Juan Cardenas

Drawn from the authors' own words; every quotation links to its place.

Jesuit · 1613–1684

In the Index: Cárdenas, Juan de; Cardenas, J.

In Prümmer's Catalogue and Haringer's Index

“Cardenas, Ioan. de, S.J., Spanish (1613-1684), his principal work is Crisis theologica sive disputationes selectae ex morali theologia, in folio, Lyons 1670, and several times edited afterward. This work is called Crisis theologica because it contains a judgment concerning several opinions and questions proposed by Caramuel.” — Prümmer, Catalogue of authors
[**: weighty, probabilist] “Cardenas (Ioan. de), Spanish, S.J. (Theological Crisis), around 1700.” — Haringer's index of writers (Gury-Ballerini) (p. XV, sign read on the page)

His Moral System, as Our Authors Report It

Every report quoted in the author's own words and linked to its place; point at a name to see his words. Haringer's signs give St. Alphonsus's judgment as Haringer found it in St. Alphonsus's works (his notice, Gury-Ballerini, 1884, p. XI); a sign on a writer the 1884 editor added to the list is the editor's own, and is said to be his.

Probabilist
Counted among them by one of our authors	Tanquerey, Fundamental Moral Theology, n. 397
“Cardenas (Ioan. de), Spanish, S.J. (Theological Crisis), around 1700.”Haringer marks him **, giving St. Alphonsus's judgment of him (weighty and probabilist)	Haringer's index, Index of writers, p. XV
Charged with laxity
Counted among them by one of our authors	Koch-Preuss, Handbook I, the moral systems

Where Our Authors Discuss Him

Each read in its full passage; the words quoted are the author's own. Where several authors say the same thing, one is quoted and the others follow “in nearly the same words”; point at a name to see his words.

“For those heretics, deceitfully simulating great piety and a singular fervor for protecting moral science, brought it about that in France, Italy, and other provinces they drew many learned men to their side: among whom were also Peter Collet (the celebrated continuator of Honore Tournely), Louis Habert, and Natalis Alexander, who, although they rejected other errors of the Jansenists, nevertheless accommodated themselves in many things to their immoderate rigor. Indeed there were not lacking those who defended more benign opinions, such as Louis Abelly, Eusebius Amort, Castropalaus, Gobat, Roncaglia, Cardenas, Viva, Lacroix, Sporer, Reiffenstuel, Reuter, Voit, Holzmann, Elbel, Mazzotta, etc., without however being able wholly to repress the swelling rigor of doctrine.”Marc names him among those who defended more benign opinions against the rigor of the Jansenist age	Marc, Institutiones I, n. 6
“Thus commonly teach Fr. Antoine, Fr. Cárdenas, Fr. La Croix, Fr. Sporer”Concina: he teaches that the condemned propositions are condemned as they lie, not as they stand in their authors	Concina, Theologia V, diss. III, ch. XIV, n. II
“Wherefore the sincerity of Fr. Cárdenas is to be praised”Concina praises his candor in owning that Sanchez taught mental restriction, but warns that he must be read cautiously	Concina, Theologia V, diss. III, ch. XIV, n. VIII
“Now he is esteemed a great theologian who possesses the greatest authority among theologians on account of his distinguished doctrine, prudence, and probity”Konings names him among the great theologians whose word that an opinion is probable makes it so	Konings, Compendium, n. 57

In the Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)

“Juan Cardenas”, vol. 3, by Leo O'Neil. Public domain; transcription at New Advent (which expands some of the print's abbreviations).

Moral theologian and author; b. at Seville, 1613; d. 6 June, 1684. He entered the Society of Jesus at the age of fourteen, and during many years held in it the office of rector, master of novices, and provincial. Through his busy life he ever found time for intellectual work of a high order. He composed several small ascetical treatises: "Seven Meditations on Jesus Crucified" (originally published at Seville, 1678) and "Geminum sidus Mariani diadematis" (Lyons, 1673). From his pen we also have two pious biographies: "Historia de la Vida y Virtudes de la Venerable Virgen Damiana de las Llangas" (Seville, 1675) and "Breve relación de la Muerte, Vida, y Virtudes del Venerabile Cavallero D. Miguel Manara Vincentelo de Leca" (Seville, 1679).

But he is chiefly remembered for his important contributions to moral theology, which won for him the highest praise from St. Alphonsus Ligouri. In a singularly clear style and with great profundity of thought he examines some of the moral opinions prevalent in his day, especially those tinged with extreme Laxism, in his well known "Crisis theologica bipartita, sive Desputationes selectæ" (Lyons, 1670). This work, which appeared in two parts, opened up a storm of controversy, and in the edition of 1680 he reasserted his position in a supplement which defended moderate Probabilism against the twofold attacks of Laxists and Rigorists. Though the argument is unquestionably strong, and the opinions advanced moderate and sound, the many digressions that the controversy suggests make this part of the book rather uninteresting. In the Venetian editions of 1694, 1700, and 1710 there were first published, together with these three parts, and explanation of the propositions condemned by the pope in 1679. This last work, of which Father P.J. Kugler, S.J., composed a compendium in 1704, has often been published separately under the title: Crisis theologica in qua plures selectæ difficultates ex morali theologia ad lydium veritatis lapidem revocantur ex regula morem positâ a SS. D.N. Innocentis XI P.M., etc.

Sources: Antonio, Bibliotheca Hispana nova (Madrid, 1783), I, 671; Ribadeneira-Sotwell, Bibliotheca Scriptorun S.J. (Rome, 1676); De Backer and Sommervogel, Bibliothéque de la c de J., (Brussels, Paris, 1891), II, col. 734-37; De Backer, Bibliographie des éscrevains de la c. de J. (Liège, 1869), I, col. 1078; Hunter, Nomenclator (Innsbruck, 1876), II, p. 1, 231; Döllinger-Reusch, Geschicte der Moralstreitigkeiten in der Römishkatholishchen Kirche (Nördlingen, 1889), I, 39, 41, 46.