The theological notes designate a classification of certainty of

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

beliefs in Catholic theology. While theological notes qualify positively beliefs and doctrines, said beliefs and doctrines are qualified negatively by theological censures. The theological notes' "enumeration, division and evaluation" vary between authors.

Authority of the notes

" e supreme organs for heologicalnotes and censures (and exclusively so for infallible matters) are the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

and the Ecumenical Councils. Limited competences attaches to the

Roman Congregations In the Roman Curia, a congregation ( lat, Sacræ Cardinalium Congregationes) is a type of department of the Curia. They are second-highest-ranking departments, ranking below the two Secretariats, and above the pontifical councils, pontifical co ...

, Provincial Synods (

episcopal conferences Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

) and the individual bishops and major superiors of

religious orders A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious pract ...

. The whole people of God is charged with the safeguarding of the true faith. Theologians have a special responsibility and thus are especially qualified to give theological notes nd censures ..though their authority is not one of jurisdiction. Their notes nd censureshave the weight of 'professional' opinions and have often influenced the

magisterium The magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church is the church's authority or office to give authentic interpretation of the Word of God, "whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition." According to the 1992 Catechism of the Catholic Chu ...

Various classifications

John Hardon

Catholic theologian

John Hardon John Anthony Hardon, SJ (June 18, 1914 – December 30, 2000) was an American Jesuit priest, writer, and theologian. A candidate for sainthood since 2005, he is recognized by the Catholic Church as a Servant of God. Early life John Anthon ...

states:

Ludwig Ott

Immediately revealed truths

Catholic theologian

Ludwig Ott Ludwig Ott (24 October 1906 in Neumarkt-St. Helena – 25 October 1985 in Eichstätt) was a Roman Catholic theologian and medievalist from Bavaria, Germany. After training at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Ott was ordained a ...

considers that immediately revealed truths revealed truths hold the "highest degree of certainty". "The belief due to them is based on the authority of

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

Revealing (fides divina), and if the Church, through its teaching, vouches for the fact that a truth is contained in Revelation, one's certainty is then also based on the authority of the Infallible Teaching Authority of the Church (fides catholica). If Truths are defined by a solemn judgment of faith (definition) of the

or of a General Council, they are 'de fide definita.')".

Catholic truths

Catholic truths refers to Catholic beliefs which are church teachings, definitively decided on by the

Magisterium The magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church is the church's authority or office to give authentic interpretation of the Word of God, "whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition." According to the 1992 Catechism of the Catholic Chu ...

, but not (yet) as being divine revelations properly speaking. Ludwig Ott calls the beliefs of this level ''Catholic truths'', and states states that beliefs of this level "are as infallibly certain as

dogmas Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam o ...

proper". Catholic truths are "doctrines and truths defined by the Church not as immediately revealed but as intrinsically connected with the truths of

Revelation In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities. Background Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...

so that their denial would undermine the revealed truths .. These are proposed for belief in virtue of the infallibility of the Church in teaching doctrines of faith or morals (fides ecclesiastica)". They are called "''Catholic Truths'' (veritates catholicae) or Ecclesiastical Teachings (doctrinae ecclesiasticae) to distinguish them from the ''Divine Truths'' or Divine Doctrines of Revelation (veritates vel doctrinae divinae)". Ott continues:

''Sententia fidei proxima''

A ''sententia fidei proxima'' ("teaching proximate to faith") refers to teachings, which are generally accepted as divine revelation by Catholic theologians but not defined as such by the

Teaching pertaining to the faith

A teaching pertaining to the faith (''sententia ad fidem pertinens''), or theologically certain (''theologice certa''), refers to theological conculsions; those are teachings without definitive approval by the Catholic Church, but " hosetruth is guaranteed by heirintrinsic connection with the doctrine of revelation".

''Sententia communis''

A ''sententia communis'' ("common teaching") refers to beliefs which are generally accepted by theologians, but not dogmatically asserted. Examples of ''sententia communis'' beliefs which are cited by

include: • The saints in heaven can help the souls in

purgatory Purgatory (, borrowed into English via Anglo-Norman and Old French) is, according to the belief of some Christian denominations (mostly Catholic), an intermediate state after physical death for expiatory purification. The process of purgatory ...

intercession Intercession or intercessory prayer is the act of praying to a deity on behalf of others, or asking a saint in heaven to pray on behalf of oneself or for others. The Apostle Paul's exhortation to Timothy specified that intercession prayers s ...

, • Dead people cannot receive sacraments.

Theological opinions of lesser grades

As Ott explains:

''Sommaire de théologie dogmatique''

The ''Sommaire de théologie dogmatique'' proposes the following theological notes: # Of Catholic faith (''De Fide''): when a religious truth "has been revealed by

, is contained in

Sacred Scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pra ...

Tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

and has been solemnly defined as such by the

Sovereign Pontiff The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

or by an

Ecumenical Council An ecumenical council, also called general council, is a meeting of bishops and other church authorities to consider and rule on questions of Christian doctrine, administration, discipline, and other matters in which those entitled to vote ar ...

defining

EX CATHEDRA Papal infallibility is a dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Peter, the Pope when he speaks '' ex cathedra'' is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "initially given to the apos ...

– that is with the intention of defining – assuming all the required conditions are met. — Or if a truth is presented as such by the ordinary and universal Magisterium of the Church. (Vatican I.)" # Of divine faith (''De Fide divina''): when a religious truth "is for sure contained in

Holy Scriptures Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pra ...

, but has not been solemnly defined by the Church. E.g.: the birth of Christ in Bethlehem. The same applies to truths revealed privately by God to a person, but for that person only." # Catholic doctrine, certain (''Certum est''): "When it is a truth deduced logically from two

premises Premises are land and buildings together considered as a property. This usage arose from property owners finding the word in their title deeds, where it originally correctly meant "the aforementioned; what this document is about", from Latin ''pr ...

, one of which is formally revealed by God, and the other known by reason alone and not revealed elsewhere, nor contained implicitly in the revealed premise. The truth thus deduced is called THEOLOGICAL CONCLUSION. Many formally but implicitly revealed truths are considered CERTAIN until they are solemnly defined." # Common (''Sententia communis''): "It is a truth taught by almost all theologians and opposed by only a few of mediocre authority, but which is nevertheless not disavowed by the Church." # Probable, more probable (''Probabilis''): "It is a proposal supported by eminent theologians approved by the ecclesiastical Authority — and which, at the same time, is opposed by other equally eminent theologians. The degree of probability can be based either on the number and authority of theologians who support this proposition (extrinsic probability), or on the value of the arguments provided (intrinsic probability)."

Edward N. Peters

Edward N. Peters states that "many of the assertions hitherto listed by theologians with a surfeit of restraint as merely, say, 'sententia communis' might, upon closer investigation in light of the criteria set out in '' Ad tuendam'' and its progeny, be found to enjoy ''infallible'' certitude, after all, as either primary or, as I think the liceity of the

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

qualifies, as secondary objects of infallibility".

Parthenius Minges

Parthenius Minges states that views contradicting something that is ''sententia fidei proxima'' are referred to with the term '' sententia haeresi proxima''. One example of ''sententia haeresi proxima'', he says, is the proposition "

angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles incl ...

are not pure spirits".

References

Catholic theology and doctrine Latin religious words and phrases