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48 Jurist 559 (1988)
Obsequium: A Case Study

handle is hein.journals/juristcu48 and id is 569 raw text is: THE JURIST 48 (1988) 559-589 OBSEQUIUM: A CASE STUDY Lucy BLYSKAL, C.S.J. In current theological and canonical discussion and even in the pop- ular press, the small word obsequium has assumed increasing impor- tance and even found itself at the vortex of controversial storms because it prescribes the response of Catholics to both the infallible and the noninfallible teaching authority of the Church. In Vatican II's teaching on obsequium found in Lumen gentium 25,1 some confusion exists because obsequium is not utilized as a univocal term: obsequium fidei refers to the assent of faith to be given to the infallible definitions of an ecumenical council; obsequium religiosum describes the appro- priate response due to the noninfallible teaching of the pope or one's own bishop. Since obsequium was not found in the 1917 code, it does not have this canonical precedent. In the 1983 Code of Canon Law, canons 749 and 750 refer to the assent of faith accorded to teaching which is infallible; canons 752 and 753 deal with the obsequium religiosum ac- corded to teaching which is noninfallible. This study will examine only one type of obsequium: the obsequium religiosum owed to the nonde- finitive magisterium. What are some recent documents issued by the noninfallible teaching authority which require the response termed obsequium religiosum? Three significant and somewhat controversial teachings (among many others) promulgated within the last two years are: (1) Pope John Paul II's encyclical Mother of the Redeemer (Redemptoris Mater);2 (2) Eco- nomic Justice for All: Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy3 I Vatican Council II, Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium, November 21, 1964: Acta Apostolicae Sedis (AAS) 57 (1965) 5-71. 2 John Paul II, encyclical letter Redemptoris Mater, April 2, 1987: AAS 79 (1987) 361-433. 3 United States National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Economic Justice for All: Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy, Origins 16 (November 27, 1986) 409- 454.

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