Chapter II. The Matter of Penance

THE remote matter of the sacrament of Penance is the sins which have been committed after Baptism, for sins committed before Baptism, when this is received in adult age, are forgiven by Baptism. The matter of Penance is necessary, or free but sufficient. Mortal sins which have never been directly absolved are the necessary matter of confession, for as the Council of Trent teaches,¹ every mortal sin committed after Baptism must be submitted to the keys. The same council teaches that venial sins may be confessed, but that there is no necessity to do so, and so they are sufficient but free or optional matter of the sacrament. The same is true also of mortal sins which have been already absolved directly, for the penitent may with fruit renew his sorrow for them, and nothing prevents the sentence of absolution being repeatedly pronounced over them. The previous sentence of absolution is, as it were, confirmed anew, and thereby fresh grace is infused into the soul (Can. 901, 902).

¹ Sess. xiv, c. 2.

A doubt may sometimes arise as to whether a person has ever been baptized, or as to whether his Baptism was valid, and after Baptism has been conditionally administered in such a case so as to make so important a matter secure the question remains whether this person must make a general confession of past sins or not. If a Catholic has been in the habit of going to confession and making good ones as far as he knows, there will be no necessity to repeat those confessions after conditional Baptism. For if he was baptized before, his confessions would be valid, and if he was not baptized, his past sins are not matter for confession, A non-Catholic, however, who receives conditional Baptism is in a different position. His past sins have not been confessed; if he was baptized before, he is bound to confess them; if he was not baptized before, they are not matter for the sacrament of Penance. What is he bound to do when the fact of Baptism is uncertain, and at most it can be said that there are probabilities on either side?

The First Synod of Westminster¹ prescribes that a non-Catholic already probably baptized who is received into the Catholic Church must, after conditional Baptism, make a full confession of the sins of his past life. This decree was confirmed by the Holy Office, December 17, 1868, and several other decrees and instructions in the same sense have been issued. In practice, then, and in countries which are bound by these decrees and instructions, as are England and the United States, the question is settled by positive law. With regard to other countries which are not directly subject to the foregoing decrees and instructions, it is still a matter of controversy among divines whether a full confession is obligatory. In the opinion of several, there is no universal law, divine or human, which makes confession obligatory in such a case.²

¹ D. xvi, n. 8.

² Ferreres, Comp. Theol. Mor., ii, n. 527.

The proximate matter of Penance, according to the more common opinion, is the acts of the penitent: contrition, confession, and satisfaction. According to the Thomist doctrine, the acts of the penitent constitute the material part of the sacrament, so that they are the matter out of which the sacrament is made, and are an essential part of the sacramental sign. If the Council of Trent calls them the quasi-matter,¹ it is not because they are not the true matter in the sense just explained, but because they are not the matter which is used externally in the confection of the sacrament, as is water in Baptism, or chrism in Confirmation.

On the other hand, the Scotists allow, indeed, that contrition, confession, and satisfaction on the part of the penitent are necessary conditions for the administration of Penance, but they hold that the whole sacramental sign is contained in the words of absolution, These words alone are used by the minister of the sacrament, and they signify the grace conferred by the sacrament. Taken materially, they constitute its matter; inasmuch as they signify the giving of grace for the remission of sins, they constitute its form. This opinion has never been condemned by the Church, and it remains probable, but the question belongs rather to dogmatic than to moral theology.

¹ Sess. xiv, c. 3.

It is not sufficient to confess one’s sins in general terms, and if they are grievous the law of God requires that they be confessed according to number and species, as the Council of Trent teaches.t As we have seen, venial sins are sufficient matter for absolution, but there is no necessity to confess them.

But supposing that a penitent has only venial sins, and he wishes to confess them, what kind of confession is necessary and sufficient¹ Will it be enough to say, “I accuse myself of some small sins and ask for absolution ”’; or ‘‘ I accuse myself of all the sins of my past life, and I have nothing serious ” All divines agree that it will be sufficient to mention some one sin in particular in this case, or to mention the virtue or obligation which has been violated, as by saying, ‘I accuse myself of slight negligence in prayer,” or ‘“‘ of small faults against charity.” They differ about the lawfulness of using a mere general formula. Such a method of confessing is against the practice of the Church, which, as St Thomas says, we should always follow; it is also liable to abuse, for penitents cannot always decide what is serious and necessary matter for confession or not, and shame might easily lead them to be content with generalities when they should give particulars. However, there is something to be said for the other view, inasmuch as some sort of confession is all that is required for the essence of the sacrament, and when there are only venial sins to be confessed there is no certain law which prescribes confession according to number and species, or even more than in general terms. This opinion is at any rate sometimes of use, as it may at times enable confessors to be satisfied with generalities when they cannot get more.

¹ Sess. xiv, c. 5.

The solution of questions about the obligation of confessing doubtful sins largely depends on what system of moral theology is followed. The following principles are generally approved by probabilists:

(a) When the penitent doubts whether he has been guilty of some sinful act or not, he is not bound to confess it, for he cannot be said to be conscious of sin, and a certain obligation cannot arise from an uncertain source.

(b) When the doubt is as to whether full consent was given to what would have been a grave sin if that were the case, the question should be settled by recourse to presumptions. If in other cases consent has usually been given, the presumption is against the penitent, and he should confess the sin as it is in his conscience; otherwise there will be no obligation to do so, (c) If the doubt is whether the sin were mortal or venial, there is no obligation to confess it, for the penitent is not conscious of mortal sin; and only such are bound to confess.

(d) If the doubt is whether a mortal sin which was certainly committed has ever been confessed, we must distinguish; if there be no good ground for thinking that it has been confessed, the obligation will still remain; if, on the contrary, there be good ground for thinking that the sin has been confessed, there will be no obligation of confessing it again.

(e) It is generally better for penitents, unless they are scrupulous, to confess doubtful sins, as it conduces to peace of conscience, and is a meritorious act of humility.

When a doubtful sin has once been confessed as such there will be no obligation to confess it again, even though subsequently the penitent becomes sure that he committed the sin.

The sin was confessed as it was on the penitent’s conscience, and it was absolved directly.

According to the common opinion, although there is no strict obligation to confess a mortal sin which is doubtful, or which has probably been confessed, yet one should not go to Holy Communion in such a state of doubt without either going to confession and confessing at least some sin, or making an act of contrition. For a man should prove himself before receiving Holy Communion, and have a well-grounded belief that he is in a state of grace.

If a penitent mentions only doubtful matter for absolution, the confessor should secure certain matter before giving absolution. Although a penitent may confess only optional matter, yet he has a right to absolution founded on the tacit contract which the confessor entered into with him when he admitted him to confession.