Treatise V. On Penance

305. Preliminary note. "Let us approach the work of expounding this treatise on the sacrament of penance, to which indeed one must diligently apply oneself with every study above the other matters, since in it are contained the sum of all Moral Theology and the questions which pertain more to practice." Thus St. Alphonsus.¹ The Roman Catechism,² however, says: "Just as the frailty and weakness of human nature is known to all, and each one easily experiences it in himself, so no one can be ignorant of how great a necessity there is for the sacrament of penance. But if the diligence which pastors must employ in each subject is to be measured from the magnitude and weight of the matter which they treat, we shall altogether confess that they will never be so diligent in the explanation of this topic that it could seem sufficient; indeed, this sacrament must be treated more accurately than baptism, because baptism is administered only once and cannot be repeated, but occasion for penance is given and the necessity of repeating it imposed as often as it happens that one sins after baptism." But pastors and other priests are altogether unequal to instructing the faithful rightly concerning penance unless they themselves first have learned this matter exceedingly well. Hence let no priest dare to administer the sacrament of penance unless he is instructed with a perfect knowledge of penance.

We divide this whole treatise into three chapters: 1. on the essence of penance; 2. on the subject of penance; 3. on the minister of penance.

Innumerable authors have written concerning penance; we specially commend St. Thomas, S. theol. 3, q. 84 ff.; St. Alphonsus, Theol. mor. l. 6, n. 427 ff., and his disciples Marc and Aertnys. Then Billuart, Drouven, Lehmkuhl, Noldin, Haine, Joseph Göttler, Der hl. Thomas von Aquin und die vortridentin. Thomisten über die Wirkungen des Bußsakramentes (Freiburg 1904); Reginald Schultes, O.P., Reue und Bußsakrament (Paderborn 1907); A. Tappehorn, Anleitung zur Verwaltung des heiligen Bußsakraments (Dülmen 1893). Paul Galtier, S.J., very learnedly unfolds the history of the sacrament of penance in De poenitentia: Tractatus dogmatico-historicus (Paris 1923).

¹ Theol. mor. l. 6, n. 426.

² Part 2, c. 5, q. 1.

Penance and Confession

Within this treatise

Chapter I. On the Essence of Penancenn. 306–338
- Article I. On the Notion of Penancen. 306
- Article II. On the Virtue of Penancenn. 307–315
- Article III. On the Existence of the Sacrament of Penancenn. 316–318
- Article IV. On the Essence of the Sacrament of Penancenn. 319–334
  - § 1. On the Definition of the Sacrament of Penancen. 319
  - § 2. On the Remote Matter of the Sacrament of Penancenn. 320–325
  - § 3. On the Proximate Matter of the Sacrament of Penancenn. 326–327
  - § 4. On the Form of the Sacrament of Penancenn. 328–334
- Article V. On the Effects of the Sacrament of Penancenn. 335–338
Chapter II. On the Subject of the Sacrament of Penancenn. 339–404
- Article I. On Contritionnn. 339–357
  - § 1. On the Nature, Division, and Effect of Contrition in Generalnn. 339–341
  - § 2. On Attritionnn. 342–345
  - § 3. On the Qualities of Contrition, Whether Perfect or Imperfectnn. 346–353
  - § 4. On Purposenn. 354–357
- Article II. On Confessionnn. 358–390
  - § 1. On the Essence and Necessity of Confessionnn. 358–362
  - § 2. On the Qualities of Confessionnn. 363–385
    1. The Necessity and Extent of Integritynn. 366–377
    2. Causes Excusing from Material Integritynn. 378–382
    3. Means for Obtaining the Integrity of Confessionnn. 383–385
  - § 3. On the Repetition of Confessions and on General Confessionnn. 386–390
- Article III. On Satisfactionnn. 391–404
  - § 1. On the Nature and Divisions of Satisfactionnn. 391–393
  - § 2. On the Necessity of Imposing Satisfactionnn. 394–398
  - § 3. On the Necessity of Accepting and Fulfilling Satisfactionnn. 399–403
  - § 4. On the Commutation of an Imposed Satisfactionn. 404
Chapter III. On the Minister of the Sacrament of Penancenn. 405–468
- Article I. On the Power of the Ministernn. 405–430
  - § 1. On the Power of Ordern. 405
  - § 2. On Jurisdiction in Generalnn. 406–412
  - § 3. On Putative, Doubtful, and Probable Jurisdictionnn. 413–414
  - § 4. On the Jurisdiction of Religious and over Religiousnn. 415–417
  - § 5. On the Restriction of Jurisdictionnn. 418–423
  - § 6. On Absolution from Reserved Casesnn. 424–430
- Article II. On the Duties and Obligations of the Confessornn. 431–448
  - § 1. On the Duties of the Confessor Before the Act of Confessionnn. 432–434
  - § 2. On the Duties of the Confessor in the Act of Confessionnn. 435–438
  - § 3. On the Duties of the Minister After Confessionnn. 439–448
    1. On the Obligation of Correcting Defects or Errorsnn. 440–442
    2. On the Obligation of the Seal of Confessionnn. 443–448
- Article III. On the Manner of Acting with Those in Occasions of Sin, Habitual Sinners, and Recidivistsnn. 449–453
- Article IV. On the Abuse of Confessionnn. 454–468
  - § 1. On the Absolution of an Accomplicenn. 454–459
  - § 2. On Solicitation to Shameful Thingsnn. 460–468