Folia Theologica 2. (1991)
Francisco J. Urrkutia: The Magisterium: how it works
20 FJ. URRUTIA the internal but only the external evidence. The pope is indisputably competent in the field of faith and morals. 7. We have to grasp this last point of the pope’s competence in order to be satisfied with his teaching even though we may not perceive the reasons on which the doctrine is based. The teaching of the pope is not a scientific teaching which we will accept or reject after a critical examination of the reasons underlying the proposed doctrine, or according to its intrinsic evidence. The teaching of the pope is a religious teaching, not only in the sense of its contents, but because it is given in virtue of the mission entrusted to him by the Lord and therefore it is given „in the name of the Lord", and under the light of the Holy spirit, as stated by Vatican II.4 This religious teaching receives the technical name of authentic teaching. The competence of the pope is, therefore, a competence that springs from the mission and the mandate he has received from the Lord. He has a right and a duty to lead us in matters of faith and morals. Because we admit the fact of such a mission, then we are satisfied with his testimony and his teaching. And so our acceptance of his teaching is also of a religious character, „a religious submission of intellect and will", to use the expression in can. 752 of the Code of Canon Law, taken from LG 25, l.5 8. Let us analyze now in some depth this expression „a religious submission of intellect and will", stated by the canon. Such submission can only mean, for the intellect, the acceptance of the proposed doctrine. 4 DV 10, 2; LG 25, 1 5 Once more I follow the Brithis translation, instead of the American „a religious respect of...”. The original obsequium is one those terms which defy translators. It is almost impossibile not to choose a vernacular term according to one’s understanding of the doctrine expressed, as in the case of American translation, which, as should be clear from this paper, waters down the original, or also of the Spanish translation, which, on the contrary, by rendering obsequium with „asentimiento” might seem to unduly „upgrade” the term. On the other hand, just sticking to the latin root, translating obsequium by „ossequio”, as in Italian, seems to turn around the difficulty.
