Bishops must take responsibility for theology (Vatican).Archbishop Zenon Grocholoweski, the Prefect prefect or praefect (both: prē`fĕkt), in ancient Rome, various military and civil officers. Under the empire some prefects were very important. The Praetorian prefects (first appointed 2 B.C. of the Vatican's Congregation for Catholic Education The Congregation for Catholic Education (in Seminaries and Institutes of Study) [Congregationis de Institutione Catholica quo ordo studiorum in Facultatibus Iuris Canonici innovatur , gave a speech in Split, Croatia, on March 26 in which he emphasized that bishops must take knowledge, and want nothing to do with an active role to ensure that theology obedience." develops within the Church's guidelines. Theology "does not cease to receive the faith of the Church," he said, "which is correctly called mother and teacher." The bishop's vocation is not simply to verify the orthodoxy of what theologians produce, however; it "involves by its nature the authoritative proclamation of the truth to believe, as well as the promotion and realization of those ecclesial Ec`cle´si`al a. 1. Ecclesiastical. conditions necessary for the faith to be scientifically promoted and illustrated." This requires, he noted, that the bishop be "actively involved in the life of the theological faculty." The Archbishop quoted heavily from the apostolic Constitution
An apostolic constitution (Latin constitutio apostolica) is the highest level of decree issued by the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. on Christian Wisdom (1979) and the Instruction on the Theologian's Vocation (1990). He emphasized that the theologian must have an intimate relationship An intimate relationship is a particularly close interpersonal relationship. It is a relationship in which the participants know or trust one another very well or are confidants of one another, or a relationship in which there is physical or emotional intimacy. with Christ; if he "does not constantly listen to the Word, does not love it, is not faithful and obedient to it," he runs the risk of weakening its saving power. Theologians are servants of the Word of God, as "transmitted in tradition and guaranteed by the magisterium mag·is·te·ri·um n. Roman Catholic Church The authority to teach religious doctrine. [Latin, the office of a teacher or other person in authority, from magister, master; see of the Church." Gnosticism In similar vein, Cardinal Ratzinger's contribution to a congress on 'Christocentrism' held in Rome in mid-April warned against theology's temptation to reduce Christianity to Gnosticism (gnosis gno·sis n. Intuitive apprehension of spiritual truths, an esoteric form of knowledge sought by the Gnostics. [Greek gn [Greek] = knowledge). He emphasized that "merely academic or intellectual knowledge is not real knowledge of the Word. The Word must be lived and obeyed and not just known." "Obedience characterizes Christianity," he said. "Obedience is what distinguishes Christianity from Gnosticism, a religious and philosophical doctrine stating that it is possible to obtain salvation through the sole avenue of knowledge. Today we have many Christianities that become a kind of Gnosticism, because they are satisfied with academic knowledge, and want nothing to do with obedience." |
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