Summary: The pronuncements of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith are sometimes considered by some to be excessive in their strictures. Perphas this is so because the critics are not aware either of the method of enquiry that leads to them or of the real nature - and ultimate import - of the questions being dealt with. This article intends to show how fundamental to Christian faith are issues taken up by the Congregation and how necessary its teachings can be to securing the scholarly integrity of the teaching of Christian theology. Starting with the actual text of one such doctrinal declaration, it will then examine in detail the work of a given scholar being challenged by the Congregation (part I) and expound in no lesser detail the criticism that challenges it (part II).