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Humanae Vitae, the 1968 papal encyclical on contraception, unleashed a flood of argument about church teaching authority and the extent to which the pope and the Roman doctrinal congregation claim preeminent authority over the teaching of bishops and theologians. John P. Boyle presents here the first book-length study that traces the historical and theological developments that produced official statements by the church about its own teaching authority and the assent owed to it, especially in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Boyle suggests that in order to understand the official teaching of today we need to examine the history of such notions as "ordinary magisterium," "obsequium of the intellect and will," and "reception," backwards to their roots in post-Reformation Catholic theology and even further back to their medieval origin.

Boyle begins by examining the origin of the term "ordinary magisterium," relying on materials from the Vatican Secret Archives. He describes the work of the nuncio in Munich and the curia in Rome which resulted in Pius IX's letter Tuas Libenter, which introduced "ordinary magisterium" into papal teaching. Boyle then summarizes various doctrinal questions about the magisterium, focusing on the epistemological issues relating to the magisterium and natural law. Boyle explores the term obsequium mentis et voluntatis used by the Second Vatican Council in Lumen Gentium for the assent owed to magisterial teaching. In the context of allowable dissent, he discusses the principle of probabilism. He then examines the 1983 Code of Canon Law and the 1990 CDF Instruction Donum Veritatis, which outlined the ecclesial role of the theologian. The volume ends with Boyle's thoughts on future trends in church teaching authority that will affect not only theologians but also the laity.

Boyle presents the first book-length study tracing the historical and theological developments that produced official statements by the church about its own teaching authority and the assent owed to it.