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Magisterium (from the Latin Magisterium, "office of superintendent/president/master/chief; instruction; control/governance") is a technical ecclesiastical term in the Roman Catholic Church referring to the teaching authority of the church. This authority is understood to be embodied in the episcopacy, which is the aggregation of the current bishops of the church, led by the Bishop of Rome (the Pope), who has authority over the bishops, individually and as a body, as well as over each and every Catholic directly. According to Catholic doctrine, the Magisterium is able to teach or interpret the truths of the Faith, and it does so either non-infallibly or infallibly.
"The task of interpreting the Word of God authentically has been entrusted solely to the Magisterium of the Church, that is, to the Pope and to the bishops in communion with him."
It should also be noted.......we don't think the Pope himself is perfect or infallible. Only in matters of "faith". He is a human being, like the rest of us. Every instuition needs a leader. The Catholic Church and Magisterium have been around for over 2000 years because the HOLY SPIRIT is the head of it.
We believe God speaks through the Pope as Jesus told us he would.
Jesus entrusted his church to Peter........and told him that he was the "rock" on which he would build his church. What he binds on earth would be bound in heaven, etc.
We take that to mean.......our Pope (whether he is saintly or not) would NOT be permitted by God to lead the faithful astray. God would stop him before that would ever happen. He promised us that he would protect his church. We don't take the Lord's words lightly.
The Pope in matters of faith.......makes the final decision but he is not the only one "calling the shots". Someone needs to be the "face" of every instuition, which is why we give names to a company in the business world and have CEO's, managers, supervisors, etc. You need to have someone to "go to" for a final answer. The Pope is a Universal Leader, not an American, Canadian, European, etc one.
This is what makes the Catholic Faith unique. It is the OLDEST recorded Christian faith, the 1st one and has always had one leader and this type of structuring, just like Jesus set up when he choose his apostles. He promised he would never leave us, so we believe he is present in the form of the Holy Spirit......and HE is in charge of the Catholic Church. Not the Pope. The Pope is simply his mouth, hands and feet.
There are MANY Cardinals, Bishops and Clergy who have dedicated their life to prayer and serving the church. They meet regularly......have meetings, discussions, etc.
If they truly believe that something should be "addressed" that is of concern to the Catholic people......then it is examined and re-evaluated. This process takes MANY years and is not taken lightly. The Pope himself is the not the only guy "calling the shots" as some people might lead you to believe. Our institution is set up in such a way that if there is any "bad seeds" in the bunch........eventually, they are uncovered through this long line of clergy and the problem is addressed. We try to be "christian" in the way we deal with some of these "bad seeds" who have made their way into the clergy (they are in every instuition, by the way) but the church itself, in no way condons their behaviour. We just try to do like Christ would do..."Let he who is without sin cast the first stone".......The Church addresses these issues but maybe not in the way the secular world would like.......(public humilation, etc)
God will be their final judge. We just try to deal with these troubled, sick individuals in the best way we can.
"How many times must I forgive?"........."Go forth and sin no more...."
Any of these sound familar?
Hope that clears up any questions about the Magisterium. We are not following some instuition blindly.......
Oh.......and one other thing........it should be noted.........the Church has NEVER changed any of it's DOCTRINE. The Church has only ever changed some of it's "Customs" (eg. married clergy, etc).
A SIN is a SIN.........and will ALWAYS be a sin.......
When someone starts changing THAT message........the Holy Spirit is no longer present!
THAT is the true teachings of the church. Many people calling themselves "Catholic" misrepresent us, but the good news is......You can always get a straight answer if you are confused because we have a unversal instuition to go to. It doesn't descriminate against race, country, colour or gender.
Just check the Vatican website or pick up a Cathecism of the Catholic Church. We don't have to take the "interpretation" of just one guy. We can trust.......LOTS of thought and prayer by several thousand people were put into this teaching and it's the same it has been for over 2000 years!
There are a lot of kind hearted, intelligent people in the world who might think they can interpret the Bible but I would rather not presume I know more than thousands of clergy and 2000 years of teachings........and the BIBLE which was written by this religion and preserved for thousands of years so we could have something tangible to follow instead of just "word of mouth" like we used to have to before the Bible was written.
Remember........the Bible was not written until many years after Christ died.........does that mean there were NO Christians before the bible was written?? or does that mean......Christians/Catholics came before and wrote the Bible...which is now being used against us........claiming we aren't Bible Based. Strange.
Oh......I forgot to address the content of the website that detmi7mile posted.
I really do appreciate your love of the Lord and concern for Catholics and their salvation. I do not intend that to be sarcastic. I have the same love of the Lord and hope for everyone's salvation.
I have heard the arguement time and time again about Catholics "worshipping" Mary and statues and I have prayed on that......and asked for discernment in that area. I would never want to do anything to displease God. I know in my heart......that he would LOVE us to show respect and have communication with his mother just as he would with any other dead or alive person whom could draw us closer to him.......so.......for the record........Catholics DO NOT worship ANYONE or ANYTHING other than God. Period.
We love to talk.....and we talk to the living and we talk to the dead.........anyone who will listen! LOL
There is absolutely nothing wrong with praying to (which is only a form of talking) to your dead father, son, grandparent, etc........God knows how much we miss them. Even if they CAN'T hear us........do you think God would be angry with us for telling them in our prayers........we miss them.......love them.......look forward to being reunited with them.....ask them to guide us when we are confused?? If your religion thinks that is sinful......then talking to your fellow Christians and fellow co-workers, etc.......is also sinful (which is absurd). The Lord told us that death would not divide us. This earth is such a short time. Heaven is our true reward and many of our ancestors are already there waiting for us.......nothing wrong with saying "hello"........."Can't wait to see you again...."........."Help me deal with this situation......."........."Wish you were here to console me".......We call our "living" friends and say those things. Why would it be sinful to say those things to our loved ones who have already entered the kingdom?
Mary is the Lord's mother.........she is not some strange "lady" we are "worshipping". She gave birth to our saviour........
I don't know about you.......but I'm looking forward to the day when I will meet her in person! Until then.......I have no problem with thanking her and asking for her to pray for me........a sinner.
There is a difference in Catholicism and Christian in regards to the proper interpretation of the Bible.
One in particular difference abundantly clear is that many Catholics do in fact worship Mary and worship other saints.
Christians only worship The ALMIGHTY FATHER (GOD) and believe that Jesus Christ was the SON OF GOD-not just a man.
Jesus is a Jew who followed the Jewish faith (although he was far from being an orthodox Jew), so how can he be Christian, or Catholic for that matter?
It irks me that any group of people sharing the same doctrine claim that NONE are righteous except themselves..
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Jesus is a Jew who followed the Jewish faith (although he was far from being an orthodox Jew), so how can he be Christian, or Catholic for that matter?
