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S i d e b a r
What is the Mandatum?
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This Rock
Volume 16, Number 9
 November 2005 
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"The mandatum is fundamentally an acknowledgment by Church authority that a Catholic professor of a theological discipline is a teacher within the full communion of the Catholic Church. The mandatum, therefore, recognizes the professor’s commitment and responsibility to teach authentic Catholic doctrine and refrain from putting forth as Catholic teaching anything contrary to the Church’s magisterium. The mandatum should not be construed as an appointment, authorization, delegation or approbation of one’s teaching by Church authorities. Those who have received a mandatum teach in their own name in virtue of their baptism and their academic and professional competence, not in the name of the bishop or the Church’s magisterium" ("Guidelines concerning the Academic Mandatum in Catholic Universities," U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops).
Who is required to have the mandatum?
"All Catholics who teach theological disciplines in a Catholic university are required to have a mandatum" (ibid).
Who grants the mandatum?
The mandatum is to be granted by the local bishop.
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