View source for Ad tuendam fidem

{{Short description|1998 apostolic letter by Pope John Paul II}}{{Infobox papal document|title=Ad tuendam fidem|type=ac|pope=John Paul II|language of title=latin|translation of title=To Protect the Faith|signature date=18 May 1998|Papal coats of arms=File:Coat of arms of Ioannes Paulus II.svg|subject=[[Profession of faith]]|web_la=https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/la/motu_proprio/documents/hf_jp-ii_motu-proprio_30061998_ad-tuendam-fidem.html|web_en=https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/motu_proprio/documents/hf_jp-ii_motu-proprio_30061998_ad-tuendam-fidem.html|before=[[Stella Maris (Pope John Paul II)|Stella Maris]]|after=Apostolos Suos}}

{{Italic title}}
{{canon law}}
'''{{Lang|la|Ad tuendam fidem}}''' ({{langx|en|To Protect the Faith}}) is an [[Ecclesiastical letter#Letters of the popes in modern times|apostolic letter]] of [[Pope John Paul II]] issued [[motu proprio]] on May 18, 1998.<ref name="ad">John Paul II, [https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/motu_proprio/documents/hf_jp-ii_motu-proprio_30061998_ad-tuendam-fidem_en.html ''Ad tuendam fidem''], accessed Jan-9-2013</ref> The apostolic letter modified the [[Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches|Oriental]] and [[1983 Code of Canon Law|Latin]] codes of [[canon law (Catholic Church)|canon law]] specifying the form of [[Profession of faith (Christianity)|profession of faith]] to be made by [[Catholic minister|ministers]] of the Church before assuming office.<ref name="ad" />

==Description==
The [[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]] accompanied publication of the document with a doctrinal commentary, clarifying the three levels of authoritative teaching of the Church. The highest level is that of doctrines solemnly propounded as revealed by God.  These call for divine faith. The second level is that of doctrines likewise infallibly taught not as revealed by God but as truths inseparably connected with revelation. The third category is that of teachings on matters more or less loosely connected with revelation that without being set forth with the solemnity of infallible doctrines are nevertheless authoritative. For this last category, what is required of Catholics is "religious submission of will and intellect". The other two call for firm and definitive assent, an assent that in the first category is one of divine faith.

The congregation's doctrinal commentary gave several examples of teachings of the first category, including the articles of the Creed, and teachings on the sacrificial nature of the Eucharist and on the grave immorality of direct and voluntary killing of an innocent human being. The second category includes teachings on such matters as the illicitness of euthanasia, prostitution and fornication, and on what are called "[[Dogma in the Catholic Church|dogmatic]] facts", such as the [[canonization of saints]] and the [[Apostolicae curae|invalidity of Anglican ordinations]].

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
*{{cite journal|last1=Dulles|first1=Avery|title=Catholic Doctrine: Between Revelation and Theology|journal=Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America|date=2013|volume=54|pages=83–91}}

==External links==
*[https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_1998_professio-fidei_en.html English translation of ''Ad tuendam fidem'', accompanied by the doctrinal commentary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]

{{John Paul II}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1998 documents]]
[[Category:1998 in Christianity]]
[[Category:Texts in Latin]]
[[Category:Motu proprio of Pope John Paul II]]