Magisterium: Essential and Constitutive Element of the Church’s Life and Mission in the Light of the Second Vatican Council
ISSUE: Vol.5 No.2 June 2019 Article 1 pp.24 – 32
AUTHOR: Francis Appiah-Kubi
DOI : 10.32051/06241903
ABSTRACT
The Catholic Church, in the Second Vatican Council Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei Verbum stresses emphatically that “in his gracious goodness, God has seen to it that what he had revealed for the salvation of all nations would abide perpetually in its full integrity and be handed on to all generations” (DV 7). In fact, the Church believes and teaches that the task of “authentically interpreting the Word of God, whether written or handed on, has been entrusted exclusively to her living teaching office namely the Magisterium, which is the official teaching authority of the Bishop. And this is an essential constitutive element for the accomplishment of the life and mission of the church on earth. The Church believes that Jesus will not permit the truth to which he came to bear witness to the point of shedding his blood to be forgotten, twisted, misinterpreted, adulterated or badly explained. Jesus did make adequate provisions for the preservation and prolongation of his revelation to all succeeding ages through the Teaching Office of the Church. The teaching authority or office of the Catholic Church was thus instituted or established by the Church to perform certain functions that pertain to the revelation by God. This paper contributes to the discussion on the Church’s Magisterium, its concept, its content and analyses the different levels or modes of the teaching authority of the Catholic Church.
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