Collaboration needed in discussion of ethical issues

Official directives, public tension between moral theologians and the Vatican, and practical decisions about such issues as sterilization and life preservation raise confusion about the role of the Church authority in teaching about healthcare ethics. To alleviate this confusion, it is necessary to clarify the fundamental issues of Church authority, infallibility, and conscience. Many people mistakenly view infallibility as a characteristic of the pope alone in all he says and does. In fact, the heart of infallibility is that the presence of God makes the Church invulnerable to self-destruction, and the characteristic is vested in those who have supreme authority over the whole Church--the college of bishops and the pope as the head of the college. On the other hand, noninfallible but authoritative teachings, such as the documents of the Second Vatican Council and papal encyclicals, are presumed to be true and play an important role in the formation of conscience, acting as privileged sources of guidance and not programs for uniformity. The possibility of error is part of the distinction between infallible and noninfallible teachings. This possibility underlines the necessity for the magisterium to learn from as many sources as possible in preparing noninfallible teachings.