[ 28 ]Muslim, vol.4, book 33, no. 6429.
[ 29 ]It could be said that Islam more
closely resembles Protestant Christianity
in this regard than it does the Catholic
faith. Though Islam has written
traditions (the Hadith), it lacks an
authoritative human interpreter of its
accepted revelation (the Koran) when
questions or disputes arise. A similar
situation confronts the Protestant when
he reads his Bible and seeks to
understand its mysteries — he has
nowhere to turn for definitive guidance.
The Catholic faith, however, has always
affirmed the need for such a definitive
guide in matters of belief: the
Magisterium (or ‘‘teaching office’’) of
the Church. It is the Magisterium (that
is, the pope and the bishops united with