The Authority of St. Alphonsus

N. 65. Gury-Ballerini - On the Authority of St. Alphonsus

"1. Whether a Professor of Sacred Theology can safely follow and profess the opinions which St. Alphonsus de Liguori professes in his Moral Theology? 2. Whether a Confessor is to be disquieted who follows all the opinions of St. Alphonsus de Liguori in the practice of the sacred Tribunal of Penance, for this reason alone, that by the Holy Apostolic See nothing worthy of censure has been found in his works, with the note, namely, that this Confessor reads the works of the blessed Doctor only in order to know his doctrine accurately, not weighing the arguments and reasons on which the various opinions rest; but judging that he acts safely from the very fact that he can prudently judge a doctrine which contains nothing worthy of censure to be sound and safe, and in no way contrary to Evangelical holiness? - Resp. To the 1st, in the affirmative, yet without this being taken to mean that those are to be censured who follow opinions handed down by other approved authors. But to the 2nd, in the negative, having regard to the mind of the Holy See concerning the approval of the writings of the Servants of God for the purpose of canonization." S. Poenit. 5 July 1831. Cf. Acta S. Sed. Vol. 1, p. 497 ff.

"Most Eminent and Most Reverend Lord. The undersigned suppliant, appointed by his Bishop to the office of Prefect of public Moral Conferences, on account of his own devotion and reverence toward St. Alphonsus de Liguori, greatly desires to hold, hand down, and defend in all things the doctrine of the same so great Saint, and to make this openly known in the diocesan calendar shortly to be published, as also pleases his aforementioned Bishop, who is very favorably disposed toward St. Alphonsus, by adhering to and observing the Decision issued on this matter under the date of 5 July 1831 by this Sacred Penitentiary. But with regard to this he is held back by some scruple, because when he formerly obtained academic degrees he swore the oath set forth below, that he would retain the doctrine of that same University, which follows probabiliorism and the opinions of the probabiliorists. Since these things are so, and since moreover the very distinguished Scavini, who took the same oath, in his Moral Theology dedicated to Our Most Holy Lord Pius IX, had the same St. Alphonsus especially as his guide, hence for the quiet of his conscience he most humbly has recourse to Your Eminence, and earnestly begs:

Vol. I, Letters of the Holy Father Leo XIII · Vol. I, Principal Testimonies and Judgments of the Holy See concerning the Moral Doctrine of St. Alphonsus · Vol. I, Explanation of the Manner in Which the Testimonies of St. Alphonsus Are Indicated · Vol. I, Part First: On the First P…, Tr. I, Ch. III, Art. II, § 2. On the Lawful Use of Probability

That he be taught whether the aforesaid oath prevents him from following in all things and publicly handing down the doctrine of St. Alphonsus de Liguori, as is set forth above? Or 2. that he be dispensed from observing the same oath. - Resp. To the 1st, in the negative. To the 2nd, provided for in the first." S. Poenit. 19 Dec. 1855. But what doctrine the Professors of Theology of the aforesaid University ought to hand down is clear from these words of the Constitutions: "The professors of Theology, both scholastic-dogmatic and moral, must adhere to the principles and to the system of St. Thomas, according to his letter and his school." Cf. Scavini, Milan, 1874, bk. 3, n. 492.

Bucceroni, Moral Enchiridion (4th ed., 1905)

Gennaro Bucceroni, S.J. — 3 passages

Bucceroni, Moral Enchiridion (4th ed., 1905), On Conscience

n. 131, 136.

On the Authority of St. Alphonsus

"1. Whether a professor of Sacred Theology can safely follow and profess the opinions which St. Alphonsus de Liguori professes in his Moral Theology? - 2. Whether a confessor is to be disquieted who follows all the opinions of St. Alphonsus de Liguori in the practice of the sacred tribunal of Penance, for this reason alone, that by the Holy Apostolic See nothing worthy of censure has been found in his works, with the note, namely, that this confessor reads the works of the blessed Doctor only in order to know his doctrine accurately, not weighing the arguments and reasons on which the various opinions rest; but judging that he acts safely from the very fact that he can prudently judge a doctrine which contains nothing worthy of censure to be sound and safe, and in no way contrary to Evangelical holiness? - Resp. To the 1st, in the affirmative, yet without this being taken to mean that those are to be censured who follow opinions handed down by other approved authors. But to the 2nd, in the negative, having regard to the mind of the Holy See concerning the approval of the writings of the Servants of God for the purpose of canonization." S. Poenit. 5 July 1831; Acta S. Sed. vol. 1, p. 497 ff.; Benedict XIV, On the Canonization of Saints, bk. 2, d. 28, nn. 5, 7.

n. 131, 136.

"1. That he be taught whether the aforesaid oath prevents him from following in all things and publicly handing down the doctrine of St. Alphonsus de Liguori, as is set forth above? Or 2. that he be dispensed from observing the same oath. - Resp. To the 1st, in the negative. To the 2nd, provided for in the first." S. Poenit. 19 Dec. 1855. But what doctrine the professors of Theology ought to hand down of the aforesaid University is clear from these words of the Constitutions: "The professors of Theology, both scholastic-dogmatic and moral, must adhere to the principles and to the system of St. Thomas according to his letter and his school." Cf. Scavini, Milan, 1874, bk. 3, n. 492.

Marc, Institutiones Morales

Clement Marc, C.SS.R. — 25 passages

Vol. I, Letters of the Holy Father Leo XIII

by which the tenth edition of Father Marc's Moral Institutions was honored

To the beloved son John Peter Kannengiesser

Leo XIII, Pope.

Beloved Son, health and Apostolic benediction.

No small praise of Clement Marc, a member of the Alphonsian Congregation, will remain among posterity on account of the Moral Institutions published by him and already, to this day, reprinted for the ninth time. For in preparing a very useful work, his principal cares were that he should in no way depart from the doctrine of Alphonsus, the Father and Lawgiver, to which so much has been accorded by the Apostolic See that it has declared it to be safely held. Wherefore bishops from very many nations, in great number, decreed that Marc's Institutions should be publicly taught in the schools of seminaries, and the superiors of several religious families likewise sanctioned the same for their own students. Therefore you indeed, Beloved Son, will be doing a work worth the effort by preparing the tenth edition of this excellent volume; to it, from your industry, this usefulness will be added, that the Pontifical Decrees which meanwhile have been issued and regard moral matters will be commemorated suitably in their own places. But that the testimony of Our benevolence may add eagerness in carrying out the plan undertaken, We most lovingly impart to you the Apostolic benediction, the pledge of divine gifts.

Given at Rome, at St. Peter's, on the 15th day of November, 1898, in the twenty-first year of Our Pontificate.

Leo XIII, Pope.

Vol. I, Principal Testimonies and Judgments of the Holy See concerning the Moral Doctrine of St. Alphonsus

Benedict XIV

Letter written on the 15th day of July, 1755, to St. Alphonsus. "We have received your letters, together with the second volume of your Moral Theology, and with several other books, which, although they are of smaller bulk, will nevertheless be of the greatest usefulness for the salvation of souls. For this gift We give thanks, especially because you have dedicated to Us your moral work; when We had cursorily turned it over, We judged that it was most excellent and would certainly be most approved and most useful for the whole society of men."

Clement XIII

Letters in the form of a Brief, given on the 4th day of August, 1767, to St. Alphonsus. "We have received most gladly your book against the errors which at the present time have infected almost all Europe; both because it is yours, whose talent and doctrine, and zeal of God greatly burning, We know well from several other writings of yours... Moreover, Venerable Brother, We love you exceedingly, because, by no means content to profit your own Church alone, whatever time remains to you from your episcopal administration, this you do not allow to perish, but spend it all in labors of this kind, whose usefulness is not circumscribed by the limits of your diocese, but is extended to the universal Church."

Pius VII

Decree concerning the review and approbation of the works of Venerable Alphonsus. "... After a full report had been made, both of the aforesaid printed works and of all the other manuscripts..., NOTHING was found in them WORTHY OF CENSURE... These things having been reported to Our Most Holy Lord, His Holiness graciously assented. On the 18th day of May, 1803."
Decree concerning the doubt whether one may safely proceed to Beatification. "The almighty Word of God, who calls the stars, that they may shine in the firmament of the Church militant, called His venerable servant Alphonsus, that he might shine with the light of apostolic virtues. He responded to the divine voice, and he shone with the light of virtues worthy of an apostle. He responded to the divine voice, and he emitted virtues worthy of an apostle as a brightness..., since both by voice and by writing, in the midst of the night of the age, he showed the way to those wandering, by which, rescued from the power of darkness, they might pass into the light and kingdom of God... But pastors of souls, and preachers of the divine word, and pious and learned men also, will certainly understand how much ornament and protection has been established for them in imitating Alphonsus Maria. Since, therefore, Our Most Holy Lord Pius VII, Pope... declared... that the virtues of this most brilliant star of the Church militant are to be held heroic... he rightly pronounced: That one may safely proceed.... And he ordered this decree to be published..., on the 12th day before the Kalends of January, 1815."
It is also certain that Pius VII recommended to the bishops of the Papal States that the moral theology of Blessed Alphonsus be taught in their seminaries. Coppola, Mor. sistem. del B. Alfonso, p. 144.

Leo XII

Letters to the printer Hyacinth Marietti, given on the 19th day of February, 1825. "That the flood of evil books may do less harm, by which... all regions overflow, no small thing is done by the number of writers outstanding in piety and doctrine, whom God, for the protection of religion and morals... never ceases to oppose to the boldness of the depraved. Among these, since especially the most holy and likewise most learned man, Blessed Alphonsus de Ligorio, is numbered by the best right..., (whose writings) are most firm defenses against every depravity: surely you have merited very well of religion, and... of the whole society of men, you who have placed your work and industry in collecting and publishing the works of a writer of this kind...."

Pius VIII

Decree concerning the doubt whether the miracles are established, issued on the 3rd day of December, 1829. "God gave to Blessed Alphonsus Maria de Ligorio the knowledge of the saints, and honored him in labors, who even to extreme old age... strove... by most salutary books composed with labor, to kindle the minds of the faithful to contempt of the deceitful age and to love of eternal glory. The name of this Blessed man, both by reason of his illustrious deeds and by reason of his volumes filled with piety and doctrine, has been spread everywhere among the nations, and invoked in adversities."

Gregory XVI

Bull of Canonization, published on the 26th day of May, 1839. "Holiness and doctrine... ought to adorn every bishop.... To restore this eminent example of an excellent prelate, Alphonsus Maria de Ligorio seemed to have been given divinely to the Church in the preceding century; he, since... he was wonderfully strong especially in sacred doctrines, was called to the very difficult office of the episcopate.... Indeed he wrote very many books, whether for defending the doctrine of morals, or for the full instruction of the sacred order, or for confirming the truth of the Catholic religion, or for asserting the rights of this Holy Apostolic See, or for exciting a sense of piety in the souls of Christians. Moreover, in these one may admire an unusual force, abundance, and variety of doctrine, singular documents of ecclesiastical solicitude, and an exquisite zeal for religion. But this is especially worthy of note: that, although he wrote very copiously, nevertheless it has been ascertained, after a diligent examination had been instituted, that his works can be traversed by the faithful with an entirely unoffending foot."
Decree published on the 10th day of January, 1840. "Among the greatest lights and ornaments of the Catholic Church, St. Alphonsus Maria de Ligorio shines forth, who, distinguished in doctrine and holiness,... serving solely the glory of God and the spiritual salvation of men by very many most learned and most pious works,... now crowned, possesses the palm."
Response of the Sacred Penitentiary, given on the 5th day of July, 1831.

Consultation. "Most Eminent Sir. Louis Francis Augustus, Cardinal de Rohan-Chabot, Archbishop of Besancon, strives to foster the wisdom and unity of doctrine among all those of his diocese who have the care of souls; since some of these are attacking the Moral Theology of Blessed Alphonsus Maria de Ligorio as too lax, dangerous to salvation, and contrary to sound morals, he seeks the oracle of the Sacred Penitentiary, and proposes to it the following doubts of one professor of theology to be solved:

"1. Whether a professor of sacred theology can safely follow and profess the opinions which Blessed Alphonsus de Ligorio professes in his moral theology?

"2. Whether a confessor is to be disturbed who follows all the opinions of Blessed Alphonsus de Ligorio in the practice of the sacred tribunal of Penance, for this sole reason, that by the Holy Apostolic See 'nothing worthy of censure has been found in his works'?

"The confessor concerning whom there is doubt does not read the works of the Blessed Doctor except in order to know his doctrine accurately, not weighing the arguments or reasons on which the various opinions rest; but he thinks that he acts safely, from the very fact that he can prudently judge that a doctrine which contains 'nothing worthy of censure' is sound, safe, and in no way contrary to evangelical holiness."

Decision. The Sacred Penitentiary, having weighed the things set forth, judged that answer should be made to the Most Reverend Father in Christ, the Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, Archbishop of Besancon:

"To the first question: AFFIRMATIVELY, without however judging that those are to be reprehended who follow opinions handed down by other approved authors.

"To the second question: NEGATIVELY, having regard to the mind of the Holy See concerning the approbation of the writings of the servants of God for the effect of Canonization.

"Given at Rome, in the Sacred Penitentiary, on the 5th day of July, 1851.

"A. F. De Retz, Regent of the Sacred Penitentiary. F. Tricca, Secretary of the Sacred Penitentiary."¹

Pius IX

Letters given on the 7th day of April, 1847, to D. Scavini. "We congratulate you exceedingly, because in composing these Theological Institutions you have had nothing more ancient than to propagate more and more the salutary doctrines of that most holy and most learned man Alphonsus Maria de Ligorio, and to imbue with them especially the minds of ecclesiastical youth...." (Theol. mor., at the beginning).
Response of the Sacred Penitentiary, issued on the 19th day of December, 1855.

Petition. "Most Eminent and Most Reverend Lord. The undersigned suppliant, on account of his own devotion and reverence toward St. Alphonsus de Ligorio, greatly desires to hold, hand down, and defend in all things the doctrine of the same so great a saint, and to make this known openly in the diocesan calendar soon to be published (as also pleases his much-praised bishop, who is very favorable toward St. Alphonsus), by adhering to and observing the decision issued on this matter under the date of the 5th day of July, 1831, by this Sacred Penitentiary. But as regards this he is held back by some religious scruple, because, when long ago he obtained academic degrees, he took an oath, as below, that he would retain the doctrine of the same university (which follows Probabiliorism and the opinions of the Probabiliorists). Since these things are so, and since moreover the very distinguished Scavini, who took the same oath, in his moral theology dedicated to Our Most Holy Lord Pope Pius IX, had the same St. Alphonsus especially as guide; hence, for the quiet of his conscience, he most humbly has recourse to Your Eminence, and earnestly begs:

"1. That he may be taught whether the aforesaid oath prevents him from following and publicly handing down in all things the doctrine of St. Alphonsus de Ligorio, as is explained above? Or 2, that he may be dispensed from observing the same oath...."

Response. "The Sacred Penitentiary, having maturely weighed the things set forth, judged that to the beloved in Christ, the petitioner, answer should be made to the proposed doubts, as it answers: To the first, Negatively. To the second, provided for in the first.

"Given at Rome, in the Sacred Penitentiary, on the 19th day of December, 1855." Cf. Scavini, vol. 3, n. 492.

Decree Urbis et Orbis, published on the 23rd day of March, 1871, concerning the concession of the title Doctor. "Among those who have done and taught... St. Alphonsus Maria de Ligorio is deservedly to be numbered.... But what he fulfilled by holy action, he also taught by words and writings. For he dispelled and removed, by learned works, and especially by treatises of moral theology, the darkness of errors widely diffused by unbelievers and Jansenists; he furthermore made clear obscure things and declared doubtful things, since amid the entangled opinions of theologians, whether laxer or stricter, HE LAID DOWN A SAFE WAY, through which the directors of the souls of the Christian faithful could walk with unoffending foot...."
Apostolic Letters in the form of a Brief, promulgated on the 7th day of July, 1871, concerning the confirmation of the title Doctor. "Christ the Lord, who promised that He would never be wanting to His Church... raises up men distinguished in piety and doctrine, who... may send forth as rains the utterances of His wisdom. For neither did it happen without the most provident counsel of Almighty God, that when the doctrine of the Jansenists turned upon itself the eyes of innovators, and by the appearance of error allured many and drove them astray, then especially Alphonsus Maria de Ligorio should stand forth..., who... should open his mouth in the midst of the Church; and by learned and laborious writings should take care that that plague raised up from the lower regions be torn out by the roots and exterminated from the field of the Lord. Nor indeed did Alphonsus claim these parts alone for himself; but... he wrote very many books, filled with sacred learning and piety, whether, amid the entangled opinions of theologians, both laxer and stricter, for fortifying a safe way through which the directors of the souls of the Christian faithful could walk with unoffending foot.... Since these things are so..., by Our Apostolic Authority, by the tenor of the present letters, We confirm the title of Doctor in honor of St. Alphonsus Maria de Ligorio..., or, insofar as there is need, We anew bestow and impart it to him; so indeed that in the universal Catholic Church he may always be held as Doctor.... Furthermore, We will and decree that the books, commentaries, opuscula, and finally all the works of this Doctor, as of the other Doctors of the Church, may be cited, brought forward, and, when the matter shall require, used not only privately but publicly in gymnasia, academies, schools, colleges, lectures, disputations, interpretations, sermons, addresses, and all other ecclesiastical studies and Christian exhortations...."

Leo XIII

Letters to Fathers Leopold Dujardin and Julius Jacques, C.Ss.R., given on the 28th day of August, 1879. "Although the writings of the Holy Doctor Alphonsus Maria de Ligorio, Beloved Son, have already pervaded the whole world, not without the very ample advantage of the Christian cause, nevertheless it must be desired that they be made still more and more common and be brought to the hands of all. For he most skillfully adapted Catholic truths to the capacity of all; he provided for the moral rule of all; he wonderfully excited the piety of all; and 'in the midst of the night of the age he showed the way to those wandering,' by which, rescued from the power of darkness, they might pass into the light and kingdom of God." And indeed by the firmest arguments he fortified divine revelation against the Deists; he vigorously defended the truth of our faith; he most efficaciously asserted the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God; he most powerfully defended the primacy and infallible magisterium of the Roman Pontiff; he learnedly and piously illustrated the counsels of divine Providence in procuring the salvation of men through Jesus Christ; he explained the psalms and canticles with commentaries most apt for fostering the piety of clerics; he showed the glory of the Church in the triumphs of the martyrs; with the history of heresies and a dogmatic work published, he sharply struck at all heresies, but especially overthrew the Jansenist and Febronian errors then especially increasing, and grave with that crop of monstrous opinions by which now the foundations of religious and civil society are shaken, and which he even then attacked with such perspicacity that very many of the propositions condemned after a century in the Syllabus are seen to have been expressly refuted by his writings; indeed "it can most truly be proclaimed that there is no error of our times which, at least in very great part, has not been refuted by Alphonsus." And, to say nothing of his MORAL THEOLOGY, most celebrated everywhere on earth and plainly furnishing a safe norm which directors of conscience may follow, he fostered, nourished, and advanced charity grown cold by frequent and learned ascetical writings, as though by little fires placed beneath; and especially charity toward Our Lord Jesus Christ and His most sweet Mother, by whose love, with the wonderful profit of the faithful, he kindled even hardened hearts. And in all these things "that is especially worthy of note, that although he wrote very copiously, nevertheless, after a diligent examination had been instituted, it has been ascertained that his works can be traversed by the faithful with an entirely unoffending foot...."
Encyclical of the 8th day of December, 1902, to the bishops of Italy. The same Pontiff calls St. Alphonsus "the especially distinguished and gentle one of moralists" (A. S. S., 35, p. 261).

n. ¶9.

Pius X

Letter to Father John Herrmann, C.Ss.R., of the 25th day of July, 1904. There St. Alphonsus is called "so holy and so preeminent a doctor, a writer of most abundant discipline, a most safe source of opinions" (Tract. de Gratia, beginning).
Letters to Father Leonard Gaude, of the 12th day of June, 1905. "Such is the esteem and praise of the Holy Doctor Alphonsus de Ligorio in the Church of God, that even that alone would suffice as the reason why We most gladly permit a new edition of the Alphonsian moral theology to be dedicated to Our Name.... All thanks must be had for you, who have shown more openly the mind of the Holy Doctor, whom all can safely follow in moral doctrines, and have determined his opinions more securely than ever before" (Op. moral. S. Alph., vol. I, p. XI).

Vol. I, Explanation of the Manner in Which the Testimonies of St. Alphonsus Are Indicated

Vol. I, St. Alphonsus's Moral Doct…, A. Principal Testimonies and Judgments of the Holy See concerning the Moral Doctrine of St. Alphonsus · Vol. I, St. Alphonsus's Moral Doct…, B. On the Excellence and Authority of the Moral Doctrine of St. Alphonsus

There is no one who does not know that St. Alphonsus wrote various moral works. Let those things be compared which we indicate at the end of the second volume. In our edition, it pleases us especially to cite two moral works of the Holy Doctor, namely the Moral Theology and the golden book whose title is: Homo Apostolicus. The testimonies of the Moral Theology are brought forward without indication of the work itself; only the numbers of the work are noted, with the volume and page of Father Gaude's edition sometimes added. As regards the book Homo Apostolicus, it is indicated briefly by the initial letters: H. Ap., with the treatise and number added. Therefore the indication: I, 24; V, 4; H. Ap., III, 33, is to be read thus: St. Alphonsus, Theol. mor., book I, n. 24; book V, n. 4; H. Ap., treatise III, n. 33. If the following occur to you: I, 81; ed. G., I, p. 60, read: St. Alphonsus, Theol. mor., book I, n. 81; Gaude edition, vol. I, p. 60. The other moral works of St. Alphonsus are sufficiently indicated; for example: Exam. ordin. (Examen ordinandorum); Conf. dir. (Il Confessore diretto); Praxis (Praxis confessarii).

Vol. I, Part First: On the First P…, Tr. I, Ch. III, Art. II, § 2. On the Lawful Use of Probability

n. ¶12.

III. The Excellent Merit of the System of St. Alphonsus

n. ¶104.

St. Alphonsus everywhere in his moral works commemorates this distinguished dictum of the Seraphic Doctor: "Conscience too broad and too strict is to be avoided; for the first generates presumption, the second desperation; thus the first often calls evil good, the second on the contrary calls good evil; likewise, the first often saves one to be damned, the second on the contrary condemns one to be saved" (Compend. theol. ver., l. 2, c. 52).

That the rule of equiprobabilism handed down by St. Alphonsus accurately holds that middle way is already clear from what has been said (cf. n. 88 ff.).

But that it moreover surpasses the other systems in prudence, and in facility, and in authority, will be evident from what is now to be said.¹

n. ¶105.

I. The rule of equiprobabilism of St. Alphonsus is the most PRUDENT of all. For the Blessed Doctor proposes such a norm as guards against every illusion of self-love, and entirely closes the way to scruples.

It guards against the illusion of self-love. This danger threatens if someone weighs only the moments which fight for liberty, without attending to the reasons of the other part (cf. n. 67). But equiprobabilism (as the very word indicates) does not follow such a manner of acting, indeed rather it expressly rejects it.
It closes the way to scruples. For it does not impose strict equiprobabilism, but teaches that almost equal probability of opinions suffices, and that attention is not to be given to an excess of probability unless it appears certain and notable. Certainly proportionate diligence is required; but as often as

the intellect, with reasonable diligence applied according to its powers, does not clearly perceive the certain preponderance of the safer opinion, liberty remains in full possession of its right. What more accommodated to even moderate minds can be desired?

Let us hear the theologian who drew up the Votum for the concession of the title Doctor. "But I would not wish anyone to think," he says, "that Alphonsus supplied only this one thing, namely that he collected dissenting opinions and estimated them very acutely; since besides this it is certain that the solid foundations of the whole moral discipline were established through him. For all know that the question concerning the nature and use of probability is fundamental in Moral Theology.... Now, before Alphonsus, a question of this kind was so entangled that probabilists and probabiliorists, contending among themselves, very easily struck either upon the rock of laxism or upon that of rigorism. But that now in this question extremes are avoided is owed TO ALPHONSUS ALONE, who introduced that golden system of EQUIPROBABILISM, which he constantly retained and adopted in explaining moral discipline."

n. ¶106.

II. The rule of equiprobabilism of St. Alphonsus is the EASIEST of all. For two things, in every controversy concerning the lawfulness of actions, suffice:

To see whether law or liberty possesses, according to the things set forth above (n. 55). 2. To adjudge the palm to the part which possesses, unless the opinion which favors the other is evidently more probable.

YOU WILL OBJECT. It is easier to judge concerning solid and grave probability than concerning the excess of the opposite probability. Therefore the rule of probabilism is easier, which teaches that an opinion can lawfully be admitted, provided it is truly and solidly probable.

Resp. The objection is vain. For before you embrace an opinion, either you consider it alone, or you compare it with its contradictory. If the first, you sin by acting imprudently; for it is proper to imprudence, St. Thomas testifying, to judge or act while sufficient deliberation is neglected. Would you not then have to be called similar to a judge who, after hearing only one part of the litigants, and indeed the part friendly to himself, adjudged the case to that same part? (cf. n. 40, rule 2).

If the second, there is no reason why you should glory in a simpler rule; since, in order to judge your probability as theologically and relatively or comparatively grave, you must institute the same weighing of reasons standing on each side. Therefore they deceive themselves who think that the rule of absolute probabilism is simpler; for this either is not a right rule of morals, or it demands for itself the same labor as ours.

n. ¶107.

III. The rule of equiprobabilism of St. Alphonsus is the most APPROVED of all. Those things which, from the testimonies of authors and of the Prelates of the whole world, and from the approval of the Holy See, are reported in favor of the moral doctrine of St. Alphonsus in general (cf. Acts of the Doctorate), have force not only with equal but with stronger right concerning his moral system. For this system sustains and moderates the whole moral doctrine, since almost all doubts are resolved according to its norm.

The Sacred Congregation of Rites understood this very well; and hence it was why it subjected the system of the holy man to the most rigorous investigation, not once, but a second time; with this result, that the system, from that time, received for itself the assent of all and almost unanimous applause in the Catholic world.¹ The defender of the cause of Beatification had already gravely testified this before the assembly of the Most Eminent Cardinals, saying: "But if the wise system of Ligorio did not please certain private writers, nevertheless it pleased others infinite in multitude and most excellent in doctrine, who judged that he had carried every point in this question: therefore throughout all Italy, Spain, Germany, and other parts of the world, they received his Moral Theology with the highest applause."²

But there is not given another system of Moral Theology which equally authentic testimonies adorn, and which so many and so splendid suffrages commend. Nor is it true, as certain authors wrongly affirm, that the aforesaid approval belongs also to simple or absolute probabilism; since it has been proved sufficiently and more than sufficiently that the system of St. Alphonsus is and always was alien from that more benign probabilism which he himself calls a lax opinion (n. 102).

Note. As to the manner of acting, if a penitent follows the more benign opinion, see n. 1789.

n. ¶13.

Scholium

n. ¶14.

On the Manner in Which St. Alphonsus States His Opinions

n. ¶108.

For the more perfect understanding of St. Alphonsus's Moral Theology, it seems useful to propose some rules by which the genuine judgment of the holy man concerning the value of opinions may be known. For when the Blessed Doctor commemorates diverse opinions of authors, he does not always state in set words which one out of all is to be held in practice. The disciple of so great a master will detect this by an easy task, if he knows his system well, and at the same time knows the manner in which he himself is accustomed to declare his opinions. On this matter, attention must be given to the following RULES:

Generally that opinion alone which St. Alphonsus calls probable is truly probable for him. Hence, when he uses this formula: The authors probably say, in this case he judges their opinion probable. But when he uses this other formula: The authors say that it is probably lawful, from this it is not clear that that opinion is regarded by him as probable; for his words indicate only that he is setting forth the judgment of the authors whom he cites.
If, speaking of some opinion, he says: it does not seem improbable; or: it is not improbably said; in this case, regularly, he holds the opinion as sufficiently probable, unless perhaps he opposes to the opinion something certainly or notably more probable.
An opinion which he calls neither probable nor improbable, he generally leaves to the judgment of others. Yet one must see what he says either before or afterward: for, if he opposes nothing at all, and the author whom he cites is grave, that opinion is generally to be held as sufficiently probable: as, for example, when at the end of a question he adds: Lugo... adds... notes.
If he expressly says of some opinion: I do not dare to condemn it, or I do not dare to call it improbable, by that very fact he declares that, in his judgment, it is doubtfully probable, or that it is referred by him to the judgment of the more prudent.
When he calls some opinion truer, or much or absolutely more probable, or more probable and at the same time common or most common, in this case he no longer judges the opposite, with respect to the other, as solidly probable, even if he does not expressly reject it as improbable.
The same must be said when he calls one of the opinions more probable or more common, and does not set forth a judgment concerning the opposite; for by this manner of speaking he intends to signify that that opinion seems to him so much more probable that he does not acknowledge the opposite as truly probable.
An opinion to which nothing is opposed, and which he simply calls probable (a case which nevertheless rarely happens), ordinarily founds moral certitude for practice (cf. n. 72).
An opinion which he simply calls common, with no judgment given concerning the opposite, must certainly be called his own.

Warning. In this work we shall for the most part pass over opinions which are destitute of the force of obliging, or which have little bearing on the matter, and we shall report only those which St. Alphonsus supports for practice, referring the reader to the work of the Holy Doctor himself for richer study and understanding. Nevertheless, in appraising opinions we shall use the same word as he does, and in questions truly controversial we shall always set forth each opinion in a few words.

Konings, Theologia Moralis

Anthony Konings, C.SS.R. — 69 passages

Vol. I, St. Alphonsus's Moral Doct…, A. Principal Testimonies and Judgments of the Holy See concerning the Moral Doctrine of St. Alphonsus

Benedict XIV.

Letter of November 2, 1753, to St. Alphonsus. - "We have received the first volume of your Moral Theology, dedicated to Us, and We give thanks to you for the honor shown to Us by this dedication, and also for Our Encyclical Letters opportunely inserted in the aforesaid Work. We make certain to you that We shall read your Work, when leisure shall be given to Us for this; for We cherish the due esteem of your merit, diligence, and fair judgment."
Another Letter, dated July 15, 1755. - "We have received your letters dated the eighth of June, together with the second volume of your Moral, and with several other books, which, although they are of lesser bulk, nevertheless will be of the greatest utility for the salvation of souls. For this gift We give thanks, especially because you have dedicated your moral Work to Us; when We had run through this cursorily, We judged it to be most choice and certainly about to be most approved and most useful to the whole society of men. We shall turn it over calmly, and We trust that the things to be read will be worthy of the things read."
How highly Benedict XIV valued the merit, diligence, and fairness of Alphonsus in deciding controversies is clear from the things which the most learned Pontiff hands down in the golden Work On Diocesan Synod.¹ - It is also established from the fact related by Father Tannoja² in these words: "So great was the esteem which the same Pontiff Benedict XIV had conceived concerning his wisdom, that when he was asked by the learned Neapolitan missionary and distinguished servant of God, Don Joseph Jorio, to state his opinion concerning the cursing of the dead, he abstained from opening it by himself, and answered: 'You have your Liguori; consult him.'"

Clement XIII.

Letters in the form of a Brief, August 4, 1767, to St. Alphonsus.³ - "We have most gladly received your book against the errors which at the present time have infected almost all Europe; both because it is yours, whose genius and doctrine and zeal for God, greatly burning, We know well from several other writings of yours....

Moreover, Venerable Brother, We greatly love you, because, by no means content to profit your one Church, whatever time remains to you from your episcopal charge, you do not suffer it to perish, but spend it all in labors of this kind, whose utility is not circumscribed by the boundaries of your Diocese, but is extended to the universal Church. We pray God that He give you firm health, and add life and strength, by which you may be able happily to complete several other things which perhaps you have begun...."

From the Acts of Beatification.⁴ - "Having returned to Rome" (Alphonsus), "he was embraced most lovingly by the Supreme Pontiff and was deemed worthy of a conversation of three hours. When, among the most grave affairs of the Church concerning which he himself was being consulted by the Pontiff, he had related that the Book which he had recently published on the utility of frequent Communion had been attacked, the Pontiff burned with zeal; and, showing that most holy practice to be very useful for souls, and confirming it by his own experience, he ordered him to refute the adversary; as indeed he did shortly at Rome, and offered the published response to the Pontiff himself."
Brilliant testimonies of the Supreme Pontiffs Clement XIV and Pius VI are extant; nevertheless, since these regard certain dogmatic works of the Holy Doctor, we abstain from reviewing them. - Let it suffice here to allege what the praised Father Tannoja⁵ reports concerning Pius VI: "When the Advocate Vincent Picerni had dedicated to him, in the year 1798, the Defense of the System of Alphonsus, he testified in the answering Brief given to the same Picerni that he had greatly rejoiced over it."

These things having been premised, let us proceed to setting forth the weightier judgments.

Pius VII.

Decree on the Revision and Approbation of the Works of Venerable Alphonsus.⁶ - "... A full relation having been made both of the aforesaid printed Works and of all the other manuscripts, ... NOTHING worthy of censure was found in them.... These things having been related to Our Most Holy Lord, His Holiness benignly assented. May 18, 1803."
Decree on the Doubt whether it is established concerning the Virtues in heroic degree.⁷ - "... The great opinion concerning the chaste and holy morals of Venerable Alphonsus, which took hold among all persons whatsoever, ... was always more and more increased.... It shone forth ... in the ministry of the word of God among the rude and abandoned people, while he imbued them with the precepts of the divine law; in the chair of morals, among the moderators of consciences, while he poured forth an abundance of doctrine; ... in the pastoral office among the flock committed to him, while by vigilant guardianship he nourished it with salutary pastures.... But with how excellent a right men made so much of him, the present judgment of the Apostolic See manifests. For an inquiry having been instituted concerning his particular actions, ... and a discussion having been made concerning any exceptions whatsoever, even the smallest, which could have been opposed to the more perfect exercise of the Christian virtues, and again renewed, ... all the difficulties seemed so to vanish that nothing further could be opposed as still needing to be weighed.... But this Decree" (His Holiness) "ordered to be published and to be referred into the acts of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, on the Nones of May, 1807."
Decree on the Doubt whether one can safely proceed to Beatification.⁸ - "The omnipotent word of God, who calls the stars that they may shine in the firmament of the militant Church, called His Venerable servant Alphonsus that he might gleam with the light of apostolic virtues. He answered that divine voice, and sent forth, as a radiance, virtues worthy of an Apostle, ... when, both by voice and by writing, in the middle night of the age, he showed to those wandering the way by which, rescued from the power of darkness, they could pass into God's light and kingdom.... But surely the Pastors of souls also, and preachers of the divine word, and pious and learned men also, will understand how much ornament and protection has been established for them in imitating Alphonsus Maria. Since, therefore, Our Most Holy Lord Pius

Pope VII ... has declared that the virtues of this most luminous star of the militant Church are to be held heroic, ... he rightly pronounced: That one can proceed safely.... And he ordered this Decree to be published among the people ..., December 21, 1815."

Brief of Beatification, of September 6, 1816.⁹ - "For stirring up emulation of the better charisms, the Lord always renews in the Church the greatest examples of virtues. But now, besides so many others who in our memory have been seen to flourish with a manifold array of virtues, it is established that the Venerable servant of God Alphonsus shone in a wonderful way.... Like an arrow in the hand of the mighty, he rushed upon vices.... Hence it is indeed wonderful how many hatreds he extinguished, how many straying persons he led back to the right path, and even to Christian perfection, by word, example, and multiple Writings...."
It is also certainly established that Pius VII advised the Bishops of the Pontifical Dominion that the moral Theology of Blessed Alphonsus be handed down in their Seminaries.¹⁰

Leo XII.

Letters to the Typographer Hyacinth Marietti, dated February 19, 1825.¹¹ - "That the filth of evil books, with which, by a calamity of our age never enough to be deplored, all regions overflow, may do less harm, no slight part is played by the number of Writers outstanding in piety and doctrine, whom God, for the guardianship of Religion and morals, by the counsel of His merciful Providence, never fails to oppose to the audacity of the lost. Among these, since especially the most holy and likewise most learned man, Blessed Alphonsus de Liguori, is numbered by the best right, ... (whose writings) are most firm protections against every depravity: you have indeed deserved very well of Religion, and, if it knows its advantages, of the universal society of men, who have placed your work and industry in gathering and publishing the Works of a Writer of this kind...."
Don Gaume testifies that at the same time similar Letters in the form of a Brief were given by Leo XII to the Bishop of Marseille.¹²

Pius VIII.

Letter given (when he was still Major Penitentiary) to the Bishop of Marseille.¹³ - "There is indeed reason why I vehemently congratulate Your Lordship concerning the most pious counsel by which you strive to foster among your flock veneration toward Blessed Alphonsus; whom we behold not only as having brought, by the splendor of virtues, an illustrious honor to the Episcopal Order in our age, but also as having shone forth by sound doctrine and according to God, so many volumes on this matter having been published, in which we are admonished by venerable judgment that there is nothing worthy of censure. This now remains, that these your wishes for the good of the sheep, from the protection of Blessed Alphonsus himself, be heaped up with the desired outcome."
Decree on the Doubt whether it is established concerning Miracles, December 3, 1829.¹⁴ - "To Blessed Alphonsus Maria de Liguori God gave the knowledge of the Saints, and honored him in labors; he who ... unto extreme old age ... studied ... by most salutary Books, elaborated by him, to enkindle the minds of the faithful toward contempt of the deceitful age and toward the love of eternal glory.... The Name of this Blessed Man, both by his brilliant deeds and by his volumes filled with piety and doctrine, has been diffused everywhere among the nations, and has been invoked in adversities...."
Decree on the Doubt whether one can safely proceed to Canonization, May 16, 1830.¹⁵ - "Among the Workers whom the heavenly Householder at no time ceased to send for cultivating His vineyard, Blessed Alphonsus labored very much for instructing the people by word and by writing...."

Gregory XVI.

Bull of Canonization, of May 26, 1839.¹⁶ - "Holiness and Doctrine, according to the sentence of the Apostle of the nations, ought to adorn every Bishop.... But for renewing this eminent example of an excellent Bishop, Alphonsus Maria Liguori seemed to have been given divinely to the Church in the preceding age; he who, since ... he was wonderfully powerful especially in sacred doctrines, was called to the very greatly impeded office of the Episcopate....

This however is altogether wonderful: that, although in the function of the apostolic office he was detained by perpetual occupations, and weakened and tormented his members by every harshness of sufferings, nevertheless he could busy himself with such eagerness in studies of sacred things, and spend so much time, that by learned and equally laborious Works published into the light, he wonderfully helped the Christian commonwealth. Indeed, that he might devote himself and all the accounts of his life to divine worship, he emitted a most arduous vow, and of a kind almost new, that he would spend not even the smallest bit of time idly, but in perpetual action. He indeed wrote very many books, whether for defending the doctrine of morals, or for the full instruction of the sacred Order, or for confirming the truth of the Catholic Religion, or for asserting the rights of this Holy Apostolic See, or for stirring up the sense of piety in the souls of Christians. Moreover, in these one may admire an unusual force, abundance, and variety of doctrine, singular documents of ecclesiastical solicitude, and an exquisite zeal for Religion. But this above all is worthy of note: that, although he wrote most copiously, nevertheless after diligent examination had been instituted, it was found that his Works can be run through by the faithful WITH AN ENTIRELY UNOFFENDING FOOT."

Decree of January 10, 1840.¹⁷ - "Among the greatest lights and ornaments of the Catholic Church, St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori shines forth; he who, distinguished by doctrine and holiness, and inflamed with the highest charity, serving only the glory of God and the spiritual salvation of men by wonderful examples of all virtues and by very many most learned and most pious Works, after a life most holily spent, now crowned, possesses the palm, and triumphs with God in heaven."
Response of the Sacred Penitentiary, of July 5, 1831.¹⁸

Consultation. - "Most Eminent one. Louis Francis Augustus, Cardinal de Rohan-Chabot, Archbishop of Besancon, strives to foster wisdom and unity of doctrine among all those of his diocese who have care of souls. Since certain of them attack the Moral Theology of Blessed Alphonsus Maria de Liguori as too lax, dangerous to salvation, and contrary to sound morals, he asks the oracle of the Sacred Penitentiary, and proposes to it the following doubts of one professor of Theology to be solved:

"1°. Whether a professor of sacred Theology can safely follow and profess the opinions which Blessed Alphonsus de Liguori professes in his Moral Theology?

"2°. Whether a Confessor is to be disturbed who follows all the opinions of Blessed Alphonsus de Liguori in the practice of the sacred tribunal of Penance, for this reason alone, that by the Holy Apostolic See 'nothing worthy of censure was found in the Works'? - The Confessor of whom there is question in the doubt does not read the Works of the Blessed Doctor except to know his doctrine accurately, not weighing the moments or reasons upon which the various opinions rest; but he thinks that he acts safely, by that very fact that he can prudently judge that doctrine which contains 'nothing worthy of censure' to be sound, safe, and in no way contrary to evangelical holiness."

Decision. - "The Sacred Penitentiary, the things set forth having been weighed, judged that answer should be made to the Most Reverend Father in Christ, Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, Archbishop of Besancon:

"To the 1st question: IN THE AFFIRMATIVE, without however judging from this that those are to be reprehended who follow opinions handed down by other approved authors.

"To the 2nd question: IN THE NEGATIVE, account being taken of the mind of the Holy See concerning the approbation of the Writings of Servants of God for the effect of Canonization.

"Given at Rome, in the Sacred Penitentiary, July 5, 1831.

"A. F. De Retz, Regent of the S. P.

"F. Tricca, Secretary of the S. P."¹⁹

Another Response of the Sacred Penitentiary, of June 8, 1842.²⁰

Consultation. - "Most Blessed Father. The Bishop of Le Mans ... most humbly represents: Nearly all younger spouses do not wish to have a more numerous offspring, and yet they are morally unable to abstain from the conjugal act.... The aforesaid Bishop of Le Mans, foreseeing that immense evils will arise from this, and disturbed with anxiety, solicitously asks Your Beatitude: ... 2°. If the act is to be held as morally evil, whether spouses not accusing themselves of it can be considered as constituted in that good faith which excuses them from grave fault? 3°. Whether the manner of acting of Confessors is to be approved who, lest they offend married persons, do not interrogate them concerning the mode by which they use the rights of matrimony?"

Response. - "The Sacred Penitentiary, the proposed questions having been maturely weighed.... To 2 and 3 it answers: that the aforesaid Confessor should recall to mind that saying: holy things are to be treated holily; and should also weigh the words of St. Alphonsus de Liguori, a learned man and most expert in these matters, who in the Practice of Confessors, 1. 4, n. 41, says: 'Moreover, concerning the sins of spouses with respect to the conjugal debt, ordinarily speaking, the Confessor is not bound, nor is it fitting, to interrogate, except wives, whether they have rendered it, in the more modest manner in which he can.... Concerning other things let him be silent, unless he has been asked.' And let him not omit to consult other approved authors."

Pius IX.

Letters to Father Hugues, C.SS.R., dated November 25, 1846.²¹ - "If ever at another time, now certainly it must be cared for with every zeal and industry that by salutary writings vices be routed, and virtue, religion, and piety be stirred up and fostered in the souls of all.... Therefore We greatly commend the pious labor undertaken by you, and We add courage to you, that with ever greater eagerness you spend your work in promulgating more and more from day to day the most salutary writings of St. Alphonsus, whose reading can greatly profit not only the Christian people, but also ecclesiastical men, especially those devoted to the care and rule of souls. For indeed the books of that most holy and most learned Man ... abundantly supply all the best admonitions, counsels, and precepts, which are especially conducive to guarding and procuring the salvation of souls...."
Letters of April 7, 1847, to Don Scavini.²² - "We vehemently congratulate you, because in composing these Theological Institutions you held nothing more ancient than to propagate more and more the salutary doctrines of the most holy and most learned Man Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, and to imbue especially the souls of ecclesiastical youth with them. Therefore We greatly commend the counsel undertaken by you...."
Letters to the Typographer Marietti, June 12, 1847.²³ - "In so great a number of depraved books which daily come forth into the light in this age, you certainly seem to Us worthy of the greatest praise, beloved Son, by whose work and expense a Typography has been open there for several years, which publishes books, or again commits them to the press, most useful and opportune especially for defending Religion and for fostering piety. But in publishing these, you rightly judged that St. Alphonsus de Liguori should go before the others; to him indeed, as there was wonderful gentleness toward neighbors, so there was never-weary zeal for the salvation of souls. We indeed praise that you have now begun to publish a new edition of the Works of the same holy Bishop...."
Response of the Sacred Penitentiary, of December 19, 1855.

Petition. - "Most Eminent and Reverend Lord. The undersigned suppliant, named by his Bishop to the office of Prefect of public moral Conferences, because of his own devotion and reverence toward St. Alphonsus de Liguori, greatly desires to hold, hand down, and defend in all things the doctrine of this so great Saint, and to make this public in the Diocesan Calendar soon to be published (as also is pleasing to his much-praised Bishop, very favorable toward St. Alphonsus); adhering to and observing the Decision published on this matter by this Sacred Penitentiary under date July 5, 1831. But as to this he is held back by some religious scruple,

because, when he long ago obtained academic Degrees, he furnished the Oath as below, that he would retain the doctrine of the same University (which follows Probabiliorism and the opinions of Probabiliorists). - Since these things are so, and since moreover the very renowned Scavini, who emitted the same oath, in his Moral Theology dedicated to Our Most Holy Lord Pope Pius IX, had the same St. Alphonsus especially as Leader; hence, for the quiet of his conscience, he most humbly has recourse to Your Eminence and urgently supplicates:

"1. That he be taught whether it is an obstacle to the aforesaid oath to follow the doctrine of St. Alphonsus de Liguori in all things and to hand it down publicly, as is set forth above? Or 2. that he be dispensed from observing the same oath...."

Response. - "The Sacred Penitentiary, the things set forth having been maturely weighed, judged that answer should be made to the beloved orator in Christ to the proposed doubts, as it answers: To the first, In the negative. - To the second, Provided for in the first.

"Given at Rome, in the S. Penitentiary, December 19, 1855."

Response of the Holy Roman and Universal Inquisition, July 18, 1860.

Petition. - "Most Blessed Father. Bishop N. in France ... humbly asks ... 2° Whether those impeded from going to Rome in person are bound to go at least by letter or procurator, in order to obtain absolution from cases reserved to the Apostolic See? ..."

Response. - "Thursday, July 18, 1860. In the general Congregation of the Holy Roman and Universal Inquisition held, ... the Eminent and Reverend Lords ordered it to be rescripted: ... To the second Doubt. Let him consult approved Authors, among whom St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori...."

Another Response of the Holy Roman and Universal Inquisition, of July 18, 1860.²⁴

Petition. - "Most Blessed Father. The present Bishop N. in France ... asks ... 2° Whether" (the Bishop) "at least has the aforesaid faculty" (namely, outside Italy, whether by himself or by a delegate, of absolving from an occult excommunication which a Confessor contracted by absolving, outside the article of death, an accomplice in a shameful crime) "in the case in which, because of imminent danger of scandal or of another grave evil, recourse to the Holy See cannot be made at an opportune time? - 3° Whether, in the same circumstances, he has the faculty of absolving a priest who would not be of his diocese? - 4° Whether, in absolving from the aforesaid excommunication because of an urgent cause, he ought to impose upon the penitent the burden of recurring, the impediment ceasing, to the Holy See, under penalty of reincidence? - 5° Whether he can delegate the aforesaid faculty for a fixed time, or for a fixed number of cases, or only for the case set forth? ..."

Response. - "Thursday, July 18, 1860.... To the II, III, IV and V Doubt. Let him consult the Decretals of Clement III ... and approved Authors, among whom St. Alphonsus de Liguori, book 7, chapter 1, doubt 5, On Censures, nn. 84 to 92...."

Response of the S. C. of the Council, of August 29, 1860.²⁵

Petition. - "Most Blessed Father. Henry ... most humbly asks: 1° Whether a priest who has received a stipend richer than usual can, in favor of a pious work, hand over to another priest only the ordinary stipend, retaining entirely the part which surpassed the ordinary tax? - 2° Whether the same priest can substitute another priest for himself, under this law, that he remit some part of the ordinary or extraordinary stipend in favor of a determinate pious work? - 3° And insofar as in the negative in each case, whether a priest so acting is held to restitution? - 4° Whether a priest asking from another a condonation of this kind ought first to hand over to him the whole stipend? - 5° And insofar as in the affirmative, whether acting otherwise he is held to restitution?"

Response. - "August 29, 1860. Let him consult Theologians, especially St. Alphonsus de Liguori, tract XIII, On the Sacrament of the Eucharist, chapter VII" (or book 6, tract 3, chapter 3, n. 321 and following), "and Benedict XIV ... in like sentences he agrees...."

Response of the Sacred Penitentiary, of December 18, 1860.²⁶

Petition. - "18. In what way ought Parish Priests to conduct themselves in the celebration of the marriages of those who notoriously have fallen into ecclesiastical censures?"

Response. - "Let the Parish Priest consult the Ordinary, who, account being taken of things and circumstances, and all things having been weighed which are handed down by approved authors, and especially by St. Alphonsus (book 6, tract 1, chapter 2, n. 54), should declare those things which he will have judged to be more expedient in the Lord...."

Decree Urbis et Orbis of March 23, 1871, concerning the Concession of the Title of Doctor.

"Among those who did and taught, and whom Our Lord Jesus Christ called to be great in the kingdom of Heaven, St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori is deservedly to be numbered.... But what he completed by holy operation, he also taught by words and writings. For he himself, by learned Works, and especially by the treatments of Moral Theology, drove off and removed the darkness of errors widely diffused by Unbelievers and Jansenists. Moreover, he elucidated obscure things, and declared doubtful things, since among the entangled opinions of Theologians, whether laxer or more rigid, he laid down a safe way by which the Moderators of the souls of Christ's faithful could walk with unoffending foot...."

Apostolic Letters in the form of a Brief, of July 7, 1871, concerning the Confirmation of the Title of Doctor.

"He wrote very many Books, filled with sacred erudition and piety, whether, among the entangled opinions of Theologians, both laxer and more rigid, for fortifying a safe way by which the Moderators of the souls of Christ's faithful could walk with unoffending foot; or for forming and instructing the Clergy; ... This moreover can most truly be proclaimed: that there is no error even of our own times which, at least in greatest part, has not been refuted by Alphonsus. What of the fact that those things which have been sanctioned by Us, both concerning the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Mother of God, and concerning the Infallibility of the Roman Pontiff teaching from the chair, are found in the Works of Alphonsus both set forth most brightly and demonstrated by most valid arguments?

"Since these things are so, ... by Our Apostolic Authority, by the tenor of the present letters, We confirm, or, insofar as there is need, again attribute and impart to Him, the title of DOCTOR in honor of St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori; in such a way indeed that in the Universal Catholic Church he is always to be held as Doctor.... Moreover, We will and decree that the Books, Commentaries, little Works, and finally all the Works of this Doctor, like those of the other Doctors of the Church, may be cited, brought forward, and, when the matter demands it, used not only privately, but publicly in Gymnasia, Academies, Schools, Colleges, Lectures, Disputations, Interpretations, Addresses, Sermons, and all other Ecclesiastical studies and Christian exercises...."

His Holiness Lord Leo, Pope XIII.

Letter to L. J. Dujardin and J. Jacques, C.SS.R., translators of the works of St. Alphonsus into the French language, August 28, 1879.

"... To say nothing of the Moral Theology most celebrated everywhere on earth and offering a safe norm which moderators of conscience may follow, ... We even congratulate you also on your undertaking for this reason: that since the Holy Author often glories in his writings that he followed the doctrine of the Angel of the Schools, from the homage of this more recent Doctor of the Church toward him there accrues new praise and glory to the doctrine of St. Thomas, which commends more gravely also that restoration of Christian philosophy which We most zealously urged, by Our recent encyclical letters, to be measured according to the mind of the Angelic Doctor." Acta, t. XII, p. 273.

Letters to the renowned Ernst Muller, author of Moral Theology, March 13, 1880.

"... We have gladly recognized ... that you have furnished what you signify in the letters: that after the holy Fathers of the Church you followed as chief leaders the two most outstanding Doctors, St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Alphonsus de Liguori.... For besides distinguished expertise and prudence in moral matters, each vindicates this to himself, that the doctrines which they approve, holding a middle way between extremes, are equally distant from relaxed indulgence, which loosens the reins for sinners, and from importunate rigor, which converts the sweet yoke of Christ into an intolerable burden."

Vol. I, St. Alphonsus's Moral Doct…, B. On the Excellence and Authority of the Moral Doctrine of St. Alphonsus

I. We understand the excellence of the moral doctrine of St. Alphonsus in this sense: that, if you take together all the titles of pre-eminence, he is easily the chief of all who have written on moral matters up to this time. For:

1° Among those whom we call the great Moralists, he is the most recent. Therefore he was able to investigate and weigh the excellent sayings and reasonings of the other Doctors; and he investigated and weighed them most diligently, most patiently, with a mind free from every preconceived opinion, and illumined by the heavenly light which he obtained by his prayers and virtues.

2° He brings into the open the opinions of all the distinguished Doctors who have treated of moral matters, so that he can supply the place of the other Authors who wrote before him.

3° Scarcely, or not even scarcely, is another Doctor found who has written so much, and so particularly, concerning moral matters.

4° An indefatigable practice of the sacred ministry, prolonged for many years, especially in missions, which furnish a harvest of very varied and very intricate cases, preceded his writing; this practice is lacking in many Authors, but is scarcely found in any other so abundantly as in our Saint.

5° He was of a most acute genius, so that, being scarcely sixteen years old, he obtained the laurel of both laws in the University of his native land.

6° He excelled very greatly in holiness of life; and this indeed must be considered of very great moment in a writer on moral matters, since to saintly Authors this is before all other things dear to heart: that they teach nothing which is not most consonant both with the doctrine and with the sense of the Church; nothing which, whether by too great laxity or by too great rigor, could even lightly hinder the glory of God and the salvation of souls; nothing which they have not meditated upon after fervent prayers sent beforehand to God, and, according to that humility and prudence which are theirs, after others have been consulted, maturely and without excited or inordinate affection. While the illustrious De Wit¹ contemplates this holiness of life in Alphonsus, he addresses his reader most beautifully in this way: "You see how the whole Work inwardly nourishes and pervades the spirit of sanctity, and how much confidence those things deserve which the man of God thinks, teaches, affirms, as one who, joining to the greatest industry of labor the perpetual exercise of prayer and heroic virtues, was also suffused with heavenly light."

7° He has been declared Doctor of the Universal Church by the oracle of the Pontiff; but no one is declared Doctor of the Church unless his eminent doctrine has been approved by Apostolic judges.

n. ¶9.

8° The moral doctrine of no Author has been commended by so many and such great praises of so many Roman Pontiffs. See above p. LXXVI sq., where the praises of the Roman Pontiffs concerning the moral writings of St. Alphonsus are displayed in one view.

n. ¶10.

9° No one's moral doctrine has been received with such confidence in the whole Catholic world, as far as it extends, and reduced into practice, and this because:

n. ¶11.

10° No one's moral doctrine has been endowed with so great an authority by the Church herself, as will be clear from the things to be said.

n. ¶12.

II. The authority of the moral doctrine of St. Alphonsus in the Church. - The moral doctrine of no Author enjoys in the Church so great an authority as that of St. Alphonsus; for the moral doctrine of no Author has been approved by the Church in the way in which his has been.

n. ¶13.

With Vittozzi² we distinguish a twofold approbation which can be given by the Church to the Writings of some Saint: one negative, the other positive. - Negative is

n. ¶14.

that judgment of the Church by which the doctrine of some Saint is declared immune from every theological censure whatsoever, without however anything being decreed concerning its merit or excellence. But if the judgment of the Church is borne also upon the merit and excellence of the doctrine, it is called positive. - Positive is subdivided into tacit, or usual, and express. Tacit or usual "is called that which is made by long use, and is established as it were by the glory of the name by which one has filled the Christian world."¹ Express, which is also called solemn, is that which is declared in the public acts of the Church by set words. - Express is subdivided into general, special, and most special. General "consists in this: that the writings of someone are generally received, and are permitted to be read in public Schools or Churches, and are commended to the faithful as useful, true, and Catholic. And in the number of writers of this kind they hold the first place who ... have been adorned ... with the excellent title of Doctors."² "Moreover, a general declaration of this kind has a threefold effect: for, first, it removes from the authors the suspicion of voluntary heresy; secondly, it grants to the faithful the faculty of reading the books of those who have obtained such approbation, indeed it also praises their reading as useful and fruitful; thirdly, it commends the authors to that degree that, if anyone shall appeal to them for proving a sentence, he is protected at least by a certain probability, even 'other reasons' being excluded, until the contrary is proved."³ - Special consists in this: that the works of some Saint in a certain matter are declared to be preferred to the writings, taken separately, of the rest in this kind, and his doctrine on this subject is declared Catholic and free from error, although not as a rule of Faith. An example of special approbation of this kind is furnished by the writings of St. Augustine on Grace and Free Will against the Pelagians and Semipelagians, as being more often commended to the Christian world either by the Supreme Pontiffs or by Councils, either naming them expressly, or using them by their act and example for defining dogmas.⁴ - Most special is had if the little work of some Father or Doctor is proposed by the Church as a rule of Faith to be held by all. Thus the letter of St. Cyril of Alexandria with the twelve anathemas against Nestorius was approved, and the synodical Letter of St. Leo the Great to Flavian against the Eutychian heresy.⁵ There are some who add to these another approbation besides, namely that given by Paul III, in the Brief Pastoralis officii cura, dated July 31, 1548, to the book of the Exercises of St. Ignatius, by which all and singular things contained in that book are approved, praised, and fortified by Apostolic authority. - By others negative is also called permissive; positive special is called elective; most special definitive. - These things having been premised:

n. ¶15.

Question 1°. Which of these approbations belongs to the Moral Doctrine of St. Alphonsus?

n. ¶16.

Response 1°. Negative, as is clear from the Decree of the S. R. C. dated May 18, 1803, confirmed by Pius VII (p. LXXVII under 1).

n. ¶17.

Response 2°. Positive tacit; for, among other reasons, Pius P. P. IX was moved by this reason to admit the cause of the concession of the title of Doctor in honor of St. Alphonsus: that, as he says in the Decree dated March 23, 1871, "the nations tell forth his wisdom and the Church proclaim his praise."

n. ¶18.

Response 3°. Positive express general, as is established from the concession of the title of Doctor of the Church; and among other causes of this concession the Supreme Pontiff mentions that "among the intricate opinions of Theologians, whether laxer or more rigid, he paved a safe way, by which the Moderators of the souls of the faithful could walk with unoffending foot" (p. LXXXII. 9, 10).

n. ¶19.

Question 2°. What may be concluded, A) and what may not be concluded, B), from those various approbations given by the Church to the moral doctrine of St. Alphonsus?

n. ¶20.

Response to A). I. From the negative approbation you conclude:

n. ¶21.

1° No moral sentence which St. Alphonsus defends was, at the time when he wrote,⁶ worthy of any censure, except perhaps one then universally unknown.⁷ The list of the principal theological censures, and their sense, see, if you wish, in Scavini.⁸

n. ¶22.

2° The sentences of St. Alphonsus not only, like those of the other Authors whom the Church has not declared immune from every censure, are simply tolerated, but are also positively permitted. The matter is illustrated by examples by the illustrious Grandclaude,¹ and is clear from the Decisions and Responses of the S. Penitentiary in the years 1831 and 1855 (see p. LXXIX. 3 and LXXX. 4), by which it is declared: 1) that a professor of sacred Theology is safe; 2) that a confessor is not to be disturbed who follows all the sentences of St. Alphonsus, led by his authority alone; 3) that it is lawful for a Professor to follow the doctrine of St. Alphonsus in all things and to hand it down publicly, without his needing a dispensation from the oath furnished of defending Probabiliorism and the sentences of the Probabiliorists. Nor let the word "to be disturbed" in the Response of 1831 delay anyone; for by that word, in Roman style, not mere toleration but positive permission is indicated; see this in St. Alphonsus himself,² and it is clear from the context itself of the Response. For the S. Penitentiary was not more severe toward the confessor than toward the professor, whom it calls safe.

n. ¶23.

3° With the exceptions to be excepted in the Response to B), "those sentences which St. Alphonsus de Liguori expressly taught, held, followed, or simply called probable, are to be held as truly probable,"³ namely at least extrinsically; that is, the authority of the Saint is so great that by itself alone it renders some opinion truly probable. This follows from the Response just cited of the S. Penitentiary, dated July 5, 1831, where to the question: "Whether a Confessor is to be disturbed who follows all the opinions of Blessed Alphonsus de Liguori in the practice of the sacred tribunal of Penance, for this reason alone, that by the Holy Apostolic See 'nothing worthy of censure was found in the Works'?" the Response was: "In the negative." But if a confessor is not to be disturbed, but on the contrary is safe, who follows all the opinions of St. Alphonsus, although he does not perceive their intrinsic value, or their intrinsic probability, and follows them only on account of the authority conferred on them by the negative approbation of the Church, it is evident that from that approbation the opinions of the Saint obtain true probability, and at least extrinsic probability. For the Church cannot permit anyone to follow opinions which are not truly, and at least extrinsically, probable.

n. ¶24.

4° This at least extrinsic probability is not extended only to the whole body of the moral doctrine of the Saint, but also to each and every one of his opinions. For the Confessor of whom there is question in the Response just cited of the S. Penitentiary does not reduce into practice the whole body of the moral doctrine of St. Alphonsus in the tribunal of S. Penitence, but all his opinions taken distributively.⁴

n. ¶25.

5° It will be lawful also to teach and to bring into practice those opinions of St. Alphonsus which may be contrary to the more common, or even to the common, sentences of theologians. This clearly follows from 3° and 4°.

n. ¶26.

6° An attack upon the opinions of St. Alphonsus will be unlawful unless it is modest and is made with a preface of honor. This follows from the things which Benedict XIV hands down.⁵

n. ¶27.

II. From the positive tacit approbation you conclude:

n. ¶28.

The opinions of St. Alphonsus today must be called universally common, as having been universally received in the Christian world.

n. ¶29.

III. From the positive express general approbation, or from the title of Doctor of the Church conferred on the Saint, you conclude that his doctrine is eminent.⁶

n. ¶30.

Response to B). 1° It is not lawful to conclude that the individual sentences of the Saint either a) are intrinsically probable; for the approbation given to them is not most special or even special; or b) are, or will always remain, extrinsically probable. For the authority of the Church, by which they become extrinsically probable, cannot be invoked in favor of those sentences of the Saint against which there stand Pontifical Decrees or Declarations of the Sacred Congregations, furnished with those characteristics which we shall enumerate in the Treatise on Laws.

n. ¶31.

2° It is not lawful to conclude that the authority of the Saint is exclusive; for in the Response of the S. Penitentiary dated July 5 (see p. LXXIX. 3) it is expressly said that those are not to be reprehended who follow opinions handed down by other approved authors.

n. ¶32.

3° It is not lawful to conclude that no new force or probability has accrued to the sentences of the Saint from the approbation of the Church; for there has accrued to them:

…and 29 more passages — all of them are listed on the topic page.

Merkelbach, Summa Theologiae Moralis

Benedict Henry Merkelbach, O.P. — 45 passages

Vol. II, Appendix. Excursus: On the Systems of Moralists concerning Solving Doubt of Conscience

Since the right formation of conscience is made by varied application of principles, it is not strange if the doctrine on this matter did not exist from the beginning perfect and complete, but was slowly elaborated.

I. Among the Fathers no definite system is found; nevertheless there are traces of principles which can serve for forming conscience.

Frequently they rather favored the safer part. Namely the safer is to be taken in choosing religion (Lact., De Div. Inst. III, 13), in avoiding danger of nullity in the administration of the sacraments (Aug., De B. c. Don. I, c. 3, n. 5), in admitting the whole truth of faith without regard to the empty opinions of heterodox persons (Greg. Naz., or. XXXVI, 7; Chrys., In II Cor., hom. XIII, 4; Aug., De util. cred. XI), in conforming oneself through all things to the divine law (Tertul., De spect. XX-XXI), in striving to inquire into truth (Aug., De Civ. Dei, l. XXII, 23), in certainly establishing necessary penance for sins and avoiding the uncertainty of penance at the end: "hold the certain and dismiss the uncertain," Augustine cries, serm. 393. He also inveighs against the Academics (l. III, n. 35-36) who say: "when each one does what seems probable to him, he neither sins nor errs," who understood probability as merely subjective and empty, which each one fashioned for himself.

Even outside these cases, they quite generally favored the safer part, both because of the rigorous penitential discipline of those times and because ignorance of law was regularly held by many as culpable (cf. Aug., ep. 194).

On the opposite side, however, certain more benign solutions are found, for sometimes they did not urge an uncertain obligation in practice.

Lactantius says that one must not care about the precepts of the philosophers, as being mere conjectures without solid foundation; on which occasion he writes: "It belongs to a most foolish man to wish to obey their precepts, concerning which it is doubted whether they are true or false; and therefore no one obeys, because no one wishes to labor toward what is uncertain" (De Div. Inst. III, 27).

Gregory Nazianzen, or. XXXIX, 19, replies to the rigorists who did not wish the baptized to be admitted to penance: "Either prove that the matter is so, or, if you cannot, do not condemn. But if the matter is doubtful, let humanity prevail."