Sensus Fidelium as a Locus for Theology

The Second Vatican Council in Lumen Gentium 12 teaches that in every believer there is a sense of faith or the sensus fidei which is given by the Spirit. The function of such sensus is to render the believer capable of penetrating the inner insights of the faith the result of which is a conspiratio of all the faithful in maters of faith and morals. The renewed appreciation of the sensus fidei of the faithful is not only an antidote to the polarization that crippled the relationship between the lay faithful and the pastors in the years before the council, but also opens the way for a further consideration of the manner in which all believers participate in the prophetic mission of the Church. This work offers to examine the reception of the teaching on the sensus fidei in post-Vatican II ecclesiology with special attention to the manner in which the concept is articulated in magisterial teachings, systematic theology, and ecumenical documents.