Leo X sent this Bull to the Swiss in the year 1519 with a letter dated April 30, 1519, in which he concluded as follows concerning the doctrine of the Bull: 740b You will be solicitous about a thorough consideration and preservation of the power of the Roman Pontiff in the granting of such indulgences according to the true definition of the Roman Church, which we have commanded should be observed and preached by all . . . according to these letters which we are ordering to be delivered to you . . . You will firmly abide by the true decision of the Holy Roman Church and to this Holy See, which does not permit errors.
Errors of Martin Luther 1 [Condemned in the Bull "Exsurge Domine," June r5, 1520]
r. It is an heretical opinion, but a common one, that the sacraments of the New Law give pardoning grace to those who do not set up an obstacle. 2. To deny that in a child after baptism sin remains is to treat with contempt both Paul and Christ. 3. The inflammable sources [fames] of sin, even if there be no actual sin, delays a soul departing from the body from entrance into heaven. 4. To one on the point of death imperfect charity necessarily brings with it great fear, which in itself alone is enough to produce the punish- ment of purgatory, and impedes entrance into the kingdom. 5. That there are three parts to penance: contrition, confes~ion, and satisfaction, has no foundation in Sacred Scripture nor in the ancient sa- cred Christian doctors. 6. Contrition, which is acquired through discussion, collection, and detestation of sins, by which one reflects upon his years in the bitterness of his soul, by pondering over the gravity of sins, their number, their baseness, the loss of eternal beatitude, and the acquisition of eternal damnation, this contrition makes him a hypocrite, indeed more a sin- ner. 7. It is a most truthful proverb and the doctrine concerning the contri- tions given thus far is the more remarkable: "Not to do so in the future is the highest penance; the best penance, a new life." 8. By no means may you presume to confess venial sins, nor even all mortal sins, because it is impossible that you know all mortal sins. Hence in the primitive Church only manifest mortal sins were confessed. 9. As long as we wish to confess all sins without exception, we are
1 BR(T) 5,750 a ff.; MER 1,610 b ff.; Msi XXII 1051 C ff.; Hrd IX 1893 A ff.; CIC
doing nothing else than to wish to leave nothing to God's mercy for pardon. ro. Sins are not forgiven to anyone, unless when the priest forgives 750 them he believes they are forgiven; on the contrary the sin would remain unless he believed it was forgiven; for indeed the remission of sin and the granting of grace does not suffice, but it is necessary also to believe that there has been forgiveness. 1I. By no means can you have reassurance of being absolved because of 751 your contrition, but because of the word of Christ: "Whatsoever you shall loose, etc." [Matt. 16:19]. Hence, I say, trust confidently, if you have obtained the absolution of the priest, and firmly believe yourself to have been absolved, and you will truly be absolved, whatever there may be of contrition. 12. If through an impossibility he who confessed was not contrite, or 752 the priest did not absolve seriously, but in a jocose manner, if neverthe- less he believes that he has been absolved, he is most truly absolved. 13. In the sacrament of penance and the remission of sin the pope or 753 the bishop does no more than the lowest priest; indeed, where there is no priest, any Christian, even if a woman or child, may equally do as much. 14- No one ought to answer a priest that he is contrite, nor should the 754 priest inquire. 15. Great is the error of those who approach the sacrament of the 755 Eucharist relying on this, that they have confessed, that they are not conscious of any mortal sin, that they have sent their prayers on ahead and made preparations; all these eat and drink judgment to themselves. But if they believe and trust that they will attain grace, then this faith alone makes them pure and worthy. 16. It seems to have been decided that the Church in common Council 756 established that the laity should communicate under both species; the Bohemians who communicate under both species are not heretics, but schismatics. 17. The treasures of the Church, from which the pope grants indul- 757 gences, are not the merits of Christ and of the saints. 18. Indulgences are pious frauds of the faithful, and remissions of 758 good works; and they are among the number of those things which are allowed, and not of the number of those which are advantageous. 19. Indulgences are of no avail to those who truly gain them, for the 759 remission of the penalty due to actual sin in the sight of divine justice. 20. They are seduced who believe that indulgences are salutary and 760 useful for the fruit of the spirit. 21. Indulgences are necessary only for public crimes, and are properly 761 conceded only to the harsh and impatient.
22. For six kinds of men indulgences are neither necessary nor useful; namely, for the dead and those about to die, the infirm, those legitimately hindered, and those who have not committed crimes, and those who have committed crimes, but not public ones, and those who devote themselves to better things. 23. Excommunications are only external penalties and they do not deprive man of the common spiritual prayers of the Church. 24. Christians must be taught to cherish excommunications rather than to fear them. 25. The Roman Pontiff, the successor of PETER, is not the vicar of Christ over all the churches of the entire world, instituted by Christ Him- self in blessed PETER. 26. The word of Christ to PETER: "Whatsoever you shall loose on earth, etc." (Matt. r6) is extended merely to those things bound by Peter himself. 27. It is certain that it is not in the power of the Church or the pope to decide upon the articles of faith, and much less concerning the laws for morals or for good works. 28. If the pope with a great part of the Church thought so and so, he would not err; still it is not a sin or heresy to think the contrary, especially in a matter not necessary for salvation, until one alternative is condemned and another approved by a general Council. 29. A way has been made for us for weakening the authority of Councils, and for freely contradicting their actions, and judging their decrees, and boldly confessing whatever seems true, whether it has been approved, or disapproved by any Council whatsoever. 30. Some articles of John Hus, condemned in the Council of CON- STANCE, are most Christian, wholly true and evangelical; these the universal Church could not condemn. 3r. In every good work the just man sins. 32. A good work done very well is a venial sin. 33. That heretics be burned is against the will of the Spirit. 34. To go to war against the Turks is to resist God who punishes our iniquities through them. 35. No one is certain that he is not always sinning mortally; because of the most hidden vice of pride. 36. Free will after sin is a matter of title only; and as long as one does what is in him, one sins mortally. 37. Purgatory cannot be proved from Sacred Scripture, which is in the canon. 38. The souls in purgatory are not sure of their salvation, at least not all; nor is it proved by any arguments or by the Scriptures that they are beyond the state of meriting or of increasing in charity.
2 43
39. The souls in purgatory sin without intermission, as long as they 779 seek rest and abhor punishments. 40. The souls freed from purgatory by the suffrages of the living are 780 less happy than if they had made satisfactions by themselves. 41. Ecclesiastical prelates and secular princes would not act badry if 781 they destroyed all of the money-bags of beggary. Censure of the Holy Pontiff: "All and each of the above mentioned articles or errors, so to speak, as set before you, we condemn, disapprove, and entirely reject as respectively heretical, or scandalous, or false, or of- fensive to pious ears, or seductive of simple minds, and in opposition to Catholic truth.
HADRIAN VI 1522-1523
Ecumenical XIX (Contra Novatores 16 cent.) SEsswN m (Feb. 4, 1546) The Creed of the Catholic Faith is Accepted 1 This sacred and holy ecumenical and general Synod of Trent, lawfully 782 assembled in the Holy Spirit, with the three legates of the Apostolic See presiding over it, in consideration of the magnitude of the matters to be transacted, especially those which are comprised under these two heads, the extirpation of heresies and the reform of morals, because of which chiefly the Synod was convoked . . . , has proposed that the creed of faith, which the Holy Roman Church utilizes, inasmuch as it is that principle, wherein all who profess the faith of Christ necessarily agree, and is the firm and sole foundation, against which the "gates of Hell shall never prevail" [Matt. 16:18], be expressed in the very same words in which it is read in all the churches. This creed is as follows: [The Nicean-Constantinopolitan Creed follows, see n. 86.] 1 C Tr IV 579 f.; Rcht rn; Msi XXX!II 19 B; Hrd X 19 E f.; Bar(Th) ad 1546 n.
15 f. (33, 124 ff.).
SESSION rv (April 8, 1546) The Sacred Books and the Traditions of the Apostles are Accepted 1 The sacred and holy ecumenical and general Synod of Trent, lawfully assembled in the Holy Spirit, with the same three Legates of the Apostolic See presiding over it, keeping this constantly in view, that with the abolishing of errors, the purity itself of the Gospel is preserved in the Church, which promised before through the Prophets in the Holy Scrip- tures our Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God first promulgated with His own mouth, and then commanded "to be preached" by His apostles "to every creature" as the source of every saving truth and of instruction in morals [Matt. 28:19 ff., Mark 16:15], and [the Synod] clearly perceiving that this truth and instruction are contained in the written books and in the unwritten traditions, which have been received by the apostles from the mouth of Christ Himself, or from the apostles themselves, at the dic- tation of the Holy Spirit, have come down even to us, transmitted as it were from hand to hand, [ the Synod] following the examples of the orthodox Fathers, receives and holds in veneration with an equal affection of piety and reverence all the books both of the Old and of the New Tes- tament, since one God is the author or both, and also the traditions them- selves, those that appertain both to faith and to morals, as having been dictated either by Christ's own word of mouth, or by the Holy Spirit, and preserved in the Catholic Church by a continuous successior:. And so that no doubt may arise in anyone's mind as to which are the books that are accepted by this Synod, it has decreed that a list of the Sacred books be added to this decree. They are written here below: Books of the Old Testament: The five books of Moses, namely, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy; Josue, Judges, Ruth, four books of Kings, two of Paralipomenon, the first book of Esdras, and the second which is called Nehemias, Tobias, Judith, Esther, Job, the Psalter of David consisting of 150 psalms, the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Canticle of Canticles, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Isaias, Jeremias with Baruch, Eze- chiel, Daniel, the twelve minor Prophets, that is Osee, Joel, Amos, Ab<lias, Jonas, Michaeas, Nahum, Habacuc, Sophonias, Aggaeus, Zacharias, Mala- chias; two books of the Machabees, the first and the second. Books of the New Testament: the four Gospels, according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; the Acts of the Apostles, written by Luke the 1 CTr V 91; Rein II f.; Msi XXXIII 22 A; Hrd X 22 C f.; Bar(Th) ad 1546 n.
48 ff. (33, 136 b ff.); FB n. 42 ff.
2 45
Evangelist, fourteen epistles of Paul the Apostle, to the Romans, to the Corinthians two, to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, to the Philippians, to the Colossians, two to the Thessalonians, two to Timothy, to Titus, to Philemon, to the Hebrews; two of Peter the Apostle, three of John the Apostle, one of the Apostle James, one of the Apostle Jude, and the Apocalypse of John the Apostle. If anyone, however, should not accept the said books as sacred and canonical, entire with all their parts, as they were wont to be read in the Catholic Church, and as they are contained in the old Latin Vulgate edition, and if both knowingly and deliberately he should condemn the aforesaid traditions let him be anathema. Let all, therefore, understand in what order and in what manner the said Synod, after having laid the foundation of the confession of Faith, will proceed, and what testimonies and authorities it will mainly use in confirming dogmas, and in restoring morals in the Church.
The Vulgate Edition of the Bible is Accepted and the Method is Prescribed for the Interpretation of (Sacred) Scripture, etc.1 Moreover, the same sacred and holy Synod taking into consideration 785 that no small benefit can accrue to the Church of God, if it be made known which one of all the Latin editions of the sacred books which are in circulation is to be considered authentic, has decided and declares that the said old Vulgate edition, which has been approved by the Church it- self through long usage for so many centuries in public lectures, disputa- tions, sermons, and expositions, be considered authentic, and that no one under any pretext whatsoever dare or presume to reject it. Furthermore, in order to curb impudent clever persons, the synod de- 786 crees that no one who relies on his own judgment in matters of faith and morals, which pertain to the building up of Christian doctrine, and that no one who distorts the Sacred Scripture according to his own opinions, shall dare to interpret the said Sacred Scripture contrary to that sense which is held by holy mother Church, whose duty it is to judge regarding the true sense and interpretation of holy Scriptures, or even contrary to the unanimous consent of the Fathers, even though in- terpretations of this kind were never intended to be brought to light. Let those who shall oppose this be reported by their ordinaries and be punished with the penalties prescribed by law . . . . [Then laws are listed concerning the printing and approbation of books, for which among other matters the decree is: j that henceforth the Sacred Scripture, espe- cially the aforesaid old and Vulgate edition, be printed as correctly as 1 CTr V 91 f.; Rcht 12; Msi XXXIII 22 E f.; Hrd X 23 B f.; Bar(TL) ad 1546 n.
48 ff. (33, 136 b ff.); EB n. 46 ff.
possible, and that no one be allowed either to print or cause to be printed any books whatever concerning sacred matters without the name of the author, nor to sell them in the future or even to keep them, unless they have been first examined and approved by the ordinary••••
SESSION v (June 17, 1546) Decree On Original Sin 1 That our Catholic faith, "without which it is impossible to please God" [Heb. II:r6] may after the purging of errors continue in its own perfect and spotless purity, and that the Christian people may not be "carried about with every wind of doctrine" [Eph. 4:14], since that old serpent, the perpetual enemy of the human race, among the very many evils with which the Church of God in these our times is troubled, has stirred up not only new, but even old dissensions concerning original sin and its remedy, the sacred ecumenical and general Synod of Trent lawfully assembled in the Holy Spirit with the same three legates of the Apostolic See presiding over it, wishing now to proceed to the recalling of the erring and to the confirming of the wavering, and following the testimonies of the Holy Scriptures and of the holy Fathers and of the most approved Councils, as well as the judgment and the unanimity of the Church it- self, has established, confesses, and declares the following concerning orig- inal sin: r. If anyone does not confess that the first man Adam, when he had transgressed the commandment of God in Paradise, immediately lost his holiness and the justice in which he had been established, and that he incurred through the offense of that prevarication the wrath and indignation of God and hence the death with which God had previously threatened him, and with death captivity under his power, who thence- forth "had the empire of death" [Heb. 2:14], that is of the devil, and that through that offense of prevarication the entire Adam was trans- formed in body and soul for the worse [ see n. 174], let him be anathema. 2. If anyone asserts that the transgression of Adam has harmed him alone and not his posterity, and that the sanctity and justice, received from God, which he lost, he has lost for himself alone and not for us also; or that he having been defiled by the sin of disobedience has trans- fused only death "and the punishments of the body into the whole human race, but not sin also, which is the death of the soul," let him be anathema, since he contradicts the Apostle who says: "By one man sin entered into
1 CTr V 238 ff.; Rcht 13 ff.; Msi XXXIII 27 A ff.; Hrd X 27 C ff.; Bar(Th) ad 1546 n. 65 f. (33, 146 a ff.).
the world, and by sin death, and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned" [Rom. 5:12; seen. 175]. 3. If anyone asserts that this sin of Adam, which is one in origin and 790 transmitted to all is in each one as his own by propagation, not by imita- tion, is taken away either by the forces of human nature, or by any remedy other than the merit of the one mediator, our Lord Jesus Christ [seen. 7II], who has reconciled us to God in his own blood, "made unto us justice, sanctification, and redemption" [I Cor. r :30]; or if he denies that that merit of Jesus Christ is applied to adults as well as to infants by the sacrament of baptism, rightly administered in the form of the Church: let him be anathema. "For there is no other name under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved •.. " [Acts 4:12]. Whence that word: "Behold the lamb of God, behold Him who taketh away the sins of the world" [John 1:29]. And that other: "As many of you as have been bap- tized, have put on Christ" [Gal. 3:27]. 4. "If anyone denies that infants newly born from their mothers' 791 wombs are to be baptized," even though they be born of baptized parents, "or says they are baptized indeed for the remission of sins, but that they derive nothing of original sin from Adam, which must be expiated by the laver of regeneration" for the attainment of life everlasting, whence it follows, that in them the form of baptism for the remission of sins is understood to be not true, but false: let him be anathema. For what the Apostle has said: "By one man sin entered into the world, and by sin death, .and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned" [ Rom. 5: 12], is not to be understood otherwise than as the Catholic Church spread everywhere has always understood it. For by reason of this rule of faith from a tradition of the apostles even infants, who could not as yet commit any sins of themselves, are for this reason truly baptized for the remission of sins, so that in them there may be washed away by regeneration, what they have contracted by generation, [see n. 102]. "For unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" [John 3:5]. 5. If anyone denies that by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is 792 conferred in baptism, the guilt of original sin is remitted, or even asserts that the whole of that which has the true and proper nature of sin is not taken away, but says that it is only touched in person or is not imputed, let him be anathema. For in those who are born again, God hates nothing, because "there is no condemnation, to those who are truly buried together with Christ by baptism unto death" [ Rom. 6:4], who do not "walk ac- cording to the flesh" [Rom. 8:r], but putting off "the old man" and putting on the "new, who is created according to God" [Eph. 4:22 ff.; Col. 3 :9 ff.], are made innocent, immaculate, pure, guiltless and beloved sons of God, "heirs indeed of God, but co-heirs with Christ" [ Rom.
8:17], so that there is nothing whatever to retard their entrance into heaven. But this holy Synod confesses and perceives that there remains in the baptized concupiscence of an inclination, although this is left to be wrestled with, it cannot harm those who do not consent, but manfully resist by the grace of Jesus Christ. Nay, indeed, "he who shall have striven lawfully, shall be crowned" [II Tim. 2:5]. This concupiscence, which at times the Apostle calls sin [Rom. 6:12 ff.] the holy Synod declares that the Catholic Church has never understood to be called sin, as truly and properly sin in those born again, but because it is from sin and inclines to sin. But if anyone is of the contrary opinion, let him be anathema. 6. This holy Synod declares nevertheless that it is not its intention to include in this decree, where original sin is treated of, the blessed and immaculate Virgin Mary mother of God, but that the constitutions of Pope SIXTUS IV of happy memory are to be observed, under the penal- ties contained in these constitutions, which it renews [ see n. 734 ff:].
SESSION VI (Jan. 13, 1547) Decree On Justification 1 Introduction 792a Since at this time not without the loss of many souls and grave detri- ment to the unity of the Church there is disseminated a certain erroneous doctrine concerning justification, the holy ecumenical and general synod of Trent lawfully assembled in the Holy Spirit, the Most Reverends John Maria, Bishop of Praeneste, de Monte, and Marcellus, priest of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, cardinals of the Holy Roman Church and apostolic legates a latere, presiding therein in the name of our Most Holy Father and Lord in Christ, Paul, the third Pope by the providence of God, for the praise and glory of Almighty God, for the tranquillity of the Church and the salvation of souls, purpose to expound to all the faithful of Christ the true and salutary doctrine of justification, which the "son of justice" [ Mal. 4 :2], Christ Jesus, "the author and finisher of our faith" [Heb. 12:2] taught, the apostles transmitted and the Catholic Church, under the instigation of the Holy Spirit, has always retained, strictly for- bidding that anyone henceforth may presume to believe, preach or teach, otherwise than is defined and declared by this present decree.
Chap. 1. On the Inability of Nature and of the Law to fustify Man The holy Synod decrees first that for a correct and sound understanding of the doctrine of justification it is necessary that each one recognize and 1 CTr V 791 ff.; Rcht 23 ff.; Msi XXXIII 33 A ff.; Hrd X 33 C ff.; Bar(Th) ad 1547 n. 6 ff. (33, 192 b ff.).
2 49
confess that, whereas all men had lost their innocence in the prevarication of Adam (Rom. 5:12; I Cor. 15:22: seen. 130], "having become unclean" (Isa. 64:6], and (as the Apostle says), "by nature children of wrath" [Eph. 2:3], as it (the Synod) has set forth in the decree on original sin, to that extent were they the servants of sin [Rom. 5:20], and under the power of the devil and of death, that not only the gentiles by the force of nature [can. r], but not even the Jews by the very letter of the law of Moses were able to be liberated or to rise therefrom, altho;1gh free will was not extinguished in them [ can. 5], however weakened and de- based in its powers [seen. Sr].
Chap. 2. On the Dispensation and Mystery of the Advent of Christ Whereby it came to pass that the heavenly Father, "the Father of 794 mercies and the God of all comfort" [ II Cor. r: 3], when that "blessed fullness of time" was come [Eph. r: ro; Gal. 4:4] sent to men Christ Jesus [ can. r], his Son, who had been announced and promised [cf. Gen. 49:ro, 18], both before the Law and at the time of the Law to many holy Fathers, that He might both redeem the Jews, who were under the Law, and the "gentiles, who did not follow after justice, might attain to justice" [Rom. 9:301, and that all men "might receive the adoption of sons" (Gal. 4:5]. "Him God has proposed as a propitiator through faith in his blood, for our sin( [ Rom. 3: 25 J, and not for our sins only, but also for those of the whole world [I John 2:2]. Chap. 3. Who are Justified Through Christ But although Christ died for all [ II Cor. 5: r 5], yet not all receive 795 the benefit of His death, but those only to whom the merit of His passion is communicated. For, as indeed men would not be born unjust, if they were not born through propagation of the seed of Adam, since by that propagation they contract through him, in conception, injustice as their own, so unless they were born again in Christ, they never would be justified [ can. 2 and ro], since in that new birth through the merit of His passion, the grace, whereby they are made just, is bestowed upon them. For this benefit the Apostle exhorts us always to "give thanks to the Father who has made us worthy to be partakers of the lot of the saints in light" [ Col. r: 12], "and has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love, in whom we have redemption and remission of sins [ Col. r: r 3 ff.].
Chap. 4. A Description of the I ustification of the Sinner, and Its Mode in the State of Grace is Recommended In these words a description of the justification of a sinner is given 796 as being a translation from that state in which man is born a child of
the first Adam to the state of grace and of the "adoption of the sons" [Rom. 8:15] of God through the second Adam, Jesus Christ, our Savior; and this translation after the promulgation of the Gospel cannot be ef- fected except through the !aver of regeneration [ can. 5 de bapt.], or a desire for it, as it is written: "Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" [John 3:5].
Chap. 5. On the Necessity of Preparation for Justification of Adults, and Whence it Proceeds It [ the Synod] furthermore declares that in adults the beginning of that justification must be derived from the predisposing grace [can. 3] of God through Jesus Christ, that is, from his vocation, whereby without any existing merits on their part they are called, so that they who by sin were turned away from God, through His stimulating and assisting grace are disposed to convert themselves to their own justification, by freely assenting to and cooperating with the same grace [can. 4 and 5], in such wise that, while God touches the heart of man through the il- lumination of the Holy Spirit, man himself receiving that inspiration does nothing at all inasmuch as he can indeed reject it, nor on the other hand can he [can. 3] of his own free will without the grace of God move himself to justice before Him. Hence, when it is said in the Sacred Writings: "Turn ye to me, and I will turn to you" [Zach. r:3], we are reminded of our liberty; when we reply: "Convert us, 0 Lord, to thee, and we shall be converted" [Lam. 5 :21], we confess that we are antici- pated by the grace of God. Chap. 6. The Manner of Preparation Now they are disposed to that justice [can. 7 and 9] when, aroused and assisted by divine grace, receiving faith "by hearing" [Rom. 10:17], they are freely moved toward God, believing that to be true which has been divinely revealed and promised [can. 12 and 14], and this especially, that the sinner is justified by God through his grace, "through the re- demption which is in Christ Jesus" [Rom. 3:24], and when knowing that they are sinners, turning themselves away from the fear of divine justice, by which they are profitably aroused [ can. 8], to a consideration of the mercy of God, they are raised to hope, trusting that God will be merciful to them for the sake of Christ, and they begin to love him as the source of all justice and are therefore moved against sins by a certain hatred and detestation [ can. 9], that is, by that repentance, which must be performed before baptism [ Acts 2: 38]; and finally when they resolve to receive baptism, to begin a new life and to keep the command- ments of God. Concerning this disposition it is written: "He that cometh to God must believe, that he is and is a rewarder to them that seek him"
[Heb. I I :6], and, "Be of good faith, son, thy sins are forgiven thee" [Matt. 9 :2; Mark 2:5], and, "The fear of the Lord driveth out sin" [Eccles. I: 27 ], and, "Do penance, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the Holy Spirit" lActs 2:38], and, "Going therefore teach all nations, bap- tizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatso~ver I have commanded you" [Matt. 28:19], and finally, "Prepare your hearts unto the Lord" [I Kings 7:3].
Chap. 7. In What the f ustification of the Sinner Consists, and What are its Causes Justification itself follows this disposition or preparation, which is not 799 merely remission of sins [ can. II], but also the sanctification and re- newal of the interior man through the voluntary reception of the grace and gifts, whereby an unjust man becomes a just man, and from being an enemy becomes a friend, that he may be "an heir according to hope of life everlasting" [Tit. 3:7]. The causes of this justification are: the final cause indeed is the glory of God and of Christ and life eternal; the efficient cause is truly a merciful God who gratuitously "washes and sanctifies" lI Cor. 6: II], "signing and anointing with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the pledge of our inheritance" [ Eph. r: r 3 f. j; but the meritorious cause is His most beloved only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, "who when we were enemies" [ cf. Rom. 5: IO], "for the exceeding charity wherewith he loved us" [Eph. 2:4], merited justification for us [ can. IO] by His most holy passion on the wood of the Cross, and made satisfaction for us to God the Father; the instrumental cause is the sacrament of baptism, which is the "sacrament of faith," 1 without which no one is ever justified. Finally the unique formal cause is the "justice of God, not that by which He Himself is just, but by which He makes us just" 2 [ can. 10 and II], that, namely, by which, when we are endowed with it by him, we are renewed in the spirit of our mind, and not only are we reputed, but we are truly called and are just, receiving justice within us, each one according to his own measure, which the "Holy Spirit distributes to everyone as he wills" [I Cor. 12: II], and according to each one's own disposition and cooperation. For although no one can be just but he to whom the merits of the 800 passion of our Lord Jesus Christ are communicated, yet this does take place in this justification of the ungodly when by the merit of that same most holy passion "the charity of God is poured forth by the Holy Spirit 1 St. Ambrose, De Spiritu Sancto, 1, 3, 42 (ML 16,714]. St. Aug. Letter 98, to Boni-
face 9 ff. [ML 33,364]. Innoc. III [seen. 406,413]. 2 Cf. St. Augustine, De Trin., 14, 12, 15 (ML 42, 1048].
in the hearts" [Rom. 5:5] of those who are justified, and inheres in them [ can. 1I]. Hence man through Jesus Christ, into whom he is in- grafted, receives in the said justification together with the remission of sins all these [gifts] infused at the same time: faith, hope, and charity. For faith, unless hope and charity be added to it, neither unites one per- fectly with Christ, nor makes him a living member of his body. For this reason it is most truly said that "faith without works is dead" [Jas. 2:17 ff.], and is of no profit [can. 19], and "in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith, which worketh by charity" [Gal. 5:6; 6:15]. This faith, in accordance with apos- tolic tradition, catechumens beg of the Church before the sacrament of baptism, when they ask for "faith which bestows life eternal," 1 which without hope and charity faith cannot bestow. Thence also they hear immediately the word of Christ: "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments" [Matt. 19:17; can. 18-20]. Therefore, when receiving true and Christian justice, they are commanded immediately on being reborn, to preserve it pure and spotless as the "first robe" [Luke 15:22] given to them through Christ Jesus in place of that which Adam by his disobedience lost for himself and for us, so that they may bear it before the tribunal of our Lord Jesus Christ and have life eternal. 2
Chap. 8. How One is to Understand the Gratuitous Justification of a Sinner by Faith But when the Apostle says that man is justified "by faith" [ can. 9] and "freely" [Rom. 3 :22, 24], these words must be understood in that sense in which the uninterrupted consent of the Catholic Church has held and expressed, namely, that we are therefore said to be justified by faith, because "faith is the beginning of human salvation," 3 the foundation and root of all justification, "without which it is impossible to please God" [Heb. n:6] and to come to the fellowship of His sons; and are, therefore, said to be justified gratuitously, because none of those things which precede justification, whether faith, or works merit the grace itself of justification; for, "if it is a grace, it is not now by reason of works; otherwise ( as the same Apostle says) grace is no more grace" [Rom. u:6]. Chap. 9. Against the Vain Confidence of Heretics Although it is necessary to believe that sins are neither forgiven, nor ever have been forgiven, except gratuitously by divine mercy for Christ's sake, yet it must not be said that sins are forgiven or have been forgiven 1 Rit. Rom., Ordo Baptismi note r £. 2 Ibid., n. 24. 3 St. Fulgentius, De fide, to Peter, noter [ML 65, 671].
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to anyone who boasts of his confidence and certainty of the forgiveness of his sins and rests on that alone, since among heretics and schismatics this vain confidence, remote from all piety [ can. I2], may exist, indeed in our own troubled times does exist, and is preached against the Catholic Church with vigorous opposition. But neither is this to be asserted, that they who are truly justified without any doubt whatever should decide for themselves that they are justified, and that no one is absolved from sins and is justified, except him who believes with certainty that he is absolved and justified, and that by this faith alone are absolution and justification effected [can. 14], as if he who does not believe this is doubt- ful of the promises of God and of the efficacy of the death and resurrection of Christ. For, just as no pious person should doubt the mercy of God, the merit of Christ, and the virtue and efficacy of the sacraments, so every one, when he considers himself and his own weakness and indisposi- tion, may entertain fear and apprehension as to his own grace [can. 13], since no one can know with the certainty of faith, which cannot be sub- ject to error, that he has obtained the grace of God. Chap. 10. Concerning the Increase of Justification Received Having, therefore, been thus justified and having been made the 803 "friends of God" and "his domestics" [John 15:15; Eph. 2:19], "advanc- ing from virtue to virtue" [Ps. 83:8], "they are renewed" (as the Apostle says) "from day to day" [II Cor. 4: 16], that is, by mortifying the members of their flesh [Col. 3:5], and by "presenting them as instruments of jus- tice" [Rom. 6:13, 19], unto sanctification through the observance of the commandments of God and of the Church; in this justice received through the grace of Christ "faith cooperating with good works" [Jas. 2:22], they increase and are further justified [ can. 24 and 32 ], as it is written: "He that is just, let him be justified still" [Apoc. 22:u], and again: "Be not afraid to be justified even to death" [Eccles. 18:22], and again: "You see, that by works a man is justified and not by faith only" [Jas. 2:24]. And_ this increase of justice Holy Church begs for, when she prays: "Give unto us, 0 Lord, an increase of faith, hope and charity" [13th Sun. after Pent.].
Chap. I 1. The Observance of the Commandments, and the Necessity and Possibility thereof But no one, however much justified, should consider himself exempt 804 from the observance of the commandments [ can. 20]; no one should make use of that rash statement forbidden under an anathema by the Fathers, that the commandments of God are impossible to observe for a man who is justified [can. 18 and 22: cf. n. 200]. "For God does not command impossibilities, but by commanding admonishes you both to do what you can do, and to pray for what you cannot do, and assists you
2 54 that you may be able"; 1 "whose commandments are not heavy" [I John 5:3], "whose yoke is sweet and whose burden is light" [Matt. 11:30]. For they who are the sons of God, love Christ: "but they who love him, (as He Himself testifies) keep his words" [John 14:23], which indeed with the divine help they can do. For although in this mortal life men however holy and just fall at times into at least light and daily sins, which are also called venial [ can. 23], they do not for that reason cease to be just. For that word of the just, "Forgive us our trespasses" [ Matt. 6: 12; cf. n. 107], is both humble and true. Thus it follows that the just ought to feel themselves more bound to walk in the way of justice, in that having been now "freed from sin and made servants of God" [Rom. 6:22], "liv- ing soberly and justly and piously" [Tit. 2:12], they can proceed onwards through Christ Jesus, through whom they "have access unto this grace" [Rom. 5:2]. For God "does not forsake those who have once been justified by His grace, unless He be first forsaken by them." 2 And so no one should flatter himself because of faith alone [ can. 9, 19, 20 J, thinking that by faith alone he is made an heir and will obtain the inheritance, even though he suffer not with Christ "that he may be also glorified" [Rom. 8:17]. For even Christ Himself (as the Apostle says), "whereas he was the Son of God, he learned obedience by the things which he suffered and being made perfect he was made to all who obey him the cause of eternal salvation" [Heb. 5:8 ff.] For this reason the Apostle himself admonishes those justified saying: "Know you not, that they who run in the race, all run indeed, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that you may obtain. I therefore so run, not as at an uncertainty, I so fight, not as one beating the air, but I chastise my body and bring it under subjection, lest perhaps when I have preached to others, I myself should become a castaway" [ I Cor. 9:24 ff.]. So also the chief of the Apostles, Peter: "Labor the more, that by good works you may make sure your calling and election; for doing these things, you shall not sin at any time" [II Pet. 1: ro]. Thence it is clear that they are opposed to the teaching of orthodox religion who say that the just man sins at least venially in every good work [ can. 25], 01 (what is more intolerable) that he merits eternal punishments; and that they also who declare that the just sin in all works, if in those works, in order to stimulate their own sloth and to encourage themselves to run in the race, with this (in view), that above all God may be glorified, they have in view also the eternal reward [can. 26, 31], since it is written: "I have inclined my heart to do thy justifications on account of the reward" [Ps. rr8:112], and of Moses the Apostle says, that he "looked to the re- ward" [Heb. 11:26].
1 Cf. St. Augustine, De nat. et gratia, c. 43, n. 50 [ML 44, 271]. 2 Cf. St. Augustine, Op. cit., c. 26, n. 29 [ML 44, 261].
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Chap. 12. Rash Presumption of Predestination is to be Avoided No one moreover, so long as he lives in this mortal state, ought so far 805 to presume concerning the secret mystery of divine predestination, as to decide for certain that he is assuredly in the numb::r of the predestined [ can. 15], as if it were true that he who is justified either cannot sin any more [can. 23], or if he shall have sinned, that he ought to promise him- self an assured reformation. For except by special revelation, it cannot be known whom God has chosen for Himself [ can. 16].
Chap. 13. The Gift of Perseverance So also as regards the gift of perseverance [ can. 16] of which it is 806 written: He that "shall persevere to the end, he shall be saved" [ Matt. 10:22; 24:13] (which gift cannot be obtained from anyone except from Him, "who is able to make him, who stands, stand" [Rom. 14:4], that he may stand perseveringly, and to raise him, who falls), let no one promise himself anything as certain with absolute certitude, although all ought to place and repose a very firm hope in God's help. For God, unless men be wanting in His grace, as He has begun a good work, so will He perfect it, "working to will and to accomplish" [Phil. 2: r 3; can. 22] .1 Neverthe- less, let those "who think themselves to stand, take heed lest they fall" [I Cor. ro:12], and "with fear and trembling work out their salvation" [Phil. 2: 12] in labors, in watchings, in almsdeeds, in prayers and obla- tions, in fastings and chastity [cf.II Cor. 6:3 ff.]. For they ought to fear, knowing that they are born again "unto the hope of glory" [ cf. I Rom. Pet. r :3], and not as yet unto glory in the combat that yet remains with the flesh, with the world, with the devil, in which they cannot be victors, unless with God's grace they obey the Apostle saying: "We are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you shall die. But if by the spirit you mortify the deeds of the flesh, you shall live" [ Rom. 8: 12 ff.]. Chap. 14. The Fallen and Their Restoration Those who by sin have fallen away from the received grace of justifica- 807 tion, will again be able to be justified [ can. 29] when, roused by God through the sacrament of penance, they by the merit of Christ shall have attended to the recovery of the grace lost. For this manner of justification is the reparation of one fallen, which the holy Fathers 2 have aptly called 1 Cf. Orat. Eccl.: "We beseech thee, 0 Lord, by your inspiration anticipate our actions and by your help attend them, that our every prayer and operation may always begin from thee and begun be ended through thee." 2 Cf. Tertullian, De poenit., 4 7 9 12 [ML 1, 1233 ff.]; St. Jerome, Ad Demetriadem ep. 130, 9 [ML 22, II15]; In lsaiam 2, 3, 56 [ML 24, 65 D]; St. Pacian, Ep. 1, 5 [ML 13, 1056 A]; De lapsu virg. consecr. 8, 38 [ML 16, 379 A].
a second plank after the shipwreck of lost grace. For on behalf of those who after baptism fall into sin, Christ Jesus instituted the sacrament of penance, when He said: "Receive ye the Holy Ghost; whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them, and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained" [I John 20:22, 23]. Hence it must be taught that the re- pentance of a Christian after his fall is very different from that at his baptism, and that it includes not only a cessation from sins, and a detesta- tion of them, or "a contrite and humble heart" [Ps. 50: 19], but also the sacramental confession of the same, at least in desire and to be made in its season, and sacerdotal absolution, as well as satisfaction by fasting, alms- giving, prayers, and other devout exercises of the spiritual life, not indeed for the eternal punishment, which is remitted together with the guilt either by the sacrament or the desire of the sacrament, but for the temporal punishment [ can. 30], which ( as the Sacred Writings teach) is not always wholly remitted, as is done in baptism, to those who ungrateful to the grace of God which they have received, "have grieved the Holy Spirit" [cf. Eph. 4:30 ], and have not feared to "violate the temple of God" [I Cor. 3:17]. Of this repentance it is written: "Be mindful, whence thou art fallen, do penance, and do the first works" [Apoc. 2:5], and again: "The sorrow which is according to God, worketh penance steadfast unto salva- tion" [II Cor. 7:ro], and again: "Do penance" [Matt. 3:2; 4:17], and, "Bring forth fruits worthy of penance" [ Matt. 3 :8]. Chap. 15. By Every Mortal Sin Grace is Lost, but not Faith Against the crafty genius of certain men also, who "by pleasing speeches and good words seduce the hearts of the innocent" [Rom. 16:18], it must be maintained that the grace of justification, although received, is lost not only by infidelity [ can. 27 ], whereby even faith itself is lost, but also by any other mortal sin, although faith be not lost [ can. 28], thereby defend- ing the doctrine of the divine law which excludes from the kingdom of God not only the unbelievers, but also the faithful who are "fornicators, adulterers, effeminate, liers with mankind, thieves, covetous, drunkards, railers, extortioners" [I Cor. 6:9 ff.], and all others who commit deadly sins, from which with the assistance of divine grace they can refrain and for which they are separated from the grace of God [ can. 27].
Chap. 16. The Fruit of fustification, that is, the Merit of Good Works, and the Reasonableness of that Merit To men, therefore, who have been justified in this respect, whether they have preserved uninterruptedly the grace received, or have recovered it when lost, the words of the Apostle are to be submitted: "Abound in every good work, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord" [I Cor. 15:58]; "for God is not unjust, that he should forget your work
and the love, which you have shown in his name" [Heb. 6:10], and: "Do not lose your confidence, which has a great reward" [Heb. 10:35J. And therefore to those who work well "unto the end" [Matt. 10:22], and who trust in God, life eternal is to be proposed, both as a grace mercifully promised to the sons of God through Christ Jesus, "and as a recom- pense" 1 which is according to the promise of Gpd Himself to be faith- fully given to their good works and merits [ can. 26 and 32]. For this is that "crown of justice which after his fight and course" the Apostle de- clared "was laid up for him, to be rendered to him by the just judge and not only to him, but also to all that love his coming" [II Tim. 4:7 fl.]. For since Christ Jesus Himself as the "head into the members" lEph. 4:15], and "as the vine into the branches" [John r5:5] continually infuses His virtue into the said justified, a virtue which always precedes their good works, and which accompanies and follows them, and without which they could in no wise be pleasing and meritorious before God [ can. 2], we must believe that to those justified nothing more is wanting from being considered [ can. 32] as having satisfied the divine law by those works which have been done in God according to the state of this life, and as having truly merited eternal life to be obtained in its own time ( if they shall have departed this life in grace [ Apoc. r4: r 3 ]), since Christ our Lord says: "If anyone shall drink of the water, that I will give him, he shall not thirst forever, but it shall become in him a fountain of water spring- ing up unto life everlasting" [John 4: r4]. Thus neither is "our own justice established as our own" from ourselves, nor is the justice of God [Rom. 10:3] "ignored" or repudiated; for that justice which is called ours, because we are justified [ can. IO and r r] through its inherence in us, that same is ( the justice) of God, because it is infused into us by God through the merit of Christ. Nor indeed is this to be omitted, that although in the sacred Writings 810 so much is ascribed to good works, that even "he that shall give a drink of cold water to one of his least ones" Christ promises "shall not lose his reward" [Matt. ro:42], and the Apostle testifies "that that which is at present momentary and light of our tribulation, worketh for us above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory" lII Cor. 4: r7]; neverthe- less far be it that a Christian should either trust or "glory" in him:;elf and not "in the Lord" [cf. I Cor. r: 3 r; II Cor. IO: r7], whose goodness towards all men is so great that He wishes the things which are His gifts [ see n. r4r] to be their own merits [ can. 32]. And whereas "in many things we all offend" [Jas. 3:2; can. 23 ], each one should have before his eyes the severity and judgment as well as mercy and goodness; neither ought any- one to judge himself, even though he be "not conscious to himself of anything," since the whole life of men must be judged and examined not 1 Cf. St. Augustine, De gr. et lib. arb. c. 8, n. 20 [ML 44,893].
by the judgment of men, but of God, who "will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts, and then shall every man have praise from God" [ I Cor. 4 :4 ff.], "who," as it is written, "will render to every man according to his works" [ Rom. 2:6]. After this Catholic doctrine of justification [ can. 33]-which, unless he faithfully and firmly accepts it, no one can be justified-it seemed good to the holy Synod to add these canons, so that all may know, not only what they must hold and follow, but also what they ought to shun and avoid.
Canons On Justification 1 Can. r. If anyone shall say that man can be justified before God by his own works which are done either by his own natural powers, or through the teaching of the Law, and without divine grace through Christ Jesus: let him be anathema [cf. n. 793 ff.]. Can. 2. If anyone shall say that divine grace through Christ Jesus is given for this only, that man may more easily be able to live justly and merit eternal life, as if by free will without grace he were able to do both, though with difficulty and hardship: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 795, 809 ]. Can. 3. If anyone shall say that without the anticipatory inspiration of the Holy Spirit and without His assistance man can believe, hope, and love or be repentant, as he ought, so that the grace of justification may be conferred upon him: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 797]. Can. 4. If anyone shall say that man's free will moved and aroused by God does not cooperate by assenting to God who rouses and calls, whereby it disposes and prepares itself to obtain the grace of justification, and that it cannot dissent, if it wishes, but that like something inanimate it does nothing at all and is merely in a passive state: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 797 ]. Can. 5. If anyone shall say that after the sin of Adam man's free will was lost and destroyed, or that it is a thing in name only, indeed a title without a reality, a fiction, moreover, brought into the Church by Satan: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 793, 797] • Can. 6. If anyone shall say that it is not in the power of man to make his ways evil, but that God produces the evil as well as the good works, not only by permission, but also properly and of Himself, so that the betrayal of Judas is no less His own proper work than the vocation of Paul: let him be anathema. Can. 7. If anyone shall say that all works that are done before justifica- 1 C. Tr V 797 ff.; Tcht 30 ff.; Msi XXXIII 40 A ff.; Hrd X 40 B ff.; Bar(Th) ad 547 n. 14 ff. (33, 195 b ff.).
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tion, in whatever manner they have been done, are truly sins or deserving of the hatred of God, or that the more earnestly anyone strives to dispose himself for grace, so much the more grievous! y does he sin: let him be anathema [cf. n. 798]. Can. 8. If anyone shall say that the fear of hell, whereby by grieving for 818 sins we flee the mercy of God or refrain from sinning, is a sin or makes sinners worse: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 798]. Can. 9. If anyone shall say that by faith alone the sinner is justified, so 819 as to understand that nothing else is required to cooperate in the attain- ment of the grace of justification, and that it is in no way necessary that he be prepared and disposed by the action of his own will: let him be anathema [cf. n. 798, So I, 804]. Can. 10. If anyone shall say that men are justified without the justice 820 of Christ by which He merited for us, or that by that justice itself they are formally just: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 798, 799]. Can. 11. If anyone shall say that men are justified either by the sole 821 imputation of the justice of Christ, or by the sole remission of sins, to the exclusion of grace and charity, which is poured forth in their hearts by the Holy Spirit and remains in them, or even that the grace by which we are justified is only the favor of God: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 799 ff., 809]. Can. 12. If anyone shall say that justifying faith is nothing else than 822 confidence in the divine mercy which remits sins for Christ's sake, or that it is this confidence alone by which we are justified: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 798, 802]. Can. 13. If anyone shall say that it is necessary for every man in order 823 to obtain the remission of sins to believe for certain and without any hesitation due to his own weakness and indisposition that his sins are forgiven him: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 802]. Can. 14. If anyone shall say that man is absolved from his sins and 824 justified, because he beiieves for certain that he is absolved and justified, or that no one is truly justified but he who believes himself justified, and that by this faith alone absolution and justification are perfected: let him be anathema [cf. n. 802]. Can. 15. If anyone shall say that a man who is born again and justified 825 is bound by faith to believe that he is assuredly in the number of the pre- destined: let him be anathema [cf. n. 805]. Can. 16. If anyone shall say that he will for certain with an absolute 826 and infallible certainty have that great gift of perseverance up to the end, unless he shall have learned this by a special revelation: let him be anath- ema [cf. n. 805 ff.]. Can. 17. If anyone shall say that the grace of justification is attained 827 by those only who are predestined unto life, but that all others, who are
called, are called indeed, but do not receive grace, as if they are by divine power predestined to evil: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 800]. Can. 18. If anyone shall say that the commandments of God are even for a man who is justified and confirmed in grace impossible to observe: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 804]. Can. 19. If anyone shall say that nothing except faith is commanded in the Gospel, that other things are indifferent, neither commanded nor prohibited, but free, or that the ten commandments in no way pertain to Christians: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 800]. Can. 20. If anyone shall say that a man who is justified and ever so perfect is not bound to observe the commandments of God and the Church, but only to believe, as if indeed the Gospel were a mere absolute promise of eternal life, without the condition of observation of the commandments: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 804]. Can. 21. If anyone shall say that Christ Jesus has been given by God to men as a Redeemer in whom they should trust, and not also as a legislator, whom they should obey: let him be anathema. Can. 22. If anyone shall say that he who is justified can either per- severe in the justice received without the special assistance of God, or that with that [assistance] he cannot: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 804, 806]. Can. 23. If anyone shall say that a man once justified can sin no more, nor lose grace, and that therefore he who falls and sins was never truly justified; or, on the contrary, that throughout his whole life he can avoid all sins even venial sins, except by a special privilege of God, as the Church holds in regard to the Blessed Virgin: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 805, 810 J. Can. 24. If anyone shall say, that justice received is not preserved and also not increased in the sight of God through good works but that those same works are only the fruits and signs of justification received, but not a cause of its increase: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 803 J. Can. 25. If anyone shall say that in every good work the just one sins at least venially, or (what is more intolerable) mortally, and therefore desern:s eternal punishments, and that it is only because God does not impute those works unto damnation that he is not damned, let him be anathema [ cf. n. 804]. Can. 26. If anyone shall say that the just ought not to expect and hope for an eternal recompense from God and the merit of Jesus Christ for the good works which have been performed in God, if by doing well and in keeping the divine commandments they persevere even to the end: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 809]. Can. 27. If anyone shall say that there is no mortal sin except that of infidelity, or that grace once received is not lost by any other sin however
grievous and enormous, except the sin of infidelity: let him be anathema [cf. n. 808]. Can. 28. If anyone shall say that together with the loss of g1ace by sin 838 faith also is always lost, or that the faith that remains is not a true faith, though it be not a living one, or that he, who has faith without charity, is not a Christian: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 808]. Can. 29. If anyone shall say that he who has fallen after baptism can- 839 not by the grace of God rise again; or that he can indeed recover lost justice, but by faith alone without the sacrament of penance, contrary to what the holy Roman and universal Church, taught by Christ the Lord and His apostles, has hitherto professed, observed, and taught: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 807]. Can. 30. If anyone shall say that after the reception of the grace of 840 justification, to every penitent sinner the guilt is so remitted and the penalty of eternal punishment so blotted out that no penalty of temporal punishment remains to be discharged either in this world or in the world to come in purgatory before the entrance to the kingdom of heaven can be opened: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 807]. Can. 31. If anyone shall say that the one justified sins, when he performs 841 good works with a view to an eternal reward: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 804]. Can. 32. If anyone shall say that the good works of the man justified 842 are in such a way the gifts of God that they are not also the good merits of him who is justified, or that the one justified by the good works, which are done by him through the grace of God and the merit of Jesus Christ ( whose living member he is), does not truly merit increase of grace, eternal life, and the attainment of that eternal life ( if he should die in grace), and also an increase of glory: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 803 and 809 ]. Can. 33. If anyone shall say that because of this Catholic doctrine of 843 justification as set forth by the holy Synod in this present decree, there is in some degree a detraction from the glory of God or from the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord, and that the truth of our faith, and in fact the glory of God and of Jesus Christ are not rather rendered illustrious: let him be anathema [cf. n. Sm].
SESSION vn (March 3, 1547) Foreword 1 For the completion of the salutary doctrine of justification, which was 843a promulgated in the last session with the unanimous consent of the Fathers, 1 CTr V 994 £.; Rcht 40 f.; Msi XXXIII 52 A ff.; Hrd X 51 D £.; Bar(Th) ad 1547 n.
36 f. (33, 210 b ff.).
it has seemed fitting to treat of the most holy sacraments of the Church, through which all true justice either begins, or being begun is increased, or being lost is restored. Therefore the holy, ecumenical, and general Synod of Trent lawfully assembled in the Holy Spirit with the same legates of the Apostolic See presiding therein, in order to destroy the errors, and to uproot the heresies concerning these most holy sacraments, which in this stormy period of ours have been both revived from the heresies previously condemned by our Fathers, and also have been invented anew, which are exceedingly detrimental to the purity of the Catholic Church and to the salvation of souls; this Synod in adhering to the teaching of the Holy Scriptures, to the apostolic traditions and to the unanimous opinion of other councils and of the Fathers, has thought it proper to establish and decree these present canons, intending ( with the assistance of the divine Spirit) to publish later the remaining which are wanting for the com- pletion of the work begun.
Canons on the Sacraments in General Can. r. If anyone shall say that the sacraments of the New Law were not all instituted by Jesus Christ our Lord, or that there are more or less than seven, namely baptism, confirmation, Eucharist, penance, extreme unction, order, and matrimony, or even that anyone of these seven is not truly and strictly speaking a sacrament: let him be anathema. Can. 2. If anyone shall say that these same sacraments of the new Law do not differ from the sacraments of the Old Law, except that the ceremonies are different and the outward rites are different: let him be anathema. Can. 3. If anyone shall say that these seven sacraments are equal to each other in such a way that one is not for any reason more worthy than the other: let him be anathema. Can. 4. If anyone shall say that the sacraments of the New Law are not necessary for salvation, but are superfluous, and that, although all are not necessary for every individual, without them or without the desire of them through faith alone men obtain from God the grace of justifica- tion; let him be anathema. Can. 5. If anyone shall say that these sacraments have been instituted for the nourishing of faith alone: let him be anathema. Can. 6. If anyone shall say that the sacraments of the New Law do not contain the grace which they signify, or that they do not confer that grace on those who do not place an obstacle in the way, as though they were only outward signs of grace or justice, received through faith, and certain marks of the Christian profession by which the faithful among men are distinguished from the unbelievers: let him be anathema.
Can. 7. If anyone shall say that grace, as far as concerns God's part, is not given through the sacraments always and to all men, even though they receive them rightly, but only sometimes and to some persons: let him be anathema. Can. 8. If anyone shall say that by the said sacraments of the New Law, grace is not conferred from the work which has been worked [ ex opere operato], but that faith alone in the divine promise suffices to obtain grace: let him be anathema. Can. 9. If anyone shall say that in the three sacraments, namely, bap- 852. tism, confirmation, and orders, there is not imprinted on the soul a sign, that is, a certain spiritual and indelible mark, on account of v1hich they cannot be repeated: let him be anathema. Can. ro. If anyone shall say that al1 Christians have power to administer the word and all the sacraments: let him be anathema. Can. 11. If anyone shall say that in ministers, when they effect and confer the sacraments, the intention at least of doing what the Church does is not required: let him be anathema. Can. 12. If anyone shall say that a minister who is in mortal sin, al- though he observes all the essentials which pertain to the performance or conferring of the sacrament, neither performs nor confers the sacrament: let him be anathema. Can. 13. If anyone shall say that the received and approved rites of the Catholic Church accustomed to be used in the solemn administration of the sacraments may be disdained or omitted by the minister without sin and at pleasure, or may be changed by any pastor of the churches to other new ones: let him be anathema.
Canons on the Sacrament of Baptism 1 Can. 1. If anyone shall say that the baptism of John had the same force as the baptism of Christ: let him be anathema. Can. 2. If anyone shall say that real and natural water is not necessary for baptism, and on that account those words of our Lord Jesus Christ: "Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit" (John 3:5), are distorted into some sort of metaphor: let him be anathema. Can. 3. If anyone shall say that in the Roman Church ( which is the mother and the teacher of all churches) there is not the true doctrine concerning the sacrament of baptism: let him be anathema. Can. 4. If anyone shall say that the baptism, which is also given by heretics in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, with the intention of doing what the Church does, is not true baptism: let him be anathema. 1 CTr V 595 f.; Rcht 41 f.; Msi XXXIII 53C; Hrd X 53 Cf.; Bar(Th) ad 1547 n. 38 f. (33, 21 l bf.).
Can. 5. If anyone shall say that baptism is optional, that is, not neces- sary for salvation: let him be anathema [cf. n. 796]. Can. 6. If anyone shall say that one who is baptized cannot, even if he wishes, lose grace, however much he may sin, unless he is unwilling to believe: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 808]. Can. 7. If anyone shall say that those who are baptized are by baptism itself made debtors to faith alone, and not to the observance of the whole law of Christ: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 802 ]. Can. 8. If anyone shall say that those baptized are free from all precepts of the holy Church, which are either written or handed down, so that they are not bound to observe them, unless they of their own accord should wish to submit themselves to them: let him be anathema. Can. 9. If anyone shall say that men are to be so recalled to the remem- brance of the baptism which they have received, that they understand that all the vows which have been taken after baptism are void by virtue of the promise already made in baptism itself, as if by them they detracted from the faith which they professed, and from the baptism itself: let him be anathema. Can. ro. If anyone shall say that all sins which are committed after baptism are either remitted or made venial by the mere remembrance and the faith of the baptism received: let him be anathema. Can. 1 r. If anyone shall say that baptism truly and rightly administered must be repeated for him who has denied the faith of Christ among in- fidels, when he is converted to repentance: let him be anathema. Can. 12. If anyone shall say that no one is to be baptized except at that age at which Christ was baptized, or when at the very point of death, let him be anathema. 8<i9 Can. 13. If anyone shall say that infants, because they have not actual faith, after having received baptism are not to be numbered among the faithful, and therefore, when they have reached the years of discretion, are to be rebaptized, or that it is better that their baptism be omitted than that they, while not believing, by their own act be baptized in the faith of the Church alone: let him be anathema. Can. 14. If anyone shall say that those who have been baptized in this manner as infants, when they have grown up, are to be questioned whether they wish to ratify what the sponsors promised in their name, when they were baptized, and if they should answer that they are not willing, that they must be left to their own will, and that they are not to be forced to a Christian life in the meantime by any other penalty, except that they be excluded from the reception of the Eucharist and of the other sacraments until they repent: let him be anathema.
Canons on the Sacrament of Confirmation 1 Can. I. If anyone shall say that the confirmation of those baptized is an 871 empty ceremony and not rather a true and proper sacrament, or that in former times it was nothing more than a kind of catechism, by which those approaching adolescence gave an account of their faith before the Church: let him be anathema. Can. 2. If anyone shall say that they who ascribe any power to the 872 sacred chrism of confirmation offer an outrage to the Holy Spirit: let him be anathema. Can. 3. If anyone shall say that the ordinary minister of holy confirma- 873 tion is not the bishop alone, but any simple priest: let him be anathema.
COUNCIL OF TRENT, continued SEssioN xm ( Oct. II, 1551) Decree ,On the Most Holy Eucharist 2 The sacred and holy ecumenical and general Synod of Trent, lawfully 873a assembled in the Holy Spirit with the same legates and nuncios of the Apostolic See presiding therein, although it has convened for this purpose not without the special guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit, namely to publish the true and ancient doctrine concerning faith and the sacra- ments, and to provide a remedy for all the heresies and other very serious troubles by which the Church of God is at present wretchedly agitated and torn into many different factions, yet from the beginning has had this especially among its desires, to uproot the "cockles" of execrable errors and schisms, which the enemy in these troubled times of our has "sown" ( Matt. 13 :25 ff.], in the doctrine of the faith, in the use and worship of the sacred Eucharist, which our Savior, moreover, left in His Church as a symbol of that unity and charity with which He wished all Christians to be mutually bound and united. Therefore, this same sacred and holy synod, transmitting that sound and genuine doctrine of this venerable and divine sacrament of the Eucharist, which the Catholic Church, instructed by our Lord Jesus Christ himself and by his Apostles, and taught by the "Holy Spirit who day by day brings to her all truth" 1 CTr V 996; Rcht 47; Msi XXXIII 55A; Hrd X 54 E £.; Bar(Th) ad 1547 n. 40 (33, 212 a).
406 b £.).
fulius III, 1550-1555 [John r4:26], has always held and will preserve even to the end of time, forbids all the faithful of Christ hereafter to venture to believe, teach, or preach concerning the Most Holy Eucharist otherwise than is explained and defined in this present decree.
Chap. 1. The Real Presence of our Lord /esus Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist First of all the holy Synod teaches and openly and simply professes that in the nourishing sacrament of the Holy Eucharist after the consecration of the bread and wine our Lord Jesus Christ, true God and man, is truly, really, and substantially [ can. 1] contained under the species of those sensible things. For these things are not mutually contradictory, that our Savior Himself is always seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven according to the natural mode of existing, and yet that in many other places sacramentally He is present to us in His own substance by that manner of existence which, although we can scarcely express it in words, yet we can, however, by our understanding illuminated by faith, conceive to be possible to God, and which we ought most steadfastly to believe. For thus all our forefathers, as many as were in the true Church of Christ, who have discussed this most holy sacrament, have most openly professed that our Redeemer instituted this so wonderful a sacrament at the Last Supper, when after the blessing of the bread and wine He testified in clear and definite words that He gave them His own body and His own blood; and those words which are recorded [Matt. 26:26 ff.; Mark 14:22; Luke 22: r9 ff.] by the holy Evangelists, and afterwards repeated by St. Paul [I Cor. 11 :23 ff.], since they contain within themselves that proper and very clear meaning in which they were understood by the Fathers, it is a most disgraceful thing for some contentious and wicked men to distort into fictitious and imaginary figures of speech, by which the real nature of the flesh and blood of Christ is denied, contrary to the universal sense of the Church, which, recognizing with an ever grateful and recollecting mind this most excellent benefit of Christ, as the pillar and ground of truth [I Tim. 3:15], has detested these falsehoods, devised by impious men, as satanical. Chap. 2. The Reason for the Institution of this Most Holy Sacrament Our Savior, therefore, when about to depart from this world to the Father, instituted this sacrament in which He poured forth, as it were, the riches of His divine love for men, "making a remembrance of his wonderful works" [Ps. 110:4], and He commanded us in the consuming of it to cherish His "memory" lI Cor. 11: 24], and "to show forth his death until He come" to judge the world [I Cor. 11 :26]. But He wished
that this sacrament be received as the spiritual food of souls [Matt. 26:26], by which they may be nourished and strengthened [ can. 5], living by the life of Him who said: "He who eateth me, the same also shall live by me" [John 6:58], and as an antidote, whereby we may be freed from daily faults and be preserved from mortal sins. He wished, furthermore, that this be a pledge of our future glory and of everlasting happiness, and thus be a symbol of that one "body" of which He Himself is the "head" [I Car. u:3; Eph. 5:23], and to which He wished us to be united, as memb2rs, by the closest bond of faith, hope, and charity, that we might "all speak the same thing and there might be no schisms among us" [ cf. I Cor. r : r o].
Chap. 3. The Excellence of the Most Holy Eucharist Over the Other Sacraments This, indeed, the most Holy Eucharist has in common with the other 876 sacraments, that it is a "symbol of a sacred thing and a visible 1 form of an invisible grace"; but this excellent and peculiar thing is found in it, that the other sacraments first have the power of sanctifying, when one uses them, but in the Eucharist there is the Author of sanctity Himself before it is used [ can. 4 ]. For the apostles had not yet received the Eucharist from the hand of the Lord [Matt. 26:26; Mark 14 :22] when He Himself truly said that what He was offering was His body; and this belief has always been in the Church of God, that immediately after the consecra- tion the true body of our Lord and His true blood together with His soul and divinity exist under the species of bread and wine; but the body indeed under the species of bread, and the blood under the species of wine by the force of the words, but the body itself under both by force of that natural connection and concomitance by which the parts of Christ the Lord, "who hath now risen from the dead to die no more" [ Rom. 6:9], are mutually united, the divinity also because of that admirable hypostatic union [ can. r and 3] with His body and soul. Therefore, it is very true that as much is contained under either species as under both. For Christ whole and entire exists under the species of bread and under any part whatsoever of that species, likewise the whole (Christ) is present under the species of wine and under its parts [ can. 3]. Chap. 4. Transubstantiation But since Christ, our Redeemer, has said that that is truly His own 877 body which He offered under the species of bread [ cf. Matt. 26:26 ff.; Mark 14:22 ff.; Luke 22:19 ff.; I Cor. u:24 ff.], it has always been a matter of conviction in the Church of God, and now this holy Synod declares it again, that by the consecration of the bread and wine a con-
Julius III, 1550-1555 version takes place of the whole substance of bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord, and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of His blood. This conversion is appropriately and properly called transubstantiation by the Catholic Church [ can. 2].
Chap. 5. The Worship and Veneration to be Shown to this Most Holy Sacrament There is, therefore, no room left for doubt that all the faithful of Christ in accordance with a custom always received in the Catholic Church offer in veneration [ can. 6] the worship of !atria which is due to the true God, to this most Holy Sacrament. For it is not less to be adored becaus-: it was instituted by Christ the Lord to be received [ cf. Matt. 26:26 ff.]. For we believe that same God to be present therein, of whom the eternal Father when introducing Him into the world says: "And let all the Angels of God adore Him" (Heb. r:6; Ps. 96:7], whom the Magi "falling down adored" [cf. Matt. 2:rr j, who finally, as the Scripture testifies (cf. Matt. 28:17], was adored by the apostles in Galilee. The holy Synod declares, moreover, that this custom was piously and religiously introduced into the Church of God, so that this sublime and venerable sacrament was celebrated every year on a special feast day with extraordinary venera- tion and solemnity, and was borne reverently and with honor in proces- sions through the streets and public places. For it is most proper that some holy days be established when all Christians may testify, with an extraor- dinary and unusual expression, that their minds are grateful to and mindful of their common Lord and Redeemer for such an ineffable and truly divine a favor whereby the victory and triumph of His death is represented. And thus, indeed, ought victorious truth to celebrate a triumph over falsehood and heresy, that her adversaries, placed in view of so much splendor and amid such deep joy of the universal Church, may either vanish weakened and broken, or overcome and confounded by shame may some day recover their senses.
Chap. 6. The Reservation of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist and Bearing it to the Sick The custom of reserving the Holy Eucharist in a holy place is so ancient that even the age of the NICENE Council recognized it. Moreover, the injunction that the sacred Eucharist be carried to the sick, and be care- fully reserved for this purpose in the churches, besides being in conformity with the greatest equity and reason, is also found in many councils, and has been observed according to a very ancient custom of the Catholic Church. Therefore this holy Synod decrees that this salutary and neces- sary custom be by all means retained [ can. 7].
Chap. 7. The Preparation that Must be Employed to Receive the Holy Eucharist Worthily If it is not becoming for anyone to approach any of the sacred functions 880 except solemnly, certainly, the more the holiness and the divinity of this heavenly sacrament is understood by a Christian, the more diligently ought he to take heed lest he approach to receive it without great rever- ence and holiness [can. II], especially when we read in the Apostle those words full of terror: "He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself not discerning the body of the Lord" [I Cor. r r :29]. Therefore, the precept, "Let a man prove himself" [I Cor. II :28], must be recalled to mind by him who wishes to communicate. Now ecclesiastical usage declares that this examination is necessary, that no one conscious of mortal sin, however contrite he may seem to himself, should approach the Holy Eucharist without a previous sacramental con- fession. This, the holy Synod has decreed, is always to be observed by all Christians, even by those priests on whom by their office it may be in- cumbent to celebrate, provided the recourses of a confessor be not lack- ing to them. But if in an urgent necessity a priest should celebrate without previous confession, let him confess as soon as possible [ see n. r r 38 ff.].
Chap. 8. The Use of the Admirable Sacrament As to its use our Fathers have rightly and wisely distinguished three 881 ways of receiving this Holy Sacrament. For they have taught that some receive it sacramentally only, as smners; others only spiritually, namely those who eating with desire the heavenly bread set before them, by a living faith, "which worketh by charity" [Gal. 5:6], perceive its fruit and usefulness; while the third receive it both sacramentally and spiritu- ally [ can. 8]; and these are they who so prove and prepare themselves previously that "clothed with the wedding garment" [Matt. 22:rr ff.J, they approach this divine table. Now as to the reception of the sacrament it has always been the custom in the Church of God for the laity to receive communion from the priests, but that the priests when celebrating should communicate themselves [ can. ro]; this custom proceeding from an apostolical tradition should with reason and justice be retained. And finally this holy Synod with paternal affection admonishes, exhorts, 882 entreats, and beseeches, "through the bowels of the mercy of our God" [Luke r:78], that each and all, who are classed under the Christian name, will now finally agree and be of the same opinion in this "sign of unity," in this "bond of charity," 1 in this symbol of concord, and that mindful of so great a majesty and such boundless love of our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave His own beloved soul as the price of our salvation, and gave 1 Cf. St. August., In lo. tract. 26, 13 [ML 35, 1612].
fulius III, 1550-1555 us His "own flesh to eat" [John 6:48 ff.], they may believe and venerate these sacred mysteries of His body and blood with that constancy and firmness of faith, with that devotion of soul, that piety and worship, as to be able to receive frequent] y that "supersubstantial bread" [ Matt. 6: r r], and that it may be to them truly the life of the soul and the perpetual health of mind, that being invigorated by the strength thereof lIII Kings 19:8], after the journey of this miserable pilgrimage, they may be able to arrive in their heavenly country to eat without any veil that same bread of angels [Ps. 77:25] which they now eat under the sacred veils. But whereas it is not enough to declare the truth, unless errors be exposed and repudiated, it has seemed good to the holy Synod to subjoin these canons, so that all, now that the Catholic doctrine has been made known, may also understand what heresies are to be avoided and guarded against.
Canons on the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist 1 Can. r. If anyone denies that in the sacrament of the most holy Eucharist there are truly, really, and substantially contained the body and blood together with the soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore the whole Christ, but shall say that He is in it as by a sign or figure, or force, let him be anathema [ cf. n. 874, 876]. Can. 2. If anyone says that in the sacred and holy sacrament of the Eucharist there remains the substance of bread and wine together with the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and denies that wonderful and singular conversion of the whole substance of the bread into the body, and of the entire substance of the wine into the blood, the species of the bread and wine only remaining, a change which the Catholic Church most fittingly calls transubstantiation: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 877]. Can. 3. If anyone denies that the whole Christ is contained in the venerable sacrament of the Eucharist under each species and under every part of each species, when the separation has been made: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 876]. Can. 4. If anyone says that after the completion of the consecration that the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is not in the marvelous sacrament of the Eucharist, but only in use, while it is taken, not however before or after, and that in the hosts or consecrated particles, which are reserved or remain after communion, the true body of the Lord does not remain: let him be anathema [cf. n. 876]. Can. 5. If anyone says that the special fruit of the most Holy Eucharist
is the remission of sins, or that from it no other fruits are produced: let him be anathema [ cf. 875]. Can. 6: If anyone says that in the holy sacrament of the Eucharist the only-begotten Son of God is not to be adored even outwardly with the worship of !atria ( the act of adoration), and therefore not to be venerated with a special festive celebration, nor to be borne about in procession ac- cording to the praiseworthy and universal rite and custom of the holy Church, or is not to be set before the people publicly to be adored, and that the adorers of it are idolators: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 878]. Can. 7. If anyone says that it is not lawful that the Holy Eucharist be reserved in a sacred place, but must necessarily be distributed immediately after the consecration among those present; or that it is not permitted to bring it to the sick with honor: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 879]. Can. 8. If anyone says that Christ received in the Eucharist is received only spiritually, and not also sacramentally and in reality: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 88 r]. Can. 9. If anyone denies that all and each of the faithful of Christ of both sexes, when they have reached the years of discretion, are bound every year to communicate at least at Easter according to the precept of holy mother Church: let him be anathema [d. n. 437]. Can. ro. If anyone says that it is not lawful for a priest celebrating to communicate himself: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 881 ]. Can. r I. If anyone says that faith alone is sufficient preparation for receiving the sacrament of the most Holy Eucharist: let him be anathema. And that so great a Sacrament may not be unworthily received, and therefore unto death and condemnation, this holy Council ordains and declares that sacramental confession must necessarily be made beforehand by those whose conscience is burdened by mortal sin, however contrite they may consider themselves. If anyone moreover teaches the contrary or preaches or obstinately asserts, or even publicly by disputation shall presume to defend the contrary, by that fact itself he is excommunicated [ cf. n. 880 J.
SESSION xiv (Nov. 25, 1551)
Doctrine on the Sacrament of Penance 1 The holy ecumenical and general council of Trent, lawfully assembled 893a in the Holy Spirit with the same delegate and nuncios of the Holy Apostolic See presiding, although for a necessary reason much discussion on the sacrament of penance has been introduced in the decree on justifica- tion [ see n. 807, 839 l, because of the kindred nature of the subjects,
Julius III, 1550-1555 nevertheless so great is the number of errors of various kinds about this sacrament in this our age that it will be no small public advantage to have handed down a more exact and fuller definition, in which, after all errors have been displayed and refuted, Catholic truth should become clear and manifest; and this truth which this holy synod now proposes is to be preserved for all time by all Christians.
Chap. I. The Necessity and Institution of the Sacrament of Penance If in all who have been regenerated, there were this gratitude toward God, so that they would constantly safeguard the justice received in baptism by His bounty and His grace, there would have been no need to institute [ can. 2] another sacrament besides baptism for the remission of sins. But "since God, rich in mercy" [Eph. 2 :4] "knoweth our frame" [Ps. ro2: 14], He offers a remedy of life even to those who may afterwards have delivered themselves to the servitude of sin, and to the power of Satan, namely, the sacrament of penance [ can. I], by which the benefit of the death of Christ is applied to those who have fallen after baptism. Penance has indeed been necessary for all men, who at any time what- ever have stained themselves with mortal sin, in order to attain grace and justice, even for those who have desired to be cleansed by the sacra- ment of baptism, so that their perversity being renounced and amended, they might detest so great an offense against God with a hatred of sin and a sincere sorrow of heart. Therefore, the Prophet says: "Be converted and do penance for all your iniquities; and iniquity shall not be your ruin" [ Ezech. I 8: 30]. The Lord also said: "Except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish" [Luke I 3: 3]. And the prince of the apostles, Peter, recommending penance to sinners about to receive baptism said: "Do penance and be baptized every one of you" [Acts 2:38]. Moreover, neither before the coming of Christ was penance a sacrament, nor is it after His coming to anyone before baptism. But the Lord instituted the sacrament of penance then especially, when after His resurrection from the dead He breathed upon His disciples, saying: "Receive ye the Holy Spirit: whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them, and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained" [John 20:22]. In this act so significant and by words so clear, the consensus of all the Fathers has always recognized that the power of forgiving and retaining sins had been communicated to the apostles and their legitimate successors for reconciling the faithful who have fallen after baptism [ can. 37], and that with good reason the Catholic Church has repudiated and condemned as heretics the Nova- tians, at one time stubbornly denying the power of forgiveness. There- fore, this holy Council, approving and receiving this true meaning of these words of the Lord, condemns the false interpretations of those who,
2 73
contrary to the institution of this sacrament, falsely distort those words to the power of preaching the word of God and of announcing the Gospel of Christ.
Chap. 2. The Difference Between the Sacrament of Penance and that of Baptism Moreover, it is clear that this sacrament differs in many respects from 895 baptism [ can. 2]. For aside from the fact that in the matter and form, by which the essence of a sacrament is effected, it differs very widely, it is certainly clear that the minister of baptism need not be a judge, since the Church exercises judgment on no one who has not first entered it through the gateway of baptism. "For what have I to do," says St. Paul, "to judge them that are without?" [I Cor. 5:12]. It is otherwise with those of the household of the faith, whom Christ the Lord by the !aver of "baptism" has once made "members of his own body" [I Cor. 12:13]. For these, if they should afterwards have defiled themselves by some crime, He <lid not now wish to have cleansed by the repetition of baptism, since that is in no way permitted in the Catholic Church, but to be placed, as it were, as culprits before the tribunal, so that by the sentence of the priests they may be freed not only once, but as often as they, re- pentant for the sins committed, have had recourse to Him. Furthermore, the fruit of baptism is one thing; that of penance is another thing. For by putting on Christ by baptism [Gal. 3:27], we are made an entirely new creature in Him, obtaining a full and complete remission of all sins, to which newness and integrity, however, we can in no way arrive by the sacrament of penance without many tears and labors on our part, for divine justice demands this, so that penance has justly been called by the holy Fathers, "a laborious kind of baptism." This sacrament of penance, moreover, is necessary for the salvation of those who have fallen after baptism, as baptism itself is for those as yet not regenerated [ can. 6].
Chap. 3. The Parts and Fruits of the Sacrament of Penance Furthermore, the holy Council teaches that the form of the sacrament 896 of penance, in which its force chiefly consists, is set down in these words of the minister: "I absolve thee, etc."; to which indeed certain prayers are laudably added according to the custom of holy Church; yet in no way <lo they pertain to the essence of this form, nor are they necessary for the administration of the sacrament. The matter, as it were, of this sacra- ment, on the other hand, consists in the acts of the penitent himself, namely contrition, confession, and satisfaction [ can. 4]. These, inasmuch as by the institution of God they are required in the penitent for the integrity of the sacrament for the full and perfect remission of sins, are for this reason called the parts of penance. The reality and effectus of
2 74 fulius III, 1550-1555 this sacrament, however, so far as concerns its force and efficacy, is recon- ciliation with God, which at times in pious persons and in those who receive this sacrament with devotion is wont to be followed by peace of conscience and serenity with an exceedingly great consolation of spirit. The holy Council, while recording these matters regarding the parts and effect of this sacrament, condemns the opinions of those who main- tain that the parts of penance are the terrors of conscience and faith [can. 4]. Chap. 4. Contrition Contrition, which has the first place among the aforementioned acts of the penitent, is a sorrow of the soul and a detestation of sin committed, with a determination of not sinning in the future. This feeling of con- trition is, moreover, necessary at a[ times to obtain the forgiveness of sins, and thus for a person who has fallen after baptism it especially pre- pares for the remission of sins, if it is united with trust in divine mercy and with the desire of performing the other things required to receive this sacrament correctly. The holy Synod, therefore, declares that this contrition includes not only cessation from sin and a resolution and a beginning of a new life, but also hatred of the old, according to this state- ment: "Cast away from you all your transgressions, by which you have transgressed, and make to yourselves a new heart and a new spirit" [Ezech. 18:31]. And certainly, he who has considered those lamentations of the saints: "To Thee only have I sinned, and have done evil before Thee" [Ps. 50:6]; "I have labored in my groanings; I shall wash my bed every night" [Ps. 6:7]; "I will recount to Thee all my years in the bitter- ness of my soul" [Isa. 38:15], and others of this kind, will readily under- stand that they emanate from a certain vehement hatred of past life and from a profound detestation of sins. The Council teaches, furthermore, that though it sometimes happens that this contrition is perfect because of charity and reconciles man to God, before this sacrament is actually received, this reconciliation never- theless must not be ascribed to the contrition itself without the desire of the sacrament which is included in it. That imperfect contrition [can. 5] which is called attrition, since it commonly arises either from the con- sideration of the baseness of sin or from fear of hell and its punishments, if it renounces the desire of sinning with the hope of pardon, the Synod declares, not only does not make a person a hypocrite and a greater sinner, but is even a gift of God and an impulse of the Holy Spirit, not indeed as already dwelling in the penitent, but only moving him, assisted by which the penitent prepares a way for himself unto justice. And though without the sacrament of penance it cannot per se lead the sinner to justification, nevertheless it does dispose him to obtain the grace of God
in the sacrament of penance. For the Ninivites, struck in a salutary way by this fear in consequence of the preaching of Jonas which was full of ·terror, did penance and obtained mercy from the Lord [cf. Jonas 3]. For this reason, therefore, do some falsely accuse Catholic writers, as if they taught that the sacrament of penance confers grace without any pious endeavor on the part of those who receive it, a thing which the Church of God has never taught or pronounced. Moreover, they also falsely teach that contrition is extorted and forced, and that it is not free and volun- tary [can. 5] . Chap. 5. Confession From the institution of the sacrament of penance as already explained 899 the universal Church has always understood that the complete confession of sins was also instituted by our Lord, [Jas. 5:16; I John 1:9; (Luke 17:14)], and by divine law is necessary for all who have fallen after baptism [ can. 7 ], because our Lord Jesus Christ, when about to ascend from earth to heaven, left behind Him priests as His own vicars [Matt. 16:19; 18:18; John 20:23], as rulers and judges, to whom all the mortal sins into which the faithful of Christ may have fallen should be brought, so that they in virtue of the power of the keys may pronounce the sen- tence of remission or retention of sins. For it is evident that priests could not have exercised this judgment without a knowledge of the matter, nor could they indeed have observed justice in imposing penalties, if the faithful had declared their sins in general only, and not specifically and one by one. From this it is gathered that all mortal sins of which they have knowledge after a careful self-examination must be enumerated in confession by the penitents, even though they are most secret and have been committed only against the two last precepts of the decalogue [Exod. 20:17; Matt. 5:28], sins which sometimes wound the soul more grievously, and are more dangerous than those which are committed openly. For venial sins, by which we are not excluded from the grace of God and into which we fall more frequently, although they may rightly and profitably and without any presumption be declared in con- fession [ can. 7], as the practice of pious persons indicates, may be passed over in silence without guilt and may be expiated by many other reme- dies. But since all mortal sins, even those of thought, make men children of wrath [Eph. 2:3] and enemies of God, it is necessary to ask pardon for all of them from God by an open and humble confession. While, therefore, the faithful of Christ strive to confess all sins which occur to their memory, they undoubtedly lay all of them before the divine mercy to be forgiven [ can. 7]. While those who do otherwise and know- ingly conceal certain sins, lay nothing before the divine bounty for for- giveness by the priest. "For if one who is ill is ashamed to make known
Julius III, 1550-1555 his wound to the physician, the physician does not remedy what he does not know." 1 Furthermore, it is gathered that those circumstances also must be explained in confession, which alter the species of the sin, [ can. 7], because without them the sins themselves are neither honestly revealed by the penitents, nor are they known to the judges, and it would not be possible for them to judge rightly the gravity of the crimes and to impose the punishment which is proper to those penitents. Hence it is unreasonable to teach that these circumstances have been conjured up by idle men, or that one circumstance only must be confessed, namely to have sinned against a brother. But it is also impious to say that a confession, which is ordered to be made in this manner [ can. 8] is impossible, or to call it a torture of conscience; for it is clear that in the Church nothing else is exacted of the penitents than that each one, after he has carefully examined him- self and searched all the nooks and recesses of his conscience, confess those sins by which he recalls that he has mortally offended his Lord and God; moreover, the other sins which do not occur to him after diligent thought, are understood to be included in a general way in the same confession; for these sins we trustingly say with the Prophet: "From my hidden sins cleanse me, 0 Lord" [Ps. 18:13]. But, truly, the difficulty of such confession and the shame of disclosing the sins might appear a burdensome matter indeed, if it wrre not alleviated by so many and such great advantages and consolations which are most certainly bestowed by absolution upon all those who approach this sacra- ment worthily. Moreover, as regards the manner of confessing secretly to a priest alone, although Christ has not prohibited that one confess sins publicly in expiation for his crimes and for his own humiliation, and as an ex- ample to others, as well as for the edification of the Church offended, yet this is not commanded by divine precept, nor would it be advisedly enjoined by any human law that offenses, especially secret ones, be dis- closed by a public confession [ can. 6]. Therefore, since secret sacra- mental confession, which the holy Church has used from the beginning and which she still uses, has always been recommended by the most holy and most ancient Fathers in emphatic and unanimous agreement, the empty calumny of those who do not fear to teach that this is foreign to the divine mandate and is a human invention, and that it had its origin in the Fathers assembled in the Lateran Council [ can. 81 is manifestly disproved; for neither did the Church through the Lateran Council decree that the faithful of Christ should confess, a matter which she recognized was necessary and instituted by divine law, but that the precept of con- fession should be fulfilled at least once a year by each and all, when they 1 St. Jerome, In Eccl. comm. ro, 1 I [.ML 23, 1096].
have reached the years of discretion. Hence, this salutary custom of con- fessing to the great benefit of souls is now observed in the whole Church during that sacred and especially acceptable time of Lent, a custom which this holy Council completely approves and sanctions as pious and worthy to be retained [can. 8; seen. 427 f.].
Chap. 6. The Minister of this Sacrament and Absolution With regard to the minister of this sacrament the holy Synod declares 902 false and entirely foreign to the truth of the Gospel all doctrines which perniciously extend the ministry of the keys to any other men besides bishops and priests [ can. ro ], believing that those words of the Lord: "Whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven, and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven" [Matt. 18:18], and "Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them, and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained" [John 20:23], were indifferently and indiscriminately addressed to all the faithful of Christ contrary to the institution of this sacrament, so that anyone may have the power of remitting sins, public sins by way of rebuke, if the re- buked acquiesces, and secret ones through a voluntary confession made to anyone. It also teaches that even priests who are bound by mortal sin exercise as ministers of Christ the office of forgiving sins by virtue of the Holy Spirit conferred in ordination, and that they are of an errone- ous opinion who contend that this power does not exist in bad priests. However, although the absolution of the priest is the dispensation of the benefaction of another, yet it is not a bare ministry only, either of an- nouncing the Gospel or declaring the forgiveness of sins, but it is equiva- lent to a judicial act, by which sentence is pronounced by him as if by a judge [ can. 9]. And, therefore, the penitent should not so flatter him- self on his own faith as to think that even though he have no contri- tion, and that the intention of acting earnestly and absolving effectively be wanting in the priest, nevertheless he is truly and before God ab- solved by reason of his faith alone. For faith without penance effects no remission of sins, and he would be most negligent of his own salvation, who would know that a priest was absolving him in a jesting manner, and would not earnestly consult another who would act seriously.
Chap. 7. The Reservation of Cases Therefore, since the nature and essence of a judgment require that 903 the sentence be imposed only on subjects, there has always been the conviction in the Church of God, and this Synod confirms it as most true, that this absolution which the priest pronounces upon one over whom he has no ordinary or delegated jurisdiction has no value. It seemed to be a matter of very great importance to our most holy Fathers
fulius III, 1550-1555 for the discipline of the Christian people that certain more atrocious and grave crimes should be absolved not by anyone indiscriminately, but only by the highest priests. Hence the sovereign Pontiffs, by virtue of the supreme power given them in the universal Church, could right- fully reserve to their own exclusive judgment certain more serious cases of crimes. Neither should it be a matter of doubt, since all things which are from God are well ordered, that the same may lawfully be done by all bishops each in his own diocese, "to edification," however, "not to destruction" [II Cor. 13:10 ], by virtue of the authority over their sub- jects given to them above other priests inferior in rank, especially with regard to those crimes to which the censure of excommunication is at- tached. That this reservation of crimes has force not only in external administration, but also in the sight of God is in accord with divine authority [ can. 11]. But lest anyone perish on this account, it has always been piously observed in the same Church of God that there be no reservation at the moment of death, and that all priests, therefore, may in that case absolve all penitents from any sins and censures whatso- ever; and since outside this moment priests have no power in reserved cases, let them strive to persuade penitents to this one thing, that they approach their superiors and lawful judges for the benefit of absolution.
Chap. 8. The Necessity and Fruit of Satisfaction Finally with regard to satisfaction, which of all the parts of penance has been recommended by our Fathers to the Christian people in all ages, and which is especially assailed in our day under the pretext of piety by those who "have an appearance of piety, but who have denied the power thereof" [ II Tim. 3: 51], the ho! y Synod declares that it is absolutely false and contrary to the word of God that the guilt is never forgiven by the Lord without the entire punishment also being remitted [ can. 12, 15]. For clear and illustrious examples are found in the Sacred Writings [cf. Gen. 3:16 f.; Num. 12:14 f.; 20:rr f.; II Kings 12:13 f., etc.], besides which divine tradition refutes this error with all possible clarity. Indeed the nature of divine justice seems to demand that those who have sinned through ignorance before baptism may be received into grace in one manner, and in another those who at one time freed from the servitude of sin and the devil, and on receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, did not fear to "violate the temple of God knowingly" [I Cor. 3:17], "and to grieve the Holy Spirit" [Eph. 4:30]. And it befits divine clemency that sins be not thus pardoned us without any satisfaction, lest, seizing the occasion [Rom. 7:8 J, and considering sins trivial, we, offer- ing injury and "affront to the Holy Spirit" [Heb. 10:29], fall into graver ones, "treasuring up to ourselves wrath against the day of wrath" lRom. 2:5; Jas. 5: 3]. For, without doubt, these satisfactions greatly restrain
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from sin, and as by a kind of rein act as a check, and make penitents more cautious and vigilant in the future; they also remove the remnants of sin, and destroy vicious habits acquired by living evilly through acts contrary to virtue. Neither was there ever in the Church of God any way considered more secure for warding off impending punishment by the Lord than that men perform these works of penance [ Matt. 3 :28; 4:17; rr:2r etc.] with true sorrow of soul. Add to this that, while we suffer by making satisfaction for our sins, we are made conformable to Christ Jesus, "who made satisfaction for our sins" [Rom. 5:ro; I John 2:r f.], from whom is all our sufficiency [II Cor. 3:5], having also a most certain pledge from Him that "if we suffer with Him, we shall also be glorified" [cf. Rom. 8: r7]. Neither is this satisfaction which we discharge for our sins so much our own as it is through Jesus Christ; for we who can do nothing of ourselves, as if of ourselves, with the cooperation "of Him who" comforts us, "we can do all things." Thus man has not wherein to glory; but all "our glorying" [ cf. I Cor. 3 r; II Cor. ro:r7; Gal. 6:14] is in Christ, "in whom we live, in whom we move" [cf. Acts r7=28], in whom we make satisfaction, "bringing forth fruits worthy of penance" [Luke 3:8] which have their efficacy from Him, by Him are offered to the Father, and through Him are accepted by the Father (can. r3 f.]. The priests of the Lord ought, therefore, so far as the spirit and pm- 905 dence suggest, to enjoin salutary and suitable satisfactions, in keeping with the nature of the crimes and the ability of the penitents, lest, if they should connive at sins and deal too leniently with penitents, by the imposition of certain very light works for grave offenses, they might become participators in the crimes of others [cf. I Tim. 5:22]. Moreover, let them keep before their eyes that the satisfaction which they impose be not only for the safeguarding of a new life and a remedy against in- firmity, but also for the atonement and chastisement of past sins; for the ancient Fathers both believe and teach that the keys of the priests were bestowed not only to loose, but also to bind [cf. Matt. 16:19; John 20:23; can. 15]. Nor did they therefore think that the sacrament of penance is a tribunal of wrath or of punishments; as no Catholic ever understood that from our satisfactions of this kind the nature of the merit and satisfaction of our Lord Jesus Christ is either obscured or in any way diminished; when the Innovators wish to observe this, they teach that the best penance is a new life, in order to take away all force and practice of satisfaction [ can. r 3].
Chap. 9. The Works of Satisfaction It teaches furthermore that so great is the liberality of the divine 906 munificence that not only by punishments voluntarily undertaken by us
Julius III, 1550-1555 in atonement for sin can we make satisfaction to God the Father through Jesus Christ, or by punishments imposed by the judgment of the priest according to the measure of our offense, but also, ( and this is the great- est proof of love) by the temporal afflictions imposed by God and pa- tiently borne by us [can. 13].
The Doctrine of the Sacrament of Extreme Unction 1 It has seemed fit to the holy Synod to add to the preceding doctrine on penance the following matters concerning the sacrament of extreme unction, which was considered by the Fathers 2 the consummation not only of penance, but also of the whole Christian life which should be a perpetual penance. In the first place, therefore, as regards its institu- tion it declares and teaches that our most clement Redeemer, who wished that a provision be made for salutary remedies at all times for His servants against all the weapons of all enemies, just as He made provision for the greatest aids in other sacraments by which Christians, as long as they live, can preserve themselves free from every very grave spiritual injury, so He fortified the end of life with, as it were, the most powerful defense, by the sacrament of extreme unction [ can. I]. For, al- though "our adversary seeks" and seizes throughout our entire life occasions "to devour" [I Pet. 5:8] our souls in every manner, yet there is no time when he directs more earnestly all the strength of his cunning to ruin us completely, and if possible to drive us also from faith in the divine mercy, than when he sees that the end of life is upon us.
Chap. 1. The Institution of the Sacrament of Extreme Unction This sacred unction for the sick, however, was instituted by Christ our Lord as truly and properly a sacrament of the New Testament, alluded to in Mark [Mark 6:13], indeed, but recommended to the faithful and promulgated by James the Apostle and brother of the Lord [ can. I]. "Is any man," he says, "sick among you?" "Let him bring in the priests of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord and the prayer of faith shall save the sick man, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven him" [Jas. 5:14, 15]. In these words, as the Church has learned from apostolic tradition transmitted from hand to hand, he teaches the matter, form, proper ministration, and effect of this salutary sacrament. For the Church has understood that the matter is the oil blessed by the bishop, since the unction very appropriately represents the grace of the Holy
Spirit, with which the soul of the sick person is visibly anointed; and that these words are the form: "By this anointing, etc." Chap. 2. The Effect of the Sacrament Furthermore, the significance and effect of this sacrament are explained 909 in these words: "And the prayer of faith shall save the sick man, and the Lord shall raise him up, and if he be in sins they shall be forgiven him" [Jas. 5:15]. For the thing signified is the grace of the Holy Spirit, whose anointing wipes away sins, if there be any still to be expiated, and the remains of sin, and relieves, and strengthens the soul of the sick person [ can. 2] by exciting in him great confidence in divine mercy, supported by which the sick person bears more lightly the miseries and pains of his illness, and resists more easily the temptations of the evil spirit who "lies in wait for his heel" [Gen. 3:150], and sometimes attains bodily health, when it is expedient for the salvation of the soul.
Chap. 3. The Minister of this Sacrament and the Time When it Should be Administered And now, as regards the prescribing of those who can receive and 910 administer this sacrament, this, too, was clearly expressed in the words above. For it is also indicated there that the proper ministers of this sacrament are the presbyters of the Church [ can. 4], under which name in that place are to be understood not the elders by age or the foremost in rank among the people, but either bishops or priests duly ordained by them with the "imposition of the hands of the priesthood" (I Tim. 4: 14; can. 4]. It is also declared that this unction is to be applied to the infirm, but especially to those who are so dangerously ill that they seem to be facing the end of life, for which reason it is also called the sacra- ment of the dying. But if the sick should recover after the reception of this sacrament of extreme unction, they can with the aid of this sacra- ment be strengthened again, when they fall into another similar crisis of life. Therefore, under no condition are they to be listened to, who contrary to so open and clear a statement of the Apostle James [Jas. 5:14] teach that this unction is either a figment of the imagination or a rite re- ceived from the Fathers, having neither a command of God nor a promise of grace [can. 1]; and likewise those who assert that this has now ceased, as though it were to be referred to the grace of healing only in the primi- tive Church; and those who maintain that the rite and practice which the holy Roman Church observes in the administration of this sacra- ment are opposed to the thought of James the Apostle, and therefore ought to be changed to another; and finally, those who affirm that this extreme unction may be contemned by the faithful without sin (can. 3]. For all these things very manifestly disagree with the clear words of this
fulius III, 1550-1555 great Apostle. Nor, indeed, does the Roman Church, the mother and teacher of all others, observe anything else in the administration of this unction with reference to those matters which constitute the substance of this sacrament than what the blessed James has prescribed. Nor, in- deed, could there be contempt for so great a sacrament without grievous sin and offense to the Holy Spirit. These are the things which this sacred ecumenical Synod professes and teaches concerning the sacraments of penance and extreme unction, and it sets them forth to be believed and held by all the faithful of Christ. Moreover, the following canons, it says, must be inviolately observed, and it condemns and anathematizes forever those who assert the con- trary.
Canons On the Sacrament of Penance 1 Can. 1. If anyone says that in the Catholic Church penance is not truly and properly a sacrament instituted by Christ our Lord to reconcile the faithful, as often as they fall into sin after baptism: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 894]. Can. 2. If anyone, confusing the sacraments, says that baptism itself is the sacrament of penance, as though these two sacraments are not distinct, and that therefore penance is not rightly called "a second plank after shipwreck": let him be anathema [ cf. n. 894]. Can. 3. If anyone says that those words of the Lord Savior: "Receive ye the Holy Ghost; whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins ye shall retain, they are retained" [John 20:22 f.], are not to be understood of the power of remitting and retaining sins in the sacrament of penance, as the Catholic Church has always understood from the beginning, but, contrary to the institution of this sacrament, distorts them to an authority for preaching the Gospel: let him be anathema [cf. n. 894]. Can. 4. If anyone denies that for the full and perfect remission of sins there are three acts required on the part of the penitent, as it were, the matter of the sacrament of penance, namely contrition, confession, and satisfaction, which are called the three parts of penance; or says, that there are only two parts of penance, namely the terrors of a troubled conscience because of the consciousness of sin, and the faith recejved from the Gospel or from absolution, by which one believes that his sins have been forgiven him through Christ: let him be anathema [cf. n. 896]. Can. 5. If anyone says that this contrition, which is evoked by examina- tion, recollection, and hatred of sins "whereby one recalls his years in
the bitterness of his soul" [ Isa. 38: r 5], by pondering on the gravity of one's sins, the multitude, the baseness, the loss of eternal happiness, and the incurring of eternal damnation, together with the purpose of a better life, is not a true and a beneficial sorrow, and does not prepare for grace, but makes a man a hypocrite, and a greater sinner; finally that this sorrow is forced and not free and voluntary: let him be anathema [cf. n. 898]. Can. 6. If anyone denies that sacramental confession was either in- 916 stituted by divine law or is necessary for salvation; or says that the manner of secretly confessing to a priest alone, which the Catholic Church has always observed from the beginning and still observes, is alien to the institution and the mandate of Christ, and is a human in- vention: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 899 f.]. Can. 7. If anyone says that in the sacrament of penance it is not 917 necessary by divine law for the remission of sins to confess each and all mortal sins, of which one has remembrance after a due and diligent examination, even secret ones and those which are against the two last precepts of the decalogue, and the circumstances which alter the nature of sin; but that this confession is useful only for the instruction and con- solation of the penitent, and formerly was observed only for imposing a canonical satisfaction; or says, that they who desire to confess all their sins wish to leave nothing to be pardoned by divine mercy; or, finally, that it is not lawful to confess venial sins: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 899-90 1 ]. Can. 8. If anyone says that the confession of all sins as the Church 918 observes is impossible, and is a human tradition to be abolished by the pious, or that each and all of the faithful of Christ of either sex are not bound to it once a year, according to the constitution of the great Lateran Council, and for this reason the faithful of Christ must be persuaded not to confess during the Lenten season; let him be anathema [cf. n. 900 f.]. Can. 9. If anyone says that the sacramental absolution of the priest 919 is not a judicial act, but an empty service of pronouncing and declaring to the one confessing that his sins are forgiven, provided only that he believes that he has been absolved, or 1 even if the priest does not absolve seriously, but in jest; or says that the confession of the penitent is not re- quired, so that the priest may be able to absolve him: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 902 ]. Can. ro. If anyone says that priests who are in mortal sin do not 920 have the power of binding and loosing, or, that not only priests are the ministers of absolution, but that these words were spoken also to each 1 Read "even if" [cf. Romische Quartalschrift 34 (1926) 75-82] or, as had been proposed by the Fathers: "even if he be not contrite or the priest. . . •"
and all of the faithful: "Whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven, and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed in heaven" [ Matt. 18: 18]; and, "Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained" [John 20:23], that by virtue of these words anyone can absolve sins, public sins indeed by reproof only, if the one reproved accepts correction, secret sins by voluntary confession: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 902]. Can. Ir. If anyone says that bishops do not have the right of reserving cases to themselves, except those of external administration, and that on this account the reservation of cases does not prohibit a priest from truly absolving from reserved cases: let him be anathema [cf. n. 903]. Can. 12. If anyone says that the whole punishment, together with the guilt, is always pardoned by God, and that the satisfaction of peni- tents is nothing other than faith, by which they perceive that Christ has made satisfaction for them: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 904]. Can. 13. If anyone says that for sins, as far as temporal punishment is concerned, there is very little satisfaction made to God through the merits of Christ by the punishments inflicted by Him and patiently borne, or by those enjoined by the priest, but voluntarily undertaken, as by fasts, prayers, almsgiving, or also by other works of piety, and that therefore the best penance is only a new life: let him be anathema [cf. n. 904 fl.]. Can. 14- If anyone says that the satisfactions by which penitents atone for their sins through Jesus Christ are not a worship of God, but the traditions of men, obscuring the doctrine of grace, the true worship of God, and the very beneficence of the death of Christ: let him be anathema 1 [ cf. n. 905]. Can. 15. If anyone says that the keys have been given to the Church only to loose, and not also to bind, and that therefore priests, by im- posing penalties on those who confess, act contrary to the institution of Christ; and that it is fiction that, after eternal punishment has been re- mitted by virtue of the keys, there usually remains a temporal punish- ment to be discharged: let him be anathema [cf. n. 904].
Canons on Extreme Unction 2 Can. r. If anyone says that extreme unction is not truly and properly a sacrament instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ [cf. Mark 6: r 3], and 1 Cf. can. 2 of the Council of Laodicea (about the year 364): "Regarding those who have sinned by diverse misdeeds and persevering in the prayer of confession and penance have had a perfect conversion from evil deeds, after a period of penance has been fulfilled, in accord with the nature of the offense, communion is allowed to such because of the clemency and goodness of God" l Version of Dionysius Exiguus, Hrd I 781B].
promulgated by blessed James the Apostle [Jas. 5:14], but is only a rite accepted by the Fathers, or a human fiction: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 907 ff.]. Can. 2. If anyone says that the sacred anointing of the sick does not 927 confer grace nor remit sins, nor alleviate the sick, but that it has already ceased, as if it had at one time only been a healing grace: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 909]. Can. 3. If anyone says that the rite of extreme unction and its practice, 928 which the holy Roman Church observes, is opposed to the statement of the blessed Apostle James, and that it is therefore to be changed, and can be contemned without sin by Christians: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 9ro ]. Can. 4. If anyone says that the priests of the Church, whom blessed 929 James exhorts to be brought to anoint the sick, are not the priests or- dained by a bishop, but the elders by age in each community, and that for this reason a priest alone is not the proper minister of extreme unc- tion: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 91 o].
MARCELLUS II
COUNCIL OF TRENT, conclusion SEsswN xx1 (July 16, 1562) The Doctrine on Communion under both Species and that of Little Children 2 Preface The holy, ecumenical, and general Synod of Trent, lawfully assembled 929a in the Holy Spirit with the same legates of the Apostolic See presiding, has decreed that those things which relate to communion under both species, and to that of little children are to be explained here, since in different places various monstrous errors concerning the tremendous and most ,holy sacrament of the Eucharist are being circulated by the wiles of the evil spirit; and for this reason in some provinces many seem to have fallen away from the faith and from obedience to the Catholic Church. Therefore, it warns all the faithful of Christ not to venture to believe, teach, or preach hereafter about those matters, otherwise than is explained or defined in these decrees. 1 See n. 993. 2 C Tr VIII 698 ff.; Rcht 109 ff.; Msi XXXIII 122 B £.; Hrd X u9 ff.; Bar(Th) ad 1562 n. 70 £. (34, 230 b ff.).
Chap. 1. That Laymen and Clerics who not Offering Mass are not Bound by Divine Law to Communion under Both Species Thus, the holy Synod itself, instructed by the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and piety, [Isa. 112], and following the judgment and custom of the Church itself, declares and teaches that laymen and clerics not officiating are bound by no divine law to receive the sacrament of the Eucharist under both species, and that without injury to the faith there can be no doubt at all that communion under either species suffices for them for salvation. For al- though Christ the Lord at the Last Supper instituted and delivered to the apostles this venerable sacrament under the species of bread and wine [cf. Matt. 26:26 f.; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19; I Cor. 1r:24 f.], yet, that institution and tradition do not contend that all the faithful of Christ by an enactment of the Lord are bound [ can. 1, 2] to receive under both species [can. 1, 2]. But neither is it rightly inferred from that sixth discourse in John that communion under both forms was commanded by the Lord [can. 3], whatever the understanding may be according to the various interpretations of the holy Fathers and Doctors. For, He who said: "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you shall not have life in you" [John 6:54 ], also said: "If anyone eat of this bread, he shall live forever" [John 6:52]. And He who said: "He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood hath life everlasting" [John 6:55] also said: "The bread, which I shall give, is my flesh for the life of the world" [John 6:52]: and finally, He who said: "He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, abideth in me and I in him" [John 6:57], said nevertheless: "He that eateth this bread, shall live forever" [John 6:58].
Chap. 2. The Power of the Church Concerning the Administration of the Sacrament of the Eucharist It [the Council] declares furthermore that this power has always been in the Church, that in the administration of the sacraments, preserving their substance, she may determine or change whatever she may judge to be more expedient for the benefit of those who receive them or for the veneration of the sacraments, according to the variety of circum- stances, times, and places. Moreover, the Apostle seems to have inti- mated this in no obscure manner, when he said: "Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ and the dispensers of the mysteries of God" [ I Cor. 4: 1 J; and that he himself used this power is quite manifest in this sacrament as well as in many other things, not only in this sacra- ment itself, but also in some things set down with regard to its use, he says: "The rest I will set in order when I come" [I Cor. 11:34]. There- fore holy mother Church, cognizant of her authority in the administra-
tion of the sacraments, although from the beginning of the Christian religion the use of both species was not infrequent, nevertheless, since that custom in the progress of time has been already widely changed, induced by weighty and just reasons, has approved this custom of com- municating under either species, and has decreed that it be considered as a law, which may not be repudiated or be changed at will without the authority of the Church [ can. 2].
Chap. 3. Christ Whole and Entire and a True Sacrament is Received under Either Species Moreover, it declares that although our Redeemer, as has been said 932 before, at that Last Supper instituted this sacrament and gave it to the apostles under two species, yet it must be confessed that Christ whole and entire and a true sacrament is received even under either species alone, and that on that account, as far as regards its fruit, those who receive only one species are not to be deprived of any grace which is necessary for salvation [can. 3].
Chap. 4. Little Children are not Bound to Sacramental Communion Finally, the same holy Synod teaches that little children without the 933 use of reason are not bound by any necessity to the sacramental com- munion of the Eucharist [can. 4.], since having been "regenerated" through "the !aver" of baptism [Tit. 3:5], and having been incorporated with Christ they cannot at that age lose the grace of the children of God which has already been attained. Nor is antiquity, therefore, to be con- demned, if at one time it observed this custom in some places. For, just as those most holy Fathers had good reason for an observance of that period, so certainly it is to be believed without controversy that they did this under no necessity for salvation.
Canons on Communion Under Both Species and that of Little Children 1 Can. I. If anyone says that each and every one of the faithful of Christ 934 ought by a precept of God, or by necessity for salvation to receive both species of the most holy Sacrament: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 930 ]. Can. 2. If anyone says that the holy Catholic Church has not been in- 935 fl.uenced by just causes and reasons to give communion under the brm of bread only to layman and even to clerics when not consecrati;ig, or that she has erred in this: let him be anathema [cf. n. 931]. Can. 3. If anyone denies that Christ whole and entire, who is the 936 1 CTr VIII 699 £.; Rcht 111; Msi XXXIII 123 C; Hrd X 121 A; Bar(Th) ad 1562 n. 71 (34, 233 a).
fountain and author of all graces, is received under the one species of bread, because, as some falsely assert, He is not received according to the institution of Christ Himself under both species: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 930, 932 l. Can. 4. If anyone says that for small children, before they have attained the years of discretion, communion of the Eucharist is necessary: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 933].
SEss10N xxn (Sept. 17, 1562) The Doctrine on the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass 1 937a The holy, ecumenical, and general Synod of Trent lawfully assembled in the Holy Spirit with the same legates of the Apostolic See presiding, has decreed that the faith and doctrine concerning the great mystery of the Eucharist in the holy Catholic Church, complete and perfect in every way, should be retained and, after the errors and heresies have been repudiated, should be preserved as of old in its purity; concerning this doctrine, since it is the true and the on! y sacrifice, the ho! y Council, instructed by the light of the Holy Spirit, teaches these matters which follow, and declares that they be preached to the faithful.
Chap. I. [The Institution of the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass] 2 Since under the former Testament ( as the Apostle Paul bears witness) there was no consummation because of the weakness of the Levitical priesthood, it was necessary (God the Father of mercies ordaining it thus) that another priest according to the order of Melchisedech [ Gen. 14:18; Ps. 109:4; Heb. 7:u] arise, our Lord Jesus Christ, who could per- fect [ Heb. 1o:14] all who were to be sanctified, and lead them to perfec- tion. He, therefore, our God and Lord, though He was about to offer Himself once to God the Father upon the altar of the Cross by the media- tion of death, so that He might accomplish an eternal redemption for them [ edd.: illic, there], nevertheless, that His sacerdotal office might not come to an end with His death [Heb. 7=24, 27] at the Last Supper, on the night He was betrayed, so that He might leave to His beloved spouse the Church a visible sacrifice [ can. 1] ( as the nature of man demands), whereby that bloody sacrifice once to be completed on the Cross might be represented, and the memory of it remain even to the end of the world [I Cor. II :23 ff.] and its saving grace be applied to the remission of those 1 CTr VIII 959 ff.; Rcht 124 ff.; Msi XXXIII 128 D ff.; Hrd X 126 B ff.; Bar(Th) ad 1562 n. ror f. (34, 254 b ff.). 2 The inscriptions of the chapters of this session are not due to the Council but to
Philip Chiflletius ( 17th cent.) Cf. CTr VIII 959 note I coll. c. 701 note 1.
sins which we daily commit, declaring Himself constituted "a priest for- ever according to the order of Melchisedech" [Ps. 109:4], offered to God the Father His own body and blood under the species of bread and wine, and under the symbols of those same things gave to the apostles ( whom He then constituted priests of the New Testament), so that they might partake, and He commanded them and their successors in the priesthood in these words to make offering: "Do this in commemoration of me, etc." [Luke 22:19; I Car. u:24], as the Catholic Church has always under- stood and taught [ can. 2]. For, after He had celebrated the ancient feast of the Passover, which the multitude of the children of Israel sacrificed [Exod. 12:1 ff.] in memory of their exodus from Egypt, He instituted a new Passover, Himself to be immolated under visible signs by the Church through the priests, in memory of His own passage from this world to the Father, when by the shedding of His blood He redeemed us and "delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into His kingdom" [ Col. 1: 13]. And this, indeed, is that "clean oblation" which cannot be defiled by 939 any unworthiness or malice on the part of those who offer it; which the Lord foretold through Malachias must be offered in every place as a clean oblation [Mal. 1:n] to His name, which would be great among the gentiles, and which the Apostle Paul writing to the Corinthians has clearly indicated, when he says that they who are defiled by participation of the "table of the devils" cannot become partakers of the table of the Lord [I Car. ro:21 ], understanding by table in each case, the altar. It is finally that [sacrifice] which was prefigured by various types of sacrifices, in the period of nature and the Law [Gen. 4:4; 8:20; 12:8; 22; Ex: passim], inasmuch as it comprises all good things signified by them, as being the consumma- tion and perfection of them all.
Chap. 2. [The Sacrifice is a Visible Propitiation for the Living and the Dead] And since in this divine sacrifice, which is celebrated in the Mass, that 940 same Christ is contained and immolated in an unbloody manner, who on the altar of the Cross "once offered Himself" in a bloody manner [Heb. 9:27 ], the holy Synod teaches that this is truly propitiatory fcan. 3], and has this effect, that if contrite and penitent we approach God with a sincere heart and right faith, with fear and reverence, "we obtain mercy and find grace in seasonable aid" [Heb. 4: 16]. For, appeased by this oblation, the Lord, granting the grace and gift of penitence, pardons crimes and even great sins. For, it is one and the same Victim, the same one now offering by the ministry of the priests as He who then offered Himself on the Cross, the manner of offering alone being different. The fruits of that oblation (bloody, that is) are received most abundantly through this un-
bloody one; so far is the latter from being derogatory in any way to Him [ can. 4]. Therefore, it is offered right! y according to the tradition of the apostles [ can. 3], not only for the sins of the faithful living, for their punishments and other necessities, but also" for the dead in Christ not yet fully purged.
Chap. 3. [Masses in Honor of the Saints] And though the Church has been accustomed to celebrate some Masses now and then in honor and in memory of the saints, yet she does not teach that the sacrifice is offered to them, but to God alone, who has crowned them [can. 5]. Thence the priest is not accustomed to say: "I offer sacrifice to you, Peter and Paul," 1 but giving thanks to God for their victories, he implores their patronage, so that "they themselves may deign to intercede for us in heaven, whose memory we celebrate 0n earth" (Missal].
Chap. 4. [The Canon of the Mass] And since it is fitting that holy things be administered in a holy manner, and this sacrifice is of all things the most holy, the Catholic Church, that it might be worthily and reverently offered and received, instituted the sacred canon many centuries ago, so free from all error [ can. 6], that it contains nothing in it which does not especially diffuse a certain sanctity and piety and raise up to God the minds of those who offer it. For this consists both of the words of God, and of the traditions of the apostles, and also of pious instructions of the ho! y Pontiffs.
Chap. 5. [The Solemn Ceremonies of the Sacrifice of the Mass] And since such is the nature of man that he cannot easily without ex- ternal means be raised to meditation on divine things, on that account holy mother Church has instituted certain rites, namely, that certain things be pronounced in a subdued tone [ can. 9] in the Mass, and others in a louder tone; she has likewise [ can. 7] made use of ceremonies such as mystical blessings, lights, incense, vestments, and many other things of this kind in accordance with apostolic teaching and tradition, whereby both the majesty of so great a sacrifice might be commended, and the minds of the faithful excited by these visible signs of religion and piety to the con- templation of the most sublime matters which lie hidden in this sacrifice.
Chap. 6. [The Mass in which the Priest Alone Communicates] The holy Synod would wish indeed that at every Mass the faithful present receive communion not only by spiritual desire, but also by the sacramental reception of the Eucharist, so that a more abundant 1 St. Augustine, C. Faustum 20, 21 (ML 42, 384].
fruit of this most holy Sacrifice may be brought forth in them; yet if that is not always done, on that account it does not condemn [can. 8], those Masses in which the priest alone communicates sacramentally, as private and illicit, but rather approves and commends them, since indeed these Masses should also be considered as truly common, partly because at these Masses the people communicate spiritually, and partly, too, be- cause they are celebrated by a public minister of the Church not only for himself, but for all the faithful who belong to the Body of Christ.
Chap. 7. [The Water to be Mixed with Wine to be Offered in the Chalice] The holy Synod then admonishes priests that it has been prescribed by 945 the Church to mix water with the wine to be offered in the chalice [ can. 9], not only because the belief is that Christ the Lord did so, but also because there came from His side water together with blood [John r9:34], since by this mixture the sacrament is recalled. And since in the Apocalypse of the blessed John the peoples are called waters [Apoc. r7=r, r5], the union of the faithful people with Christ, their head, is represented.
Chap. 8. [The Mass not to be Celebrated in the Vernacular, and its Mysteries to be Explained to the People] Although the Mass contains much instruction for the faithful, it has 946 nevertheless not seemed expedient to the Fathers that it be celebrated everywhere in the vernacular [can. 9]. For this reason, since the ancient rite of each church has been approved by the holy Roman Churct, the mother and teacher of all churches, and has been retained everywhere, lest the sheep of Christ suffer hunger, and "little ones ask for bread and there is none to break it unto them" [ cf. Lam. 4 :4], the holy Synod com- mands pastors and everyone who has the care of souls to explain frequently during the celebration of the Masses, either themselves or through others, some of the things which are read in the Mass, and among other things to expound some mystery of this most holy Sacrifice, especially en Sundays and feast days.
Chap. 9. [ Preliminary Remarks on the Following Canons] Because various errors have been disseminated at this time, and many 947 things are being taught and discussions carried on by many against this ancient faith founded on the holy Gospel, on the traditions of the apostles, and on the doctrine of the holy Fathers, the holy Synod, after long and grave deliberations over these matters, has resolved by the unanimous consent of all the fathers, to condemn and to eliminate from the holy Church by means of the following canons whatever is opposed to this most pure faith and to this sacred doctrine.
Canons on the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass 1 Can. 1. If anyone says that in the Mass a true and real sacrifice is not offered to God, or that the act of offering is nothing else than Christ being given to us to eat: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 938 J. Can. 2. If anyone says that by these words: "Do this for a commemora- tion of me" [Luke 22:19; I Cor. rr:24], Christ did not make the apostles priests, or did not ordain that they and other priests might offer His own body and blood: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 938]. Can. 3. If anyone says that the sacrifice of the Mass is only one of praise and thanksgiving, or that it is a mere commemoration of the sacri- fice consummated on the Cross, but not one of propitiation; or that it is of profit to him alone who receives; or that it ought not to be offered for the living and the dead, for sins, punishments, satisfactions, and other necessities: let him be anathema fcf. n. 940]. Can. 4. If anyone says that blasphemy is cast upon the most holy sacrifice of Christ consummated on the Cross through the sacrifice of the Mass, or that by it He is disparaged: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 940]. Can. 5. If anyone says that it is a deception for Masses to be celebrated in honor of the saints and to obtain their intercession with God, as the Church intends: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 94 r]. Can. 6. If anyone says that the canon of the Mass contains errors, and should therefore be abrogated: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 942]. Can. 7. If anyone says that the ceremonies, vestments, and outward signs, which the Catholic Church uses in the celebration of Mas5es, are incentives to impiety rather than the services of piety: let him be anathema [cf. n. 943]. Can. 8. If anyone says that Masses in which the priest alone communi- cates sacramentally, are illicit and are therefore to be abrogated: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 944]. Can. 9. If anyone says that the rite of the Roman Church, according to which a part of the canon and the words of consecration are pronounced in a low tone, is to be condemned, or that the Mass ought to be celebrated in the vernacular only, or that water should not be mixed with the wine that is to be offered in the chalice because it is contrary to the institution of Christ: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 943, 945 f.].
SESSION xxm (July r 5, 1563)
956a The Doctrine on the Sacrament of Orders
1 CTr VIII 961 f.; Tcht 127; Msi XXXIII 131 C ff.; Hrd X 129 A; Bar(Th) ad 1562 n. 102 (34, 256 b £.).
2 93
Chap. 1. [The Institution of the Priesthood of the New Law] 1 Sacrifice and priesthood are so united by the ordinance of God that both 957 have existed in every law. Since, therefore, in the New Testament the Catholic Church has received from the institution of the Lord the holy, visible sacrifice of the Eucharist, it must also be confessed that there is in this Church a new visible and external priesthood [ can. I], into which the old has been translated [Heb. 7: 12]. Moreover, that this was instituted by that same Lord our Savior [ can. 3], and that to the apostles and their successors in the priesthood was handed down the power of consecrating, of offering and administering His body and blood, and also of forgiving and retaining sins, the Sacred Scriptures show and the tradition of the Catholic Church has always taught [ can. I].
Chap. 2. [The Seven Orders] Moreover, since the ministry of this holy priesthood is a divine thing, 958 it was proper that it should be exercised more worthily and with deeper veneration, that in the most well ordered arrangement of the Church, there should be different orders of ministers [Matt. 16:19; Luke 22:19; John 20:22 f.], who by virtue of their office should administer to the priesthood, so distributed that those who already had the clerical tonsure should ascend through the minor to the major orders [can. 2]. For the Sacred Scriptures make distinct mention not only of the priests, but also of the deacons rActs 6: 5; I Tim. 3: 8 f.; Phil. 1: 1], and teach in the most impressive words what is especially to be observed in their ordination; and from the very beginning of the Church the names of the following orders and the duties proper to each one are known to have been in use, namely those of the subdeacon, acolyte, exorcist, lector, and porter, though not of equal rank; for the subdiaconate is classed among the major orders by the Fathers and the sacred Councils, in which we also read very frequently of other inferior orders.
Chap. 3. [The Order of the Priesthood is Truly a Sacrament] Since from the testimony of Scripture, apostolic tradition, and the un- 959 animous consensus of opinion of the Fathers it is evident that by sacred ordination, which is performed by words and outward signs, grace is conferred, no one can doubt that order is truly and properly one of the seven sacraments of the Church [ can. 3]. For the Apostle says: "I admonish thee that thou stir up the grace of God which is in thee by the imposition of my hands. For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of sobriety" [II Tim. I :6, 7; cf. I Tim. 4: 14]. 1 The inscriptions of the chapters of this session are due to Philip Chiflletius, cf. C Tr. IX 620 note 1.
2 94
Chap. 4. [The Ecclesiastical Hierarchy and Ordination] But since in the sacrament of orders, as also in baptism and in confirma- tion, a sign is imprinted [ can. 4], which can neither be effaced nor taken away, justly does the holy Synod condemn the opinion of those who assert that the priests of the New Testament have only a temporary power, and that those at one time rightly ordained can again become laymen, if they do not exercise the ministry of the word of God [ can. r]. But if anyone should affirm that all Christians without distinction are priests of the New Testament, or that they are all endowed among themselves with an equal spiritual power, he seems to do nothing else than disarrange [ can. 6] the ecclesiastical hierarchy, which is "as an army set in array" [ cf. Cant. 6:3], just as if, contrary to the teaching of blessed Paul, all were apostles, all prophets, all evangelists, all pastors, all doctors [cf. I Cor. 12:29; Eph. 4:11]. Accordingly, the holy Synod declares that besides the other eccle- siastical grades, the bishops who have succeeded the Apostles, belong in a special way to this hierarchial order, and have been "placed ( as the same Apostle says) by the Holy Spirit to rule the Church of God" [ Acts 20:29], and that they are superior to priests, and administer the sacrament of confirmation, ordain ministers of the Church, and can perform many other offices over which those of an inferior order have no power [can. 7]. The holy Synod teaches, furthermore, that in the ordination of bishops, priests, and of other orders, the consent, or call, or authority of the people, or of any secular power or magistrate is not so required for the validity of the ordination; but rather it decrees that those who are called and in- stituted only by the people, or by the civil power or magistrate and proceed to exercise these offices, and that those who by their own temerity take these offices upon themselves, are not ministers of the Church, but are to be regarded as "thieves and robbers, who have not entered by the door" [ cf. John ro: r; can. 8]. These are the matters which in general it seemed well to the sacred Council to teach to the faithful of Christ regarding the sacrament of order. It has, however, resolved to condemn the contrary in definite and appropriate canons in the following manner, so that all, making use of the rule of faith, with the assistance of Christ, may be able to recognize more easily the Catholic truth in the midst of the darkness of so many errors, and may adhere to it.
Canons on the Sacrament of Order 1 Can. r. If anyone says that there is not in the New Testament a visible and external priesthood, or that there is no power of consecrating and offering the true body and blood of the Lord, and of forgiving and retain- 1 CTr IX 621 f.; Rcht 174; Msi XXXIII 139 D f.; Hrd X 137 A f.; Bar(Th) ad 1563 n. 127 (34, 398 b t.).
ing sins, but only the office and bare ministry of preaching the Gospel, or that those who do not preach are not priests at all: let him be anathema [cf. n. 957, 960 l. Can. 2. If anyone says that besides the priesthood there are in the 962 Catholic Church no other orders, both major and minor, by which as by certain grades, there is an advance to the priesthood: let him be anathema [cf. n. 958 j. Can. 3. If anyone says that order or sacred ordination is not truly and 963 properly a sacrament instituted by Christ the Lord, or that it is some human contrivance, devised by men unskilled in ecclesiastical matters, or that it is only a certain rite for selecting ministers of the word of God and of the sacraments: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 957, 959]. Can. 4. If anyone says that by sacred ordination the Holy Spirit is not 964 imparted, and that therefore the bishops say in vain: "Receive ye the Holy Spirit"; or that by it a character is not imprinted or that he who has once been a priest can again become a layman: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 852]. Can. 5. If anyone says that the sacred unction which the Church uses 965 in holy ordination, is not only not required, but is to be contemned and is pernicious as also are the other ceremonies of order: let him be anathema [cf. n. 856]. Can. 6. If anyone says that in the Catholic Church a hierarchy has not 966 been instituted by divine ordinance, which consists of the bishops, priests, and ministers: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 960]. Can. 7. If anyone says that the bishops are not superior to priests; or 967 that they do not have the power to confirm and to ordain, or, that the power which they have is common to them and to the priests; or that orders conferred by them without the consent or call of the people or of the secular power are invalid, or, that those who have been neither rightly ordained nor sent by ecclesiastical and canonical authority, but come from a different source, are lawful ministers of the word and of the sacraments: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 960]. Can. 8. If anyone says that the bishops who are chosen by the authority 968 of the Roman Pontiff are not true and legitimate bishops, but a human invention: let him be anathema [cf. n. 960].
SESSION xx1v (Nov. u, 1563) Doctrine (Concerning the Sacrament of Matrimony) 1 The first parent of the human race expressed the perpetual and in- 969 dissoluble bond of matrimony under the influence of the divine Spirit, 1 CTr IX 966 £.; Rcht 214 £.; Msi XXXII 149 E £.; Hrd X 147 A; Bar(Th) ad 1563 n. 193 (34, 434 a ff.).
when he said: "This now is bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh. Wherefore a man shall leave father and mother and shall cleave to his wife, and they shall be two in one flesh" [Gen. 2:23 f.; cf. Eph. 5:31]. But that by this bond two only are united and joined together, Christ the Lord taught more openly, when referring to those last words, as having been uttered by God, He said: "Therefore now they are not two, but one flesh" [Matt. 19:6], and immediately ratified the strength of this same bond, pronounced by Adam so long ago in these words: "What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder" [Matt. 19:6; Mark 10:9 ]. But the grace which was to perfect that natural love, and confirm the indissoluble union, and sanctify those united in marriage, Christ Him- self, institutor and perfector of the venerable sacraments, merited for us by His passion. The Apostle Paul intimates this, when he says: "Men, love your wives as Christ loved the Church, and delivered himself up for it" [Eph. 5:25], directly adding: "This is a great Sacrament; but I speak in Christ and in the Church" [Eph. 5:32]. Since, therefore, matrimony in the evangelical law, by grace through Christ, excels the ancient marriages, our holy Fathers, the Councils, and the tradition of the universal Church have with good reason always taught that it is to be classed among the sacraments of the New Law; and since impious men of this age, madly raging against this teaching, have not only formed false judgments concerning this venerable sacrament, but according to their custom, introducing under the pretext of the Gospel a carnal liberty, have in writing and in word asserted many things foreign to the mind of the Catholic Church and to the general opinion approved from the time of the apostles, not without great loss of the faithful of Christ, this holy and general Synod wishing to block their temerity has decided, lest their pernicious contagion attract more, that the more prominent heresies and errors of the aforesaid schismatics are to be destroyed, decreeing anathemas against these heretics and their errors. Can. 1. If anyone says that matrimony is not truly and properly one of the seven sacraments of the evangelical Law, instituted by Christ the Lord, but that it has been invented by men in the Church, and does not confer grace: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 969 f.]. Can. 2. If anyone says that it is lawful for Christians to have several wives at the same time, and that it is not forbidden by any divine law [Matt. 19:4 f.]: let him be anathema [cf. n. 969 f.]. Can. 3. If anyone says that only those degrees of consanguinity and affinity which are expressed in Leviticus [18:6 £.] can be impediments to the contract of matrimony and can dissolve it when contracted, and that the Church can dispense in some of these, or establish more to impede or invalidate: let him be anathema [ cf. n. 1550 f.].
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Can. 4. If anyone says that the Church could not establish impediments 974 invalidating marriage [cf. Matt. r6: r9], or that she has erred in establish- ing them: let him be anathema. Can. 5. If anyone says that the bond of matrimony can be dissolved 975 because of heresy, or grievous cohabitation, or voluntary absence from the spouse: let him be anathema. Can. 6. If anyone says that matrimony contracted, but not consum- 976 mated, is not dissolved by a solemn religious profession of either one of the married persons: let him be anathema. Can. 7. If anyone says that the Church errs,1 inasmuch as she has 977 taught and still teaches that in accordance with evangelical and apostolic doctrine [Matt. ro: I Cor. 7] the bond of matrimony cannot be dissolved because of adultery of one of the married persons, and that both, or even the innocent one, who has given no occasion for adultery, cannot during the lifetime of the other contract another marriage, and that he, who after the dismissal of the adulteress shall marry another, is guilty of adultery, and that she also, who after the dismissal of the adulterer shall marry another: let him be anathema. Can. 8. If anyone says that the Church errs, when she decrees that for 978 many reasons a separation may take place between husband and wife with regard to bed, and with regard to cohabitation, for a determined or m- determined time: let him be anathema. Can. 9. If anyone says that clerics constituted in sacred orders, or 979 regulars who have solemnly professed chastity, can contract marriage, and that such marriage is valid, notwithstanding the ecclesiastical law or the vow, and that the contrary is nothing else than a condemnation of marriage, and that all who feel that they have not the gift of chastity (even though they have vowed it) can contract marriage: let him be anathema. Since God does not refuse that gift to those who seek it rightly, "neither does he suffer us to be tempted above that which we are able" [I Cor. ro:r3]. Can. ro. If anyone says that the married state is to be preferred to the 980 state of virginity or celibacy, and that it is not better and happier to remain in virginity or celibacy than to be united in matrimony [ cf. Matt. r9: r r f.; I Cor. 7:25 f.; 28:40]: let him be anathema. Can. r r. If anyone says that the prohibition of the solemnization of 981 1 This form of condemnation was chosen lest the Greeks be offended, who evidently followed a contrary practice, although they did not condemn the opposite practice of the Latin Church. On this canon Pius XI (Casti Conubii, Dec. 31, 1930; AAS 22 [1930] 574) speaks thus; "But if the Church has not erred or does not err, when she taught or is teaching these things, and thus it is quite certain that matrimony can be dissolved not even on account of adultery, it is clear that other much weaker causes which are customarily brought forward are worth much less, and furthermore are to be considered valueless."
marriages at certain times of the year is a tyrannical superstition, derived from the superstition of the heathen, or condemns the benedictions and other ceremonies which the Church makes use of in them: let him be anathema. Can. 12. If anyone says that matrimonial causes do not belong to ecclesiastical judges: let him be anathema [seen. 1500 a, 1559 f.].
SESSION xxv (Dec. 3 and 4, 1563) Decree Concerning Purgatory 1 Since the Catholic Church, instructed by the Holy Spirit, in conformity with the sacred writings and the ancient tradition of the Fathers in sacred councils, and very recently in this ecumenical Synod, has taught that there is a purgatory !see n. 940, 950 ], and that the souls detained there are assisted by the suffrages of the faithful, and especially by the acceptable sacrifice of the altar, the holy Synod commands the bishops that they insist that the sound doctrine of purgatory, which has been transmitted by the holy Fathers and holy Councils, be believed by the faithful of Christ, be maintained, ta1.1ght, and everywhere preached. Let the more difficult and subtle "questions," however, and those which do not make for "edifi- cation" [cf. I Tim. 1 :4], and from which there is very often no increase in piety, be excluded from popular discourses to uneducated people. Like- wise, let them not permit uncertain matters, or those that have the appear- ance of falsehood, to be brought out and discussed publicly. Those matters on the contrary, which tend to a certain curiosity or superstition, or that savor of filthy lucre, let them prohibit as scandals and stumbling blocks to the faithful. . • •
Invocation, Veneration and Relics of Saints, and on Sacred Images 2 The holy Synod commands all bishops and others who hold the office of teaching and its administration, that in accordance with the usage of the Catholic and apostolic Church, received from primeval times of the Christian religion, and with the consensus of opinion of the holy Fathers and the decrees of sacred Councils, they above all diligently instruct the faithful on the intercession and invocation of the saints, the veneration of relics, and the legitimate use of images, teaching them that the saints, who reign together with Christ, offer up their prayers to God for men; 1 CTr IX rn77; Rcht 391; Msi XXXIII 170 D £.; Hrd X 167 C; Bar(Th) ad 1563 n. 2!0 (34, 445 a). 2 CTr IX rn77 ff.; Rcht 392 ff.; Msi XXXIII 171 A f.; Hrd X 167 E ff.; Bar(Th) ad 1563 n.211 (34, 445 a ff.).
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and that it is good and useful to invoke them suppliantly and, in order to obtain favors from God through His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who alone is our Redeemer and Savior, to have recourse to their prayers, assist- ance, and support; and that they who deny that those saints who enjoy eternal happiness in heaven are to be invoked, think impiously, or who assert that they do not pray for men, or that our invocation of them, to intercede for each of us individually, is idolatry, or that it is opposed to the word of God, and inconsistent with the honor of the "one mediator of God and men Jesus Christ" [cf. I Tim. 2:5], or that it is foolish to pray vocally or mentally to those who reign in heaven. That the holy bodies of the saints and also of the martyrs and of others 985 living with Christ, who were the living "members of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit" [cf. I Cor. 3:16; 6:19; II Car. 6:16], which are to be awakened by Him to eternal life and to be glorified, art- to be venerated by the faithful, through which many benefits are bestowed by God on men, so that those who affirm that veneration and honor are not due to the relics of the saints, or that these and other memorials are honored by the faithful without profit, and that the places dedicated to the memory of the saints for the purpose of obtaining their help are visited in vain, let these be altogether condemned, just as the Church has for a long time condemned and now condem :1s them again. Moreover, that the images of Christ, of the Virgin Mother of God, and 986 of the other saints, are to be placed and retained especially in the churches, and that due honor and veneration be extended to them, not that any divinity or virtue is believed to be in them, for which they are to be venerated, or that anything is to be petitioned from them, or that trust is to be placed in images, as at one time was done by the gentiles, who placed their hope in idols fcf. Ps. 134: 15 f.], but because the honor which is shown them, is referred to the prototypes which they represent, so that by means of the images, which we kiss and before which we bare the head and prostrate ourselves, we adore Christ, and venerate the saints, whose like- ness they bear. This is what was sanctioned by the decrees of the councils, esvecially that of the second council of NICEA, against the opponents of images [seen. 302 ff.]. Indeed let the bishops diligently teach this, that by the accounts of the 987 mysteries of our redemption, portrayed in pictures or in other representa- tions, the people are instructed and confirmed in the articles of faith which should be kept in mind and constantly pondered over; then, too, that from all sacred images great profit is derived not only because the people are reminded of the benefits and gifts, which are bestowed upon them by Christ, but also, because through the saints the miracles of God and salutary examples are set before the eyes of the faithful, so that they may give thanks to God for those things, may fashion their own lives and
Pius IV, 155g----1565 conduct in imitation of the saints, and be stimulated to adore and love God, and to cultivate piety. But if anyone should teach or maintain any- thing contrary to these decrees, let him be anathema.
If any abuses shall creep into these holy and salutary observances, the holy Synod earnestly desires that they be entirely abolished, so that no representations of false dogma and those offering occasion of dangerous error to uneducated persons be exhibited. And if at times it happens that the accounts and narratives of the Holy Scripture, when this is of benefit to the uneducated people, are portrayed and exhibited, let the people be instructed that not for that reason is the divinity represented, as if it can be seen with bodily eyes, or expressed in colors and figures.
Decree Concerning Indulgences 1 Since the power of granting indulgences was conferred by Christ on the Church, and she has made use of such power divinely given to her, [cf. Matt. 16:19; r8:r8] even in the earliest times, the holy Synod teaches and commands that the use of indulgences, most salutary to a Christian people and approved by the authority of the sacred Councils, is to be re- tained in the Church, and it condemns those with anathema who assert that they are useless or deny that there is ;n the Church the power of granting them ...•
Clandestinity Invalidating Matrimony 2 [From Session XXIX Chap. (I) "Tametsi" on the reformation of matrimony j
Although it is not to be doubted that clandestine marriages made with the free consent of the contracting parties, are valid and true marriages, so long as the Church has not declared them invalid; and consequently that they are justly to be condemned, as the holy Synod condemns those with anathema, who deny that they are true and valid, and those also who falsely affirm that marriages contracted by minors without the consent of parents are invalid, and that parents can make them sanctioned or void, nevertheless the holy Church of God for very just reasons has always detested and forbidden them. But while the holy Synod recognizes that those prohibitions by reason of man's disobedience are no longer of any use, and considers the grave sins which have their origin in such clandes- tine marriage, especially, indeed, the sins of those who remain in the state 1 CTr IX 1105; Rcht 468; Msi XXXIII 193 E f.; Hrd X 190 C; Bar(Th) ad 1563 n. 212 (34, 447 a). 2 CTr IX 968 f.; Rcht 216 ff.; Msi XXXIII 152 A; Hrd X 149 Bf.; cf. Bar(Th) ad
1563 n. 150 f. (34, 410 a £.).
of damnation, after abandoning the first wife, with whom they made a secret contract, while they publicly contract another, and live with her in continual adultery, since the Church, which does not judge what is hidden, cannot correct this evil, unless a more efficacious remedy be ap- plied, therefore by continuing in the footsteps of the holy Lateran Council [IV] proclaimed under INNOCENT III, it commands that in the future, before a marriage is contracted, public announcement be made three times on three consecutive feast days in the Church during the celebration of the Masses, by the proper pastor of the contracting parties between whom the marriage is to be contracted; after these publications have been made, if no legitimate impediment is put in the way, one can proceed with the celebration of the marriage in the open church, where the parish priest, after the man and woman have been questioned, and their mutual consent has been ascertained, shall either say: "I join you together in matrimony, in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," or use other words, according to the accepted rite of each province. But if at some time there should be a probable suspicion that a marriage 991 can be maliciously hindered, if so many publications precede it, then either one publication only may be made, or the marriage may be cele- brated at once in the presence of the parish priest and of two or three witnesses; then before its consummation the publications should be made in the church, so that, if any impediments exist, they may the more easily be detected, unless the ordinary himself may judge it advisable that the publications be dispensed with, which the holy Synod leaves to his prudence and judgment. Those who shall attempt to contract marriage otherwise than in the 992 presence of the parish priest, or of another priest with the authorization of the parish priest or the ordinary, in the presence of two or three wit- nesses, the holy Synod renders absolutely incapable of thus contracting marriage, and declares that contracts of this kind are invalid and nil, inasmuch as by the present decree it invalidates and annuls them.
The Trinity and the Incarnation (against the Unitarians) 1 [From the ordinance of Paul IV, "Cum quorundam," 2 Aug. 7, 1555]
Since the depravity and iniquity of certain men have reached such a 993 point in our time that, of those who wander and deviate from the Catholic faith, very many indeed not only presume to profess different heresies but 1 BR(T) 6, 500 bf.; MBR 1, 821 b.-This document, which according to chrono- logical order should be placed after n. 929, has been placed here, so as not to break the series of decrees of the Council of Trent. 2 This constitution was confirmed by Clement VIII by the brief "Dominici gregis,"
Feb. 3, 1603 [BR(T) II a].
also to deny the foundations of the faith itself, and by their example lead many away to the destruction of their souls, we, in accord with our pastoral office and charity, desiring, in so far as we are able with God, to call such men away from so grave and destructive an error, and with paternal severity to warn the rest, lest they fall into such impiety, all and each who have hitherto asserted, claimed or believed that Almighty God was not three in persons and of an entirely uncomposed and undivided unity of substance and one single simple essence of divinity; or that our Lord is not true God of the same substance in every way with the Father and the Holy Spirit, or that He was not conceived of the Holy Spirit according to the flesh in the womb of the most blessed and ever Virgin Mary, but from the seed of Joseph just as the rest of men; or that the same Lord and our God, Jesus Christ, did not submit to the most cruel death of the Cross to re- deem us from sins and from eternal death, and to reunite us with the Father unto eternal life; or that the same most blessed Virgin Mary was not the true mother of God, and did not always persist in the integrity of virginity, namely, before bringing forth, at bringing forth, and always after bringing forth, on the part of the omnipotent God the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, with apostolic authority we demand and advise, etc.
The Profession of Faith of the Council of Trent 1 [From the Bull of Pius IV, "Iniunctum nobis," Nov. 13, 1565]
I, N., with firm faith believe and profess all and everything which is contained in the creed of faith, which the holy Roman Church uses, namely: I believe 2 in one God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, and born of the Father before all ages, God of God, light of light, true God of true God, begotten not made, consub- stantial with the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation descended from heaven, and became incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; he was also crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, suffered and was buried; and he rose on the third day according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven; he sitteth at the right hand of the Father, and will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, of whose kingdom there shall be no end; and in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who together with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified; who spoke through the prophets; and in one holy
MBR 2, 138 b ff. 2 Creed Nic.-Const.; see n. 86.
Catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the rem1ss10n of sins, and I await the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen. The apostolic and ecclesiastical traditions and all other observances and 995 constitutions of that same Church I most firmly admit and embrace. I likewise accept Holy Scripture according to that sense which our holy Mother Church has held and does hold, whose [office] it is to judge of the true meaning and interpretation of the Sacred Scriptures; I shall never accept nor interpret it otherwise than in accordance with the unanimous consent of the Fathers. I also profess that there are truly and properly seven sacraments of the 996 New Law instituted by Jesus Christ our Lord, and necessary for the sal- vation of mankind, although not all are necessary for each individual; these sacraments are baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, penance, ex- treme unction, order, and matrimony; and [I profess] that the:- confer grace, and that of these baptism, confirmation, and order cannot be repeated without sacrilege. I also receive and admit the accepted and ap- proved rites of the Catholic Church in the solemn administration of all the aforesaid sacraments. I embrace and accept each and everything that has been defined and declared by the holy Synod of Trent concern- ing original sin and justification. I also profess that in the Mass there is offered to God a true, proper sac- 997 rifice of propitiation for the living and the dead, and that in the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist there is truly, really, and substantially present the body and blood together with the soul and the divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that there takes place a conversion of the whole substance of bread into the body, and of the whole substance of the wine into the blood; and this conversion the Catholic Church calls transubstan- tiation. I also acknowledge that under one species alone the whole and entire Christ and the true sacrament are taken. I steadfastly hold that a purgatory exists, and that the souls there de- 998 tained are aided by the prayers of the faithful; likewise that the saints reigning together with Christ should be venerated and invoked, and that they offer prayers to God for us, and that their relics should be venerated. I firmly assert that the images of Christ and of the Mother of God ever Virgin, and also of the other saints should be kept and retained, and that due honor and veneration should be paid to them; I also affirm that the power of indulgences has been left in the Church by Christ, and that the use of them is especially salutary for the Christian people. I acknowledge the holy Catholic and apostolic Roman Church as the 999 mother and teacher of all churches; and to the Roman Pontiff, the suc- cessor of the blessed Peter, chief of the Apostles and vicar of Jesus Christ, I promise and swear true obedience.
Also all other things taught, defined, and declared by the sacred canons and ecumenical Councils, and especially by the sacred and holy Synod of Trent, (and by the ecumenical Council of the Vatican,1 particularly con- cerning the primacy of the Roman Pontiff and his infallible teaching), I without hesitation accept and profess; and at the same time all things contrary thereto, and whatever heresies have been condemned, and re- jected, and anathematized by the Church, I likewise condemn, reject, and anathematize. This true Catholic faith, outside of which no one can be saved, (and) which of my own accord I now profess and truly hold, I, N., do promise, vow, and swear that I will, with the help of God, most faith- ful! y retain and profess the same to the last breath of life as pure and in- violable, and that I will take care as far as lies in my power that it be held, taught, and preached by my subjects or by those over whom by virtue of my office I have charge, so help me God, and these holy Gospels of God.
Errors of Michael du Bay (BAH) 2 [Condemned in the Bull "Ex omnibus affiictionibus," Oct. r, 1567]
r. Neither the merits of an angel nor of the first man still in the state of integrity are called grace. 1 What is included by parentheses is now to be added from Deer. S.C. Cone. (Jan. 20, 1877), [ASS IO (1877)]. 2 DuPl III, II 110 ff.; coll. Viva 553 a; CIC Rcht II 136 ff.-Michael Baius (du Bay),
born in 1513, professor on the faculty of theology at Louvain, began to propose false doctrines in 1551. When presently others, especially Ruardus Lapperus, strenuously opposed him, in the year 1560 the theses of du Bay were sent to the faculty in Paris and were condemned by it. But when du Bay and his followers stirred up great con- tention, Pius JV in the year 1561 imposed silence upon him. But when du Bay did not obey, Pius V in a Bull, not then published, "Ex omnibus afllictionibus," omitting the name of the writer, noted his theses with various censures. Then du Bay sent a de- fense of his teaching to the Pontiff, who after reading it confirmed in the year 1569 the earlier condemnation. And when du Bay, who for appearance sake had subjected him- self, was unwilling to cease spreading his errors, that condemnation was repeated and the Bull of Pius V was published by Gregory XIII in the Bull "Provisionis nostrae" on Jan. 29, 1579 [BR(T) 8,315 a ff.; Hrd X 126 ff.], and afterwards by Urban VIII in the Bull "In eminenti Eccl. milit." on the 6th of March, 1641 [BR(T) 15, 93 a ff.].-These theses either word for word, or at least according to sense have been selected from the various works of du Bay: 1-20, "On the merits of works" (De meritis operum); 21-24, 26, "On the first justice of man" (De prima hominis iustitia); 25, 27-30, "On the vir- tues of the impious" (De virtutibus impiorum); 31-34, 36-38, 42, "On charity" (De caritate); 37, 39-41, 66, "On free will" (De libero arbitrio); 42-43, "On justice" (De iustitia); 44, "On justification" (De iustificatione); 45, "On sacrifice" (De sacrificio);
2. Just as an evil work by its nature is deserving of eternal death, so a 1002 good work by its own nature is meritorious of eternal life. 3. Felicity would be the reward, and not grace both for-the good angels 1003 and for the first man, if he had persevered in that state even to the end of his life. 4. Eternal life was promised to integral man and to the angel in view 1004 of good works, and good works in themselves from the law of nature suffice for attaining it. 5. In the promise made both to the angel and to the first man is con- 1005 tained the disposition of natural justice, whereby for good works without any other regard eternal life is promised to the just. 6. By the natural law it has been ordained for man that, if he would 1006 persevere in obedience, he would attain to that life, in which he could not die. 7. The merits of the first integral man were the gifts of the first creation, 1007 but according to the manner of speech in Sacred Scripture they are not rightly called grace; for this reason they should be called merits only, not also grace. 8. In the redeemed through the grace of Christ no good merit can be 1008 found, which may not be freely bestowed upon one who is unworthy. 9. Gifts bestowed upon integral man and to an angel, perhaps not to 1009 be condemned by reason, can be called grace; but, according to the use of Sacred Scripture, these gifts which were bestowed through Jesus Christ upon those badly meriting and unworthy of them are understood only by the name of grace; therefore, neither the merits nor the reward, which is rendered to them, should be called grace. ro. The remission of temporal punishment, which often remains after 1010 the forgiveness of sin, and the resurrection of the body must properly be ascribed only to the merits of Christ. 1 I. The fact that having lived piously and justly in this mortal life 1011 even to the end of life we attain eternal life, should not be imputed to the grace of God, but to the natural order instantly ordained in the beginning of creation by the just judgment of God; neither in this recompense of goods is regard paid to the merit of Christ, but only to the first institution of the human race, in which it is ordained by the natural law that by the just judgment of God eternal life is paid for obedience to His man- dates. 12. The opinion of Pelagius is: A good work performed without the 1012 grace of adoption, is not meritorious of the heavenly kingdom. 46-48, 50-55, "On original sin" (De peccato originis); 57-58, "On prayer for the dead" (De oratione pro defunctis); 59-60, "On indulgences" (De indulgentiis); the rest have been deduced from the principles of du Bay.-The errors of du Bay are divided by some into 76 propositions; by others into 79.
r3. Good works, performed by the sons of adoption, do not receive a consideration of merit from the fact that they are done through the spirit of adoption which lives in the hearts of the sons of God, but only from the fact that they are conformable to law, and because through them obedience is preferred to law. r4. The good works of the just do not receive on the day of the last judgment a fuller reward than they deserve to receive by the just ji.;dgment of God. r 5. The reason of merit does not consist in this, that he who works well should have grace and the indwelling Holy Spirit, but in this only, that he obeys the divine law. r6. That is not true obedience of the law, which is done without charity. r7. They are in agreement with Pelagius who say that it is necessary for reason of merit, that man through the grace of adoption be lifted up to a deified state. r8. The works of the catechumens, as faith and penance performed before the remission of sins, are merits for eternal life; and they will not attain this life, unless the impediments of preceding faults are first taken away. r9. The works of justice and temperance which Christ performed, have not obtained greater value from the dignity of the person operating. 20. No sin is venial by its own nature, but every sin deserves eternal punishment. 2r. The sublimation and exaltation of human nature in participation with the divine nature has been due to the integrity of the first condition, and hence must be called natural, and not supernatural. 22. They agree with Pelagius who understand the text of the Apostle to the Romans: "The nations, who do not have a law, do naturally the things, which are of the law" [Rom. 2:14], concerning nations who do not possess the grace of faith. 23. Absurd is the opinion of those who say that man from the beginning, by a certain supernatural and gratuitous gift, was raised above the con- dition of his nature, so that by faith, hope, and charity he cherished God supernaturally. 24. By vain and idle men, in keeping with the folly of philosophers, is the opinion devised which must be referred to Pelagianism, that man was so constituted from the beginning that through gifts added upon nature by the bounty of the Creator he was raised and adopted into the sonship of God. 25. All works of infidels are sins, and the virtues of philosophers are vices. 26. The integrity of the first creation was not the undeserved exalta- tion of human nature, but its natural condition.
3°7 27. Free will, without the help of God's grace, has only power for 1027 sm. 28. It is a Pelagian error to say that free will has the power to avoid 1028 any sm. 29. Not only are they "thieves" and "robbers" who deny that Christ is 1029 the way and "the door" of the truth and life, but also whoever teaches that there can be ascent [cf. John 10:r] to the way of justice (that is to any justice) otherwise than through Him, 30. or, that man can resist any temptation without the help of His 1030 grace, so that he may not be led into it and not be overcome by it. 31. Perfect and sincere charity, which is from a "pure heart and good 1031 conscience and a faith not feigned" [I Tim. r:5], can be in catechumens as well as in penitents without the remission of sins. 32. That charity which is the fullness of the law is not always connected 1032 with the remission of sins. 33. A catechumen lives justly and rightly and holily, and observes the 1033 commandments of God, and fulfills the law through charity, which is only received in the !aver of baptism, before the remission of sins has been obtained. 34. That distinction of a twofold love, namely a natural one, by which 1034 God is loved as the author of nature, and of a gratuitous love, by which God is loved as one who blesses, is vain and false and devised to ridicule the sacred literature and most of the testimonies of the ancients. 35. Every action which a sinner, or a slave of sin performs is a sin. 36. Natural love which arises from the force of nature, is defended by 1036 some doctors according to philosophy alone through the pride of human presumption with injury to the Cross of Christ. 37. He agrees with Pelagius, who acknowledges anything as a natural 1037 good, that is, whatever he thinks has arisen from the forces of nature alone. 38. All love of a rational creature is either vicious cupidity, by which 1038 the world is loved, which is prohibited by John; or that praiseworthy charity by which "when poured forth" by the Holy Spirit in our heart [Rom. 5:5 ], God is loved. 39. What is voluntarily done, even though it be done by necessity, is 1039 nevertheless freely done. 40. In all his actions a sinner serves his ruling passion. 41. This measure of freedom, which is of necessity, is not found in the 1041 Scriptures under the name of freedom, but is merely the name for freedom from sin. 42. Justice, by which an impious person is justified by faith, consists 1042 formally in the obedience of mandates, which is the justice of works; not however in any grace [habitual] infused into the soul, by which man is
adopted into the sonship of God and renewed according to the interior man and made a sharer of the divine nature, so that, thus renewed through the Holy Spirit, he can in turn live well and obey the mandates of God. 43. In persons who are penitent before the sacrament of absolution, and in catechumens before baptism, there is true justification, yet sep- arated from the remission of sin. 44. In most good works performed by the faithful, simply to obey the mandates of God, such as obedience to parents, paying a trust, abstain- ing from homicide, theft, fornication, certain men are justified, because these are obedience to the law and the true justice of the law; and yet they do not obtain for them the increments of the virtues. 45. The sacrifice of the Mass is a sacrifice for no other reason than for that general one by which "every work is performed that man may be closely connected with God in holy association." 1 46. Voluntariness does not pertain to the essence and definition of sin, nor is it a question of definition, but of cause and origin, whether every sin is bound to be voluntary. 47. Therefore original sin truly has the essence of sin without any relation and respect to will, from which it had its origin. 48. Original sin is voluntary in the habitual will of a child and habitually dominates the child, in this, that a child does not act contrary to the freedom of the will. 49. And from an habitually dominating will it comes to pass that a small child, dying without the sacrament of regeneration, when he has attained the use of reason actually holds God in hatred, blasphemes God, and resists the law of God. 50. Bad desires, to which reason does not consent, and which man unwillingly suffers, are prohibited by the precept: "Thou shalt not covet" [cf. Exod. 20:17]. 5r. Concupiscence, whether the law of the members, and its depraved desires which men experience against their will, are the true disobediences of the law. 52. Every crime is of this nature, that it can corrupt its author and all posterity in the way in which the first transgression corrupted. 53. As much as arises from the force of transgression, so much of merited evils do they contract from the one generating, those who are born with lesser faults as well as those who are born with greater ones. 54. This definitive opinion, that God has given no impossible com- mands to man, is falsely attributed to Augustine, whereas it belongs to Pelagius. 55. God would not have had the power from the beginning to create such a man as is born now. 56. There are two things in sin, an act and guilt; when, however, the 1 Cf. St. Augustine, De civit. Dei ro, 6 (ML 41, 283).
act has passed, nothing remains except the guilt and the obligation to pay the penalty. 57. Therefore, in the sacrament of baptism or in the absolution of the 1057 priest the guilt of the sin only is taken away, ar:d the ministry of the priests frees from guilt alone. 58. A penitent sinner is not vivified by the ministry of a priest who 1058 absolves, but by God alone, who by suggesting and inspiring penance, vivifies and brings him back to life; however, by the ministry of the priest on the other hand, the guilt alone is taken away. 59. When by almsgiving and other works of penance we make satis- 1059 faction to God for temporal punishments, we do not offer a worthy price to God for our sins, as some erring persons affirm ( for otherwise, at least in some part, we should be redeemers); but we do something, in view of which the satisfaction of Christ is applied and communicated to us. 60. Through the sufferings of the saints communicated in indulgences, 1060 our sins are not properly atoned for; but through a communion of charity their sufferings are commumcated to us, that we, who were freed by the price of the blood of Christ from punishments due to sins, may be worthy. 61. That famous distinction of the doctors, that the mandates of the 1061 divine law are fulfilled in two ways: in one way, in so far as pertains to the substance of the works alone; in the other way, in so far as pertains to a definite manner, namely, according to which they can guide the doer to eternal life ( that is in the meritorious manner), is fabricated and should be rejected. 62. That distinction also by which a work is called good in two ways, 1062 either because it is right and good from its object and all its circumstances (which is usually termed moral), or because it is meritorious of the eternal kingdom, in so far as it proceeds from a living member of Christ the Spirit of charity, must be rejected. 63. Moreover that distinction of a twofold justice, one which is brought 1063 to pass through the indwelling Spirit of charity, the other which arises from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit exciting the heart to penance, but not yet dwelling in the heart and diffusing charity in it, by which the justification of the divine law may be fulfilled, is similarly condemned. 64. And likewise that distinction of a twofold vivification, the oue, by which a sinner is vivified, when the resolution to penance and the begin- ning of a new life through the grace of God inspire him; the other, by which he is vivified who is truly justified and is made a living branch on the vine for Christ, is equally deceitful and in no w;,y consonant with the Scriptures. 65. Some good, or at least not bad use of free will can be admitted only 1065 by a Pelagian error; and he who knows and teaches this, does injury to the grace of Christ.
JIO 66. Violence alone repels the natural liberty of man. 67. Man sins, even to damnation, in what he does by necessity. 68. Purely negative infidelity in those among whom Christ has not been preached, is a sin. 69. The justification of a wicked man takes place formally through obedience to the law, not, however, through the hidden communication and the inspiration of grace, which makes those justified by it fulfill the law. 70. Man existing in the state of mortal sin, or under the penalty of eternal damnation can have true charity; and even perfect charity can exist along with the guilt of eternal damnation. 71. Through contrition even when joined with perfect charity and with the desire to receive the sacrament, a crime is not remitted without the actual reception of the sacrament, except in case of necessity, or of martyrdom. 72. All afflictions of the just are punishments for sins themselves, there- fore, both Job and the martyrs suffered what they suffered on account of sins. 73. No one except Christ is free from original sin; hence, the Blessed Virgin died because of sin contracted from Adam, and all of her afflic- tions in this life as well as those of other just persons were the punish- ments for actual sin, or for original sin. 74. Concupiscence in the regenerated who have fallen back into mortal sin, and in those in whom it dominates, is a sin, as also are other bad habits. 75. The bad impulses of concupiscence in the state of depraved man are prohibited by the precept: "Thou shalt not covet" (Exod. 20: r7]; hence, a man aware of these and not consenting, transgresses the precept: "Thou shalt not covet," although the transgression is not to be classed as a sin. 76. As long as there is something of carnal concupiscence in one who loves, he does not fulfill the precept: "Thou shalt love the Lord with thy whole heart" [Deut. 6:5; Matt. 22:37]. 77. Laborious satisfactions of those who are justified are of no avail to expiate condignly the temporal punishments remaining after the fault has been remitted. 78. The immortality of the first man was not a benefit of grace, but a natural condition. 79. The opinion of the doctors that the first man could have been created by God and established without natural justice, is false.
These opinions have been carefully considered and examined oefore us; although some of them could be maintained in some way, 1 yet in the strict 1 This is the very celebrated Comma Pianum, which heretics transferred from this place to another, so that the sense was clearly changed. On this matter consult Tornclius,
]II
and proper sense intended by those asserting them, we condemn them respectively as heretical, erroneous, suspect, rash, scandalous, and as giving offense to pious ears.
Exchanges (i.e., Exchanging of Money, Promissory Notes) 1 [From the ordinance "In earn pro nostro," Jan. 28, 1571]
First (then) we condemn all those exchanges which are called fictitious, 1081 ( elsewhere, dry), and are so devised that the contracting parties at certain market places or at other localities pretend to solemnize exchanges; at which places those who receive money, actually hand over their letters of exchange, but they are not sent, or they are so sent that, when the time has passed they are brought back void, whence they had set out; or, even when no letters of this kind were handed over, the money is finally de- manded with interest, where the contract had been solemnized; for be- tween givers and receivers even from the beginning it had been so decided, or surely such was the intention, and there is no one who in the market- places or the above mentioned places makes payment, when such letters are received. And similar to this evil is also that, when money or deposits or by another name fictitious exchanges are handed over so that after- wards in the same place or elsewhere they are paid back with interest. But even in the exchanges which are called real, sometimes, as it is 1082 reported to me, bankers put off the prescribed term of payment, when a profit has been received according to tacit or expressed agreement or even only a promise. All these things we declare to be usurious, and strictly prohibit their being done.
Profession of Faith Prescribed for the Greeks 2 [From the acts concerning the union of the Greco-Russian church, 1575]
I, N., in firm faith believe and profess each and every thing which is 1083 contained in the Creed of faith, which the holy Roman Church uses,
Tract. de gratia Christi q. 3, sec., "Momenta ex parte materiae Bullarum adversus Baium"; also Kilber, Tract. de gratia, disp. 4, c. 2 "De variis circa gratiam erroribus," art. 4, quaeres 2. Viva ad prop. 31, Alexandri VIII B. n. 13 [cf. n. 1321].
namely: I believe in one God [ as in the Nicean-Constantinopolitan Creed, n. 86, 994]. I also believe, and I accept and profess all the things which the holy ecumenical Synod of FLORENCE defined and declared concerning the union of the western and eastern Church, namely that the Holy Spirit is eternally from the Father and the Son; and that He has His essence and His subsistent being from the Father and from the Son together; and that He proceeds from both eternally, as from one principle and by a single procession, since what the holy Doctors and Fathers say comes to mean the same thing, that from the Father through the Son the Holy Spirit proceeds, and that the Son, according to the Greeks, is also the cause, and according to the Latins, indeed the principle of the subsistence of the Holy Spirit, as is the Father. All things, however, which are of the Father, the Father Himself has given to His only-begotten Son in generation, outside of being the Father; the very fact that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son, the Son himself eternally has from the Father, by whom He has also been eternally begotten. And that the explanation of these words, "Filioque," for the sake of declaring the truth, and because of imminent necessity, has lawfully and reasonably been added to the Creed . . . . The text follows from the decrees of the union of the Greeks. Council of FLORENCE. Besides, I profess and accept all the other things which the holy lZoman and Apostolic Church, according to the decrees of the holy ecumenical general Synod of TRENT, proposed and prescribed should be professed and accepted, as well as the contents in the above mentioned creeds of faith, as follows: Apostolic . . . and all the rest, as in the profession of faith of TRENT [n. 995 ff.].
URBAN VII 1590 INNOCENT IX 1591
The Faculty of Blessing Sacred Oils 1 [From the Instruction concerning the rites of the Ital0-Greeks, August 30, 1595]
(3) . . . Greek priests are not to be forced to accept the holy oils, ex- cept the chrism from the Latin diocesan bishops, since oils of this kind are 1 BR(T) 10, 212 a; cf. Constit. Benedicti XIV "Etsi pastoralis," May 26, 1742 [BB (M) 1,353; MBR 16, 96 b]; where it is stated that Greek priests cannot validly confirm
3r3 produced and blessed by them in the furnishing of the oils and the pre- sensation of the sacraments according to the ancient rite . . . . Let them be forced to accept chrism, however, which 1 even according to their rite, cannot be blessed except by a bishop.
Ordination of Schismatics [From the same Instruction] 1
(4) Those ordained by schismatic bishops, who have been otherwise l087 duly ordained, the due form having been observed, receive, indeed, ordina- tion, but not jurisdiction.
Absolution of One in absentia 2 [From the Decree of the Holy Office, June 20, 1602]
His Holiness . . . condemned and forbade as false, rash, and scandalous 1088 the proposition, namely, "that it is lawful through letters or through a messenger to confess sins sacramentally to an absent confessor, and to receive absolution from that same absent confessor," and orders in turn that that proposition thereafter not be taught in public or private gather- ings, assemblies, and congresses; and that it never in any case be defended as probable, be given the stamp of approval, or be reduced in any way to practice. According to an opinion of the Holy Office, published repeatedly (:'.spe- l089 cially on June 7, 1603, and January 24, 1522) under Clement VIII and Paul V, this decree also in a divided sense, i.e., on confession and on absolution separately, is sound; to the decree of the Holy Office a reply was made on July 14, 1605: "The most holy has decreed that the men- tioned interpretation of P. Suarez on the above mentioned decree [namely, on the divided sense] is not adequate," and, according to a decree of the Congregation of the Fathers Theologians on June 7, 1603, it cannot be supported "from that case, when upon only signs of repentance being given and reported to a priest who is present, absolution is given one on the very point of death after confession of sins was made to an absent priest, since it contains an entirely conflicting difficulty." This decree, "by the aforesaid Supreme Pontiffs" is said to have been approved in a decree published on January 24, 1622, by a cardinal, one of the Inquisitors, together with some theologians, and is published a second time: according infants in Italy and adjacent islands, since this was expressly forbidden [sec n. 1459] them by Clement VJII in the year I 595. BR(T) IO, 212 b. 2 DuPI III, II 171; Viva I 577 a.
JI4 to a decree of January 24, 1622, "from the case of that sick person, to whom on the very point of death upon petitioning for confession and after signs of repentance were given, and reported to a priest who is coming, absolu- tion is given, although ( the circumstances) contain conflicting reason, no controversy can arise over the spoken decree of Clement VIII." 1
LEo XI 1605
PAUL V 1605-rfor The Aids or Efficacy of Grace 2 [From the formula for ending disputes sent to the superior generals of the Order of Preachers and of the Society of Jesus, Sept. 5, 1607]
In the matter of aids rde auxiliis] the right is granted by the Supreme Pontiff not only to the disputants but also to the consultors of returning to their countries and their homes; and it is added that this will be so that His Holiness may promulgate at an opportune time the declaration and conclusion which were awaited. But it was most seriously forbidden by the sam<; Most Holy Lordship that in treating this question anyone either qualify the position opposite his own or note it with any censure. Even more he desires that they in turn abstain from harsh words indicat- ing bitterness of mind. 3
GREGORY xv 1621-1623 URBAN 1 For this and other documents on this subject, see R. de Scorraille, Francois Suarez
2 Theod. Eleuthcrius (Meyer) S.J., Historia controversiarum de divinae gratiae auxi-
liis, Antwerp., 1705, 724 a; cf. Jas. Hyac. Serry, 0. Pr., Historia Congrcgationum de auxiliis divinae gratiae, Antwerp., 1709, 587 f.; G. Schneemann, S.J., Controversiarum de div. gratiae libcrique arbitrii Concordia initia et progressus, Friburgi, 1881, 292 f. When a sharp controversy had arisen between Dominicans and the Jesuit fathers on the aids of grace, whether indeed grace is efficacious from within (from the efficacy of con- nection with consent) and consists of physical predetermination, as the most reverend Preachers said, or whether the infallibility of divine predestination to grace depends on an intermediate knowledge, Clement VIII established a Congregation on aids to put an end to the strife, which for nine whole years, 1598-1607, sweated over a solution of the case. Finally, when Paul V was in power, after endless disputations were held by the most celebrated theologians of both parties, an end was imposed upon the strife by the Highest Supreme Pontiff. 3 Furthermore Paul V (decree of the Holy Office, Dec., 1611) prohibited the publica- tion of books on the subject of aids, even under the pretext of commenting on St. Thomas, or in any other way, without first having been proposed to the Holy Inquisitor. Urban VIII reinforced this ( through the decrees of the Holy Inquisitor on the days of May 22, 1625 and August 1, 1642) by adding the penalties of deprivation of the faculty
JI5
Error of the Dual Head of the Church ( or the Primacy of R. P.) 1 [From the decree of the Sacred Office, Jan. 24, 1647]
The most holy . . . has decreed and declared heretical this proposition 1091 so presented that it established an exact equality between St. PETER and St. Paul, without subordination and subjection of St. Paul to St. Peter in supreme power, and in the rule of the universal Church: "St. PETER and St. Paul are the two princes of the Church who form one head, or: there are two Catholic heads and supreme leaders of the Catholic Church, joined in highest unity between themselves"; or, "the head of the Catholic Church consists of two who are most divinely united into one"; or, "there are two supreme pastors and guardians of the Church, who form one head only."
of teaching and of preaching, of reserving the active and passive voice and excom1nuni- cation ( of an interdict respectively) to the Supreme Pontiff, and to be incurred ipso facto. Yet these prohibitions afterwards passed into disuse. Certain of the adversaries of the Molinists falsely contended that the Bull which condemned their doctrine was made by Paul V, and was not only promulgated but that the autograph was preserved in the archive [cf. n. 1097]. The Supreme Pontiff imposed strict silence regarding the conclusion of the Congregation, and gave over to the General of each order a formula by which each would announce the will of the Pope to his man. Not long after Benedict XIV wrote as follows (in the year 1748) to the Supreme Inquisitor of Spain: "You know that there are manifold opinions in the schools on the famous questions about predestination and grace, and on the manner of reconciling human liberty with the omnipotence of God. The Thomists are proclaimed destroyers of human liberty and as followers, not to say of Jansenism but even of Calvinism; but, since they meet the charges with eminent satisfaction, and since their opinion has never been condemned by the Holy See, the Thomists carry on with impunity in this matter, and it is not fitting for any ecclesiastical superior in the present state of affairs to remove them from their opinion. The Augustinians are reported as the followers of du Bay and Jansenism. They :-epresent themselves as supporters of human liberty, and with all their strength banish opposition and, since their opinion has not been condemned by the Holy See, there is no one who does not see that there can be no effort on the part of anyone to cause them to relinquish their opinion. The followers of Molina and Suarez are con- demned by their adversaries just as if they were Semipelagians; the Roman Pontiffs thus far have not passed judgment on this system of Molina, and so they continue in its defense and can continue . . . . "-For the decree of Innocent X against Jansenists and what was afterwards published by the Supreme Pontiffs on this matter, see n. 1097. 1 DuPI. III, II 248.
Errors (5) of Cornelius Jansen 1 [Excerpts from "Augustinus" and condemned in the Constitutions "Cum occasione," May 31, 1658]
r. Some of God's precepts are impossible to the just, who wish and strive to keep them, according to the present powers which they have; the grace, by which they are made possible, is also wanting. Declared and condemned as rash, impious, blasphemous, condemned by anathema, and heretical. 2. In the state of fallen nature one never resists interior grace. Declared and condemned as heretical. 3. In order to merit or demerit in the state of fallen nature, freedom from necessity is not required in man, but freedom from external com- pulsion is sufficient. Declared and condemned as heretical. 4. The Semipelagians admitted the necessity of a prevenient interior grace for each act, even for the beginning of faith; and in this they were heretics, because they wished this grace to be such that the hJman will could either resist or obey. Declared and condemned as false and heretical. 5. It is Semipelagian to say that Christ died or shed His blood for all men without exception. Declared and condemned as false, rash, scandalous, and understood in this sense, that Christ died for the salvation of the predestined, impious, blasphemous, contumelious, dishonoring to divine piety, and heretical.
The Aids or Efficacy of Grace 2 [From the decree against the Jansenists, April 23, 1654]
But, since at Rome as well as elsewhere there are being circulated cer- tain assertions, acts, manuscripts, and, perchance, printed documents of 1 DuPl III, II 261 ff.; Viva 1 512 b ff.; CICRcht II 138 f.; BR(T) 15,720 a f.; MBR 5, 486 b; 6, 47 a f. Bulletin de Litter. Eccles. (Toulouse, 1942) 231 f. These propositions of Jansenism were again con<lemned by Alexander VII with the Constitution, "Ad sanctam B. Patri Sedem" on Oct. 16, 1656; then by Constitution, "Regiminis apostolici'" on Feb. 15, 1664, in which he publishe<l the formulary [seen. 1099]; finally, by Clement XI with the Constitution, "Vineam Domini Sabaoth" on July 16, 1905 [seen. 1350]. "Th. Eleutherus (Meyer) Hist. controv. de div. gratiae auxiliis, 707 a; in Serry, Hist. Congrcg. de auxil., XXXIV. When the Jansenists appealc<l against the Molinists to certain acts of the Congregation on ai<ls, and brought forward in place of the true Bull of Paul V the judgments of one or another of the Consultors, to which the solemnity of promulgation alone was lacking, Innocent X in a solemn decree, in which he con- demned various books, written in defense of Jansenism, passed this judgment on the pretended Bull of Paul V and the other acts.
JI7 the Congregations held in the presence of most happily reigning Clement VIII and Paul V on the question of "Aids of Divine Grace," both under the name of Francis Payne, once Dean of the Roman Rota, and under the name of Fr. Thomas of Lemos, O.P., and of other prelates and theologians, who, as it is asserted, were present at the aforementioned Congregations, besides a certain autograph or exemplar of the Constitution of the same Paul V on the definition of the aforesaid question On Aids, and of the condemnation of the opinion or opinions of Louis Molina, S.J., His Holiness by the present decree declares and decrees that no trust at all is to be placed in the above-mentioned assertions, acts, on behalf of the opinion of the Brothers, O.S.D., as well as of Louis Molina and of the other religious, S.J., and in the autograph or exemplar of the above mentioned Constitution of Paul V; and that nothing can or ought to be alleged by either side or by anyone whatsoever; but that on this aforesaid question the decrees of Paul V and Urban VIII, their predecessors, are to be observed. 1 1 When, indeed, the faculty of Louvain implored Innocent VII that by authority of
the Holy See they might be allowed and be free to continue handing down the doc- trine of their elders which is contained in the book of censorship of the Universities of Louvain and Douae, together with the apology of Louvain, and that it be declared by the same that the doctrine of grace efficacious by itself, and of predestination before foreseen merits has been condemned and weakened by no Apostolic decrees thus far, the Highest Pontiff (in a brief on the 7th day of Feb., 1694) in the reported words of the "lndiculus," "Profundiores vcro etc." I seen. 142] attributed to St. Celestine I, re- plied: "We do not think it opportune at present to demand a more elaborate discussion of divine helps than that which was instituted by our predecessors, Clement VIII and Paul V." When finally the Janscnists, who. in so far as they could, had not cea,·ed to foment disagreements, and called themselves "Augustinian Thomists," and pretended to battle against the Jesuits alone, lamented that through the Bull "Unigenitus" the doctrine of Sts. Augustine and Thomas had been condemned by the machinations of the Jesuits, Clement VI, who had published that Constitution, refuted those calumnies in the year 1718 by another (Constitution) which begins, "Pastoralis officii" sec. 3. Furthermore, Benedict XIII, who by the Constitution "Pretiosus" (May 26, 1727) con- firmed the privileges of the Order of Preachers, prohibited, sec. 30, anyone from con- demning in any way whatsoever the doctrine of St. Thomas and his school, and from ridiculing it as condemned in the Bull "Unigenitus." Finally, Clement XII (October 2, 1733) confirmed the decrees of Clement XI and Benedict XIII, and added this: "Yet, having discovered the mind of our predecessors, we do not wish either by our own or their praises conferred on the Thomistic school, which we approve and confirm by our repeated judgment, that there be any disparagement of the other Catholic schools which think differently from the same in explaining the efficacy of divine grace, and whose merits also are clear to the Holy Sec." He renewed the decrees of Paul V and of others and forbade (all) "from daring to brand any mark or theological censure on the same schools which have different opinions, and to assail their opinions by insults and in- vectives, until this Holy See shall decide that some definition and pronouncement must be made on the same controversies."
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The Meaning of the Words of Cornelius Jansen 1 [From the Constitution "Ad sacram beati PETRI Sedem," Oct. 16, 1656]
( 6) We declare and define that these five propositions have been taken from the book of the aforementioned Cornelius Jansen, Bishop of Ypres, entitled AUGUSTINUS, and in the sense understood by that same Cornelius condemned.
Formulary of Submission Proposed for the Jansenists 2 [From the Constitution, "Regiminis apostolicis," Feb. 15, 1665]
"I, N., submit to the apostolic Constitution of INNOCENT X, dated May 31, 1653, and to the Constitution of ALEXANDER VII, dated Oct. 16, 1656, Supreme Pontiffs, and I reject and condemn with a sincere heart, just as the Apostolic See has condemned them by the said Constitutions, the five propositions taken from the book of Cornelius Jansen, entitled Augustinus, and in the sense understood by that same author, and so I swear: So help me God, and this holy gospel of God." 3
The Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M. 4 [From the Bull "Sollicitudo omnium eccl.," Dec. 8, 1661]
( r) The devotion to the most blessed Virgin Mary is indeed of long standing among the faithful of Christ who believe that her soul, from the first instant of its creation and infusion into her body, was preserved immune by a special grace and privilege of God from the stain of original 1 DuPl III, JI 281 b (445 b); Viva I 513 b £.; BR(T) 16,247 a; NBR 6, 47 b.-When,
after the propositions of Jansenism had been condemned by the Supreme Pontiffs, the Jansenists returned to that sophistry, so as to say that these were indeed to be con- demned, and that the meaning was not Jansen's, Alexander VII made these declarations, 2 DuPl III, II 315 b (446 b); Viva I 514 b; BR(T) 17,336 b; MBR 6,212 a. 3 When some Belgian priests had made certain additions to the formulary, Inno-
cent XII in a brief (Feb. 6, 1694), after confirming the Constitution of Innocent X and Alexander VII, forbade that this be done, and ordered that the formulary be taken by all in the obvious sense; but in a second brief (Nov. 24, 1696) declared that he by no means detracted from the Cons ti tu tion of Alexander VII by this decree. Finally, Clement XI in the Constitution, "Vineam Dominis," which we offer below [ see note 13 50], closed every way to the subterfuges of the Jansenists as concerns dog- matic fact, and renewed the Constitutions of Innocent X and of Alexander VII. 4 BR(T) 16, 739 b; MBR 6, 152.
JI9 sin, in view of the merits of her Son, Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of our human race, and who, in this sense, esteem and solemnly celebrate the festivity of her conception; the number of these has increased ( after the Constitutions of SIXTUS IV renewed by the Council of Trent, note 734 f., 792.) . . . so that . . . now almost all Catholics embrace it. . . . ( 4) We renew the Constitutions and decrees published by Roman Pontiffs in favor of the opinion that asserts that the soul of the blessed Virgin Mary at its creation, and at its infusion into her body, was blessed by the grace of the Holy Spirit and was preserved from original sin.
Various Errors on Moral Matters 1 [Condemned in decrees of Sept. 24, 1665, and of March 18, 1666)
A. On the 24th Day of September, 1665 r. A man is not bound at any time at all in his life to utter an act of 1101 faith, hope, and charity by the force of the divine precepts pertaining to these virtues. 2. A man belonging to the orders of Knights when challenged to a 1102 duel can accept this, lest he incur the mark of cowardice among others. 3. That opinion which asserts that the Bull "Coenae" prohibits ab- 1103 solution of heresy and other crimes only when they are public and that this does not diminish the power of Trent, in which there is a discussion of secret crimes, in the year 1629, July 18th, in the Consistory of the Sacred Congregation of the Most Eminent Cardinals, was seen and sustained. 4. Regular prelates can in the court of conscience absolve any seculars 1104 at all of hidden heresy and of excommunication incurred by it. 5. Although it is evidently established by you that Peter is a heretic, 1105 you are not bound to denounce [him], if you cannot prove it. 6. A confessor who in sacramental confession gives the penitent a 1106 paper to be read afterwards, in which he incites to lust, is not consid- ered to have solicited in the confessional, and therefore is not to be de- nounced. 7. A way to avoid the obligation of denouncing solicitation exists if the 1107 one solicited confesses with the soliciter; the latter can absolve that one without the burden of denouncing. 8. A priest can lawfully accept a twofold stipend for the same Mass by 1108 applying to the petitioner even the most special part of the proceeds
1 DuPI III, II 321 a ff.; Viva I at the beginning; MER 6, App. 1 ff. Certain moral propositions condemned by Alexander VII and by Innocent XI (see note II5I ff.], have been taken from the Louvain condemnation of May 4, 1657, and of April 26, 1653.