What does it mean to say that Catholic doctrine can develop?

Answer 1

Catholic AnswerThe development of dogma is an interesting thing, that one must really look at closely to understand. For the Catholic Church, revelation was closed - once and for all - with the death of the last apostle. Everything that we need to be saved was said by Our Blessed Savior, while He was on the earth, or through His first apostles. Nothing more can ever be added to the deposit of faith, it is closed for all time, as it has all been said. Many things were not fully understood by the end of the first century, and not everything is written in Scripture, obviously, as the New Testament Scriptures were part of the Church's preaching of the Gospel, but the Gospel was entrusted, in all its fullness and beauty to the Church, this is what the Church calls Sacred Tradition, and the New Testament Scriptures are part of that Sacred Tradition that got written down.

The primary way in which Catholic dogma develops is when the Church must respond to heresy. In responding to heresy, the Church is forced to define in words exactly what She does believe in order to refute those heretics who came along and denied that belief. Everyone of the Councils of the Church up through Vatican Council I were called in order to refute errors, and in the refutation of error, the Church is forced to look very closely as what has been given to Her in the deposit of faith and put that into words.

That, then, is development of doctrine. The Council of Trent is an excellent example, as the Council of Trent developed NO new doctrine whatsoever, but explicated in fine detail what the Church has always believed in response to the protestant heresy which was seeking to eviscerate the glory of Christ in His Church. See links below for more information.