Reddit mentions of Magisterial Authority

> Where? I could have missed it, it's true. They put out a good amount of vids. But I see no acknowledgment of failure, or responsibilities, of the clergy. Clergy responsibilities are regarded as 'Church' responsibilities, spoken of in terms of "we/us". Laity responsibilities are spoken of in singling out the laity.

Fr. Ripperger literally wrote a book about the problems created by the hierarchy and their poor management of authority. Its called Magisterial Authority.

He also wrote a rather well-known piece (at least, among trads around here) about the difference between 'conservative' and 'traditional' Catholicism.

Further, his book The Binding Force of Tradition touches on the duties of the hierarchy. I'm sure there is more out there. Suffice it to say, Fr. Ripperger isn't one of the priests guilty of ignoring the problems in the Church - which is one of the reasons why I'd give more weight to his criticism of the traditional movement than any random speaker.

> When it's good advice, yes. But here's an ongoing problem with Christians: they mistake masochism for humility. To the point where criticisms of their faults is taken as, by default, true.

I agree with you - it is a mistake to take any criticism as truth without examining it, as is often the case when the world criticizes the faith or the Church to modern Catholics. But I see the opposite problem in the case of many fellow trads, where criticism is brushed off without examining it and praying/meditating about. Perhaps this isn't an issue elsewhere?

> See a problem with traditionalism and an authoritarian system like the Vatican?

That's not how the Magisterium works. Neo-conservative Catholics may act that way, but most of the things that come from the modern Vatican are not high level or authoritative. Proclaiming a "year of Darwin" for example doesn't mean I have to hold Darwin as some kind of saint or hero. It just means that the Pope and some people in the Vatican wanted to do that for whatever personal reason. But that action and others like it doesn't employ infallibility and they certainly do not have a gift of impeccability. Neo-Conservative Catholics like to defend the modern status quo even to the point of rejecting past teaching in favor of modern or novel ideas. But the principle that proper belief should be what was always and everywhere taught has been established long ago.

Humani Generis allowed for "research and discussion" but it did not accept evolution as doctrine or as more than a theory. Included in his call for research and discussion was to hear out both sides, which includes the "creationist" side, which simply states correctly that all of the Church Fathers believed in a literal interpretation of Genesis. Which really, is supported by Humani Generis in the sense that Humani Generis states that Adam and Eve were real people, and not only real people but the first couple.

I've summarized a number of sources in this thread.

A better explanation of magisterial authority can be found in Fr. Ripperger's book Magisterial Authority.

It's not on kindle yet but you should give this book a proper read for a good understanding of Magisterial Authority (i.e. what is infallible, when is a council or pope infallible, ect.)

Magisterial Authority by Fr. Ripperger

If you want I can scan you a few chapters and send them to you when I am not at work.

I think part of the problem nowadays is a lack of understanding on the heirarchy of the levels of magisterial teaching and the assent we have to give to various teaching.

Truth cannot contradict truth and we must always base our understanding of things on first principles. The teachings of the doctors of the church and specifically St.thomas aquinas are of a higher import than other theologians.

The magisterium of the church has itself given a higher place to The teaching of St. Thomas especially and also St. Alphonsus as he is the doctor of moral theology.

I think if everyone read the following two books it would help tremendously in our understanding of how the Tradition of the church and the binding force of the various levels of the magisterium.

http://www.amazon.com/Binding-Force-Tradition-Chad-Ripperger/dp/0615785557

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1503022420/ref=pd_aw_sim_b_1?refRID=173BEEXXM4JP875HHD5W

I cannot recommend Fr. Ripperger enough, these works are fairly short but full of numerous footnotes to further investigate the sources.