Doctrinal head says church teaching authority is at service of Gospel

Published: 2005-10-12

ROME (CNS) -- The church's teaching office is not an autonomous authority but operates at the service of the word of God and the Gospel, said U.S. Archbishop William J. Levada, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Archbishop Levada made the comments Oct. 10 in a talk at Rome's University of Sant'Anselmo. It was his first major public address since assuming duties at the helm of the congregation, which is charged with promoting and protecting Catholic doctrine and morals around the world. Noting that this fall marks the 40th anniversary of the end of the Second Vatican Council, the archbishop said the council's Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation ("Dei Verbum") rightly emphasized the interconnectedness of several theological notions: revelation, the word of God, Scripture, tradition and magisterium. "Dei Verbum," Archbishop Levada said, affirmed that the church's teaching office "is not above the word of God, but serves it" by listening to it devoutly, guarding it scrupulously and explaining it with the help of the Holy Spirit.

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