How comparable are the concepts of the Teaching Magisterium in the Catholic Church and the Jehovah's Witnesses view of their Watch Tower society? Just how comparable is this particular aspect of each group's ecclesiology? If from an academic viewpoint there are marked similarities, is there an identifiable Jehovah's witness perspective on the significance of such similarities? Would they seek to embrace, downplay or refute a comparison in this area?

Disclaimer: This question was inspired by the following comment: "Put simply, they (Jehovah's witnesses) teach that God always directs teaching through an organization, so those outside that organization have rejected it. They simply do not recognise any other groups as valid." from an answer to this question: Why do JW think other faiths are unbelievers?
Comparing the Teaching Authorities

Searching JW.org, since JW and WTS say nothing (let alone authoritative) about their Teaching Authority, there is nothing to compare.

The comparison dies right here: The Catholic states 1) that they have Teaching Authority, and 2) what that means; From JW and WTS, to an outsider, there is no Teaching Authority, as they have said nothing about it.

Herein lies the danger: The new member never learning of WTS until after joining, and only now being told the importance of WTS and the dire consequences of disobeying WTS. 



What follows is sharing knowledge:

Comparing the Actual claims

Examining some of the pertinent claims of the Catholic Church:


  12. Who gave the Catholic Church divine authority to teach?
  Jesus Christ gave the Catholic Church divine  authority to teach, when
  he said, 'Go ye and teach all nations.' [Matt.28:19]
  
  88. How do you know that Christ appointed St. Peter to be the Head of the
  Church?       I
  know that Christ appointed St. Peter to be the Head of the Church
  because Christ said to him; 'Thou art Peter,and upon this rock I will
  build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
  And to thee I will give the keys of the kingdom of heaven'. [Matt.
  16:18-19]
  
  99. How is the Church Apostolic?
  The Church is Apostolic because it was founded by Christ on the
  apostles and, according to His Divine Will, has always been governed
  by their lawful  successors [in an unbroken succession]. (my
  addition and emphasis)


Jehovah's Witnesses started c. 1870 with Charles Taze Russell, therefore 1) they cannot refute the Catholic Church's claims, and 2) they cannot claim as the Catholic Church claims.

This apologetic tract History of the Jehovah's Witnesses from a Catholic Perspective may be of use. There are additional tracts on Jehovah's Witnesses on the site.



If I were a JW apologist, to defend the Teaching Authority of my organization, I would first define what is was, and how it came to be invested with authority. I would investigate what we say of our own Teaching Authority.

I searched JW.org for The Watch Tower Society and pulled naught. Wikipedia provides this:


  Criticism | Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania |
  Wikipedia
  
  Critics including Raymond Franz, Edmond C. Gruss and James Penton have
  accused the society of being authoritarian, controlling and coercive
  in its dealings with Witnesses. Franz, a former Governing Body member,
  has claimed the Watch Tower Society's emphasis of the term
  "theocratic organization" to describe the authority structure of Jehovah's Witnesses, which places God at the apex of its organization,
  is designed to exercise control over every aspect of the lives of
  Jehovah's Witnesses and condition them to think it is wrong for them
  to question anything the society publishes as truth. The Watch Tower
  Society has been accused of employing techniques of mind control on
  Witnesses including the direction to avoid reading criticism of the
  organization, frequent and tightly controlled "indoctrination"
  meetings, regimentation, social alienation and elaborate promises of
  future rewards. Apart from life stories, the authors of all Watch
  Tower Society magazine articles and other publications are anonymous
  and correspondence from the society does not typically indicate a
  specific author or personal signature.


This is left to JW to defend.

On JW.org, I searched for other pertinent information, and in FAQ and retrieved this:


  Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Believe That They Have the One True Religion?
  | JW.org
  
  Those who are serious about religion should think that the one they’ve
  chosen is acceptable to God and Jesus. Otherwise, why would they be
  involved in it?
  
  Jesus Christ didn't agree with the view that there are many religions,
  many roads, all leading to salvation. Rather, he said: “Narrow is the
  gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are the ones
  finding it.” (Matthew 7:14) Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that they’ve
  found that road. Otherwise, they’d look for another religion.


This reason is subjective. A problem quickly emerges: a broken link. The Watch Tower Society, theocratic, God then them, Jesus missing; reason for true religion references Jesus and the narrow road, no reference to the Watch Tower Society.

JW are welcome to comment.

Closing, as far as I am aware, there isn't an official Church perspective on JW Watch Tower Society. It appears that the Church would have trouble saying anything on something that JW and WTS themselves don't say a thing about.