Section — Gury-Ballerini, Compendium of Moral Theology (8th ed., 1884)
§ II. On Heresy
- DEFINITION. Heresy, properly taken, is a voluntary and pertinacious error against some truth of Faith proposed by the Church, in him who has received the Faith. In a broad sense it is even an involuntary error against some truth of Faith.
DIVISION. Heresy is distinguished:
1º Formal, which is heresy properly so called, or in the strict sense, or material, by which someone adheres to an error without pertinacity.
2º Internal, or external or manifested, or purely external, according as it is had internally, or only externally, or in both ways.
3º Occult, or notorious, according as it is known to no one or only to few, or to many.
To heresy is referred apostasy, which is a total defection from the Christian Faith. Therefore one must determine concerning it as concerning formal heresy.
- Principles. - I. Formal heresy is always a most grave sin, just like infidelity itself. The reason is, 1º because the virtue of Faith, as theological, is one of the chief virtues, and therefore a sin directly opposed to it is one of the gravest. 2º Faith is the foundation of justice, without which it is impossible to please God; therefore heresy, by expelling Faith, deprives man of all justice. 3º Because heresy is contempt of the authority of God revealing; and thus it is directly and immediately against God.
II. Purely material heresy is free from all fault. The reason is plain from its definition: for someone here and now is supposed to err from invincible ignorance of the truth; but sin with such ignorance is impossible. Therefore, etc.
- Questions. - Q. 1º What are the signs of material and formal heresy?
Resp. to the first. One is to be judged a material heretic only, 1º who is ready to submit himself to the judgment of the Church, when he has recognized the error. - 2º Who has known nothing about the true Faith and has never doubted about his Religion. - 3º Who, while doubting, has studied to know the truth as much as he could.
Resp. to the second. One is to be reputed a formal heretic: 1º who doubts and does not wish to inquire further. 2º Who maliciously turns the intellect away from motives of authority, so that he may adhere to his own sect 1. - 3º Who, when the truth has been recognized, still contradicts the Church.
1 For formal heresy, as is said below, q. 3, pertinacious assent against faith is required, that is, against a truth which is known as revealed. Now he who merely doubts whether something is revealed does not have that pertinacious assent, however much he neglects to inquire, indeed even if he culpably turns the intellect away from those things which could lead to the truth being recognized. Therefore the preceding words of A. must be taken in a certain broader sense; or certainly they must be understood of a man so disposed that even if the truth should shine upon his mind, nevertheless he bears an obstinate mind of persevering in his false sect.
Compare De Lugo (De Fid. Disp. 20. n. 197. seqq.), who excellently shows that even he who either affects ignorance concerning the dogmatic definitions of the Church, or even concerning the infallible authority of the Church in defining controversies, is indeed a heretic if he is of that mind that even if the authority as well as the definitions of the Church should be clear, he does not wish to be moved from his opinion, and meanwhile wishes to be ignorant of these things either so that he may avoid remorse, or so that he may have an excuse; but otherwise, if he affects ignorance for this reason, because otherwise he would not dare to oppose himself to the authority of the Church, and meanwhile wishes to be ignorant so that he may adhere to his own opinion without obstacle. The reason for the distinction is that in this latter case the man certainly sins, and indeed most gravely, against the precept of faith; yet that sin can be joined with the will of believing, if the revealed doctrine is sufficiently proposed to him; but otherwise in the preceding case, since the will is supposed to be one of not believing revelation however sufficiently proposed. But pertinacity against faith is present only then, when the will is prepared to deny assent to revelation sufficiently proposed. Therefore we indeed have a formal heretic in the former case, but not likewise in the latter.
Q. 2º Is he a formal heretic who doubts concerning some article of Faith?
Resp. Affirm. The reason is that he who doubts deliberately suspends the assent of the intellect concerning a truth which he knows to have been revealed by God 2, or judges to be uncertain what God commands to be believed as certain; therefore he defects from Faith by denying the supreme truth of God and the infallibility of the Church.
2 But one must speak otherwise concerning him who doubts whether something is revealed; since he could not even elicit an act of faith concerning it, as is also clear from the 21st proposition condemned by Innocent XI: The assent of supernatural faith, useful for salvation, stands with only probable knowledge of revelation, indeed with fear, by which one fears lest God has not spoken. Therefore this one will sin against the precept of faith, if, adverting to the necessity of inquiring, he does not inquire concerning the truth; for the precept of faith, just as it obliges to believing, so also obliges to learning, and therefore to inquiring: yet he is not a heretic, since there is no pertinacity against a seen revelation. Hence it can be inferred that many of those who are outside the Church can indeed be guilty of inquiry neglected concerning faith; but they are not so easily to be judged formal heretics.
And hence also the reason is plain for the condemnation of Proposition 4 by the same Innocent XI: An infidel not believing, led by a less probable opinion, will be excused from infidelity. For although an infidel is not bound to believe so long as revelation does not appear evidently credible to him; nevertheless he can by no means be exempt from fault, because he has contemned a prudent suspicion in so grave a matter, and therefore a grave obligation of inquiring.
Q. 3º Is he a formal heretic who denies the Faith only externally?
Resp. Neg. For in no way is he a heretic, because in him there is not pertinacious assent against Faith, and therefore in the forum of conscience he does not incur the penalties of heretics, although he sins gravely against the precept of Faith.
See more concerning heresy in the Treatise on Censures, where it will also be said concerning the prohibition of books, and also concerning the Index.