Virtues and Vices › Faith › The Vices Against It

Opposed to Faith

The Vices Against Faith

Each vice in the authors' own words, with its kinds and gravity. The arrangement is ours; every reference opens the passage.

A vice with no remedies here has none named for it in the works read. Remedies against sin in general are on the map, and the means of gaining each virtue are on its page.

Unbelief (infidelity)

How the Authors Compare

Noldin and Wouters distinguish three kinds, adding a “privative” unbelief between the other two (n. 26, n. 491). St. Thomas and Prümmer name only two (II-II, q. 10, a. 1, n. 510). Concina and Billuart count three as well, negative, privative and contrary, but their privative is McHugh-Callan's, a refusal: it “positively resists the preaching of the faith, and refuses to receive the faith” (III, diss. I, ch. VII, n. I); it “does not will to assent to it, without however asserting the contrary” (On unbelief in general, n. 1).
Unbelief by mere absence is no sin. Wouters says so outright: “Negative infidelity is not sin” (n. 491), and Prümmer calls it involuntary (n. 509). St. Thomas adds that it bears “the character, not of sin, but of punishment” (II-II, q. 10, a. 1).
Merkelbach counts unbaptized little children as infidels, “because they lack faith which they would have had, if they had not sinned in Adam” (I, n. 734). Noldin's reason for the word reaches them too: “properly that man is called an unbeliever who has not received the infused habit of faith” (n. 26). Billuart goes further for the children of heretics: “unbaptized infants of heretics, who therefore never received the faith, are called heretics because in estimation they profess together with their parents the faith of Christ” (On unbelief in general, n. 12).
Bontempi, with St. Bonaventure, calls unbelief “the greatest sin among sins”, since no one in this life hates God except interpretatively (What unbelief is, and what kind of, n. 3). St. Thomas, Merkelbach, Prümmer and McHugh-Callan put hatred of God above it (I, n. 737).
On privative unbelief: Noldin calls it “a grave sin of omission” (n. 27), as Marc and Sabetti-Barrett do, while Wouters says it “can more easily be venial or even no sin” by accident (n. 491). Merkelbach says it is not the sin of unbelief at all but a sin of ignorance (I, n. 736). McHugh-Callan calls privative unbelief a refusal to believe, a sin of commission (n. 818). Concina and Billuart take privative unbelief for a refusal, as McHugh-Callan does, and Billuart counts it a sin with contrary unbelief: “Privative and contrary unbelief is a sin” (On unbelief in general, n. 6).
Merkelbach holds paganism, Judaism and heresy “three morally distinct species”, to be declared in confession (I, n. 739). Wouters says heresy and apostasy “do not differ in species from positive infidelity” (n. 492), and Vermeersch that contrary infidelities do not; McHugh-Callan reports both views (n. 822).

What It Is

Resistance to faith sufficiently proposed: “unbelief may be taken by way of opposition to the faith; in which sense a man refuses to hear the faith, or despises it”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 10, a. 1In nearly the same words: Prümmer n. 509; Merkelbach I, n. 734; Noldin n. 26; Wouters n. 491; McHugh-Callan n. 813; Marc n. 435; Vermeersch n. 29; Sabetti-Barrett n. 158; Bontempi What unbelief is, and what kind of, n. 2
As an act: “Infidelity, insofar as it is a sin, is an act by which someone deliberately disbelieves some truth which is sufficiently proposed to him as revealed by God.”	Merkelbach I, n. 735In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 735
In the intellect, moved by the will: “Therefore unbelief, like faith, is in the intellect as its proximate subject. But it is in the will as its first moving principle”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 10, a. 2In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 735; Bontempi What unbelief is, and what kind of, n. 5
Properly, in the unbaptized: “Infidelity properly so called is the lack of faith in a man not baptized”	Noldin n. 26In nearly the same words: Wouters n. 491; Marc n. 435
More widely, heresy and apostasy too: “Infidelity improperly so called is any defect of internal faith; in this sense infidelity also comprehends heresy and apostasy from faith.”	Noldin n. 26In nearly the same words: Vermeersch n. 31

What It Is Not

Not the mere absence of faith: “If, however, we take it by way of pure negation, as we find it in those who have heard nothing about the faith, it bears the character, not of sin, but of punishment”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 10, a. 1In nearly the same words: Prümmer n. 510; Noldin n. 27; Wouters n. 491; Marc n. 436; McHugh-Callan n. 813; Sabetti-Barrett n. 159; Merkelbach I, n. 736; Concina III, diss. I, ch. VII, n. I; Billuart On unbelief in general, n. 3
Its consequence: “If such like unbelievers are damned, it is on account of other sins, which cannot be taken away without faith, but not on account of their sin of unbelief.”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 10, a. 1In nearly the same words: McHugh-Callan n. 813
Neglect to learn the faith is another sin: “but privative infidelity does not include the sin of infidelity (which is of commission), but the sin of ignorance in faith (which is of omission)”	Merkelbach I, n. 736In nearly the same words: Vermeersch n. 29
Not outward denial alone: “The merely external denial of faith is not properly infidelity”	Merkelbach I, n. 736
Not every act of an unbeliever a sin: “Hence it does not follow that they sin in everything they do; but whenever they do anything out of their unbelief, then they sin.”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 10, a. 4In nearly the same words: McHugh-Callan n. 821

Its Kinds

Negative: “Negative infidelity (also called material infidelity) is the lack of faith in him to whom either faith has never been announced or has not been sufficiently announced”	Prümmer n. 509In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 734; Noldin n. 26; Sabetti-Barrett n. 158; Concina III, diss. I, ch. VII, n. I; Billuart On unbelief in general, n. 1
Privative: “privative, which is the lack of faith in him who neglects to acquire for himself the knowledge of faith when the occasion has been given”	Noldin n. 26In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 734; Wouters n. 491; Marc n. 435; Sabetti-Barrett n. 158; Bontempi What unbelief is, and what kind of, n. 2
McHugh-Callan's privative, a refusal to believe: “privative unbelief, which is the want of faith in one who has heard the faith sufficiently and should realize the obligation of embracing it, but who refuses to believe, although he makes no opposition to faith”	McHugh-Callan n. 818In nearly the same words: Concina III, diss. I, ch. VII, n. I; Billuart On unbelief in general, n. 1
Paganism, Judaism, heresy: “either the faith is resisted before it has been accepted, and such is the unbelief of pagans or heathens; or the Christian faith is resisted after it has been accepted, and this either in the figure, and such is the unbelief of the Jews, or in the very manifestation of truth, and such is the unbelief of heretics”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 10, a. 5In nearly the same words: Prümmer n. 509; Merkelbach I, n. 739; Vermeersch n. 31; Bontempi What unbelief is, and what kind of, n. 3; McHugh-Callan n. 822; Concina III, diss. I, ch. VII, n. I; Billuart On unbelief in general, n. 11
By the errors, countless: “If, however, the species of unbelief be distinguished according to the various errors that occur in matters of faith, there are not determinate species of unbelief”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 10, a. 5In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 739; Wouters n. 491; Noldin n. 27
Merkelbach, three moral species, to be confessed: “These are three morally distinct species”	Merkelbach I, n. 739

Its Gravity

Graver than any sin against morals: “Therefore it is clear that the sin of unbelief is greater than any sin that occurs in the perversion of morals.”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 10, a. 3In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 737; McHugh-Callan n. 820; Prümmer n. 509
“The sin of infidelity is mortal from its whole genus”	Merkelbach I, n. 737In nearly the same words: Prümmer n. 510; Marc n. 436; Wouters n. 491; Noldin n. 27; Vermeersch n. 29; Sabetti-Barrett n. 159; McHugh-Callan n. 819
Below hatred of God: “But hatred of God is graver”	Merkelbach I, n. 737In nearly the same words: McHugh-Callan n. 820; Bontempi What unbelief is, and what kind of, n. 4
Bontempi, with St. Bonaventure: “I said, with St. Bonau., that infidelity is the greatest sin among sins, because no one on the way hates God expressly, but only interpretatively”	Bontempi What unbelief is, and what kind of, n. 3
Privative, grave: “Privative infidelity is a grave sin of omission”	Noldin n. 27In nearly the same words: Marc n. 436; Merkelbach I, n. 736
Wouters, often less: “Yet privative infidelity by accident, that is, on account of the obligation of inquiring not being sufficiently perceived, can more easily be venial or even no sin.”	Wouters n. 491
Lessened by ignorance: “Unbelief includes both ignorance, as an accessory thereto, and resistance to matters of faith, and in the latter respect it is a most grave sin. On respect, however, of this ignorance, it has a certain reason for excuse”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 10, a. 3, ad 2In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 737; McHugh-Callan n. 819
Among its kinds: “Hence, speaking absolutely, the unbelief of heretics is the worst.”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 10, a. 6In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 739; McHugh-Callan n. 824
Though, by the number of errors, the reverse: “the unbelief of heathens is more grievous than the unbelief of the Jews, and that of the Jews than that of the heretics”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 10, a. 6In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 739; McHugh-Callan n. 824

Where It Comes From

“Unbelief, in so far as it is a sin, arises from pride, through which man is unwilling to subject his intellect to the rules of faith”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 10, a. 1, ad 3In nearly the same words: Vermeersch n. 34
From the will's contempt: “The will's contempt causes the intellect's dissent, which completes the notion of unbelief.”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 10, a. 2, ad 2In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 735
Neglect, and the passions: “Therefore most unbelievers are guilty of neglected diligence in seeking out the truth, or they have a judgment clouded by passions.”	Vermeersch n. 34

Heresy

How the Authors Compare

The four manuals agree that error without pertinacity is not formal heresy, even where it is culpable. Prümmer: one who errs “from ignorance, even gravely culpable ignorance” is no formal heretic, “for pertinacity is lacking” (n. 514). Wouters: one who neglects inquiry from levity or fear is not a heretic, “nevertheless he sins gravely” (n. 492). Noldin: once a reasonable doubt has arisen, material heresy is “a grave or light sin according to the gravity of the negligence in inquiring into truth” (n. 31). Prümmer, speaking of the heresy itself, says it “is not a sin, because it is not voluntary” (n. 516).
Prümmer, Noldin and Wouters agree that deliberate doubt can be heresy. Prümmer and Noldin say so of a Catholic who doubts positively (n. 520, n. 33), and Wouters counts one who “rejects or calls into doubt” (n. 492).
The four manuals agree that merely external denial is not heresy, though it is a grave sin. Noldin: “he who only externally, by speech or work, denies a truth of faith while internal faith is retained is not a heretic” (n. 29). So too Prümmer, Merkelbach and Wouters (n. 514, I, n. 748, n. 492).
Merkelbach calls heresy a species of infidelity, adding something to the genus (I, n. 745), as St. Thomas does (II-II, q. 11, a. 1).
Bontempi does not join the manuals on culpable ignorance. He holds probable, with St. Bonaventure, the opinion “that no gravely culpable ignorance excuses from heresy” (Whether ignorance excuses from her, n. 2, Whether ignorance excuses from her, n. 7), though he grants the opposite opinion is probable too (Whether ignorance excuses from her, n. 25). Billuart and Concina join the manuals, excepting only affected ignorance: one who errs “through ignorance, even culpable, crass, and supine, yet not affected”, is “not a formal heretic”, though “he sins mortally against the affirmative precept of the faith” (On heresy, n. 7); material heresy is culpable if the ignorance is vincible, but where the error is affected, “for the end of speaking and living more freely, or of contradicting the authority of the Church: for then it is formal heresy” (III, diss. I, ch. IX, n. II).

What It Is

“Therefore heresy is a species of unbelief, belonging to those who profess the Christian faith, but corrupt its dogmas.”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 11, a. 1In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 743; Wouters n. 492; Vermeersch n. 32
The definition: “the pertinacious error of a Christian man against some truth of Catholic faith”	Prümmer n. 514In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 744; Noldin n. 29; Wouters n. 492; Marc n. 438; McHugh-Callan n. 826; Sabetti-Barrett n. 160; Bontempi What heresy is, n. 3; Concina III, diss. I, ch. IX, n. I; Billuart On heresy, n. 3
The name, a choosing: “he intends to assent to Christ, yet he fails in his choice of those things wherein he assents to Christ, because he chooses not what Christ really taught, but the suggestions of his own mind”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 11, a. 1In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 744; Bontempi What heresy is, n. 1
Error and pertinacity: “Hence for formal heresy there are required error in the intellect and pertinacity in the will”	Prümmer n. 514In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 744; Marc n. 438
Pertinacity, in an instant: “Pertinacity required for heresy does not signify duration of time in denying truth; but it is pertinacity of reason, which consists in denying truth sufficiently proposed, for which one instant suffices.”	Merkelbach I, n. 748In nearly the same words: Noldin n. 29; McHugh-Callan n. 829; Marc n. 438; Bontempi What pertinacity is required for h, n. 5; Concina III, diss. I, ch. IX, n. I; Billuart On heresy, n. 6
Pertinacity, from whatever motive: “whether it happens from pride or vainglory, or from the cupidity of contradicting, or from levity, or from any other cause”	Merkelbach I, n. 744In nearly the same words: Noldin n. 29; McHugh-Callan n. 826; McHugh-Callan n. 829
About matters of faith: “but only when a person has a false opinion about things belonging to the faith”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 11, a. 2In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 744; Noldin n. 29; Prümmer n. 514

What It Is Not

Not error ready to be corrected: “By no means should we accuse of heresy those who, however false and perverse their opinion may be, defend it without obstinate fervor, and seek the truth with careful anxiety, ready to mend their opinion, when they have found the truth”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 11, a. 2, ad 3In nearly the same words: Prümmer n. 514; Merkelbach I, n. 746; Marc n. 440; Sabetti-Barrett n. 161; Noldin n. 29; McHugh-Callan n. 826
Not culpable ignorance: “He who from ignorance, even gravely culpable ignorance, errs in faith; for pertinacity is lacking.”	Prümmer n. 514In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 748; McHugh-Callan n. 829; Vermeersch n. 33; Billuart On heresy, n. 7
Not outward denial: “He who from fear, levity, or another motive outwardly denies the faith, but inwardly retains the true faith.”	Prümmer n. 514In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 748; Noldin n. 29; Wouters n. 492; McHugh-Callan n. 826
Nor what the Church has not proposed: “He who denies some truth which is indeed held by many as revealed, but which the Church has not yet proposed as revealed.”	Prümmer n. 514In nearly the same words: McHugh-Callan n. 826
Nor holding opinions condemned below heresy, though grave: “He who does not reject a proposition which the Church through a council, or through the Roman pontiff speaking ex cathedra, condemns, but not as heretical, sins gravely against ecclesiastical faith, but not, at least not immediately, against divine faith, and therefore is not a heretic.”	Noldin n. 32In nearly the same words: Prümmer n. 518; Marc n. 441; Vermeersch n. 43; Wouters n. 492
Material heresy, no sin of itself: “Material heresy is not a sin, because it is not voluntary.”	Prümmer n. 516In nearly the same words: Marc n. 440; Sabetti-Barrett n. 161; McHugh-Callan n. 831

Its Kinds

Formal and material: “Into material and formal”	Prümmer n. 515In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 746; Noldin n. 30; Wouters n. 492; Marc n. 438; Sabetti-Barrett n. 160; Vermeersch n. 32; McHugh-Callan n. 828; Concina III, diss. I, ch. IX, n. II; Billuart On heresy, n. 16
Internal and external: “Into internal and external. Internal heresy is error against faith existing in the mind alone, without being manifested by any external sign.”	Prümmer n. 515In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 746; Noldin n. 30; Wouters n. 492; Marc n. 438; McHugh-Callan n. 828; Billuart On heresy, n. 17
Occult and public: “Into occult and public.”	Prümmer n. 515In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 746; Noldin n. 30; Marc n. 438; Sabetti-Barrett n. 160; McHugh-Callan n. 828; Billuart On heresy, n. 18
McHugh-Callan, positive and negative: “Heresy is positive when error is accepted (e.g., the doctrine of consubstantiation); it is negative when truth is denied”	McHugh-Callan n. 828
Three grades of pertinacity: “the first of which is founded upon truth studiously neglected; the second upon truth sufficiently proposed, but contemned; the third upon recognized truth maliciously attacked.”	Merkelbach I, n. 746In nearly the same words: Marc n. 440; Sabetti-Barrett n. 161
Before God, and before the Church: “The sin of heresy (heresy before God), as just defined, differs from the canonical crime of heresy (heresy before the Church), since it is more inclusive.”	McHugh-Callan n. 827In nearly the same words: Vermeersch n. 32; Merkelbach I, n. 743

Its Gravity

“Formal heresy is a sin mortal from its whole genus, and therefore it does not admit smallness of matter.”	Prümmer n. 516In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 747; Noldin n. 31; Wouters n. 492; Marc n. 439; Sabetti-Barrett n. 161; McHugh-Callan n. 831
A double contempt: “It therefore contains at once contempt of the authority of God revealing, and contempt of the infallible authority of the Church proposing faith, and is therefore most grave.”	Merkelbach Pastoral, Q. IIn nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 744
Among the kinds of unbelief: “Hence, speaking absolutely, the unbelief of heretics is the worst.”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 10, a. 6In nearly the same words: Prümmer n. 516
Material heresy, by its negligence: “material heresy is no sin at all, if the ignorance is invincible; it is a grave or a venial sin, according to the amount of negligence, if the ignorance is vincible”	McHugh-Callan n. 831In nearly the same words: Noldin n. 31; Marc n. 440; Concina III, diss. I, ch. IX, n. II
In confession, one species: “Diverse heresies, whether conceived interiorly in the mind or outwardly uttered by word, do not differ in species”	Noldin n. 31In nearly the same words: Wouters n. 492; Vermeersch n. 33; McHugh-Callan n. 832
The Church's penalties, for external heresy: “Formal heretics and apostates who have manifested heresy publicly or at least externally incur: 1. Excommunication latae sententiae reserved to the Supreme Pontiff in a special manner.”	Prümmer n. 517In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 747; McHugh-Callan n. 833; Concina III, diss. I, ch. IX, n. VII; Billuart On heresy, n. 27
St. Thomas's comparison: “it is a much graver matter to corrupt the faith which quickens the soul, than to forge money, which supports temporal life”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 11, a. 3In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 747

Its Remedies

In the priest who would lead heretics back: “great charity, which inspires immense mercy toward the miserable state of a soul adhering in error”	Merkelbach Pastoral, Q. I
“much patience, since a long time is often required for heretics to overcome the old life and acknowledge the truth”	Merkelbach Pastoral, Q. I
“fervent and continual prayer, to obtain divine help altogether necessary for conversion”	Merkelbach Pastoral, Q. IIn nearly the same words: Merkelbach Pastoral, Q. I
“a prudent manner of acting in proposing doctrine, by which, namely, he in no way diminishes Catholic truths, but neither proclaims them unseasonably”	Merkelbach Pastoral, Q. I
“discretion in selecting books which clearly and opportunely set forth Catholic doctrine”	Merkelbach Pastoral, Q. IIn nearly the same words: Merkelbach Pastoral, Q. I
“in friendly conversation he should uncover their false dogmas, not by attacking directly, but by showing for what causes they seem difficult to believe”	Merkelbach Pastoral, Q. IIn nearly the same words: Merkelbach Pastoral, Q. I
The Church's admonition first: “On the part of the Church, however, there is mercy which looks to the conversion of the wanderer, wherefore she condemns not at once, but "after the first and second admonition,"”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 11, a. 3
Penance always open: “heretics who return after falling no matter how often, are admitted by the Church to Penance whereby the way of salvation is opened to them”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 11, a. 4

Where It Comes From

“its remote end reveals its cause, viz. that it arises from pride or covetousness”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 11, a. 1, ad 2In nearly the same words: Vermeersch n. 34
Or from the imagination's illusion: “or some illusion of the imagination”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 11, a. 1, ad 3
St. Augustine, in Bontempi: “A heretic is one who, for the sake of some temporal gain, and especially of glory and of his own supremacy, begets or follows false and new opinions about the faith.”	Bontempi What pertinacity is required for h, n. 10

Apostasy

How the Authors Compare

St. Thomas and Merkelbach name apostasy in more than one sense, of which only apostasy from the faith is a sin against faith (II-II, q. 12, a. 1, I, n. 749). Prümmer counts three senses and Merkelbach four (n. 512).
Prümmer alone holds that any Catholic who denies a single article “becomes a true apostate” (n. 512). Noldin and Wouters keep the name for total defection (n. 28, n. 492). Concina and Billuart side with Noldin and Wouters: the apostate “bids farewell to Christ and to his whole Religion”, the heretic “admits many others” (III, diss. I, ch. IX, n. IV); apostasy “is distinguished from heresy, which is a desertion of the faith as to a part only” (On apostasy, n. 2).
Prümmer and Noldin agree that no adherence to a false sect is required (n. 512, n. 28). Merkelbach says the same in other words: apostasy “of itself indicates only the term from which” (I, n. 749).
Prümmer, Noldin and Wouters agree that it does not differ in species from heresy; Prümmer calls it heresy's “very aggravating circumstance” (n. 516, n. 31, n. 492). Billuart: apostasy “seems not to be distinguished from heresy except according to more and less” (On unbelief in general, n. 14).

What It Is

“apostasy simply and absolutely is that whereby a man withdraws from the faith, and is called "apostasy of perfidy."”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 12, a. 1In nearly the same words: Prümmer n. 512; Merkelbach I, n. 749; Noldin n. 28; Marc n. 438; Wouters n. 492; McHugh-Callan n. 835; Sabetti-Barrett n. 160; Vermeersch n. 31; Concina III, diss. I, ch. IX, n. IV; Billuart On apostasy, n. 2
The name: “Apostasy denotes a backsliding from God.”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 12, a. 1In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 749; McHugh-Callan n. 835
No new sect needed: “Apostasy of itself indicates only the term from which: the faith which is abandoned; but not the term to which the apostate approaches”	Merkelbach I, n. 749In nearly the same words: Prümmer n. 512; Noldin n. 28; Marc n. 438
Only one who had the faith: “Therefore he who from infancy has been baptized and reared in heresy is not an apostate, but a heretic.”	Prümmer n. 512In nearly the same words: Noldin n. 28
Prümmer, a Catholic denying one article: “Nevertheless, since any Catholic man who denies even one article of faith consequently must also deny the infallibility of the Church, by that very fact he totally withdraws from the Church and the Catholic faith and becomes a true apostate.”	Prümmer n. 512In nearly the same words: McHugh-Callan n. 835

What It Is Not

Not apostasy from religious life, Orders, or obedience: “A man may also apostatize from God, by rebelling in his mind against the Divine commandments: and though man may apostatize in both the above ways, he may still remain united to God by faith.”

St. Thomas II-II, q. 12, a. 1In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 749; Prümmer n. 512

Its Kinds

Its senses: “Accordingly a man may apostatize from God, by withdrawing from the religious life to which he was bound by profession, or from the Holy Order which he had received”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 12, a. 1In nearly the same words: Prümmer n. 512; Merkelbach I, n. 749; McHugh-Callan n. 835; Billuart On apostasy, n. 1; Concina III, diss. I, ch. IX, n. IV
Privative or contrary: “A Catholic apostatizes from Christianity, either privatively (by merely renouncing all belief in Christ), or contrarily (by taking up some form of unbelief”	McHugh-Callan n. 835
Before God, and before the Church: “Apostasy which extends to infidelity is also twofold: before God and before the Church.”	McHugh-Callan n. 835
Examples: “Hence rationalists, atheists, free-thinkers, and Freemasons (at least very many) are in reality apostates from faith.”	Prümmer n. 512In nearly the same words: Noldin n. 28; Marc n. 438; Merkelbach I, n. 750; McHugh-Callan n. 839

Its Gravity

“Formal heresy and apostasy from faith are sins mortal from their whole genus, after formal hatred of God the gravest”	Noldin n. 31In nearly the same words: Marc n. 439; Wouters n. 492; McHugh-Callan n. 836
Not another species, but an aggravation: “apostasy does not imply a special kind of unbelief, but an aggravating circumstance thereof”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 12, a. 1, ad 3In nearly the same words: Prümmer n. 516; Merkelbach I, n. 749; Noldin n. 31; Wouters n. 492; McHugh-Callan n. 837; Vermeersch n. 33
Severing from God altogether: “Apostasy from the faith severs man from God altogether, as stated above (Article 1), which is not the case in any other sin.”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 12, a. 2, ad 3
Its penalties: “Apostates per se are punished with the same penalties as heretics”	Merkelbach I, n. 750In nearly the same words: Prümmer n. 512

Its Remedies

As for heretics: “In the same manner as for heretics, one must proceed in the reconciliation of apostates and schismatics.”

Merkelbach Pastoral, Q. I

Where It Comes From

Its fruit, disorder in all the man: “when once faith is removed, man retains nothing that may be useful for the obtaining of eternal salvation”

St. Thomas II-II, q. 12, a. 1, ad 2

Doubt in Matters of Faith

How the Authors Compare

St. Thomas has no question on doubt as such. Prümmer and Noldin draw the same line: positive doubt makes a Catholic a heretic, and negative doubt does not (n. 520, n. 33).
Merkelbach allows that one in serious doubt must inquire, but “cannot practically admit the doubt and dismiss faith” (I, n. 751). Noldin adds that doubts “can arise, even against the will” and that resisting them is itself merit (n. 33).
Bontempi, with St. Bonaventure, holds that “one doubting concerning matters of faith is not properly a heretic” but an unbeliever “privatively” (Whether one who doubts about the a, n. 6, Whether one who doubts about the a, n. 9), though he reports that “the common opinion proclaims as a heretic” one who deliberately judges a matter of faith doubtful (Whether one who doubts about the a, n. 2). The manuals follow the common opinion. Concina: “the disagreement is of words rather than of the thing”. In a suspension after the laws of metaphysics one is no heretic; but since in practice a pertinacious doubter can scarcely avoid “some reflex judgment by which he judges the things of faith to be doubtful”, “in practice they are commonly heretics who with pertinacious mind doubt about the things of faith” (III, diss. I, ch. IX, n. III), and he sets Torrecilla's “One doubting in faith with a voluntary but merely suspensive doubt is not a heretic” among the lax opinions (III, diss. I, ch. II, n. X). Billuart: positive doubt makes a formal heretic, merely negative doubt does not; but where the suspension comes from the will moved by difficulties, “some hold, not improbably, that the malice of heresy is included therein” (On heresy, n. 12, On heresy, n. 13, On heresy, n. 14).

What It Is

“Real doubt, on the contrary, entertains fears that the teachings of revelation or of the Church may be untrue, or that the opposite teachings may be true.”	McHugh-Callan n. 840In nearly the same words: Bontempi Whether one who doubts about the a, n. 3
Never a just cause: “Since Catholic faith is most certain, there can never be present a just cause for calling it into doubt; and therefore every voluntary doubt about it is gravely sinful.”	Prümmer n. 520In nearly the same words: Noldin n. 33; McHugh-Callan n. 841; Vermeersch n. 29
Positive doubt, heresy: “A Catholic who positively doubts some proposition which he certainly knows to have been proposed by the Church as an article of faith is a heretic.”	Prümmer n. 520In nearly the same words: Noldin n. 33; Merkelbach I, n. 748; Marc n. 441; McHugh-Callan n. 845; Wouters n. 492; Billuart On heresy, n. 12
The adage: “One doubtful in faith is an unbeliever.”	Prümmer n. 520In nearly the same words: Noldin n. 33; Marc n. 441; McHugh-Callan n. 840; Concina III, diss. I, ch. IX, n. III; Billuart On heresy, n. 12
Bontempi, with St. Bonaventure, an unbeliever privatively: “that one doubting concerning matters of faith is not properly a heretic”	Bontempi Whether one who doubts about the a, n. 6In nearly the same words: Bontempi Whether one who doubts about the a, n. 9
Holding faith as probable only: “that one who opines with fear about matters of faith loses faith”	Bontempi Whether one who gives merely opini, n. 3

What It Is Not

Not methodical doubt: “Methodical doubt in matters of faith is an inquiry into the motives of credibility of religion and the reasons that support dogma, made by one who has not the slightest fear that reason or science can ever contradict faith”	McHugh-Callan n. 840In nearly the same words: Noldin n. 33
Not doubts that come unwilled: “Involuntary doubt in matters of faith is neither heretical nor sinful, for an act is not sinful, unless it is willed”	McHugh-Callan n. 842In nearly the same words: Noldin n. 33; Vermeersch n. 39
Resisted, they are merit: “if the person troubled with unwished doubts makes prompt and sufficient resistance, he not only does not sin, but gains merit”	McHugh-Callan n. 842In nearly the same words: Noldin n. 33; Vermeersch n. 39
Nor setting the question aside: “He is not a heretic who, after hearing some proposition of dogma, turns his mind away and abstains from judgment.”	Vermeersch n. 33In nearly the same words: Wouters n. 492; McHugh-Callan n. 844; Concina III, diss. I, ch. IX, n. III
The non-Catholic's doubt, a duty to inquire: “A non-Catholic who positively doubts about the truth of his sect is bound seriously to investigate the true religion.”	Prümmer n. 520In nearly the same words: Noldin n. 33; Merkelbach I, n. 751; Vermeersch n. 36

Its Kinds

Negative doubt: “He who holds himself negatively, or suspends assent concerning faith or some article of faith, is not a heretic, because he does not err in faith nor admit any pertinacity; but he sins against internal faith.”	Noldin n. 33In nearly the same words: Prümmer n. 520; Marc n. 441; McHugh-Callan n. 844; Billuart On heresy, n. 13
Suspension from a wrong motive: “either a) deliberately and pertinaciously he suspends his assent, because he thinks the judgment of the Church is not a sufficient foundation for believing; and then he likewise is a formal heretic”	Marc n. 441In nearly the same words: McHugh-Callan n. 844; Concina III, diss. I, ch. IX, n. III
Wavering in temptation: “He who in a temptation against faith fluctuates between assent and dissent, and yet does not deliberately suspend assent, does not sin unless perhaps venially”	Noldin n. 33In nearly the same words: Marc n. 441; Vermeersch n. 39
Lasting doubt: “Indifferentism, which arises from doubt concerning matters of faith, is morally evil and illicit, in whatever way it is taken.”	Noldin n. 33In nearly the same words: McHugh-Callan n. 846

Its Gravity

Deliberate, grave: “he who assents to it by deliberate doubt or denial becomes gravely guilty of a sin against faith by which faith itself is lost”	Vermeersch n. 39In nearly the same words: Prümmer n. 520
Negative doubt, by the danger: “But if he conducts himself remissly, he sins venially or mortally, according to the danger of losing faith.”	Prümmer n. 520In nearly the same words: McHugh-Callan n. 844
A serious doubt binds to inquire: “He who has embraced faith, if a serious doubt arises against it, is bound under grave obligation to inquire concerning faith and to ask light from God”	Merkelbach I, n. 751In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 751
In judging consent: “a man of languid faith, leading a life little Christian, not avoiding occasions dangerous for faith, in doubt is rather to be judged to have consented”	Merkelbach Pastoral, Q. I

Its Remedies

The headings follow Merkelbach, who treats apart the penitent who has deliberately doubted (Pastoral, Q. I) and “a truly pious person” troubled by temptations against faith (Pastoral, Q. I). Vermeersch explains how “Temptation against faith is to be conquered by flight” (n. 40).

Against deliberate doubt
The certainty of faith: “he ought to persuade himself that no difficulty occurs which cannot be solved”	Noldin n. 33In nearly the same words: Merkelbach Pastoral, Q. I
Instruction: “by correcting errors, by instructing him concerning the particular point from which the doubt arose, by proposing solid motives of faith according to the capacity of his understanding”	Merkelbach Pastoral, Q. I
Prayer and humility: “by indicating suitable remedies against future temptations, such as prayer and humility”	Merkelbach Pastoral, Q. I
A good book: “by recommending the reading of a good book concerning religious truths”	Merkelbach Pastoral, Q. IIn nearly the same words: Merkelbach Pastoral, Q. I
Flight from the occasions: “a firm purpose of avoiding all proximate occasions of sins against faith”	Merkelbach Pastoral, Q. I
In temptations against faith
Not to dispute with them, but to turn away: “that they are merely to be fled and contemned without positive effort, simply by turning away to other honest occupations”	Merkelbach Pastoral, Q. IIn nearly the same words: Merkelbach Pastoral, Q. III; McHugh-Callan n. 257; Vermeersch n. 40; Spirago VI. TEMPTATION; Bontempi Whether one who doubts about the a, n. 5
One general act of faith: “let there be one merely general act concerning the whole revealed doctrine”	Merkelbach Pastoral, Q. IIn nearly the same words: Vermeersch n. 40; Merkelbach Pastoral, Q. III
Not discouraged: “since temptations are not a sign of weak faith, but God permits them for our progress in humility”	Merkelbach Pastoral, Q. I
Afterward, a quiet examination: “And, after the temptation has receded, a quiet examination concerning the difficulty with which the temptation was connected is by no means to be disapproved; just as also a more skilled or more learned man is opportunely questioned.”	Vermeersch n. 40
Faith exercised: “Finally, the positive exercise of faith, even in daily conversation, by acts either formal or virtual, is altogether to be recommended.”	Vermeersch n. 40

Credulity

What It Is

“He sins by rash credulity who admits things as pertaining to faith and the Christian religion, although they are not such, e.g. if someone lightly believes private revelations which are suspect and very doubtful.”	Prümmer n. 509In nearly the same words: Noldin n. 25; Marc n. 434; McHugh-Callan n. 847
Against faith by excess: “By excess man sins against faith either by rash credulity or by superstition.”	Prümmer n. 509In nearly the same words: Noldin n. 25; Marc n. 434
Lightness of heart: “he who is hasty to believe is light of heart”	McHugh-Callan n. 847In nearly the same words: Marc n. 434

What It Is Not

McHugh-Callan, against prudence rather than faith: “This sin is opposed rather to prudence, inasmuch as it causes one to neglect the consideration of the reasons on which a prudent judgment rests”	McHugh-Callan n. 847
Not the loss of faith: “and hence it does not destroy the virtue of faith”	McHugh-Callan n. 847
Nor believing private revelations that are proved: “If from the rules of sound criticism it is established that they are genuine, it is not permitted to despise them, but according to the rules of prudence they are to be admitted.”	Noldin n. 32In nearly the same words: Noldin n. 32

Its Gravity

“yet this sin does not exceed venial sin”	Noldin n. 25In nearly the same words: Marc n. 434
Yet harmful: “It is, nevertheless, injurious to faith, since it brings Christianity into contempt, keeps others from embracing the teachings of the Church, and leads to superstition”	McHugh-Callan n. 847
Worse in one who teaches: “The credulity of Sempronia is excusable imprudence on account of her ignorance, if she has not neglected instruction; but that of Titus is blameworthy, for he ought to inform himself better before attempting to instruct others.”	McHugh-Callan n. 847

Its Remedies

St. John's rule: “Dearly beloved, do not believe every spirit; but test the spirits, whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”	Prümmer n. 509In nearly the same words: Marc n. 434
Private revelations, by human faith only: “but others cannot believe them except by human faith, yet they ought not believe them, both because they do not pertain to them, and because they can scarcely ever have certainty concerning them”	Noldin n. 32In nearly the same words: Vermeersch n. 28
The Church's caution: “it is the spirit of the Church to receive all accounts of these preternatural and supernatural occurrences with great caution, as there is always a danger of illusion or deceit”	Spirago THE ANGELS

Denial and Dissimulation of Faith

How the Authors Compare

Prümmer and Wouters distinguish denying from concealing. Prümmer: “It is never licit to deny faith either directly or indirectly,” but “sometimes to conceal the true faith is not only licit, but even necessary” (n. 507). Wouters agrees that dissimulation “from a sufficiently grave cause” becomes licit and “sometimes it obliges” (n. 498).
Noldin adds a further sin, being ashamed of the faith: “because of shame or fear, does not profess faith when the precept requires this” (n. 18).
Whether to conceal the faith when not obliged: Prümmer, quoted by Merkelbach, says it is “much better to profess faith candidly” (I, n. 715), and McHugh-Callan that concealment “is not advisable” (n. 1008). Marc, after St. Alphonsus, says that when one is not asked, “often it is better” to cover the faith (n. 431), and Vermeersch calls concealment “per se lawful, and sometimes expedient” (n. 23). Billuart: “although it has never been licit to deny the faith, it is nevertheless licit sometimes to hide and dissemble it” (On the external act of faith, n. 13).
When questioned by public authority, Prümmer says “Theologians commonly teach” that one must confess even at the risk of life (n. 505). Marc, after St. Alphonsus, says “generally it is not true” that one so questioned must profess positively, unless silence would look like denial (n. 430). Bontempi reports four opinions, among them that one may keep silence or change the subject (Whether we are bound to confess fa, n. 10). Concina: “It is agreed among all” that those sin who keep silence before “the public Power sitting in tribunal” (III, diss. I, ch. VI, n. III).
On being ashamed of the faith, Vermeersch says “Denial is grave in its whole genus; not so shame” (n. 42). Wouters holds it “always illicit to be ashamed of the faith” (n. 497).
Wearing the dress or standards of unbelievers. All forbid what is instituted to profess a false sect, and allow, for a grave cause, what marks only a nation (n. 22). Billuart, by that rule, allows the turban and says “the same of their standards in war, that thus they may be deceived and conquered”, though it is never lawful “to wear the image of Mohammed hung about the neck” (On the external act of faith, n. 13, On the external act of faith, n. 9). Concina forbids the garments of infidels instituted to profess a false sect, “whatever Azor, with certain others, asserts to the contrary” (III, diss. I, ch. VI, n. VIII), and sets among the lax opinions Antonio of the Holy Spirit's, that for a great cause Christians may use “the priestly garment of the Turks, or a banner on which Mahomet is depicted” (III, diss. I, ch. II, n. VII).

What It Is

“Insofar as it is negative, the precept of confessing faith prohibits, in any case or danger whatever, even of death, expressly or tacitly, by word or sign or deed (by silence, for example), outwardly to deny the faith or to profess or simulate a false faith.”	Merkelbach I, n. 712In nearly the same words: Marc n. 429; McHugh-Callan n. 938; Noldin n. 18; Prümmer n. 504
Directly or indirectly: “He directly denies faith who knowingly and voluntarily denies the true faith or professes a false one; he indirectly denies faith who, without the intention of denying faith, places an action which others have or can have as a denial of faith”	Noldin n. 18In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 712; McHugh-Callan n. 940
By words, deeds, signs, silence: “Faith can be denied either by words, or by deeds, or by signs, or by silence.”	Noldin n. 20In nearly the same words: Wouters n. 498; McHugh-Callan n. 941; Merkelbach I, n. 712
Dissimulation: “he dissimulates faith who uses words or signs which neither manifest nor deny faith, but leave it in doubt, and therefore are apt for hiding faith”	Noldin n. 18In nearly the same words: Wouters n. 498
Shame of the faith: “he is ashamed of faith who, because of shame or fear, does not profess faith when the precept requires this”	Noldin n. 18In nearly the same words: Vermeersch n. 26
The duty it fails, to confess when God's honor or the neighbor's good requires: “it is not necessary for salvation to confess one's faith at all times and in all places, but in certain places and at certain times, when, namely, by omitting to do so, we would deprive God of due honor, or our neighbor of a service that we ought to render him”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 3, a. 2In nearly the same words: Prümmer n. 505; Merkelbach I, n. 713; Noldin n. 16; Marc n. 428; Wouters n. 490; McHugh-Callan n. 990; Vermeersch n. 20; Bontempi Whether we are bound to confess fa, n. 4; Spirago VIII. ON THE DUTY OF CONFESSING OUR FAITH

What It Is Not

Not concealment, when confession is not required: “It is permitted to hide or dissimulate faith when the precept of confessing faith does not oblige”	Noldin n. 21In nearly the same words: Prümmer n. 507; Wouters n. 498; Merkelbach I, n. 714; Marc n. 430; Vermeersch n. 23; McHugh-Callan n. 1007
Sometimes concealment is a duty: “There is nothing commendable in making a public confession of one's faith, if it causes a disturbance among unbelievers, without any profit either to the faith or to the faithful.”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 3, a. 2, ad 3In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 715
Not flight in persecution, save for pastors: “Of itself, or by reason of flight, it is always permitted to flee: for he who flees neither denies nor dissimulates faith”	Noldin n. 23In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 714; Marc n. 430; Vermeersch n. 23; McHugh-Callan n. 1005; Spirago VIII. ON THE DUTY OF CONFESSING OUR FAITH
Not denying one's state: “If a priest or religious passing through the lands of an unbelieving or heretical prince were asked by this prince about his state, namely whether he is a priest, he could of itself for a grave cause evade the question by ambiguous words, because it is not an interrogation concerning faith, but concerning his state”	Noldin n. 20In nearly the same words: Prümmer n. 505; Merkelbach I, n. 714; Marc n. 429; McHugh-Callan n. 943
Not refusing a calumnious name: “Words that deny, not one’s allegiance to religion, but one’s acceptance of it as qualified by some calumnious designation.”	McHugh-Callan n. 943In nearly the same words: Bontempi Whether we are bound to confess fa, n. 6
Not neglect of practice: “Deeds that are contrary to practices of religion, but not to the profession of faith, are not denial of belief”	McHugh-Callan n. 943

Its Kinds

By words: “by words, who openly, seriously or fictitiously, deny even one article of faith, or deny that they are Christians or Catholics, or say that they are disciples of another sect”	Merkelbach I, n. 712In nearly the same words: Noldin n. 20; Marc n. 429; Wouters n. 500
By deeds: “by deeds: those who for concealing faith employ the rites or ceremonies of false worship, such as burning incense, genuflecting or sacrificing before an idol”	Merkelbach I, n. 712In nearly the same words: Noldin n. 20; Wouters n. 499; McHugh-Callan n. 942; Bontempi Whether we are bound to confess fa, n. 17; Concina III, diss. I, ch. VI, n. VII; Billuart On the external act of faith, n. 9
The libellatici: “likewise those who with money buy a certificate that they have professed a false religion (libellatici)”	Merkelbach I, n. 712In nearly the same words: Prümmer n. 506
By silence: “by omission, as when one fails to answer calumnies against faith, which one could profitably answer, or fails to protest when another speaks of oneself as a non-Catholic”	McHugh-Callan n. 941In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 712; Vermeersch n. 25
By signs: “The distinctive signs of Freemasons (nods, movements of hands or fingers, a particular way of signing letters) contain profession of a false sect”	Wouters n. 500In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 712; McHugh-Callan n. 942
Garments, by what they signify: “Some garments or signs are distinctive of a nation rather than of a religion, as the hat of the Turks; now it is permitted for a grave cause to use these garments or signs for hiding religion.”	Noldin n. 22In nearly the same words: Wouters n. 500; Marc n. 430; Bontempi Whether we are bound to confess fa, n. 25; Billuart On the external act of faith, n. 8

Its Gravity

“It is never permitted directly to deny faith, whether this is done seriously or fictitiously and only externally.”	Noldin n. 19In nearly the same words: Prümmer n. 507; Wouters n. 497; Vermeersch n. 23; Marc n. 429; Bontempi Whether we are bound to confess fa, n. 6; Billuart On the external act of faith, n. 2
Feigned denial, a grave lie: “He who denies the faith is a heretic or infidel, if he means what he says; he lies, if he does not mean what he says, and his lie is a grave injury to God, whose truth is called into question, and against the neighbor, who is scandalized.”	McHugh-Callan n. 939In nearly the same words: Noldin n. 19; Marc n. 429
Not heresy, yet grave: “Therefore even if he who only externally denies faith is not a heretic and does not lose the habit of faith, because he retains faith internally, nevertheless he sins against the negative precept of faith.”	Noldin n. 19In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 736
Vermeersch on shame: “Denial is grave in its whole genus; not so shame.”	Vermeersch n. 42
Noldin, indirect denial for a just cause: “From a just cause it is permitted indirectly to deny faith, provided the action which is placed is indifferent and the intention of placing that action is honorable.”	Noldin n. 24
Questioned by authority: “Theologians commonly teach that a Catholic man is bound (even with danger of life) candidly to confess his faith if he is questioned by public authority in a cause of faith”	Prümmer n. 505In nearly the same words: Noldin n. 16; Spirago VIII. ON THE DUTY OF CONFESSING OUR FAITH; McHugh-Callan n. 991
Marc, after St. Alphonsus, not always: “For generally it is not true that one interrogated (even by public authority) is bound positively to profess faith, except when this is necessary lest he seem to those present to have denied faith”	Marc n. 430In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 712; McHugh-Callan n. 996

Its Remedies

Prümmer, in Merkelbach, candor: “Generally speaking, it is much better to profess faith candidly, because the harms arising from profession are not wont to be so great as they appear at first sight.”	Merkelbach I, n. 715In nearly the same words: McHugh-Callan n. 1008
Against human respect: “They forget that those who laugh them out of doing what is right only despise them in their hearts, and would respect and honor them if they stood firm.”	Spirago VIII. ON THE DUTY OF CONFESSING OUR FAITHIn nearly the same words: Spirago VIII. ON THE DUTY OF CONFESSING OUR FAITH; McHugh-Callan n. 1008
The Judgment: “They forget, too, that at the Day of Judgment the tables will be turned”	Spirago VIII. ON THE DUTY OF CONFESSING OUR FAITHIn nearly the same words: Noldin n. 19
Fortitude, and Confirmation's chrism: “Hence fortitude which removes an obstacle to the confession of faith, viz. fear or shame”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 3, a. 1, ad 2In nearly the same words: Vermeersch n. 20
Not seeking danger: “To refuse to flee when flight is permissible, is usually not advisable, for this is dangerous for most persons.”	McHugh-Callan n. 1006In nearly the same words: Vermeersch n. 23; Spirago VIII. ON THE DUTY OF CONFESSING OUR FAITH

Where It Comes From

From fear and shame: “For fear of being laughed at by those around them, or through the dread of suffering some injury in their business, or some disadvantage in their worldly affairs or interests, they have not the courage openly to profess their faith”	Spirago VIII. ON THE DUTY OF CONFESSING OUR FAITHIn nearly the same words: St. Thomas II-II, q. 3, a. 1, ad 2; Vermeersch n. 20
Shame at the faith's poverty: “Others again, though they do not deny their religion, are ashamed of it, because in many countries it is the religion of the poor, or because Catholics are not allowed to believe what they like.”	Spirago VIII. ON THE DUTY OF CONFESSING OUR FAITH

Blasphemy

How the Authors Compare

The four manuals draw the same three divisions under different names: by what is said, by whom it strikes, and by the intention (n. 530, I, nn. 782-783, n. 203, n. 635). The table below sets the names side by side. Billuart and Concina divide by what is said into two only, heretical and non-heretical (On blasphemy, n. 7), or “heretical and simple”, the imprecation falling under the simple, “as if someone says, “Cursed be God.”” (Theol. III, diss. III, ch. III, n. III).
All agree on the gravity and on the one way it becomes venial. Prümmer: not “from slightness of matter, but only from imperfection of the act” (n. 531).
On “God damn”: Prümmer does not dare to say it is no blasphemy, “for it seems to be blasphemy” (II, n. 532). Sabetti-Barrett says that among our people “by God” or “God damn” “of themselves contain only venial malice” as a vain use of the Name (n. 220). Billuart and Concina refuse the distinction between indignation against God and against a man: words like “his head, his death, his blood”, uttered “out of indignation against man, not against God”, “are contumelious to God, though uttered on occasion of another” (On blasphemy, n. 4); “it seems to me, however, more certain that such swearers are, absolutely speaking, to be reckoned as blasphemers” (Theol. III, diss. III, ch. V, n. I).
Words of blasphemy said from habit as a mere interjection: Merkelbach holds that one who so utters them “commits the sin of blasphemy” (I, n. 783). Vermeersch, since the words are then without meaning, says “formal blasphemy seems to be denied”, though the scandal remains (n. 260). Concina says the opinion of Tamburini and Leander, that words uttered “through inadvertence arising from an inveterate custom, are not blasphemous in the least”, “inspires horror”: one who blasphemes from a habit not removed by penance “sins, then, a mortal sin, as often as he blasphemes”, while one who repents and labors to root it out “will sin only lightly” (Theol. III, diss. III, ch. IV, n. V, Theol. III, diss. III, ch. IV, n. IX). Billuart: indeliberateness from a habit the blasphemer “does not care to eradicate as far as he can” does not excuse from mortal sin (On blasphemy, n. 12).
Whether blasphemy is graver than heresy. Merkelbach reckons it two ways: taken abstractly “less grave than hatred of God, infidelity, despair, and idolatry”, yet “the greatest blasphemy is graver than the greatest infidelity or the greatest hatred of God” (I, n. 785). Concina reports the Salmanticenses holding it lighter than heresy, hatred of God and despair, and answers that “blasphemy, by its very kind, is graver than heresy itself”, and perfect blasphemy “is the greatest of all crimes”, with St. Antoninus and Navarrus (Theol. III, diss. III, ch. IV, n. III, Theol. III, diss. III, ch. IV, n. IV).
Blasphemy against the saints: another species? Concina reports the Salmanticenses, Azor, Bonacina and others denying it, since religion is one virtue, and holds the opposite “more probable”, the goodness of God and of the saints, and the worship owed them, differing by more than species. Whatever the case, with Suarez, “it must be explained in confession whether one's blasphemies were against God, against the Virgin, or against the Saints”, and Tamburini's view that the number suffices “cannot be tolerated” (Theol. III, diss. III, ch. III, n. V, Theol. III, diss. III, ch. III, n. VI, Theol. III, diss. III, ch. III, n. VII).
Blasphemy in jest. The common distinction, as Concina reports it from Leander, with Castropalao, Tamburini and Sanchez: a mortal sin if the jest leaves the insult, not if it takes it away. Concina: “This distinction seems to me empty and worthless”; jest “does not diminish, but increases, the wickedness of blasphemy”, though words that only by hyperbole sound blasphemous, as calling a woman “goddess”, are not blasphemy (Theol. III, diss. III, ch. IV, n. X, Theol. III, diss. III, ch. IV, n. XI).

What It Is

“Blasphemy is customarily defined: speech contumelious toward God.”	Prümmer II, n. 529In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 781; Noldin n. 202; Wouters n. 634; Marc n. 596; Vermeersch n. 256; Sabetti-Barrett n. 219; Billuart On blasphemy, n. 1
The name: “The word blasphemy seems to denote the disparagement of some surpassing goodness, especially that of God.”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 13, a. 1In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 781
What it says: “whoever either denies anything befitting God, or affirms anything unbefitting Him, disparages the Divine goodness”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 13, a. 1In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 782; Noldin n. 207; McHugh-Callan n. 889; Marc n. 596; Wouters n. 634
Perfect blasphemy: “He that speaks against God, with the intention of reviling Him, disparages the Divine goodness, not only in respect of the falsehood in his intellect, but also by reason of the wickedness of his will, whereby he detests and strives to hinder the honor due to God, and this is perfect blasphemy.”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 13, a. 1, ad 1In nearly the same words: Vermeersch n. 256
No express intent to insult needed: “it suffices that he know and sufficiently advert that the speech is contumelious, and nevertheless admit it”	Wouters n. 634In nearly the same words: Marc n. 597; Merkelbach I, n. 783; Noldin n. 203; Sabetti-Barrett n. 219; Billuart On blasphemy, n. 4
Against the saints, through them against God: “Even as God is praised in His saints, in so far as praise is given to the works which God does in His saints, so does blasphemy against the saints, redound, as a consequence, against God.”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 13, a. 1, ad 2In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 781; Noldin n. 202; Marc n. 596; McHugh-Callan n. 891

What It Is Not

Not vain use of the Name: “Blasphemy differs: 1. from the vain usurpation of the divine name, which indeed is opposed to the reverence due to God, but does not signify contempt of God”	Wouters n. 634In nearly the same words: Prümmer II, n. 533; Vermeersch n. 261; Sabetti-Barrett n. 220
Not mocking the saints as mere men: “if he were to say the same thing intending solely the dishonor of the Blessed Virgin as she is a human being, it would be a sin against hyperdulia, but not properly a sin of blasphemy”	Prümmer II, n. 530In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 784; Noldin n. 204; Wouters n. 635; Marc n. 597; McHugh-Callan n. 892; Vermeersch n. 257; Billuart On blasphemy, n. 5
Not cursing creatures, unless as God's: “To curse irrational creatures, for example, winds, horses, rains, etc., is not blasphemy”	Prümmer II, n. 534In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 784; Sabetti-Barrett n. 221
Nor exclamations in anger at others: “Exclamations such as: devil, heaven, lightning (Donnerwetter! [thunderstorm!]), etc., are not blasphemies”	Prümmer II, n. 534In nearly the same words: Noldin n. 207; Wouters n. 637
Nor reporting a blasphemy: “Hence he does not blaspheme who reports, in the blasphemous words themselves, a blasphemy heard or said by himself.”	Vermeersch n. 260In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 783

Its Kinds

Of the heart, the mouth, the deed: “If it is in thought only, it is blasphemy of the heart, whereas if it betrays itself outwardly in speech it is blasphemy is opposed to confession of faith.”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 13, a. 1In nearly the same words: Prümmer II, n. 529; Merkelbach I, n. 781; Vermeersch n. 256; Wouters n. 634; Concina Theol. III, diss. III, ch. III, n. I
Properly, by speech: “blasphemy committed by deeds alone (to spit toward heaven, to make a fist at God, to trample a crucifix) is improperly called blasphemy”	Noldin n. 202In nearly the same words: Prümmer II, n. 529; Sabetti-Barrett n. 219
Heretical, imprecatory, simple: “By reason of the sense of the words, into heretical, imprecatory, and reproachful (simple)”	Noldin n. 203In nearly the same words: Prümmer II, n. 530; Merkelbach I, n. 782; Wouters n. 635; Marc n. 596; Vermeersch n. 256; Sabetti-Barrett n. 219; McHugh-Callan n. 897
Against God, or through His saints: “By reason of the object or term, into immediate, which dishonors God in Himself, and mediate, which dishonors God in creatures which have a special relation to God”	Noldin n. 203In nearly the same words: Prümmer II, n. 530; Wouters n. 635; Marc n. 596; Sabetti-Barrett n. 219; Vermeersch n. 256
Direct and indirect: “By reason of intention, into direct (diabolical), which is done with the intention of dishonoring God, and into indirect”	Noldin n. 203In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 783; Marc n. 596; Vermeersch n. 256; Sabetti-Barrett n. 219
Vulgar and deliberate: “Finally blasphemy is distinguished as vulgar, which is uttered in very customary formulas, often after the manner of an interjection”	Vermeersch n. 256
By its cause, against the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit: “blasphemy against the Father, which is contumely spoken against God out of passion or weakness”	McHugh-Callan n. 898

Its Gravity

“Consequently blasphemy is a mortal sin, by reason of its genus.”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 13, a. 2In nearly the same words: Prümmer II, n. 531; Merkelbach I, n. 785; Noldin n. 204; Wouters n. 636; Marc n. 597; Vermeersch n. 257; Sabetti-Barrett n. 220; McHugh-Callan n. 895; Billuart On blasphemy, n. 8
No light matter: “for no insult against God can be small”	Merkelbach I, n. 785In nearly the same words: McHugh-Callan n. 895; Sabetti-Barrett n. 220; Concina Theol. III, diss. III, ch. IV, n. I; Billuart On blasphemy, n. 10
Venial, when one breaks out without heeding the words: “this is a venial sin, and is not a blasphemy properly so called”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 13, a. 2, ad 3In nearly the same words: Prümmer II, n. 531; Noldin n. 204; Wouters n. 636; Marc n. 597; McHugh-Callan n. 896
But not excused by suddenness alone: “by adverting to the meaning of his words, and to their blasphemous nature: in which case he is not excused from mortal sin, even as neither is he who, in a sudden movement of anger, kills one who is sitting beside him”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 13, a. 2, ad 3In nearly the same words: McHugh-Callan n. 895
Words wrung out by grief: “Those are judged immune from grave guilt who in great sadness utter sentences which, taken literally, would be blasphemous and heretical”	Vermeersch n. 260In nearly the same words: Marc n. 597; Wouters n. 636; McHugh-Callan n. 894
The habit: “A voluntary custom or habit of blaspheming is evil because it proximately inclines to sin; hence there is an obligation of removing it”	Merkelbach I, n. 786In nearly the same words: Prümmer II, n. 531; Noldin n. 204; Wouters n. 636; Marc n. 599; Billuart On blasphemy, n. 12
Among the gravest: “it follows that blasphemy also is a very great sin, through belonging to the same genus as unbelief and being an aggravated form of that sin”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 13, a. 3In nearly the same words: McHugh-Callan n. 895
Graver than murder, in intent: “as the blasphemer intends to do harm to God's honor, absolutely speaking, he sins more grievously that the murderer”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 13, a. 3, ad 1In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 785
Worse than perjury: “Blasphemy is worse than perjury.”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 13, a. 3, ad 2In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 785
Merkelbach's two reckonings: “taken abstractly insofar as it is opposed to religion alone and implies only the dishonor of God, it is less grave than hatred of God, infidelity, despair, and idolatry”	Merkelbach I, n. 785In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 785
In confession, three species: “The three blasphemies, heretical, imprecatory, and simple, differ from one another in species”	Noldin n. 204In nearly the same words: McHugh-Callan n. 897; Marc n. 596
Or one species, with other sins added: “Hence all blasphemies, even heretical ones, do not differ in species under the aspect of blasphemy; but sometimes other species are added, such as heresy, hatred of God, despair, which then must be declared in confession.”	Merkelbach I, n. 784In nearly the same words: Wouters n. 636; Sabetti-Barrett n. 221

Its Remedies

For deliberate blasphemy
Its enormity and folly: “blasphemers are seriously to be admonished not only how grave a sin blasphemy is, but also how senseless and foolish it is to wish to inflict contumely upon the Most High God”	Prümmer II, n. 533In nearly the same words: McHugh-Callan n. 902; Marc n. 599; Merkelbach I, n. 788; Spirago THE SECOND COMMANDMENT OF GOD
God's benefits, St. Polycarp: “For eighty-six years I have served Him, and He has done me nothing but good; how could I speak evil of my King and Master?”	Spirago THE SECOND COMMANDMENT OF GODIn nearly the same words: Spirago THE SECOND COMMANDMENT OF GOD
Praise in place of insult: “Prayers and ejaculations in praise of God are a suitable penance for them.”	McHugh-Callan n. 902
For blasphemy from habit or sudden anger
Their vanity and scandal: “it is to be inculcated how vain those expressions are and how easily they cause scandal”	Prümmer II, n. 533In nearly the same words: McHugh-Callan n. 902; Vermeersch n. 263
A small penance each time: “certain conventional penalties are a very salutary remedy against habitual blasphemies; for example, an alms is to be given as often as a blasphemy has been uttered, or after each blasphemy a pious ejaculatory prayer is to be said in reparation”	Prümmer II, n. 533In nearly the same words: McHugh-Callan n. 902; Wouters n. 638; Marc n. 599; Merkelbach I, n. 788; Vermeersch n. 263
A resolution renewed: “the renewal of a firm resolution to be repeated often”	Merkelbach I, n. 788In nearly the same words: Vermeersch n. 263
Other words in their place: “Sometimes it can be advised that instead of blasphemy the penitent use corrupted words or other words sounding sharply, yet signifying nothing evil.”	Wouters n. 638In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 788; Marc n. 599; Vermeersch n. 263
The Holy Name Society: “It is greatly to be commended to the faithful that they associate themselves with those Sodalities which in a special way turn members away from blasphemy”	Sabetti-Barrett n. 221
In temptations to blaspheme
Despising them, with acts of confidence and love: “But it is better to resist other temptations, such as those against faith, or against chastity, or to blasphemy, by despising them, and by making good acts indirectly opposed to the temptations, such as acts of confidence, of contrition, of charity.”	St. Alphonsus True Spouse, ch. XIII

A daughter of Anger, whose remedies are given on its page: “when the cause has been removed, the effect also is taken away.”

Where It Comes From

Blasphemy is also a daughter of anger.

Direct blasphemy, from hatred and contempt: “which is done with affective detestation or the express intention of dishonoring God, and proceeds from hatred of God, from anger and indignation against God (and religion), from contempt”	Merkelbach I, n. 783In nearly the same words: McHugh-Callan n. 890; Marc n. 596
Vermeersch, vengeance against God: “The root of direct blasphemy, i.e., the impulsive cause which is accustomed to induce a man to formal blasphemy, is of itself the appetite of vengeance against God.”	Vermeersch n. 257
Indirect blasphemy, from anger: “The root of indirect blasphemy is too swift anger or impatience, together with a defect of reverence toward God or the Saints.”	Vermeersch n. 257In nearly the same words: Bontempi On anger, n. 13
Heretical blasphemy, from want of faith: “because none of these necessarily proceeds from a lack of faith, as does heretical blasphemy”	McHugh-Callan n. 890
Isidore, in Bontempi, from pride: “But Bl. Isidore, lib. in Deuter. cap. 16., distinguishing between pride and vainglory, says that from pride arise Contempt, Envy, Disobedience, Blasphemy”	Bontempi On the vices opposed to magnanimit, n. 16
In the damned, from despair: “In the present life men are deterred from blasphemy through fear of punishment which they think they can escape: whereas, in hell, the damned have no hope of escape, so that, in despair, they are borne towards whatever their wicked will suggests to them.”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 13, a. 4, ad 1

Sin Against the Holy Ghost

What It Is

“Three meanings have been given to the sin against the Holy Ghost.”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 14, a. 1In nearly the same words: Noldin n. 353
Contempt of the gifts that hold us back from sin: “A sin against the Holy Spirit is a sin committed from formal contempt of some supernatural gift directly”	Prümmer n. 360In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 474; St. Thomas II-II, q. 14, a. 2; Wouters n. 274; Vermeersch n. 489; McHugh-Callan n. 899
The sin Christ named: “Therefore the sin against the Holy Spirit is committed when manifest divine works, which the Holy Spirit works for confirming the faith or for converting sinners, are attributed to the demon from malice of heart.”	Noldin n. 352In nearly the same words: St. Thomas II-II, q. 14, a. 1; Merkelbach I, n. 474; McHugh-Callan n. 898
St. Augustine, final impenitence: “Augustine, however (De Verb. Dom., Serm. lxxi), says that blasphemy or the sin against the Holy Ghost, is final impenitence”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 14, a. 1In nearly the same words: Noldin n. 353
Sins of malice, against the goodness appropriated to the Holy Spirit: “Since love is especially ascribed to the Third Person of the Trinity, sins of this class are sometimes called sins against the Holy Ghost.”	McHugh-Callan n. 250In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 474

What It Is Not

Not every sin of malice or habit: “Yet this does not suffice, otherwise all who sinned from habit would sin against the Holy Spirit”	Merkelbach I, n. 474In nearly the same words: St. Thomas II-II, q. 14, a. 4
Not despair or presumption from passion: “not from a sudden motion of passion (as can also happen in the case of despair, hatred of God, etc.)”	Merkelbach I, n. 474
The six are not the sin Christ named: “It is clear that these sins have not been deduced from the words of Christ; indeed among these there is none which agrees with the sin against the Holy Spirit concerning which Christ speaks.”	Noldin n. 353In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 474
Not hatred of God, which is graver: “Hatred of God, although in itself it is a sin of the greatest malice, is not placed among the sins against the Holy Spirit, because it is graver than they”	Merkelbach I, n. 475

Its Kinds

The six: “six sins against the Holy Spirit are numbered by the scholastics, after Peter Lombard and Alexander of Hales: a. presumption; b. despair; c. attack upon known truth; d. envy of fraternal grace; e. obstinacy; f. impenitence”	Noldin n. 353In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 475; Wouters n. 274; Vermeersch n. 489; McHugh-Callan n. 899; St. Thomas II-II, q. 14, a. 2
By what each casts away: “These things are either on the part of God's judgment, or on the part of His gifts, or on the part of sin.”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 14, a. 2In nearly the same words: McHugh-Callan n. 899
Despair and presumption: “which hope is removed by "despair"; and by fear, arising from the consideration of the Divine justice that punishes sins, which fear is removed by "presumption,"”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 14, a. 2
Envy of a brother's grace: “against which there is "envy of a brother's spiritual good," when, namely, a man is envious not only of his brother's person, but also of the increase of Divine grace in the world”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 14, a. 2In nearly the same words: Wouters n. 274
Noldin, properly one, final impenitence: “the sin against the Holy Spirit is properly only one, namely final impenitence, or voluntary and pertinacious resistance against truth and grace until death; but that the other five are nothing except diverse modes by which impenitence manifests itself”	Noldin n. 353
A pact of final impenitence: “Today those are guilty of this sin who enter upon a wicked pact which we can call one concerning final impenitence”	Vermeersch n. 489

Its Gravity

Final impenitence, never pardoned: “if by the sin against the Holy Ghost we understand final impenitence, it is said to be unpardonable, since in no way is it pardoned”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 14, a. 3
The others, unpardonable in their nature: “considered in itself, it deserves not to be pardoned”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 14, a. 3In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 476; Vermeersch n. 489; McHugh-Callan n. 900; Wouters n. 274
Rarely remitted, through man's hardness: “those six sins can be called irremissible only in this sense, that they are rarely remitted, and this indeed not because God is unwilling to remit them, but because man, on account of hardness of heart and blindness of mind, rarely disposes himself to true penance”	Noldin n. 353
Noldin, the sin Christ named, never in fact remitted: “He does not say that this sin cannot be remitted, but that it indeed is remissible, yet in fact is never remitted”	Noldin n. 352
Yet none beyond pardon if repented: “There is no sin which, if repented of, cannot be forgiven in this life.”	McHugh-Callan n. 900
Graver, as sins of malice: “It is more grave, other things being equal, to sin from malice than from passion”	Merkelbach I, n. 473In nearly the same words: McHugh-Callan n. 251

Its Remedies

“This does not, however, close the way of forgiveness and healing to an all-powerful and merciful God, Who, sometimes, by a miracle, so to speak, restores spiritual health to such men.”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 14, a. 3In nearly the same words: McHugh-Callan n. 900
Hope never taken away: “and therefore hope of pardon must never be taken away from anyone, provided he wishes to do penance”	Noldin n. 352

Where It Comes From

Reached by degrees: “this also, for the most part, presupposes other sins, for it is written (Proverbs 18:3) that "the wicked man, when he is come into the depth of sins, contemneth."”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 14, a. 4In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 477; McHugh-Callan n. 901
Scarcely ever in the devout: “Hence never or scarcely ever does it happen that the perfect sin all at once against the Holy Ghost”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 14, a. 4In nearly the same words: McHugh-Callan n. 901
Yet possible at once: “Nevertheless it is possible for a man, in his first sinful act, to sin against the Holy Ghost by contempt”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 14, a. 4In nearly the same words: Merkelbach I, n. 477

Blindness of Mind and Dulness of Sense

What It Is

Blindness of mind: “blindness of mind is the privation of the principle of mental or intellectual sight”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 15, a. 1In nearly the same words: McHugh-Callan n. 912; Merkelbach I, n. 505; Wouters n. 312
Dulness of sense: “dulness of sense in connection with understanding denotes a certain weakness of the mind as to the consideration of spiritual goods; while blindness of mind implies the complete privation of the knowledge of such things”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 15, a. 2In nearly the same words: McHugh-Callan n. 912; Merkelbach I, n. 506; Prümmer n. 427
Against the gift of understanding: “Both are opposed to the gift of understanding, whereby a man knows spiritual goods by apprehending them, and has a subtle penetration of their inmost nature.”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 15, a. 2In nearly the same words: McHugh-Callan n. 904

What It Is Not

Not natural incapacity: “The blindness that excuses from sin is that which arises from the natural defect of one who cannot see.”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 15, a. 1, ad 1
Blindness as punishment: “This privation is blindness, and is a punishment, in so far as the privation of the light of grace is a punishment.”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 15, a. 1In nearly the same words: McHugh-Callan n. 912
Not want of cleverness: “the unclean can know some truths, but their uncleanness is a clog on their knowledge”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 15, a. 3, ad 1

Its Kinds

Turning away on purpose: “Sometimes it is due to the fact that a man's will is deliberately turned away from the consideration of that principle”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 15, a. 1In nearly the same words: McHugh-Callan n. 912
Or busy with what it loves more: “whereas sometimes it is due to the mind being more busy about things which it loves more, so as to be hindered thereby from considering this principle”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 15, a. 1In nearly the same words: McHugh-Callan n. 912
McHugh-Callan adds ignorance, against the gift of knowledge: “against the Gift of Knowledge is the sin of ignorance”	McHugh-Callan n. 904

Its Gravity

“This dulness has the character of sin, just as blindness of mind has, that is, in so far as it is voluntary”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 15, a. 2In nearly the same words: St. Thomas II-II, q. 15, a. 1; McHugh-Callan n. 912
Ignorance of the truths one must know, grave: “is a grave sin, for faith in these truths is commanded under pain of losing salvation”	McHugh-Callan n. 906

Its Remedies

“On the other hand, the contrary virtues, viz. abstinence and chastity, dispose man very much to the perfection of intellectual operation.”

St. Thomas II-II, q. 15, a. 3In nearly the same words: McHugh-Callan n. 912

A daughter of Gluttony and of Lust, whose remedies are given on their pages: “when the cause has been removed, the effect also is taken away.”

Where It Comes From

From lust and gluttony: “Wherefore lust gives rise to blindness of mind, which excludes almost entirely the knowledge of spiritual things, while dulness of sense arises from gluttony”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 15, a. 3In nearly the same words: Prümmer n. 420; Merkelbach I, n. 505; Wouters n. 312; McHugh-Callan n. 912; Prümmer n. 427
Pleasure holds the mind: “pleasure fixes a man's attention on that which he takes pleasure in”	St. Thomas II-II, q. 15, a. 3
And it keeps from penance: “because man, on account of hardness of heart and blindness of mind, rarely disposes himself to true penance”	Noldin n. 353