All Catholic beliefs can be found in the Bible in some form, whether plainly or by an indirect indication. It is not necessary for everything to be absolutely clear in the Scriptures alone, because that is not the Biblical teaching itself. The Bible also points to an authoritative Church and Tradition, as St. Paul says in his Second Letter to the Thessalonians: “Stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter.” (2,15 … see also 1 Corinthians 11,2; 2 Thessalonians 3,6; 2 Timothy 1,13-14 and 2,2)
When the first Christians had a significant disagreement, they didn’t simply open their Bibles (which didn’t even exist at that point) to decide what was right; they held a council, which made binding decrees. (Acts 15, 1-29)
The very books of the Bible had to be determined by the Church, and that did not happen until the late fourth century. Therefore, Sacred Tradition and authority were necessary for us to even have a Bible today.
A feature that both Tradition and the Scriptures hold in common is this truth: “that we are called to give witness to God’s goodness.” With this in mind, “live today in such a way that those who know you, but do not know God, will come to know God because they know you.”
