Magisterium and Bishops that ignore directions of the Pope

Magisterium and Bishops that ignore directions of the Pope Question from on 06-03-2007:

Dear Judie, First of all I would like to thank you for writing your book "Saving Those Damned Catholics". It exposes much that needs to be exposed. And as you stated in your book, it is very sad indeed that good Catholics need to write to the EWTN forum experts to get the truth. God Bless EWTN and Mother Angelica for bringing EWTN to us. Now for my question. Authority was given to the Church by Jesus Christ Himself to teach and govern the faithful in spiritual matters. The Pope has the highest teaching authority with the Bishops under him. The Bishops in union with the Pope make up what is called the Magisterium, the teaching authority of the Church. The Magisterium is the constant teaching of Christ. This magisterium is our guarantee of the true teachings Christ and on them we place our trust as they teach always the doctrine of the Church. Jesus is the real head of the Church which is guided by the Holy Spirit and through the Magisterium (the bishops in union with the Pope) we get the true teaching of Christ as authorized by Christ 2000 years ago. Now, here is where I lose my understanding. As you said in your book these Bishops are all merely men, and when Bishops like Bishop Gray as you mentioned in your book disgree with Church teaching how are we to trust in the Magisterium as the true teaching authority in spiritual matters as authorized by Christ? When some Bishops ignore the expressed directions coming out of the Vatican how do we trust in the magisterium of the Church? I want to be faithful to the Magisterium but with some of these Bishops today I don't know where the Magisterium is! I must be missing something. What is it? Thanks.

Answer by Judie Brown on 06-04-2007:

Dear COnfused You ask: "how are we to trust in the Magisterium as the true teaching authority in spiritual matters as authorized by Christ..." A Bishop who is not in agreement with the Church is not representing the magisterium. The Bishops must be IN UNION with the Holy Father, not in disagreement. When a Bishop is not in agreement with the teaching authority of the Church (i.e. the Holy Father and/or the 2,000 years of Church teaching history) then that Bishop is literally in schism. The fact is we never need to doubt to actual teaching authority of the magisterium but we do need to question why those Bishops who are not in agreement with the Holy Father continue to sow the seeds of confusion they do. This is not the first time in Church history that Bishops have been in disagreement with Truth, but because we live in the age of the media, it is a time when many more souls are confused but what they see and hear versus what they have always believed the Church taught. Each of us must pray for discernment, study Church teaching and be aware of those time when we find priests of Bishops who are not teaching what we know is true. Let us pray for our Bishops and for the Holy Father that he might intervene with those in dissent and begin to weed them out. God bless you. Judie Brown