Penance and Absolution

267 Pages·1961·9.111 MB·English

by  John M. T. Barton

P E N A N C E A N D A B S O L U T I O N
IS VOLUME
51
OF THE
Twentieth Century Encyclopedia of Catholicism
UNDER SECTION
V
THE LIFE OF FAITH
IT IS ALSO THE
63rd
VOLUME IN ORDER OF PUBLICATION
Edited by HENRI DANIEL-ROPS of the Académie Française
PENANCE AND
ABSOLUTION
By JOHN Μ. T. BARTON
HAWTHORN BOOKS · PUBLISHERS · New
Copyright © 1961 by Hawthorn Books, Inc., 70 Fifth Avenue, New
York 11, N. Y. Copyright under International and Pan-American
Copyright Conventions. Philippines Copyright 1961 by Hawthorn
Books, Inc. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this
book, or portions thereof, in any form, except for the inclusion of
brief quotations in a review. This book was manufactured in the
United States of America and published simultaneously in Canada
by McClelland and Stewart, Ltd., 25 Hollinger Road, Toronto 16.
The Library of Congress has catalogued The Twentieth Century
Encyclopedia of Catholicism under card number 58-14327. Library
of Congress Catalogue Card Number for this volume: 61-12987. The
Catholic University of America Library has catalogued this volume
based on the Lynn-Peterson Alternative Classification for Catholic
Books: BQT184T9v.51/BQT1368. Suggested decimal classification:
265.6.
First Edition, April, 1961
NIHIL OBSTAT
Daniel Duivesteijn, S.T.D.
Censor Deputatus
IMPRIMATUR
E. Morrogh Bernard
Vicarius Generalis
Westmonasterii, die ix februaris mcmlxi
The Nihil obstat and Imprimatur are a declaration that a book or pamphlet ir
considered to be free from doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those
who have granted the Nihil obstat and Imprimatur agree with the contents,
opinions or statements expressed.
CONTENTS
Introduction 9
I. The Virtue of Penance 11
Introduction 11
The Meaning of Penance 11
The Virtue of Penance 12
Necessity of Penance 13
When is it Necessary? 14
False Views of Penance 15
Relation Between the Virtue of Penance and
the Sacrament 15
Penance before Christ 16
II. The Power of the Keys in Holy Scripture 19
The Church’s Doctrine 19
Christ Forgave Sins 20
The Power Promised 21
The Power Conferred 24
St Paul and the Corinthians 26
Objections Considered 27
III. The Power of the Keys in Tradition 30
The Argument from Tradition 30
Some Preliminary Evidence 31
The Apostolic Fathers 32
The Didache 33
St Clement of Rome 34
“Second Clement” 34
St Ignatius of Antioch 35
St Polycarp of Smyrna 35
The Shepherd of Hermas 36
Clement of Alexandria 38
Tertullian 38
Hippolytus 41
The Decian Persecution and Novatian 42
End of Rigorism 43
Council of Elvira 43
Council of Arles 44
St Peter of Alexandria 44
Council of Nicaea 45
IV. Penance is a Sacramental Rite Distinct
from Baptism 46
The Second Plank 46
Penance a Sacrament 47
Penance Distinct from Baptism 48
V. The Matter of the Sacrament: Contrition 50
The Matter and Form of Penance 50
The Meaning of Contrition 52
Two Kinds of Contrition 54
Meaning of Attrition 54
Efficacy of Perfect Contrition 55
Value of Attrition 55
The Church’s Practice 57
Is Fear Sufficient? 58
Is Love Required? 59
Characteristics of Contrition 60
The Purpose of Amendment 62
VI. The Matter of the Sacrament: Confession 65
What is Confession? 65
Obligation to Confess 65
Tradition and Confession 66
The Public Administration of Penance 69
The Gelasian Sacramentary 71
Private Penance 74
The Change from Public to Private Penance 78
VII. The Matter of the Sacrament: Satisfaction 80
Meaning of Satisfaction 80
The Church’s Teaching 81
Works of Penance 84
Benefits of Satisfaction 85
The Confessor’s Duty 86
VIII. The Form of the Sacrament 88
The Words of the Form 88
What is Essential? 89
Manner of Absolving 90
IX. The Effects of the Sacrament of Penance 96
Reconciliation with God 96
Penance Forgives Sin 97
Penance Forgives All Sins 99
The Revival of Merits 100
Forgiveness of Venial Sins 103
X. The Necessity of the Sacrament of Pen­
ance 105
Baptism and Penance 105
Early Teaching 107
The Early Scholastics 107
Peter Abelard 109
Hugh of St Victor 109
Peter Lombard 110
Alexander of Hales and Bonaventure 111
John Duns Scotus (c. 1264-1308) 112
The Fourth Lateran Council 112
How Does the Law Bind? 114
When Does the Divine Precept Bind? 115
XI. The Minister of the Sacrament 117
Priests Alone the Ministers 117
Bishops not the Sole Ministers 118
Confession made to Deacons 119
Necessity of Jurisdiction 121
Ordination not Enough 122
When the Church Supplies Jurisdiction 123
Granting of Jurisdiction 125
Limit of Jurisdiction 126
The Seal of Confession 127
The Reservation of Sins 130
XII. The Subject of the Sacrament 133
Who are the Subjects? 133
What Intention is Required? 134
Necessity for Faith and Probity 135
Sins to be Confessed? 135
XIII. The Question of Indulgences 137
The Word “Indulgence” 137
What is an Indulgence? 138
Brief History of Indulgences 142
From the Beginning to the Sixth or Seventh
Centuries 143
From the Seventh to the Eleventh Centuries 144
From the Eleventh to the Fifteenth Cen­
turies 146
From the Fifteenth Century to the Council
of Trent 148
Various Kinds of Indulgences 149
The Authority for Granting Indulgences 152
The Conditions for Gaining Indulgences 153
Select Bibliography 158
INTRODUCTION
The treatise on the sacrament of penance, as it is traditionally
taught in the Catholic theological schools, is one that can be
studied at considerable length or dealt with summarily, so as
to present the main theses with a minimum of elaboration.
The present volume in this series is somewhere near the half­
way line, in the matter of length, between very full works such
as those of the late Abbé A. Tanquerey of Saint-Sulpice and
Fr Dominic Prümmer, O.P., of Fribourg (Switzerland) and
such “excellent pemmican” as the treatise by Mgr G. Van
Noort, and the luminous essay by my late class-fellow and
friend, Fr Henry Harrington, in the work entitled The Teach­
ing of the Catholic Church.
The larger treatises are made up in varying degrees of dog­
matic theology, moral theology, canon law and history, with
some good measure of Holy Scripture. In this volume history
has to be content with a small share, found mainly in the
chapters on the power of the keys in tradition, on confession
and on indulgences. Even so, more than one of the longer
treatises contains less history in proportion to its length.
The plan of the book has been, as in some larger works, to
proceed by way of Scripture and tradition to the matter and
form of the sacrament, and then to study in turn the effects of
the sacrament, its necessity, its minister and its subject. This is
more satisfactory than the attempt made in one or two works
to deal in chronological order with all these elements at once.
Indulgences have been treated with reasonable fullness,
since they tend to be given rather short measure, at times, in
such works. I have seen no advantage in using the expression
“pardons”, which is somewhat ambiguous, and, even in the
10 INTRODUCTION
sense required, puts one in mind of Chaucer’s “gentil par­
doner” whose
Walet lay beforn hym in his lappe,
Bretful of pardoun, comen from Rome al hoot. . .
I have had an advantage denied to former writers in English
on this subject of being able to refer to the second volume of
Sources of Christian Theology, edited by Fr Paul F. Palmer,
S.J., and published as recently as the present year of grace.
While I have learnt much from Fr Palmer’s sourcebook, as
also from the Anglican writer Mr O. D. Watkins’ A History
of Penance, I have preferred normally to supply my own
versions of the extracts quoted in these pages.
I acknowledge help received from a large selection of
works, some of which have already been mentioned. My old
masters of Roman days, Fr Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange,
O.P., and the late Fr Édouard Hugon, O.P., have been of
special service. The abbreviation Sources... refers, of course,
to Fr Palmer’s vade-mecum, while Denz. stands for Den-
zinger’s famous Enchiridion Symbolorum in the 28th edition,
published in Barcelona in 1952.
I should wish to dedicate this small work to the memory
of my first teacher of moral theology at St Edmund’s College,
Ware, the late Canon John Arendzen, D.D., Ph.D., M.A. He
was in truth a man of deep piety, charming simplicity and
profound learning. I shall always remember the pains he took
to give us an interest in the treatise on penance, and in the
documents that help to register its long history. Lux perpetua
luceat ei.
John M. T. Barton
Feast of our Lady’s Immaculate Conception,
December 8th, 1960