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The revelation can be either:
· Explicit – such as Christ’s incarnate life, death and resurrection
· Implicit – such as the Blessed Virgin’s Assumption into heaven

Dogma is a smaller subset of Catholic teaching than a doctrine. All dogmas are doctrines, but only some doctrines are dogmas.

CCC 88 “The Church’s Magisterium exercises the authority it holds from Christ to the fullest extent when it defines dogmas, that is, when it proposes, in a form obliging the Christian people to an irrevocable adherence of faith, truths contained in divine Revelation or also when it proposes, in a definitive way, truths having a necessary connection with these.”

CCC 89 “There is an organic connection between our spiritual life and the dogmas. Dogmas are lights along the path of faith; they illuminate it and make it secure. Conversely, if our life is upright, our intellect and heart will be open to welcome the light shed by the dogmas of faith.”

Dogmas cannot be changed and are considered to be absolute truth.

Doctrine
Doctrines are truths taught by the Catholic Church whose acceptance is necessary for the faithful. All the teaching in the Catechism of the Catholic Church must be accepted with a religious submission of intellect and will by all believers. But not all parts of the Catechism are formally defined as dogma.

Doctrine refers to the whole deposit of faith taught by the Catholic Church. Doctrine has not been determined as Dogma and is a larger subset of Catholic teaching than a dogma, but are established by precedent. All dogmas are doctrines, but only some doctrines are dogmas.

A doctrine does not become Catholic dogma until it is explicitly defined as such. The dogma of the Immaculate Conception was not defined until 1854.

A Doctrine truth may come from any of three sources:
· Christ’s public revelation, as for instance the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist
· Theological conclusion, such as the canonization of a particular saint
· Natural law, such as the sinfulness of contraception

CCC 90 “In Catholic doctrine there exists an order or hierarchy of truths, since they vary in their relation to the foundation of the Christian faith.”

A Catholic Dogma or Doctrine may be presented to the faithful in either of two ways:
· Solemnly, in an ex cathedra announcement, such as the definition of the Immaculate Conception
· Ordinarily, in the lasting and active teaching of the Church’s Magisterium

Discipline
A discipline is a teaching of the church that can be changed and is not absolute. An example of a discipline taught in the Church today would be Priestly Celibacy. Obviously some of the Apostles of the Church who were the first Bishops were married. St. Peter was married according to Sacred Scripture. Therefore the issue of Priestly Celibacy is a Discipline required by the Roman Catholic Church for most of its priests, but there are instances of married Catholic Priests who are approved by the Church.