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Thank you for your research on my
questions Mike.
I too continued my research and believe
I found the answer I was looking
for in New Advent under the same
heading you sighted, “Doctors
of the Church.” Under that
heading, I found in the
third paragraph where it explains
other names have been added since
the original four from the Roman
and Eastern Churches and the conditions
required for a saint to be considered
as a “Doctor of the Church.”
Pope Benedict XIV called out those
conditions and he further explained
the third declaration (proclamation
by the Church) as a declaration by
a supreme pontiff OR by a general
council.
It further states that even though
councils have acclaimed the writings
of certain Doctors,
no council has actually conferred
the title of Doctor of the Church.
New Advent also has a heading for General
Councils which explains their
function. Based on what I have read,
I would say up to this point in time,
the supreme pontiff has named the
33 Doctors of the Church himself,
whomever it may have been at the
time, with some input from a learned
general council.
I knew, in the archives of my ancient
brain, I had read this once before
but couldn’t find it when
I wanted, therefore, I thought I
would challenge “Ask a Catholic” to
help locate the information. You
know, there was approximately 440
years between the time of Boniface
VIII and Benedict XIV.
You would think that somewhere along
the line something would have been
put down in writing that stated what
conditions were required for the
title to be conferred.
Generally, I answer most questions
on my own, but this alluded me for
a while.
- the Bible
- the Catechism
- a good Bible Dictionary
- The Catholic Source Book
- and a few other tomes I have
in my personal library, as well
as the internet
can provide answers or at least the
seeds of where to look. Researching
questions of this nature provides
hours of fun and advanced learning
which I enjoy.
Thanks again for your assistance
and God bless you,
Scott Hoereth
P.S.: I believe you are very correct
in your assumption that Cardinal
Joseph Ratzinger was consulted on
numerous occasions by Pope John Paul
II. Cardinal Ratzinger [was|is] an
extremely learned scholar and I would
respect his opinion on any ecclesiastical
or theological subject which would
arise in one of my discussion groups.
Several friends have said that when
they listen to Pope Benedict talk
or when they read some of his writings,
they have a bit more difficult time
understanding what he is trying to
say compared to John Paul II. I believe
this is because Pope Benedict is
a scholar and like many college professors
in lecture, sometimes forget their
students aren’t thinking on
their level. I’m not condemning
him or his teachings by any means,
I'm only saying that many people
have to stop to think deeper than
they wish, in order to comprehend
his statements.
Keep up the good work, Mike.
Scott
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