DAY 112
CHALLENGE
“The Catholic Church is wrong to teach that its Magisterium is superior to the word of God.”
DEFENSE
The Church teaches that the Magisterium serves the word of God.
During his earthly ministry, Jesus commissioned his apostles and others to teach in his name, telling them: “He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me” (Luke 10:16).
He further commissioned this teaching authority to continue to the end of the world, saying: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Matt. 28:19–20). Today this teaching authority, known as the Magisterium (from the Latin, magister, “teacher”), is exercised by the bishops, the successors of the apostles.
Although it was established by Christ, the Church does not regard the Magisterium as superior to the word of God but as its servant. Vatican II taught: “This teaching office is not above the word of God, but serves it, teaching only what has been handed on, listening to it devoutly, guarding it scrupulously and explaining it faithfully in ac- cord with a divine commission and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it draws from this one deposit of faith everything which it presents for belief as divinely revealed” (Dei Verbum 10).
The idea that the Magisterium is superior to the word of God is false. It plays a subordinate role in helping the faithful identify and understand the word of God. Thus the Magisterium helped the Church discern the canon of Scripture—which books were divinely inspired and which were not. It similarly helps the Church discern which Traditions are of apostolic origin and which are not. And it helps the Church understand the contents of both Scripture and Tradition.
However, in all these things, the Magisterium is a guide and not a source. The source is the word of God, as expressed in Scripture and Tradition. The Magisterium is subordinate to these, as illustrated by the fact that it is the word of God that gives the Magisterium its au- thority (see the verses above), not the other way around.