Rev. Fenton in The Concept of Sacred Theology explained how one sincerely seeking the truth from a Catholic standpoint could determine whether or not any given doctrine is truly the teaching of the Catholic Church. He cites Rev. Melchior Cano's Loci Theologici as the true acid test of orthodoxy:

1.Holy Scripture, contained in the canonical books;

2.The oral Traditions of Christ and the Apostles, rightly called oracles of the living voice;

3.The Catholic Church, (extraordinary magisterium);

4.The General Councils specifically, but also the regional councils;

5.The Roman Church, called by divine privilege Apostolic (ordinary magisterium);

6.The authority of the ancient Fathers;

7.The authority of scholastic theologians, to whom the teachers of Canon Law are joined;

8.Natural reason, contained in all the naturally acquired sciences;

9.The authority of philosophers following the natural light of human reason and the masters of the civil law;

10.The authority of human history written by trustworthy authors or expressed in serious, national tradition.