Sources of authority
The Catholic Church teaches that there are three sources of authority:
- magisterium – the teaching authority of the Catholic Church formed of the Pope and Bishops of the Church
- scripture – the Bible which is classed as the Word of God, including the teachings of Christ
- apostolic tradition – the teachings of Christ that were revealed to the apostles and have been passed down as tradition
These sources of authority are not taken as individual, but rather are used together in a cohesive manner to understand, interpret and develop teachings for the Catholic Church. The Church has the authority to develop teachings based on these three sources.
Imagine the sources of authority as the legs of a three-legged stool. If one leg is missing the stool will not stand up and will have no strength.
