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Dogma in the Catholic Church
A dogma of the Catholic Church is defined as "a truth revealed by God, which the magisterium of the Church declared as binding". The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
The Church's Magisterium asserts that it exercises the authority it holds from Christ to the fullest extent when it defines dogmas, that is, when it proposes, in a form obliging Catholics to an irrevocable adherence of faith, truths contained in divine Revelation or also when it proposes, in a definitive way, truths having a necessary connection with these.
The faithful are only required to accept a teaching as dogma if the Catholic Church clearly and specifically identifies them as dogmas.
The concept of dogma has two elements: 1) the public revelation of God, which is divine revelation as contained in sacred scripture (the written word) and sacred tradition, and 2) a proposition of the Catholic Church, which not only announces the dogma but also declares it binding for the faith. This may occur through an ex cathedra decision by a Pope, or by a definitive statement made by an Ecumenical Council. Truths formally and explicitly revealed by God are dogmas in the strict sense when they are proposed or defined by the church, such as the articles of the Nicene Creed which are drawn from the early church councils. Catholicism holds that the understanding of scripture continues to deepen and mature over time through the action of the Holy Spirit in the history of the church and in the understanding of that faith by Christians, all the while staying identical in essence and substance. Dei verbum states: "both sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture are to be accepted and venerated with the same sense of loyalty and reverence".
A dogma implies a twofold relation: to divine revelation and to the authoritative teaching of the Catholic Church.
A dogma's "strict signification is the object of both Divine Faith (Fides Divina) and Catholic Faith (Fides Catholica); it is the object of the Divine Faith (Fides Divina) by reason of its Divine Revelation; it is the object of Catholic Faith (Fides Catholica) on account of its infallible doctrinal definition by the Church. If a baptised person deliberately denies or doubts a dogma properly so-called, he is guilty of the sin of heresy [...], and automatically becomes subject to the punishment of excommunication".
At the turn of the 20th century, a group of theologians called modernists stated that dogmas did not come from God but are historical manifestations at a given time. In the encyclical Pascendi dominici gregis, Pope Pius X condemned this teaching in 1907. The Catholic position is that the content of a dogma has a divine origin, that is that said content is considered to be an expression of an objective truth that does not change.
However, truths of the faith have been declared dogmatically throughout the ages. The instance of a Pope doing this outside an Ecumenical Council is rare, though there were two instances in recent times: the Immaculate Conception of Mary in 1854 and the Assumption of Mary into heaven in 1950. Both Pope Pius IX and Pope Pius XII consulted the bishops worldwide before proclaiming these dogmas. A movement to declare a fifth Marian dogma for "Mediatrix" and "Co-Redemptrix" was underway in the 1990s, but had been opposed by the bishops at Vatican II and has faced strong opposition since.
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Dogma in the Catholic Church
A dogma of the Catholic Church is defined as "a truth revealed by God, which the magisterium of the Church declared as binding". The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
The Church's Magisterium asserts that it exercises the authority it holds from Christ to the fullest extent when it defines dogmas, that is, when it proposes, in a form obliging Catholics to an irrevocable adherence of faith, truths contained in divine Revelation or also when it proposes, in a definitive way, truths having a necessary connection with these.
The faithful are only required to accept a teaching as dogma if the Catholic Church clearly and specifically identifies them as dogmas.
The concept of dogma has two elements: 1) the public revelation of God, which is divine revelation as contained in sacred scripture (the written word) and sacred tradition, and 2) a proposition of the Catholic Church, which not only announces the dogma but also declares it binding for the faith. This may occur through an ex cathedra decision by a Pope, or by a definitive statement made by an Ecumenical Council. Truths formally and explicitly revealed by God are dogmas in the strict sense when they are proposed or defined by the church, such as the articles of the Nicene Creed which are drawn from the early church councils. Catholicism holds that the understanding of scripture continues to deepen and mature over time through the action of the Holy Spirit in the history of the church and in the understanding of that faith by Christians, all the while staying identical in essence and substance. Dei verbum states: "both sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture are to be accepted and venerated with the same sense of loyalty and reverence".
A dogma implies a twofold relation: to divine revelation and to the authoritative teaching of the Catholic Church.
A dogma's "strict signification is the object of both Divine Faith (Fides Divina) and Catholic Faith (Fides Catholica); it is the object of the Divine Faith (Fides Divina) by reason of its Divine Revelation; it is the object of Catholic Faith (Fides Catholica) on account of its infallible doctrinal definition by the Church. If a baptised person deliberately denies or doubts a dogma properly so-called, he is guilty of the sin of heresy [...], and automatically becomes subject to the punishment of excommunication".
At the turn of the 20th century, a group of theologians called modernists stated that dogmas did not come from God but are historical manifestations at a given time. In the encyclical Pascendi dominici gregis, Pope Pius X condemned this teaching in 1907. The Catholic position is that the content of a dogma has a divine origin, that is that said content is considered to be an expression of an objective truth that does not change.
However, truths of the faith have been declared dogmatically throughout the ages. The instance of a Pope doing this outside an Ecumenical Council is rare, though there were two instances in recent times: the Immaculate Conception of Mary in 1854 and the Assumption of Mary into heaven in 1950. Both Pope Pius IX and Pope Pius XII consulted the bishops worldwide before proclaiming these dogmas. A movement to declare a fifth Marian dogma for "Mediatrix" and "Co-Redemptrix" was underway in the 1990s, but had been opposed by the bishops at Vatican II and has faced strong opposition since.