Transmission of Divine Revelation (CCC 74-100)
PART ONE: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH
SECTION I: “I BELIEVE” – “WE BELIEVE”
CHAPTER 2: GOD COMES TO MEET MAN
ARTICLE 2: THE TRANSMISSION OF DIVINE REVELATION
IN BRIEF
96 What Christ entrusted to the apostles, they in turn handed on by their preaching and writing, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to all generations, until Christ returns in glory.
97 “Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture make up a single sacred deposit of the Word of God” (DV 10), in which, as in a mirror, the pilgrim Church contemplates God, the source of all her riches.
98 “The Church, in her doctrine, life, and worship, perpetuates and transmits to every generation all that she herself is, all that she believes” (DV 8 §1).
99 Thanks to its supernatural sense of faith, the People of God as a whole never ceases to welcome, to penetrate more deeply, and to live more fully from the gift of divine Revelation.
100 The task of interpreting the Word of God authentically has been entrusted solely to the Magisterium of the Church, that is, to the Pope and to the bishops in communion with him.
Commentary:
The Roman Catholic Church bases the transmission of divine Revelation completely on unbroken Apostolic Succession (paragraphs 77-78). The authority of the Roman Catholic parish priest comes from this unbroken chain of the transmission of apostolic power and authority from one generation to the next. This is most intimately and powerfully seen through the laying on of hands in the ordination of priests. As the Apostles established bishops/elders/pastors in every town, the Holy Spirit gave them the same authority as the Apostles.
Paragraphs 80-83 show the relationship between Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. While the Catechism speaks of equality between Scripture and Tradition, it is the seclusion of interpretation to the Magisterium that truly places Tradition above Scripture. While we should study Church history, there is only one source and norm of the Christian life: the Holy Scriptures. The Reformers were very vocal that rituals and traditions and services did not have to be the same everywhere (AC VII 3; AC XV; AC XXVI 40-45; Ap VII/VIII 5, 33-34, 42-44; Ap XV; etc.). While we study Church history and the biographies of the saints, we do not place them as requirements for congregational worship and practice.
The practical placement of Tradition over Scripture flies in the face of the Catechism’s own words, quoting from Dei Verbum 10, 2 (1965): “Yet this Magisterium is not superior to the Word of God, but is its servant. It teaches only what has been handed on to it” (paragraph 86). In fact, by the end of this section (paragraph 95), the Catechism shows that the Magisterium is also placed on the same level as Scripture and Tradition. And this interrelationship is necessary for the salvation of souls.
It is very dangerous for anyone, no matter who they are, to determine what is or isn’t part of God’s Word. We have this problem with the liberal wing of Christianity, most especially in the Episcopal Church (U.S.A.), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and others that deny the Bible as God’s Word. When people stray from the clear words of Scripture, there are always problems. This section on Scripture and Tradition forms the core of the differences between Lutherans and Catholics. We’ll see this more clearly as we go through the Catechism.