Chapter II: Man's Duties with Regard to the Spiritual Welfare of his Fellowmen Section I the Spiritual Works of Mercy

Apart from the special duties imposed by one's vocation (for instance, as pastor, teacher, parent, etc.), every man has certain general duties with regard to the salvation of his fellowmen. These are dictated partly by charity and partly by justice, and are commonly known as spiritual works of mercy.¹ They are briefly:

¹ Cfr. St. Thomas, Summa Theol., 2a 2ae, qu. 32, art. 2: "Seven spiritual alms are set down, namely: to teach the ignorant, to counsel the doubtful, to console the sorrowful, to correct the sinner, to forgive the offender, to bear those who are burdensome and troublesome, and to pray for all; these are also contained in this verse: Counsel, chastise, console, forgive, bear, pray." The memorial verse referred to has another form, namely: "Consule, carpe, doce, solare, remitte, fer, ora."

I. THE DUTY OF PRAYING FOR OTHErs, both the Living and the Dead.—Through the Communion of Saints the faithful on earth, especially those who are in the state of sanctifying grace, have a share in all the Masses, prayers, and good works offered to God by the Militant Church and in turn can and should on their part aid the living as well as the poor souls in Purgatory by prayers, indulgences, alms, etc.,² especially by having the holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered for their benefit.³

² 2 Tim. I, 16–18.—St. Augustine, Serm., CLIX (al. XVII De Verb. Apost.), c. I, n. 1: "Prayer is offered for the other departed; for it is an injury to pray for a martyr, to whose prayers we ourselves ought to be commended." (Migne, P. L., XXXVIII, 868).—St. Thomas, Summa Theol., 3a, Suppl., qu. 71, art. 1–6.—Pohle-Preuss, Mariology, Pp. 142 sqq.; Pohle-Preuss, The Sacraments, Vol. II, PP. 376 sqq.

³ Pohle-Preuss, Eschatology, Pp. 92 sqg.; Noldin, Summa Theol. Mor., Vol. II, p. 159. * Matth. V, 16.

Christ exhorts His hearers: "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." * St. Paul admonishes the Romans: "Let every one of you please his neighbor unto good, to edification." ⁵ And the Corinthians: "Giving no offence to any man, that our ministry be not blamed, but in all things let us exhibit ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in tribulation, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in prisons, in seditions, in labors, in watchings, in fastings, in chastity, in knowledge, in long-suffering, in sweetness, in the Holy Ghost, in charity unfeigned, in the word of truth, in the power of God."⁶ To the Thessalonians he writes: "Comfort one another, and edify one another." And to Timothy: "Let no man despise thy youth: but be thou an example of the faithful in word, , in conversation, in charity, in faith, in chastity." ⁸ This duty must be performed the more faithfully because, as experience teaches, the power of example is very strong. "Verba movent, exempla trahunt, Words move, but examples draw," says an ancient proverb. Equally wellknown perhaps is Seneca's famous saw:

⁵ Rom. XV, 2.

⁶ 2 Cor. VI, 3 sqq.: "Giving no offence to anyone, that our ministry be not blamed; but in all things let us exhibit ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in tribulations, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in prisons, in seditions, in labors, in watchings, in fastings, in chastity, in knowledge, in long-suffering, in sweetness, in the Holy Ghost, in charity unfeigned, in the word of truth, in the power of God...." Cfr. C. J. Callan, O.P., The Epistles of St. Paul, Vol. I, N. Y. 1922, Pp. 506 sqq. 7 1 Thess. V, 11: "Comfort one another and edify one another."

⁸ I Tim. IV, 12: "Let no one despise your youth; but be an example to the faithful in word, in conduct, in charity, in faith, and in chastity."

"Longum iter per praecepta, breve et efficax per exempla, Long is the way through precept, but short and sure through example." Nor does the force of a good example depend entirely upon the station, or the social position, or the learning of him who gives it. On the contrary, every man, no matter how humble or illiterate, can and should promote the salvation of his fellowmen and the glory of God by giving a good example. Virtue must be practiced soberly, yet joyously and without pharisaic ostentation.⁹

According to the Acts of the Apostles, Christ first "began to do" and then "to teach." ¹⁰ He told His disciples: "I have given you an example, that as I have done to you, so you do also."¹¹ "Christ suffered for us," says St. Peter, "leaving you an example that you should foilow his steps." ¹² St. Paul exhorts the Corinthians:

⁹ Seneca, Epist., VI, 5: "The living voice and companionship will benefit you more than a discourse. You ought to come into the presence of the thing itself. First, because men trust their eyes more than their ears; then, because the road through precepts is long, but through examples short and effective."—Cfr. Tit. II, 7;

¹ Pet. II, 9, 12, 15; Matth. 6, 16; Phil. IV, 4.—Seneca, De Ira, l. II, c. 6, n. 2: "To rejoice and be glad is proper and natural to virtue; to be angry is not consistent with its dignity, any more than to mourn."

¹⁰ Acts I, 1.

¹¹ John XIII, 15.

¹² 1 Pet. II, 21.

"Be ye followers of me, as I also am of Christ." ¹³ Aside from its inherent power, confirmed by innumerable miracles,¹⁴ Christianity owed its rapid spread mainly to the good example given by its followers, particularly to the heroism of the martyrs, who courageously laid down their lives for the faith.¹⁵ "A good example," says the famous Jesuit pulpiteer, Francis Hunolt,¹⁶ "is like a big clock in a church-tower, by which all other clocks and watches of the neighborhood are regulated." Schiller says: "Words will not avail much where deeds do not speak."

¹³ 1 Cor. XI, 1.

¹⁴ Mark XVI, 20.

¹⁵ Tertullian, Apol., c. 50: "We become more numerous whenever we are mown down by you; the blood of Christians is seed." (Ed. Leopold, P. I, p. 128).

¹⁶ On Hunolt, see the Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. VII, pp. 562 sqg.

3. Other spiritual works of mercy are instruction (doctrina, consilium) and fraternal correction (correctio fraterna). a) The duty of instructing the ignorant rests principally upon the learned and educated. b) By fraternal correction is meant a brotherly admonition given to a sinner in order to persuade him to mend his ways.¹⁷ Divine Revelation inculcates this as a duty of charity and describes its performance as a highly meritorious work.¹⁸ Fraternal correction is a grave obligation, as it forms part of the precept of charity which binds all men.¹⁹ Private persons, however, are ordinarily not obliged sub gravi to exercise fraternal correction, except when there is immediate danger to the spiritual welfare of others, that is to say, under the following conditions: (a) The matter involved must be grave (res gravis) and it must be certain (notitia certa) that a grievous sin has been committed or there is real and proximate danger that it will be committed; (B) There must be a reasonable expectation (spes plena) that the admonition will be heeded; (y) He who is about to administer a fraternal correction must be the proper person to do so and have no reason to fear serious inconvenience to himself (grave incommodum) or greater injury than that which he is trying to prevent.

¹⁷ St. Thomas, Comment. in Sent., IV, dist. 19, qu. 2, art. 1: "Fraternal correction is an admonition of a brother concerning the amendment of faults, proceeding from fraternal charity."—Cfr. Summa Theol., 2a 2ae, qu. 33.—Slater, Mor. Theol., Vol. I, p. 194.

¹⁸ Lev. XIX, 17; Ecclus. XIX, 14; Matth, XVIII, 15 sgq.; Gal, JI, I; 1 Thess. V, 14 sq.; 2 Thess. II, 14 sq.; 1 Tim. V, 20; Jas. V, 9 sq.

¹⁹ Slater, Mor. Theol., Vol. I. p. 194.

With regard to the manner in which the correctio fraterna should be administered, certain rules can be deduced from the utterances of Jesus Christ. "If thy brother shall offend against thee," He says, "go and rebuke him between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou shalt gain thy brother. And if he will not hear thee, take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may stand. And if he will not hear them, tell the church. And if he will not hear the church, let him be to thee as the heathen and the publican." ²⁰ It may not always be wise to carry out this injunction literally, but every correctio fraterna should be dictated by a pure motive, and inspired by charity; it should be fatherly when administered to subjects, mild when addressed to equals, and respectful when addressed to superiors.

²⁰ Matth. XVIII, 15–17: "If your brother sins against you, go and correct him between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not hear you, take with you one or two more, so that every word may stand in the mouth of two or three witnesses. If he does not hear them, tell the Church. But if he does not hear the Church, let him be to you as the heathen and the publican."—Cfr. St. Jerome, In Amos, l. II, c. 5: "It is a great sin to hate the one correcting you, especially if he corrects you not out of hatred but out of love: whether alone with you alone, whether after taking another brother, whether afterward in the presence of the Church, so that he may appear to charge you with the fault not from zeal for detraction but for your amendment." (Migne, P. L., XXV, 1044).—St. Augustine, Serm. LXXXII (al. XVI De Verbis Domini), n. 9–10 (P. L., XXXVIII, 510).—Constit. Apost., l. II, c. 38 (ed. Funk, I, 125).—St. Alphonsus, Theol. Mor., l. II, n. 41–42 (ed. Gaudé, I, 334).

St. Paul earnestly warns the faithful against uncharitable harshness towards the erring when he says in his second Epistle to the Thessalonians: "If any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed: yet do not esteem him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother." ²¹ St. Augustine says that fraternal correciton is an act of charity, of which we must not deprive our fellowman when he is in need of it, for if any one were to die in mortal sin through our failure to administer a fraternal warning, his damnation would be imputable to us.²²

²¹ 2 Thess. III, 14 sq.: "But if anyone does not obey our word by this epistle, mark him, and do not associate with him, that he may be ashamed; and do not regard him as an enemy, but correct him as a brother."

²² St. Augustine, Serm., V (al. I ex Sirmond.), n. 2: "Correction is, as it were, love.... As He [God] loves and corrects, so also do you, if you have anyone under your authority: although you preserve the affection of love, do not nevertheless withhold the scourge of correction. For if you withhold it, you will not preserve love, because that man dies in sins which, perhaps, if corrected, he would abandon, and true hatred is imputed rather to you." (Migne, P. L., XXXVIII, 54).

According to St. Alphonsus ²³ bishops and pastors are bound to correct their subjects, even at the risk of life, whenever there is hope of betterment, because their office obliges them to succor their subjects in distress. Those who are ex officio called to preach must censure mortal! sins, even when there is no immediate expectation of amendment; first, because it is their duty to stand up for the divine commandments and to combat evil; secondly, because there is nearly always reason to hope that the word of God, no matter where sown, will bear fruit, some time and in some way. They must do their duty even at the risk of personal inconvenience if there is reason to expect good fruit and no greater evil need be apprehended for the community.

²³ Theol. Mor., 1. II, 8. 40, 42.

Private persons, as we have seen, are but rarely obliged under pain of mortal sin to administer fraternal correction, because the conditions enumerated above, as a rule, are not verified in their case. Not to correct those whose state of mind is unknown to us, is a dictate of simple prudence.

It is the more probable opinion that private persons are not, as a rule, obliged to admonish others for committing a material sin through ignorance or inadvertence, though if harm were apt to follow in case such a sin went unreproved, admonition should, of course, be given, for charity requires that we should prevent harm whenever we can.²⁴

²⁴ Slater, Mor. Theol., Vol. I, p. 197.

Gury excuses scrupulous persons from the duty of administering the correctio fraterna because they usually lack firmness of judgment, being swayed to and fro by uncertainty or fear.²⁵

²⁵ Cfr. Gury, Comp. Theol. Mor., Vol. I, n. 213.

Göpfert says that the duty of administering the correctio fraterna rests in a special manner upon priests in relation to their fellow priests, and adds: "Many a grave scandal could be prevented, many an erring brother could be saved, and much good could be accomplished, were the correcio fraterna promptly applied by clergymen to one another."²⁶ Closely connected with the duty of administering fraternal correction is the obligation of denouncing a delinquent to his superior without first attempting to correct him secretly.²⁷ This duty binds in the following cases: (a) If the sin is public: (B) If a paternal admonition by the superior will in all likelihood prove more effective than fraternal correction by an equal; (y) If harm threatens a community from the conduct of the delinquent and can be effectually warded off only by the intervention of the superior; (8) If the delinquent belongs to a religious community whose members have voluntarily renounced their rights in this matter and agreed that any one who becomes aware of a fault in another may straightway inform the superior.

²⁶ Moraltheologie, Vol. II, p. 45.

²⁷ Matth. VII, 1-5.—St. Augustine, Epist., CCXI (al. CIX), n. 11 (Migne, P. L., XXXIII, 962).

However, even in this case, there must be a good reason for disclosing the fault to the superior; such as, for example, the correction of the delinquent, the good name of the community, or the preservation of discipline.²⁸

²⁸ Slater, Mor. Theol., Vol. I, p. 196.

St. Paul, when informed by members of Chloe's family that contentions had arisen among the Christians of Corinth,²⁹2º significantly revealed the source of the "denunciation." The so-called Apostolic Constitutions prescribe that the judge (i. e., the bishop) shall not give credence to those who denounce others, but shall institute a careful examination, because "some falsely accuse their fellowmen out of zelotry or envy." ³⁰ An effective means of denouncing public evils and helping to correct them is the periodical press, which should therefore be granted a rea- sonable measure of liberty. But a journal, to live up to its mission, should be edited by responsible persons, who are willing and able to use their influence at all times for the good of the community. A conscientious editor will not lend his co-operation to the spread of denunciations or scandals and will not publish complaints until he has ascertained that they are justified and that there is good reason to expect that the evil can be cured by publicity. It is wrong to print serious complaints without having made an investigation and still more so to accompany them by offensive or insulting remarks.³¹ It is worse to publish unfounded rumors for political ends or to satisfy a sensation-loving public, or worst of all, to corrupt the masses and incite them to revolt.

²⁹ 1 Cor. I, 11.

³⁰ Const. Apost., l. II, c. 37 (ed. Funk, I, 123).—Of anonymous denunciation Pliny says (Epist., l. X, 63): "To compel unwilling persons to accept something that may perhaps be useless to them is not in keeping with the justice of our times." Again (ibid., 98): "Documents presented without an author ought to have no place in any accusation. For that is both of the worst example and not in keeping with our age."

³¹ F. X. Linsenmann, Schriftstellertum und literarische Kritik im Lichte der sittlichen Verantwortlichkeit, Tübingen 1884.

4. It is a duty to exercise toleration towards those whose religious opinions differ from our own. In practicing toleration we must, however, avoid two extremes, namely, on the one hand, undue importunity in propagating our own ideas and beliefs (commonly called religious proselytism) and, on the other, that false tolerance which is synonymous with indifference to error. To pity the erring and treat them charitably is as much of a Christian duty as to hate and combat error.³² “Love the erring,” says St. Augustine in a famous passage, “but kill errors; . . . pray for those whom you refute and convince.”³³

³² Zach. VIII, 19; Matth. XIII, 28 sqq.; XXIII, 15; Gal. I, 6–9; VI, 1 sq.; Eph. IV, 15.

³³ Enarr. in Ps., II, 31, n. 20: “What is called toleration . . . exists only amid evils.” (Migne, P. L., XXXVI, 271).—IDEM, Contra Lit. Petil., l. I, c. 29, n. 31: “Love men; slay errors; presume upon truth without pride; contend for truth without cruelty; pray for those whom you refute and convince.” (P. L., XLIII, 259).—Cfr. C. Romeis, Das Heil des Christen ausserhalb der Kirche nach der Lehre des hl. Augustin, Paderborn 1908, pp. 116 sqq.

The great Bishop of Hippo did not betray this principle when he called upon the secular power to proceed against the Donatists on the strength of Luke XIV, 23: “Compel them to come in”; for these heretics, by their violent methods of propaganda, had become a menace to the State as well as to the Church. Personally, St. Augustine was very tolerant, as appears from a passage in one of his letters against the Manichaeans. “Let those rage against you,” he says, “who do not know what an effort it requires to find the truth and how difficult it is to eschew error.”³⁴

³⁴ Contra Epist. Manich. (Fundam.), c. 2, n. 2: “Let those rage against you who do not know with what labor truth is found and how difficult it is to guard against errors. Let those rage against you who do not know how rare and arduous it is to overcome carnal phantasms by the serenity of a devout mind. Let those rage against you who do not know with what difficulty the inner eye of man is healed, so that it may look upon its sun. . . . Let those rage against you who do not know by what sighs and groans it comes about that God can be understood even in the smallest part. Finally, let those rage against you who have never been deceived by such error as they see you deceived by.” (Migne, P. L., XLII, 174).—Cfr. Serm., IV (al. XLIV De Divers.), n. 20: “Bear with the sinner, not that you may love the sin in him, but that you may persecute the sin for his sake. Love the sinner, not insofar as he is a sinner, but insofar as he is a man. Just as, if you love a sick man, you persecute the fever—for if you spare the fever, you do not love the sick man. Tell your brother, therefore, what is true; do not be silent. For what else are we doing than telling you what is true? Do not lie; with truth laid open, say what is true; but until he is corrected, let him be borne with.” (P. L., XXXVIII, 43).

The true notion of tolerance was clearly perceived by the poet Goethe, when he said: "Tolerance really ought to be no more than a transient state of the mind; it should lead to recognition. To tolerate means to insult."

Protestants like to extol Luther as the father of the modern idea of religious toleration, which in reality, as Msgr. N. Paulus has shown, is a product of the Renaissance. Luther and his fellow-"reformers" were extremely intolerant.

READINGS.—-St. Thomas, Summa Theol., 2a 2ae, qu. 32 sq. (Rickaby, Aquinas Ethicus, II, 383 sqq.).—Comment. in Sent., IV, dist. 19, qu. 2.—F. Suarez, De Caritate, disp. 8 (Opera Omnia, XIII, 691 sqq.).-J. E. Ross, C. S. P., Christian Ethics, PP. 206 sqq.—M. Cronin, The Science of Ethics, Pp. 66 sqq.- H. Noldin, S. J., Summa Theol. Mor., Vol. II, pp. 85 sqq.

On TOLERATION: J. B. Duvoisin, Essai sur la Tolérance, in Migne, Theol. Curs. Compl., VI, 1269 sqq.-J. Perrone, De Tolerantia, ibid., 1255 sqq.—M. Merkle, Die Toleranz nach kath. Prinzipien, Dillingen 1865.-J. Seitz, Die Heilsnotwendigkeit der Kirche, Pp. 182 sqq.—W. Köhler, Reformation und Ketzerprozess, Tübingen I901.—N. Paulus, Die Strassburger Reformatoren und die Gewissensfreiheit, Freiburg i. B. 1895.—IDEM, Luther und die Gewissensfreiheit, Munich 1905.—G. Diessel, Die wahre Toleranz, Münster i. W., 1905.—A. Matagrin, Histoire de la Tolérance Religieuse, Paris 1905.-A. Vermeersch, S. J., Tolerance, (tr. by W. H. Page), N. Y. I912.