THE HIERARCHY OF FORMAL TEACHINGS FROM THE POPE

Today, especially with Pope Francis’ off-the-cuff papacy, creeping papal infallibility has been on a never-before-seen accelerant! 

Of course, orthodox Catholics know there is a hierarchy of importance in papal teachings. Let me name some starting with the lesser to the greater in importance:

(Keep in mind, even in a casual conversation, a pope, any pope, can enunciate teachings that are already defined and infallibly so by an ecumenical council or a pope alone, but the casual conversation is not a part of any papal magisterium.)

1. Homily—important but not necessarily infallible

2. Letter—more important, very authoritative, but not necessarily infallible

3. Apostolic Exhortation—more authoritative, but not necessarily infallible 

4. Encyclical—very authoritative, using infallible teachings, but not necessarily completely infallible

5. Infallible Bull or Decree—from the chair, most formal and thus infallible and binding on all Catholics

Papal Interviews, while giving us a perspective on the pope’s thinking, are not to be seen as formal teachings, unless what the pope says in the interview is a formal teaching. Capice? 

Pope Leo XIV, in a formal signing, wearing his mozzetta and papal stole, signs his first Apostolic Exhortation on October 4th to be released next Thursday, October 9th as reported and copied from Silere non possum:

Vatican City – As anticipated by Silere non possum, this morning, October 4, 2025, the day the Church celebrates Saint Francis of Assisi, Pope Leo XIV signed his first Apostolic Exhortation, entitled Dilexi te (“I have loved you”).

The signing took place at 8:30 in the Private Library of the Apostolic Palace, in the presence of His Excellency Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State. The document will be officially presented on October 9, 2025, at 11:30 in the Holy See Press Office.

The title, Dilexi te, captures the essence of the message the Pontiff wishes to convey to the Church: a reflection on care for the poor, rooted in the words of the Gospel of Matthew (25:35-44): "For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me."

By signing the text on the very day of the Saint of Assisi, Leo XIV wanted to emphasize that Christian love is not measured by words, but by concrete gestures of mercy and closeness. "Dilexi te" will therefore be a text intended to outline the first pastoral line of this pontificate, entirely centered on love that becomes service.

F.A.

Silere non possum