A reader asked the following question in the 2015 version of the article on the Dogmas of the Catholic Faith (link):
117: "In the state of fallen nature it is morally impossible for man without Supernatural Revelation, to know easily, with absolute certainty and without admixture of error, all religious and moral truths of the natural order." Where can you find this in the documents of the Church? (Link to comment)
Here's the reference from Ott:
The citation that Ott provided was Denzinger 1786 and the source document is Dogmatic Consitution Concerning the Faith from the First Vatican Council (Papal Encyclicals - link):
Chapter 2 On Revelation, Article 3: It is indeed thanks to this divine revelation, that those matters concerning God, which are not of themselves beyond the scope of human reason, can, even in the present state of the human race, be known by everyone, without difficulty, with firm certitude and with no intermingling of error.
Here's the document from a Denzinger Reference (Patristica.new - link):
Chap.2. Revelation
1785 [ The fact of positive supernatural revelation] .The same Holy
Mother Church holds and teaches thatGod, the beginning and end of all
things, can be known with certitude by the natural light of human
reason from created things; "for the invisible things of him, from the
creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things
that are made" [ Rom 1:20]; nevertheless, it has pleased His wisdom and
goodness to reveal Himself and the eternal decrees of His will to the
human race in another and supernatural way, as the Apostle says: "God,
who at sundry times and in divers manners, spoke in times past to the
fathers by the prophets, last of all, in these days hath spoken to us
by His Son" [ Heb.1:1 f; can. 1].
1786 [ The necessity of revelation].Indeed, it must be attributed to
this divine revelation that those things, which in divine things are
not impenetrable to human reason by itself, can, even in this present
condition of the human race, be known readily by all with firm
certitude and with no admixture of error.* Nevertheless, it is not for
this reason that revelation is said to be absolutely necessary, but
because God in His infinite goodness has ordained man for a
supernatural end, to participation, namely, in the divine goods which
altogether surpass the understanding of the human mind, since "eye hath
not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man,
what things God hath prepared for them that love Him" [ 1 Cor. 2:9 ;
can. 2 and 3].
1787 [The source of revelation].Furthermore, this supernatural
revelation, according to the faith of the universal Church, as declared
by the holy synod of Trent, is contained "in the written books and in
the unwritten traditions which have been received by the apostles from
the mouth of Christ Himself; or, through the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit have been handed down by the apostles themselves, and have thus
come to us" [Council of Trent, see n. 783]. And, indeed, these books of
the Old and New Testament, whole with all their parts, just as they
were enumerated in the decree of the same Council, are contained in the
older Vulgate Latin edition, and are to be accepted as sacred and
canonical. But the Church holds these books as sacred and canonical,
not because, having been put together by human industry alone, they
were then approved by its authority; nor because they contain
revelation without error; but because, having been written by the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author and, as
such, they have been handed down to the Church itself (can. 4).
1788 [The interpretation of Sacred Scripture].But, since the rules
which the holy Synod of Trent salutarily decreed concerning the
interpretation of Divine Scripture in order to restrain impetuous
minds, are wrongly explained by certain men, We, renewing the same
decree, declare this to be its intention: that, in matters of faith and
morals pertaining to the instruction of Christian Doctrine, that must
be considered as the true sense of Sacred Scripture which Holy Mother
Church has held and holds, whose office it is to judge concerning the
true understanding and interpretation of the Sacred Scriptures; and,
for that reason, no one is permitted to interpret Sacred Scripture
itself contrary to this sense, or even contrary to the unanimous
agreement of the Fathers.
So, as I read Ott, the key is that it is morally impossible without Supernatural Revelation for someone to arrive at a correct understanding of the Truths of the Faith that are within the ability of human nature.
NB. For reference the latest list (2021)with corrections can be found here: Updated List of Teachings of the Catholic Church (Dogmas, De Fide, etc)
P^3
Posts Listing the Dogmas of the Catholic Church
- Dogmas of the Catholic Faith (de fide) - Expanded Listing: Answer for Reader (Oct 2022)
- Updated List of Teachings of the Catholic Church (Oct 2021)***
- Dogmas of the Catholic Faith (Oct 2015)
- De Fide teaching of the Catholic Church (Apr 2013)
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