Raw reference: nos. 84-95, 98-100
CCC 84
The apostles entrusted the
The apostles entrusted the "Sacred deposit" of the faith (the depositum fidei), [DV 10 # 1; cf.I Tim 6:20; 2 Tim 1:12-14(Vulg.).] contained in Sacred Scripture and Tradition, to the whole of the Church. "By adhering to [this heritage] the entire holy people, united to its pastors, remains always faithful to the teaching of the apostles, to the brotherhood, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. So, in maintaining, practising and professing the faith that has been handed on, there should be a remarkable harmony between the bishops and the faithful." [DV 10 # 1; cf. Acts 2:42 (Greek); Pius XII, Apost. Const. Munificentissimus Deus, 1 November 1950: AAS 42 (1950), 756, taken along with the words of St. Cyprian, Epist. 66, 8: CSEL 3/2, 733: "The Church is the people united to its Priests, the flock adhering to its Shepherd."]
CCC 85
"The task of giving an
"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. Its authority in this matter is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ." [DV 10 # 2.] This means that the task of interpretation has been entrusted to the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome.
CCC 86
"Yet this Magisterium is not
"Yet this Magisterium is not superior to the Word of God, but is its servant. It teaches only what has been handed on to it. At the divine command and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it listens to this devotedly, guards it with dedication and expounds it faithfully. All that it proposes for belief as being divinely revealed is drawn from this single deposit of faith." [DV 10 para 2.]
CCC 87
Mindful of Christ's words to
Mindful of Christ's words to his apostles: "He who hears you, hears me", [Lk 10:16; cf. LG 20.] The faithful receive with docility the teachings and directives that their pastors give them in different forms.
CCC 88
The Church's Magisterium
The Church's Magisterium exercises the authority it holds from Christ to the fullest extent when it defines dogmas, that is, when it proposes truths contained in divine Revelation or also when it proposes in a definitive way truths having a necessary connection with them.
CCC 89
There is an organic
There is an organic connection between our spiritual life and the dogmas. Dogmas are lights along the path of faith; they illuminate it and make it secure. Conversely, if our life is upright, our intellect and heart will be open to welcome the light shed by the dogmas of faith. [Cf. Jn 8:31-32.]
CCC 90
The mutual connections
The mutual connections between dogmas, and their coherence, can be found in the whole of the Revelation of the mystery of Christ. [Cf. Vatican Council I: DS 3016: nexus mysteriorum; LC 25.] "In Catholic doctrine there exists an order or hierarchy 234 of truths, since they vary in their relation to the foundation of the Christian faith." [UR II.]
CCC 91
All the faithful share in
All the faithful share in understanding and handing on revealed truth. They have received the anointing of the Holy Spirit, who instructs them [Cf. I Jn 2:20, 27] and guides them into all truth. [Cf. . Jn 16:13]
CCC 92
"The whole body of the
"The whole body of the faithful. . . cannot err in matters of belief. This characteristic is shown in the supernatural appreciation of faith (sensus fidei) on the part of the whole people, when, from the bishops to the last of the faithful, they manifest a universal consent in matters of faith and morals." [LG 12; cf. St. Augustine, De praed. sanct. 14, 27: PL 44, 980.]
CCC 93
"By this appreciation of the
"By this appreciation of the faith, aroused and sustained by the Spirit of truth, the People of God, guided by the sacred teaching authority (Magisterium),. . . receives. . . the faith, once for all delivered to the saints. . . the People unfailingly adheres to this faith, penetrates it more deeply with right judgment, and applies it more fully in daily life." [LG 12; cf. Jude 3.]
CCC 94
Thanks to the assistance of
Thanks to the assistance of the Holy Spirit, the understanding of both the realities and the words of the heritage of faith is able to grow in the life of the Church: - "through the contemplation and study of believers who ponder these things in their hearts"; [DV 8 # 2; cf. Lk 2:19, 51] it is in particular "theological research [which] deepens knowledge of revealed truth". [GS 62 # 7; cf. GS 44 # 2; DV 23; 24; UR 4.] - "from the intimate sense of spiritual realities which [believers] experience", [DV 8 # 2.] The sacred Scriptures "grow with the one who reads them." [DV 8 # 2.] - "from the preaching of those who have received, along with their right of succession in the episcopate, the sure charism of truth". [St. Gregory the Great, Hom. in Ezek. 1, 7, 8: PL 76, 843D.]
CCC 95
"It is clear therefore that,
"It is clear therefore that, in the supremely wise arrangement of God, sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture and the Magisterium of the Church are so connected and associated that one of them cannot stand without the others. Working together, each in its own way, under the action of the one Holy Spirit, they all contribute effectively to the salvation of souls." [DV 10 # 3.]
CCC 98
"The Church, in her doctrine,
"The Church, in her doctrine, life and worship, perpetuates and transmits to every generation all that she herself is, all that she believes" (DV 8 # 1).
CCC 99
Thanks to its supernatural
Thanks to its supernatural sense of faith, the People of God as a whole never ceases to welcome, to penetrate more deeply and to live more fully from the gift of divine Revelation.
CCC 100
The task of interpreting the
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.