The Magisterium


“The Magisterium of the Church- which was set up in this world by divine wisdom in order to preserve perpetually intact and to hand on the deposit of revealed doctrine- is exercised each day by the Roman Pontiff and the bishops in communion with him. But he also has the duty- when there is question of putting up effective resistance to the errors and attacks of heretics or imprinting with greater clarity and precision on the minds of the faithful certain explanations of sacred doctrine- of proceeding to opportune definitions by means of decrees and solemn decisions. The employment of this extraordinary Magisterium does not introduce any invention and does not add any novelty to the sum of the truths that are at least implicitly contained in the deposit of revelation divinely handed on to the Church; but it declares truths which might perhaps appear obscure to some, or bids us to regard as of faith those that others would still submit to debate.”

-Pius XI, in his encyclical Mortalium animos.