dogma, whereas one which is more formal and official in tone can be "simply the
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