48. On Blasphemy

1. Caprasius, a shepherd, often signifies his anger against the goats fleeing to the mountain by exclaiming: Name, Great Name, A Thousand Names, Names of Names. Sometimes, however, also by exclaiming, he says angrily: Blessed Name, Sacred Name. And likewise sometimes he exclaims: Name of God, Name of Jesus, Name of Mary, Name of all the Saints.

Q. 1. What is the vain usurpation of the Name of God, and what kind of sin? - 2. What as to the case?

R. To the first, cf. I. M. 527 seqq. To the second: Caprasius, by exclaiming, Name, Great Name, etc., is free from the sin of blasphemy. For these locutions are not locutions of malediction against God, neither of themselves nor from the circumstances of the case. Not of themselves, because in some the name of God does not intervene; but in others, in which it does intervene, no injurious word is had. Not from the circumstances, because Caprasius is angry neither against God nor against the Saints, but only against the fleeing goats. G. 293; I. M. 533.

2. Hypparchus accuses himself in sacramental confession that he is often accustomed to blaspheme, uttering true blasphemies. But to excuse himself he adds that he does this by no means from the intention of reproaching God, but only of spurring horses, or sometimes of scolding his wife or children.

Q. 1. What is blasphemy? - 2. What as to the case?

To the first, cf. I. M. 531 seqq. - To the second: Hypparchus is guilty of blasphemy. Nor indeed is he excused from the fact that he did not intend to reproach God. For from this very fact that someone knowingly pronounces blasphemous words, if not directly and explicitly, at least indirectly and implicitly he wills to reproach God. "Nevertheless it must be confessed that in practice those who use blasphemous words are often excused from mortal sin, whether on account of inadvertence, or on account of good faith, etc." G. 295; I. M. 535, 536, 538.

3. Aman, a debtor, after many and useless promises already made beforehand, that he would pay the money owed as soon as possible, was again promising his creditor John, and was invoking his own faith as an honest and noble man. John, moved by anger because of the debt often promised to be paid and never paid up to now, began to curse the faith of Aman, saying: cursed be your faith, which is always deceived and deceives; may accident seize you and your faith; may the devil himself seize you with your faith. But a little afterward John, thinking about what he had said, immediately approaches the confessor, accusing his sin. But after hearing the confession the confessor says to John: I cannot, my son, absolve you, or at least I cannot absolve you immediately; for the Angelic Doctor, 2. 2, q. 13, a. 3, says: "blasphemy is the greatest sin." Go therefore in peace, and return after a month.

Q. 1. What is practically to be held concerning blasphemy from anger? - 2. What as to the case?

R. To the first: "Here it must be noted that some blasphemers of this sort say that they did not advert to the malice of blasphemy. And some doctors say that these, sometimes, on account of the impulse of anger or contracted habit, can blaspheme without advertence. But I think... that there is always present in blaspheming some advertence, at least confused, concerning the malice of that utterance; for anger, or habit, ordinarily does not so darken the intellect that it is utterly not adverted to the malice of blasphemy, although this itself is not known reflexively." Lig. l. 3, n. 127; I. M. 53, 57. Cf. I. M. 533, 536.

To the second. The confessor indeed erred first by judging that the aforesaid locutions contained blasphemies. For, as is evident, no word injurious to God is contained in them. The aforesaid locutions contain only malediction and contumely or reproach, and imprecation. But since John was moved by anger and, immediately thinking about what he had said, approached the confessor; and Aman had often broken faith; neither does that malediction of deceitful faith contain grave guilt, nor does that contumely or reproach contain a grave wounding of honor, nor was that imprecation uttered with a serious and malevolent mind. Wherefore John seems to be excused not only from the guilt of blasphemy, but also from the guilt of grave sin. And, since John otherwise does not lack due dispositions, since, fearing the sin committed, he immediately runs to expiate it in the sacrament of penance, the confessor indeed acts badly by denying or deferring absolution to him. And although Aman had been guilty of blasphemy, and blasphemy is the greatest sin according to its genus, it does not therefore follow that absolution is to be denied or deferred. - I. M. 342, 541, 542, 1514-1516.