The norms approved by the U.S. bishops describe the mandate, or
license to teach, as follows:
- It acknowledges that a theologian is a teacher within the full
communion with the Catholic church.
- It is not an authorization of a theologians teaching.
Theologians teach in virtue of their baptism and their competence, not in the
name of the bishop.
- It recognizes a theologian's responsibility to teach authentic
Catholic doctrine and to refrain from presenting as Catholic teaching anything
contrary to the church's magisterium.
Seeking the mandate is each theologians responsibility. If a
theologian does not do so, the university must determine what further action
may be taken in accordance with its own mission and statutes.