A Topic of Moral Theology
The confessor as spiritual father
Charity, patience and prudence toward penitents; dealing with pious penitents
The works themselves ask 9 questions under this heading — see them together with their answers.
See also Spiritual Direction — in The Spiritual Life (Christian Perfection)
In the index as Confessor (Confessarius) · Absolution · Confession (Sacrament of Penance) · Interrogation · Penitent · Christian perfection · Denial · Pious penitents · Signs · COMMUNION of a newly baptized convert without Confession · Delay · Doubt · Inquiry · Knowledge · Lust · Pious Persons · Priest · Reservation · Rules · Sign · Sincerity · Venial sins · Certitude · Chastity
In the manuals
Read the manuals side by side → — each work's whole treatment in its own column
A Manual of Moral Theology for English-Speaking Countries
Vol. II, Bk. VI, Ch. XII, Section I. The Confessor as Spiritual Father, nn. 1 & 2 (2 passages — hover a number to read it)
Manual of Moral Theology (Manuale Theologiae Moralis)
Vol. II, Bk. III, Tr. V, Diss. II, Pt. II, Sect. I, Ch. II, Art. I, § III. On the Office of Judging Sins, n. 397 — I. For the confessor to absolve validly, it suffices that he has apprehended the act of the penitent under the aspect of sin, even if he forms no judgment either about the gravity or about the species of the sin (St. Alp… Read in context →
Vol. II, Bk. III, Tr. V, Diss. II, Pt. II, Sect. I, Ch. II, Art. I, § IV. On the Office of Judging and Promoting Disposition, nn. 398, 399, 400 & 401 (4 passages — hover a number to read it)
Vol. II, Bk. III, Tr. V, Diss. II, Pt. II, Sect. I, Ch. II, Art. I, § V. On the Office of Consulting for Amendment of Life, n. 402 — After hearing confession, the confessor "will lead the penitent to amending and better ordering his life, and will hand down remedies for sins." Hence he should inquire into the causes of sins, especially whether there w… Read in context →
Compendium of Moral Theology of Fr. John Peter Gury, S.J., with the Notes of Antonio Ballerini, S.J.
Vol. II, Treatise On the Sacrament …, Pt. III, Ch. II, Art. I, § I, Point I. On the Office of Father, nn. 599, 600, 601 & 602 (5 passages — hover a number to read it)
Synopsis of Moral and Pastoral Theology
Vol. I, Matrimony, and Holy Orders, On Penance (Volume I), Moral Part — Chapter II: On the Confessor, nn. 548, 549, 550, 551, 552, 553, 554, 555 & 556 (9 passages — hover a number to read it)
Institutiones Morales Alphonsianae
Vol. II, Part Third: On the Sacrame…, Tr. V, Diss. III, Ch. III, Art. II, § 1. On The Obligation Of The Confessor Toward Penitents Diverse From The State Of Soul, nn. ¶8, ¶1841 & ¶1842 (3 passages — hover a number to read it)
Theologia Moralis Sancti Alphonsi: Reduced into a Compendium
Vol. II, TREATISE ON THE SACRAMENT …, PART THIRD: ON THE MINISTE…, Ch. II, Art. I, § I. On the Duties of the Confessor, nn. ¶2, ¶1413, ¶1414, ¶1415 & ¶1416 (5 passages — hover a number to read it)
Pastoral Questions
Ch. IV, Question Second: Concernin…, Article II: Concerning the Duties Previous to Absolution, nn. ¶3645, ¶3646, ¶3647, ¶3648, ¶3649, ¶3650 & ¶3651 (7 passages — hover a number to read it)
Summa Theologiae Moralis
Vol. III, Special Moral Theology: On…, Treatise: On Penance, Fourth Part: On the Minist…, Question Three: On the Dut…, Article II: On the Duties in the Act of Confession, n. 613 (7 passages — hover a number to read it)
Compendium of Moral Theology
Vol. II, Tr. XV, Pt. III, Ch. II, Art. I, § I. On the Offices of the Confessor in General, nn. 788, 789, 790, 791, 792, 793, 793, Q. 2, 793, 794, 795, 796, 797, 798, 798, Q. 2, 798, Q. 3 & 798, Q. 4 (16 passages — hover a number to read it)
Vol. II, Tr. XV, Pt. III, Ch. II, Art. I, § II. On the Offices of the Confessor in Particular, n. 806 — III. Concerning Pious Penitents. I say. Although the confessor has been constituted primarily for the good of those who are bound by great bonds of sins, he must nevertheless devote his labor also to those who are pious and wish to be directed in the wa… Read in context →
Christian Theology, Dogmatic and Moral, in Compendium
Diss. III, Chapter I — On the sublime dignity and the eminent endowments of a confessor, nn. III, I, III, VII, III, VII, III & VII (10 passages — hover a number to read it)
The Casuist: A Collection of Cases in Moral and Pastoral Theology
Vol. V, Case LXXII: A Zealous Penitent Discouraged by Imperfections and Venial Sins, nn. ¶1, ¶2, ¶3, ¶4, ¶5, ¶6, ¶7, ¶8 & ¶9 (9 passages — hover a number to read it)
The Catechism Explained: An Exhaustive Exposition of the Christian Religion
Pt. III, II. THE SACRAMENTS, 4. THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE, The Confessor., nn. ¶1–¶15 (15 passages)
Treated under the broader heading The Office of the Confessor — McHugh–Callan, Moral Theology · Bucceroni, Institutions of Moral Theology · Vermeersch, On Chastity · Vermeersch, Theologia Moralis · Prümmer, Manuale Theologiae Moralis · The Roman Catechism · 1917 Code of Canon Law — these works do not divide the matter as finely as we do here, so their treatment stands one heading up (ed.)