How to read this site

What the labels mean

Not every Catholic teaching carries the same weight. “Friday fish” and “the Trinity” are not equally binding, and the Church does not treat them as if they were. Each entry here carries one of five labels. They run from most binding to least.

Dogma

Taught by the Church as revealed by God. Catholics are bound to hold it. The Trinity is an example.

Definitive doctrine

Taught as certainly true and to be held firmly, because it is closely tied to what was revealed.

Authoritative teaching

The ordinary teaching of the pope and the bishops. Catholics are asked to give it a respectful assent, and it can be refined over time.

Discipline

Church law and custom. It can change. Abstaining from meat on Fridays is an example.

Theological opinion

A view that theologians hold and argue about. Catholics are free to disagree.

Where a label is a judgment call, the entry says so.

What “not yet reviewed” means

Every entry has a reviewed flag. It stays off until a person has read the entry against its sources. Until then the page says so at the top.

Sources marked “checked” have been compared with the original text. The rest were written from memory and may contain mistakes. Follow the reference and read the passage yourself before you rely on it.

How sources are cited

Scripture is quoted from the Douay-Rheims, which is in the public domain. Other translations are linked, not copied. Catechism paragraphs are cited by number so you can read the full text. Where other traditions are described, we cite their own documents.

How other traditions are described

Where Protestants and Orthodox Christians disagree with the Church, each entry tries to state their view the way their best scholars would. The aim is that a reader from those traditions would say, “Yes, that is what we think.”