2725. The Fruits of Repentance.--(a) Eve_Moral theology

is removed by repentance (Is., i. 18), and hence there is always room

for forgiveness. For man is always able to repent and God is always

ready to pardon the penitent (Joel, ii. 13). The unpardonable sin is

refusal to repent of sin, if one continues in that refusal, but even

impenitence is forgiven when laid aside (see 900).

(b) Sin once forgiven does not return, for God does not regret His

gifts (Rom, xi. 29), and His pardon means that the guilt of a sin is

destroyed and wiped out forever, But he who falls into the same sins

after pardon increases his guilt by reason of his ingratitude.

and also his former merits (Luke, XV. 22; Joel, ii. 25; Ezech., xxxiii.

12; Heb., vi. 10). Virginity of body and innocence of soul are not

recovered as to their material elements (i.e., bodily integrity and

freedom from all sin), but they are restored as to their formal part,

which is the resolve to abstain from all venereal pleasure or to avoid

all sin. It seems that former merits are also recovered, not

necessarily in their entirety, but in a degree that corresponds with

the greater or less excellence of repentance.

2726. Forgiveness of Sin through the Use of the Sacraments.--(a) Mortal

sins are forgiven by the Sacraments in virtue of the rite itself (_ex

opere operato_) and immediately; that is, the Sacraments either _per

se_ or _per accidens_ (according as they are Sacraments of the Dead or

Sacraments of the Living) produce in the soul first grace or

justification, which is the opposite of mortal sin.

(b) Venial sins are forgiven by the Sacraments in virtue of the rite

itself but not immediately; that is, the Sacraments produce directly

either first or second grace, and indirectly through this grace they

may awaken fervor, which is the opposite of venial sin. The

sacramentals, on the contrary, remit venial sins, not in virtue of the

rite itself but in virtue of the intercession of the Church attached to

the rite (_ex opere operantis Ecclesiae_); for the prayers of the Church

are acceptable to God and can obtain from Him a grace of repentance

that will remove venial sin.

2727. The Sacrament of Penance.--For those who lose grace after Baptism

the Sacrament of Penance is necessary as a part of repentance and a

means of forgiveness. This Sacrament may be defined as “a Sacrament of

the New Law instituted by Christ in the form of a judicial process, in

which, through the absolution of the priest, sins committed after

Baptism are forgiven to penitents who confess them with sorrow.”

(a) The remote matter of this Sacrament is the personal sins committed

after Baptism, for Baptism washes away all sins committed before its

reception. Of this remote matter, some is necessary (i.e., sins that

must be confessed), namely, post-baptismal mortal sins not yet declared

or directly absolved in confession; some is free (i.e., sins that may,

but need not be confessed), namely, post-baptismal mortal sins already

forgiven in confession, and post-baptismal venial sins, whether already

remitted or not (Canon 902). Imperfections which are not sins, or whose

sinfulness is doubtful, are not sufficient matter for absolution; and

if they alone are confessed, absolution may not be given, unless there

is necessity, and then it may be granted conditionally (see 185, 186).

(b) The proximate matter of this Sacrament, according to the view

commonly held, is the three acts of the penitent--contrition in the

heart, confession in words, and satisfaction in work. Contrition must

exist actually, but the other two acts in case of necessity need not

exist actually, but are included implicitly in the act of contrition.

spoken by the priest. Certainly the words, “_Ego te absolvo a peccatis

tuis_,” are sufficient for validity. But lawfulness requires that one

use the entire form and the other accompanying prayers as given in

one’s approved Ritual. In case of necessity, as in shipwreck or sudden

danger of death, an abbreviated form is permitted. Absolution must be

spoken or vocal, for the Church has never recognized absolution by

signs or in writing. It must be given to one who is present, that is,

one who is in the same place and not too far away to hear and be heard.

Those who are in different rooms that do not open on each other are not

in the same place; those who are more than twenty feet apart are too

far away for presence, according to the common opinion; but in great

need a more liberal view may be followed, and even absolution by

speaking tube or telephone may be resorted to.

(d) The subject of the Sacrament of Penance is every baptized person

who has committed venial or mortal sin after Baptism. If there is doubt

about the Baptism or about the sin, absolution may be given

conditionally. Besides the conditions given for the Sacraments in

general, the recipient of Penance must exercise the three acts of

contrition, confession and satisfaction. The first is essential in

every case, and the second when possible; and without the third the

Sacrament is not integral or complete.

2728. Probabilism in Administration of the Sacrament.--In the

administration and reception of the Sacrament of Penance it is lawful

to follow opinions that are truly probable except in the following

cases: (a) when the validity of the Sacrament is at stake (678), unless

there is a case of emergency (679). Hence, as the law of material

integrity pertains to the lawful, not to the valid use of Penance, one

may use probable opinions in its regard (see 2740); (b) when the seal

of the Sacrament is involved, lest confession become odious.

2729. Contrition.--The first act of the penitent is contrition. It is

defined by the Council of Trent as a sorrow and hatred for sin

committed, with a resolution of sinning no more and a desire of doing

what is necessary for the proper reception of the Sacrament of Penance.

(a) Thus, it presupposes a hatred of personal past transgressions, for

one grieves only about that which displeases one, and the acts of the

will begin with likes and dislikes.

(b) It consists essentially in sorrow or affliction of spirit, for

contrition, being the chief act of repentance, looks to reparation to

God for the injury done Him, and it therefore punishes the sinner by

sadness for his misdeeds.

future sin and to do what God requires for forgiveness; for no one is

sincerely sorry for the past unless this sorrow makes him decide not to

repeat the offense, and makes him desire to fulfill the conditions that

God lays down for reconciliation.

2730. The Two Kinds of Contrition.--(a) Perfect contrition is that

which is caused by charity, or the love of benevolence or of friendship

(1109, 1110) towards God. This love is had, whether the object of one’s

affection is the divine being or persons, the divine and infinite

perfections, or a single attribute; for all of these are really God

Himself. This contrition justifies the sinner at once, for it includes

charity and the will (at least implicit) to do what God wishes, and God

takes up His abode with those who love Him (John, xiv. 23). Perfect

contrition is necessary, both as a means and as a divine precept,

whenever the duty of repentance or of the Sacrament of Penance obliges

with a like necessity, and there is no opportunity of receiving the

Sacrament; for it is then the only way of recovering grace.

(b) Imperfect contrition, or attrition, is contrition caused by a

supernatural motive inferior to that of charity, i.e., by a less

perfect motive suggested by faith that leads one to grieve over sin

committed, for example, the heinousness of sin in itself, its eternal

punishment by God (i.e., the pain of loss or the pain of sense), or its

temporal punishment by God in this life or in Purgatory. This

contrition does not justify the sinner without the Sacrament, for it

does not rectify or retract the disorder introduced by sin as far as

lies within the sinner’s power (that is, _ex opere operantis_). By his

sin the sinner preferred the creature to God; by his attrition he does

not go so far as to prefer God positively to every created good, else

his contrition would be perfect. But attrition suffices for

justification of the sinner with the Sacrament of Penance, for it

includes the essentials of contrition in general, and thus removes the

impediments to the activity of the Sacrament (that is, the production

of grace _ex opere operato_). The same holds good also of the

sufficient disposition for Baptism, and more probably of that for the

Sacraments of the Living received in good faith by one who is not in

grace.

2731. Is Attrition Based Solely on Fear of Punishment Laudable?--(a)

Fear of the world is sinful, because it offends God to escape evil

(1044); slavish fear of God is sinful also, because it makes self the

last end, avoiding sin solely because of the harm it will bring on self

(1053). Sorrow for sin caused by slavish fear is not attrition, and is

not laudable.

(b) Servile fear of God in itself is good and supernatural (1050), and

the sorrow for sin or attrition based on such fear is also good; and if

it includes a resolution of amendment, it suffices for justification

with the Sacraments. The end (i.e., to escape punishment) is good

(Matt., x. 28); the means (i.e., sorrow for sin) is good; and the use

of the means for the end is good, for desertion of sin is the way to

escape unhappiness (Luke, iii. 7, 8). Nor is it wrong to make a nobler

good (such as avoidance of sin) a means to a lesser good (such as

escape from punishment) when the lesser good is not made the last end,

but only the immediate end, of the greater good. Thus, when we pray for

temporal goods, we make a spiritual thing a means to a material end,

but the Last End of the prayer is God Himself. Servile fear, unlike

slavish fear (_timor serviliter servilis_), does not make self the last

end (Denzinger, 818, 1146, 1525).

2732. Attrition in the Sacrament of Penance.--Must attrition based on

fear of punishment be joined with love of God to justify in the

Sacrament?

(a) Some form of love is required, for all contrition is detestation of

sin, and sin is not hated unless its opposite is loved. Hence, just as

attrition must be accompanied by faith and hope, so it must also be

accompanied by some form of love of God (2718).

(b) Disinterested love is not required. This is certain as regards love

of friendship, for even the smallest degree of that love is charity and

justifies even without the Sacrament (1112, 2730). This is commonly

held in reference to love of benevolence, which seems practically to be

always united with love of friendship or charity. A love that inclines

to God for His own sake but that does not predominate over other loves

is held by some to be necessary, but it is difficult to understand such

a love or to see its possibility.

necessary. The common opinion today seems to be that it also suffices,

and that it need be only virtual or implicit. In other words, the

prevalent view is that every attrition prompted by fear of punishment

contains an initial love of God which suffices to turn the sinner to

God and to remove any obstacle to the action of the Sacrament. For “the

fear of God is the beginning of His love” (Ecclus., xxv. 16), the hope

of pardon is a beginning of love of the Author of pardon and justice,

the resolve to amend is an inclination to keep the great command of

love of God (1556).

2733. The Conditions for Valid Contrition and Attrition.--(a) It must

be internal, for contrition is an act of repentance and must be in the

heart. Merely pretended sorrow, and sorrow which one mistakenly thinks

one has, are insufficient.

(b) It must be supernatural, for contrition is a disposition for the

reception of the supernatural habit of grace. Sorrow for sin induced by

natural motives, such as the punishments inflicted by human agencies,

if these are not viewed in the light of faith, is not sufficient.

sins not yet forgiven, for it is impossible to be really sorry for one

serious sin while retaining affection for another. But it is not

necessary to repent of all venial sins before one is forgiven (see

2724).

(d) It must be sovereign, that is, if the contrition is perfect, God

must be loved above every other good; if it is imperfect, sin must be

hated above every evil that could lead to sin. If the sinner does not

detest his dishonesty more than the privation he will suffer by being

honest, he is not really contrite. It is, however, not necessary that

contrition be sensibly felt, or be of supreme intensity, or that its

act be of long duration; and it is rash to call to mind the kinds of

evils or torments one would prefer to suffer rather than commit sin

(see 1556).

2734. Valid and Fruitful Reception of the Sacrament.--Some theologians,

distinguishing between contrition as matter of the Sacrament and

contrition as a disposition of the penitent, hold that it is possible

to have a valid but unfruitful reception of the Sacrament, and that

revival of its grace is possible. They explain thus:

(a) the contrition required for the matter and the validity of the

Sacrament must be such as can be known with moral certainty by the

confessor from external indications, and hence it suffices for validity

that the sorrow be true and sincere and supernatural;

(b) the contrition required for the disposition of the penitent and the

fruitfulness of the Sacrament must be such as excludes all affection

for every grave sin and includes the resolution to avoid all mortal sin

in the future, and hence it is required for fruitfulness that sorrow be

also universal and sovereign. (This opinion has very few, if any at

all, adherents among modern theologians. It is retained here solely as

a matter of record.)

2735. Properties of Contrition.--Since contrition belongs to the matter

of Penance, it must have the properties of sacramental matter (2655

sqq.).

(a) Thus, the matter must be sensible, and hence contrition must be

shown in some external way, as by a sorrowful confession, devout

request for absolution, or, in the case of those who are unconscious,

by a call for a priest or the practices or prayers of a Christian life.

(b) The matter must be united with the form, and hence contrition must

be elicited at the moment of absolution, or a short time before (not

more than a few hours before, according to some, or even a few days

before, according to others). But if a penitent recalls immediately

after absolution a forgotten mortal sin, and is then absolved from it

also, more probably he is not obliged to renew his act of contrition,

because the act just made virtually continues; in practice, however, he

might be told to make another act of contrition and a new penance or

the same penance may be imposed before the second absolution. Moreover,

for absolution when one is unconscious and in danger of death, since an

habitual intention suffices (2674), it seems that contrition made long

ago, but not retracted, is sufficient.

hence the contrition must in some way be directed to the confession;

that is, either before or during or after the act of contrition there

must be an intention to confess with the sorrow for sin contained in

that act of contrition, or to apply that sorrow to the confession just

made. Otherwise it does not appear that one has the purpose to make a

sacramental confession. But there is no practical difficulty, as every

act of contrition contains implicitly the will to confess, or every

sincere confession includes the will to use the contrition one has

exercised or will exercise.

2736. Resolution of Amendment.--The resolution of amendment which true

contrition calls for is at least implicit in the hatred of sin, but it

is advisable that the penitent expressly resolve to avoid sin in the

future. This determination should have the following qualities:

(a) it should be firm, that is, the penitent should make up his mind

not to relapse into deliberate sin. Yet, it is not necessary that he

feel certain of his perseverance, and his resolve does not cease to be

firm, if he foresees that he will fall again, provided he is decided to

do the best he can;

(b) it should be efficacious, that is, the penitent must decide to use

suitable means to fulfill his good intentions as to reparation for

scandal, calumny, and injustice, as to the avoidance of sinful

occasions, etc.;

generically to avoid each and every grave sin in the future. If only

free matter (2727) is confessed, the penitent may direct his resolution

of amendment to all past mortal sins confessed, or to one of the

present venial sins declared, or he may resolve to do better in

reference to a certain class of sins (e.g., deliberate sins, faults of

speech), or he may resolve to diminish the frequency of his venial sins.

2737. Confession.--The second act of the penitent is confession, that

is, the declaration of one’s sins made to a duly authorized priest with

the purpose of obtaining absolution. Confession is obligatory both from

divine and ecclesiastical law.

(a) According to divine law, the forgiveness of grave post-baptismal

sins is subject to the power of the keys, which is exercised in the

form of a judgment and requires confession (Matt., xviii, 18; John, xx.

23). This law obliges _per se_ in danger of death, and occasionally

during life; _per accidens_, when one in sin intends to receive

Communion, when one is unable without confession to recover the

necessary state of grace or overcome a serious temptation or bad habit.

(b) According to church law, the faithful must go to confession once a

year (2590), and confession is also prescribed at times for those who

wish to receive Communion (2705) or celebrate Mass (2701 c, 2711).

2738. The Qualities of Confession.--(a) Confession is an act of virtue

and should have the conditions of a virtue; that is, it should be

discreet (e.g., the penitent should not reveal the names or sins of

others), willing, and pure in motive (e.g., the penitent should not

confess for temporal ends, such as the good opinion of the confessor),

and courageous (i.e., the penitent should not be deterred by shame).

(b) Confession is an act of penitence, and, as penitence includes

hatred and regret for sin and abasement of self, confession should not

be boastful, jocular or proud, but shamefaced, sorrowful and humble.

should avoid the defects that make a declaration valueless or

imperfect, namely, falsehood, obscurity, digression, or concealment.

Confession, then, should be truthful, clear, to the point, and entire.

(d) Confession belongs to the Sacrament of Penance, which is the forum

of conscience, and hence the penitent accuses himself, submits to the

judgment of the father confessor, and is heard in secret. Public

confession is valid but not obligatory. Hence, one who does not speak

the language of the confessor is not bound to use an interpreter.

Regularly confession should be vocal, but for grave reasons (e.g., if

the penitent is dumb, or the confessor is deaf, or there is danger of

being heard by those nearby) it may be made by signs or in writing. In

case of a written confession the penitent should declare orally, if

possible, that the writing contains his confession (see Canon 903).

2739. Is it a Grave Sin to Lie to the Confessor?--(a) There is a grave

sin when the lie deceives the confessor about necessary matter (e.g.,

when a circumstance changing the theological species of a sin is

denied), or about free matter which is the only sin confessed (e.g.,

when a penitent lyingly accuses himself of only one sin and that a

venial one), or about free matter which the confessor asks about and

needs to know (e.g., about habits or occasions of sin). He who falsely

accuses himself of a grave sin, or who exaggerates the number of his

grave sins, _per se_ sins mortally; but he is excused if he is ignorant

or is under a momentary excitement or delusion. Not only is there grave

sin in the cited cases, but the confession is made invalid by the

defect in essential matter which the lie produces; for the confessor

does not understand the true state of the penitent’s soul.

(b) There is mortal sin when the lie deceives the confessor about

matter that is impertinent to the confession, but is grave in itself,

as when the penitent seriously calumniates a neighbor to the priest. In

this case the confession is made invalid by the want of disposition on

the part of the penitent.

matter which is not the only sin confessed, or which the confessor does

not need to know in order substantially to pass judgment and give

direction; also when the lie is not serious and is impertinent to the

confession. In these cases the Sacrament is not made invalid, for the

insincerity does not change the confessor’s decision.

2740. Integral Confession.--The completeness or integrity of confession

is twofold.

(a) Material completeness consists in the declaration of all mortal

sins committed and not yet confessed and absolved. This kind of

completeness is sometimes impossible, and therefore unnecessary. For

completeness is obligatory in virtue of a positive law of Christ, and

positive laws do not bind in case of impossibility (361).

(b) Formal completeness consists in the declaration of all the mortal

sins which here and now, all things considered, one can and should

mention. This kind of completeness is necessary for a valid and

fruitful confession, because the law of Christ calls for a complete

confession, as far as possible, and formal completeness is possible.

Since he who is obliged by a law is also obliged to use the means to

keep the law, those who are going to confession should examine their

consciences beforehand, unless this is impossible or unnecessary. The

time and diligence to be given this examination depends on the person

and his circumstances; but all should be careful about it, while

avoiding scrupulosity, and should also remember that contrition is even

more important than confession.

2741. Manner of Confession.--Completeness of confession as regards

mortal sins extends to the following points:

(a) the theological and the lowest moral species of a sin (197 sqq.)

must be given, for otherwise the confessor does not understand the case

before him. He who has committed a mortal theft does not satisfy by

confessing a venial theft; he who is guilty of the specific sin of

calumny does not satisfy by the generic accusation of sins of the

tongue. But impossibility excuses, as when the penitent has only a

general recollection about a sin;

(b) the number of the sins must be given exactly or, if this is

impossible, approximately. He who unintentionally exaggerates the

number or tells a sin of which he is not guilty, is not bound to

correct this, but he who unintentionally lowers the number to a notable

extent should tell in his next confession what was omitted (see 202

sqq.);

declared, for example, the fact that the person who was scandalized was

one’s subject, that the person who was treated disrespectfully was

one’s superior, that the amount stolen was large (see 72);

(d) the external act that completed an internal sin must be declared,

and hence he who committed impurity does not confess properly by saying

that he gave consent to impure desires (see 89-93).

2742. Disputed Cases.--(a) Circumstances that Notably Aggravate a Sin

without Changing Its Species.--For the obligation of confessing these

circumstances, it is argued that, if the confessor does not know them,

he is unable to guide the penitent properly. Against obligation, it is

argued that the species of the sin gives the confessor sufficient

knowledge, and that the obligation of confessing aggravating

circumstances would make the burden too heavy for the penitent. But all

admit that _per accidens_ there may be a duty of confessing a

circumstance of this kind, as when it makes a sin reserved, or consists

in an occasion of sin or evil habit, or when it produces a great change

in reference to satisfaction (e.g., the theft of $10,000 is quite

different from the theft of $1000).

(b) As to the Imputable External Effects of a Sin.--One opinion is that

these must be confessed, since they are willed in their cause (96,

102); another opinion is that they need not be confessed since they are

not sins, but results that followed on a sin; a third opinion answers

that they must be confessed if the evil will was not retracted before

they happened, but otherwise not. All agree, however, that the sinner

in this case should confess that he sinned with foresight of the

consequence, and that he should confess the consequence itself if there

is attached to it something that should be known to the confessor

(e.g., censure, irregularity, etc.).

the uncertainty is about the fact or gravity of the sin, there is no

obligation to confess the sin, even though its commission or its

gravity be probable; for the obligation cannot be proved. But if it is

certain that grave sin has been committed and uncertain whether the sin

has been confessed, a mere doubt or suspicion in favor of confession

does not exempt from obligation; a probable opinion in favor of

confession excuses according to Probabilism, but it does not excuse

according to Equiprobabilism, unless the doubt is about a confession

made long ago by one who was careful in making his confessions, or

unless there is question of a scrupulous person (655 sqq., 708, 709).

2743. When Material Integrity Is Not Necessary.--Material integrity is

not due because of real impossibility in the following cases:

(a) when there is physical impossibility, as when one is at the point

of death and too weak to make confession, or is deaf and dumb, or

cannot speak the confessor’s language correctly, or cannot finish

confession on account of shipwreck or other great peril;

(b) when there is moral impossibility, as when material integrity

cannot be had except at the expense of a great temporal or spiritual

evil distinct from the inconvenience intrinsic to the confession

itself, and there is some serious reason that makes it necessary to go

to confession here and now (e.g., the desire of not remaining long in

the state of sin). Examples are: great spiritual harm, as when a

penitent is scrupulous; great temporal harm, as when the penitent has

to flee to escape assassination. Some affirm, while others deny, the

duty of mentioning a sin that will defame an accomplice with the

confessor, and in practice it seems the duty cannot be insisted on

(cfr. 2065).

2744. Completion or Repetition of Past Incomplete Confessions.--(a)

Completion of past confessions must be made when they lacked material

integrity, if the impossibility has ceased.

(b) Particular repetition is necessary when a confession lacked formal

integrity or other essential; that is, if a sin was unlawfully

concealed or unrepented of in confession, the sacrilege must be

confessed and the previous confession made over, since it was invalid.

But if the new confession is made to the same confessor and he has a

general remembrance of it, the new confession may be made summarily.

certainly invalid on account of lack of formal integrity or other

defect. Thus, he who has made bad confessions for three months must

make a general confession of that period of time. General confession is

advisable when there is a prudent doubt about the worth of past

confessions; it is permissible when it will help a penitent to be more

contrite and lead a better life; it is not lawful when it will do harm,

as when a scrupulous penitent will be harrowed and maddened by the

thought of his past sins.

2745. Satisfaction.--The third act of the penitent is satisfaction,

which is defined as “a compensation for the injury done to God by sin,

appointed by God’s minister in the Sacrament of Penance and accepted

and performed by the penitent.”

(a) This act is a compensation or payment made to God as an act of

reparation and justice.

(b) The compensation is appointed by the confessor, for its chief

purpose is restoration of friendship between God and the sinner, and

hence equality is not sought, but the good will to do what God’s

minister imposes.

the completeness, not for the essence, of the Sacrament. He who is

really contrite desires to satisfy, he who confesses offers to satisfy;

and hence, if for any reason he does not actually satisfy, his

satisfaction of desire suffices for the validity of the Sacrament, but

his omission to perform the satisfaction makes the Sacrament incomplete.

2746. The Effects of Actual Satisfaction.--(a) There is a remissive

effect, consisting in the _ex opere operato_ release of a portion or of

all the temporal punishment due to sin forgiven.

(b) There is a medicinal effect, consisting in the appreciation of the

evil of sin, the caution and vigilance against future relapse, and the

removal of evil tendencies, which the penitential works inculcate and

promote.

2747. The Conditions for Effective Satisfaction.--(a) For validity

(that is, for discharge of the obligation) the penitent must perform

the penance as to essentials in the way prescribed by the confessor,

and he must perform it personally, unless the confessor permits or

enjoins fulfillment by proxy (Canon 887). A penance performed during

the actual commission of or with actual affection for sin, is not a

satisfaction, but a new offense.

(b) For fruitfulness it is necessary that the penitent be in the state

of grace when he fulfills the penance, for the works of His enemies are

not supernaturally pleasing to God. Or, more exactly, a penance done in

the state of sin, but without affection for sin and under the influence

of actual grace, has no strict right either of justice or of friendship

to divine acceptance; but it seems fitting that such penance be

accepted by the divine liberality in part satisfaction for sins

forgiven.

2748. The Obligation of Accepting and Performing a Penance.--(a) _Per

se_, the obligation is grave, since the penance belongs to the

integrity of the Sacrament, and hence its refusal or neglect is an

injury to a sacred thing. (b) _Per accidens_, the obligation may be

light, and this is held to be the case when the penance was imposed for

free matter, or when the satisfaction prescribed is a light work (such

as one or two Hail Marys). A penitent is not bound to accept an

unreasonable penance, and he may seek a commutation if such a penance

is imposed. As a rule, negligence about the circumstances of a penance

(e.g., the time, or posture) is not a grave sin, but exceptionally it

may be serious (e.g., if one delays a gravely obligatory penance six

months, or so long as to be in danger of forgetting it; if one omits to

say a prayer on bended knees when this was chiefly intended by the

confessor).

2749. Causes That Excuse from a Penance Imposed.--(a) Commutation.--If

there is a just reason (e.g., the over-severity of the penance), the

penitent may have his penance changed to something lighter. The

confessor who imposed the penance may be asked to change it, even

probably after and outside of confession, and after a long time, and

though he does not remember the confession. Another confessor may

lessen the penance, but only in confession and after he has heard at

least a summary repetition of the sins for which the penance was given.

(b) Cessation.--There is no obligation to fulfill a penance in case of

impossibility, whether physical (e.g., if the penitent is dying and can

neither say the prayers ordered nor ask for a commutation), or moral

(e.g., if the penitent has forgotten the penance and cannot

conveniently ask the confessor about it).

2750. Requirements in the Minister for Valid Absolution.--(a) The

divine law requires the power of Orders, for only priests were

appointed by Christ as the ministers of Penance, (b) The natural law

requires the power of jurisdiction, since the Sacrament of Penance is

exercised in the form of a judicial process, which supposes authority

to judge. (c) The law of the Church requires the approval of the

Bishop, or his decision that the priest is a fit person to hear

confessions. Approbation is always given along with jurisdiction.

2751. Power of Jurisdiction.--The power of jurisdiction is so necessary

that without it absolution is null.

(a) Jurisdiction in general is treated in Canons 872 sqq. of the Code.

Ordinary jurisdiction is had by the Pope for the whole Church, and by

Ordinaries, parish-priests, exempt religious superiors, etc., for their

own subjects. Delegated jurisdiction comes from the law itself in favor

of penitents who are dying (Canon 882), or who are making a sea voyage

(Canon 883), a privilege extended recently also to those who are making

air journeys, or who are outside their domicile (Canon 881), etc.;

while delegated jurisdiction from man is had by those priests who have

obtained faculties orally or in writing from the competent superior

(Canon 879).

(b) Jurisdiction in special cases is treated in Canons 874, 875, 876,

519 sqq. Religious women living in community should have for each house

one ordinary confessor and one extraordinary confessor who comes four

times a year. Further, the bishop should appoint supplementary

confessors to whom the Religious may freely make their confessions, and

special confessors for individual Sisters when spiritual progress is

aided by such an arrangement.

2752. When the Church Supplies Jurisdiction.--In certain cases the

Church, for the good of souls, supplies jurisdiction for the time being

to priests who lack it:

(a) in case of common error, that is, when all or many of the faithful

in a place think that a priest has jurisdiction, as when he is seated

in the confessional of a public church hearing or waiting to hear those

who are going to confession. The common error is not of law, but of

fact;

(b) in case of uncertainty of law (e.g., whether a certain sin is

reserved) or of fact (e.g., whether the confessor’s jurisdiction has

expired) about the confessor’s jurisdiction, if the confessor has a

positive or probable reason in favor of his right to absolve. The

Church supplies jurisdiction in the absolution of a reserved censure

whose reservation was not known to the priest, unless it be _ab homine_

or most specially reserved to the Holy See (Canon 2247, n. 3);

every priest (Canon 882).

2753. Limitation of jurisdiction.--(a) Reserved Sins or Cases.--For the

sake of discipline and the good of souls the absolution of certain more

atrocious or pernicious crimes is reserved to higher superiors, namely,

to the Pope or the Ordinary. Reservation is not incurred in a case

reserved on account of censure, if the penitent’s act was not gravely

imputable; nor probably in a case reserved for its own sake (unless the

reserving authority willed otherwise), if the penitent was ignorant

(though not crassly or supinely) of the reservation (Canon 2229). To

fall under reservation, a sin must be mortal, consummated (i.e. not

merely attempted) certain and formal (i.e., perpetrated with knowledge

of the special malice that caused reservation). Reservation ceases when

confession is made by the sick who are unable to leave the house or by

those who are about to be married; when the Superior has refused the

request for faculties to absolve a reserved case, or the confessor

prudently decides that the request for faculties cannot be made without

grave detriment to the penitent or danger to the seal; when confession

is made outside the territory of the Superior who reserves the sin

(Canon 900).

(b) Reserved Persons.--Those who have not special faculties cannot

validly hear the confessions of nuns (Canon 876), for the director of

consciences of these Religious should be endowed with special virtue,

knowledge and prudence. Religious Superiors, novice-masters, and

rectors of seminaries or colleges should not act habitually as

confessors of their subjects (Canons 518, n. 2, 891), lest the

distinction between the internal and the external forum be forgotten.

Finally, to prevent abuse of the Sacrament and occasions of relapse, a

confessor cannot validly absolve his accomplice in a sin against the

Sixth Commandment, consummated or unconsummated, or from the sin of

complicity itself, as necessary matter of the Sacrament, if the sin was

on both sides external, certain, and both internally and externally

grave (Canons 884, 2367).

2754. Absolution from Reserved Cases.--(a) In danger of death, any

priest can absolve every reserved sin and censure, but, should the

penitent recover, there is a duty in certain specified cases of having

recourse to the lawful superior (Canons 882, 2252). The latter Canon

specifies two cases in which recourse is necessary after the person

recovers, namely, a censure _ab homine_ and one most specially reserved

to the Holy See. A third case has been added by the Sacred

Penitentiary, namely, when a priest who has attempted marriage and is

unable to separate asks for absolution from the censure of Canon 2388,

Sec.1, in danger of death.

(b) In urgent cases, namely, if censures _latae sententiae_ cannot be

observed externally without grave danger of scandal or infamy, or if it

is hard for the penitent to remain in the state of grave sin for such

time as may be necessary in order that the competent superior may

provide, then any confessor can, in the sacramental forum, absolve from

these censures, no matter how they are reserved, imposing, under pain

of falling back into the censure, the obligation of having recourse

within a month (at least by letter and through the confessor, if it can

be done without grave inconvenience), without mentioning the name, to

the Sacred Penitentiary or to a Bishop or other superior who has the

faculty. The confessor imposes also the obligation of fulfilling his

injunctions (Canon 2254, Sec.1). It is to be noted:

1) the circumstances constituting an urgent case are the two specified

in the Canon: the difficulty of observing the censure; the hardship of

remaining in sin.

2) the object of the absolution is all censures _latae sententiae_,

however reserved, with one exception, namely, the censure incurred

under Canon 2388, Sec.1, the case of a priest who, after an attempted

marriage, is unable to separate. No absolution as an urgent case under

this Canon can be given. The censure _latae sententiae_ for false

denunciation can be absolved under this Canon only if the conditions of

Canon 2363 have been fulfilled (actual formal retraction and

reparation; imposition of a grave and long penance; and the sin itself

remains reserved _ratione sui_ to the Holy See).

3) Sufficient extrinsic authority is available to make safe in practice

the extension of the grant of power of this Canon to censures _ab

homine_ which are _ferendae sententiae_.

4) Sections 2 and 3 of this Canon indicate the right of the penitent to

go afterwards to a privileged confessor without making the recourse to

the superior enjoined upon him or observing the _mandata_ from the

superior in case he has already made recourse, and the procedure to be

followed when recourse is morally impossible.

delegated faculties. The law itself grants to pastors the power to

absolve during the whole of paschal time from all sins which the

Ordinary has reserved to himself, and missionaries have the same power

during the time they are giving a mission (Canon 899, n. 3). This does

not apply to censures nor to cases reserved to the Ordinary by the

Apostolic See or by law, such as the excommunication _latae sententiae_

which Canon 2350 declares against the procurers of abortion.

2755. Absolution Given by One Not Possessed of Jurisdiction.--(a)

Effect.--Absolution of mortal sins given without jurisdiction is

invalid; and of venial sins, is unlawful and probably invalid. In some

cases, however, the Church supplies jurisdiction, as was said above

(2752).

(b) Guilt.--There is no sin if the absolution is given in good faith,

as when a confessor is inculpably ignorant of a reservation. If

absolution is given in bad faith and the confessor knows that the

Church does not supply, there is a grave sin on account of the

irreverence to the Sacrament and the harm to the penitent. If the

confessor knows that he lacks jurisdiction, but that the Church

supplies on account of common error, it seems that no sin is committed

if there is a good reason for giving absolution (e.g., the absence of

other priests); but otherwise there is mortal or venial sin according

to circumstances.

jurisdiction or absolves from a reserved case for which he has no

faculties, incurs in the former case _ipso facto_ suspension from the

power of Orders, and in the latter case _ipso facto_ suspension from

hearing confessions (Canon 2366).

2756. Duties of the Confessor before Confession.--(a) Fitness to Hear

Confessions.--The confessor should have sufficient knowledge to be able

readily to solve the usual cases and to work out or find the solution

of the more difficult cases; sufficient prudence to be able to apply

his knowledge well and to avoid what is dangerous or suspicious;

sufficient goodness to be sincerely desirous of the spiritual advantage

of the penitent, and to be patient in hearing him and firm in

correcting him.

(b) Willingness to H ear Confessions.-The confessor is obliged either

from justice or charity (2676) to hear the confessions of those who

reasonably request it. He should observe the rules of the Ritual and of

the Code as to the manner and place of confession (Canons 908-910).

2757. Duties of the Confessor as Judge in Hearing the Case.--(a) Since

confession should be entire, the confessor is gravely bound to question

the penitent, when there is reason to think that the confession is not

entire. With pious and well-instructed persons, of course, there is no

need of questioning, and, since the duty of integrity rests primarily

on the penitent, the confessor’s negligence may be regarded as venial

when he is burdened by a great multitude of confessions.

(b) Since confession must not be made onerous or harmful to penitents,

the confessor is bound to be very discreet in the questions he asks,

and to follow the rule that it is far better to say too little than to

say too much. He must avoid any word or remark that might teach sin to

the young or scandalize the old; he must be very reserved when speaking

of matters that pertain to the Sixth Commandment, and, if there is need

to question about them, should begin with very general queries. Neither

directly nor indirectly may he inquire the name of an accomplice of the

penitent (Canon 888); but he is allowed to investigate matters which he

has a right to know, even though the accomplice thereby becomes known

to him. If the common good requires that a complaint be lodged against

the accomplice, the confessor may oblige the penitent to make this

complaint to the proper superior; but it is seldom advisable that the

confessor agree to perform this duty himself, and then he should

require that the penitent speak to him about the affair outside of

confession, if this can be done (see 1287).

believed both for and against himself. But should it happen that the

confessor knows for certain that his penitent is lying, his procedure

will depend on the source of his knowledge. If the knowledge is not of

sacramental origin but comes from the confessor’s own reliable

experience (e.g., because he saw the penitent commit a sin and is sure

that the silence about the sin is not due to forgetfulness, ignorance

or previous confession of it), he should try to induce the penitent to

confess, and, if the latter refuses, should deny absolution. If the

confessor is morally certain on account of the word of a third person

that the penitent is now concealing a sin, it seems to some authorities

that absolution may be either granted or refused, to others that it

must be refused. Finally, if the confessor’s knowledge comes from a

previous sacramental confession or other obligatory secret, he is held

to respect the secret; he may not ask any questions which he would not

have asked otherwise, and, if the penitent will not confess, he must

either grant absolution, as some hold, or dissimulate its denial, as

others think.

2758. Duties of the Confessor-Judge in Deciding about the Case.--(a)

The confessor should pass judgment on the past state of the penitent’s

soul as declared to him, but defect or mistake here would not make the

Sacrament null. The objective malice of the sins (i.e., their

theological and moral malice) will be recognized by the priest from his

knowledge of theology, and the subjective malice from the declarations

or replies of the penitent. At times the confessor will have to rest

satisfied with the decision that the sin or its character is uncertain.

(b) The confessor should pass judgment on the present dispositions of

the penitent, or the sincerity of his sorrow and resolution; but it

suffices that the judgment be probable, and there be no strong

suspicion against it. The penitent’s devout confession, or his promise

of amendment, the trouble he took to make his confession, etc., are

indexes of good faith, just as boastful confession, disregard for

former promises, and unwillingness or carelessness about coming to

confession are signs of bad faith.

2759. Duties of the Confessor-Judge in Passing Sentence.--(a) The Duty

of Binding.--The confessor must impose upon the penitent such duties as

are necessitated by the essence of the Sacrament (e.g., there is no

true contrition without willingness to make due restitution,

reparation, or satisfaction, and to avoid sinful occasions and to

struggle against bad habits), or such penalties as are required for its

integrity (i.e., the priest must impose a suitable penance). To

safeguard morals, the law of the Church gravely obliges a confessor to

require his penitent _sub gravi_ to denounce another confessor

certainly guilty of the crime of solicitation, unless there be a grave

reason that excuses the penitent; and, if the penitent refuses,

absolution must be denied. On the details of this law and on the

penalties for solicitation, refusal to denounce, and false accusation,

see Commentaries on Canons 904, 2368 and 2363 of the Code.

(b) The Duty of Loosing.--The confessor is bound _sub gravi_ to give

absolution at once to one who is properly disposed, for there is a

tacit contract between the penitent and the confessor that absolution

will be granted if the penitent is worthy; the penitent puts himself to

considerable trouble to obtain forgiveness, and he is deprived of a

great good if absolution is refused (Canon 886). If only free matter is

confessed, it is a venial sin now and then to deny absolution without

reason, but no sin to deny it for a good reason if the penitent

consents.

absolution to those who are certainly not contrite and in whom he

cannot awaken true repentance, for absolution would be of no benefit to

such persons and would make the confessor an encourager of sin.

Likewise, absolution should be denied those who are incapable (e.g.,

those who have not as yet committed sin or who confess only

imperfections). If there is doubt about the fitness or capacity of the

penitent, absolution should generally be delayed; but it may be granted

conditionally for a serious reason (e.g., if the penitent is in a state

of sin and cannot return to confession for a long time), and it should

be granted conditionally for a very serious reason (e.g., if the

penitent will probably not return, or if he is confessing in

preparation for marriage).

2760. Penitents to Whom Absolution Should Be Denied.--There are three

classes of penitents especially to whom absolution should be frequently

denied on account of their lack of repentance:

(a) those who refuse to abandon a proximate and voluntary occasion of

grave sin, for these are impenitent and unworthy of absolution. But

absolution may be given those who promise to abandon a proximate and

voluntary occasion, or to use the proper means of safety if they are in

a proximate and necessary occasion of sin (see 263 sqq.);

(b) those who have contracted the habit of some grave sin, if they are

unwilling to use the proper means to overcome it; but if they seriously

promise to use means prescribed by the confessor, they should be

considered as well disposed. A sin is habitual when it is committed

often--that is, for an external sin about five times a month, and for

an internal sin about five times a week-and when the sinner acts for

the proper motive of the vice, e.g., in injustice for disorder, in

intemperance for pleasure of the sense, in sins against charity out of

hatred, etc. But consideration should be taken also of the character of

the person (i.e., a weak-willed person is enslaved by habit more

readily than a strong-willed person) and of the vice (i.e., an alluring

sin like impurity becomes a habit more quickly than other sins);

sin in three or four previous confessions and have relapsed into it

again without any improvement. These persons should be absolved if they

are sincere now and give some special indication as proof of sincerity

(e.g., some effort made to conquer their habit); otherwise (except in

great necessity, when they may be given the benefit of the doubt and be

granted conditional absolution) they should not be absolved but should

be put off kindly for a short space, since there is no reason to

believe that the present sorrow is any better than that of the past.

2761. The Sacramental Penance.--(a) Obligation.--The confessor is bound

to impose a penance in order to provide for the integrity of the

Sacrament and the good of the penitent. Exceptions to this rule are the

cases when the penitent cannot perform any penance, as when he is at

the point of death, and when the penitent after the imposition of a

penance and absolution remembers new and necessary matter. It is at

least a venial sin to delay the giving of a penance till after the

absolution, and it is a grave sin to give no penance at all, unless (as

some hold) only a light penance was due.

(b) Quantity.--The amount of the penance should be suited as a

punishment to the degree of the penitent’s guilt, that is, a heavier

penance should be given for necessary matter and a lighter penance for

free matter. The penance should also take into consideration the moral

malice and the frequency of the sins. Works that the Church may order

under pain of serious sin suffice for necessary matter (such as a Mass,

a fast, five decades of the Rosary, or the Litany of the Saints). Light

penances are the _De Profundis_, the Litany of St. Joseph, five Paters

and five Aves. For a sufficient reason (e.g., the sickness of the

penitent, the probability that a grave penance will keep him from

future confession, the fact that his sorrow is very great or that he

has gained a plenary indulgence, the performance of satisfaction for

him by the confessor himself) the quantity of a penance may be

lessened. A grave penance may be lightened by joining it with some duty

already owed (e.g., by requiring the penitent to say the Rosary while

hearing Sunday Mass, by obliging him to hear Mass on Sunday and also to

say a few prayers after the Mass).

remedy for the spiritual disease of the penitent; that is, as far as

possible he should be required to perform works that tend to correct

his chief failings. Thus, for those who are uncharitable or avaricious

an alms or other work of mercy is a good penance; for those who are

given to pleasures of sense, a fast or other corporal austerity; for

those who are lax or irreligious, a prayer, a visit to the Blessed

Sacrament, a meditation, or frequentation of the Sacraments. Ordinarily

it suffices to impose prayers as penances, since prayer is a universal

remedy. Penances unsuitable to the penitent (e.g., fasts for one who

needs nourishment on account of labors), those that are too difficult

(e.g., perpetual or long-continued practices), those that are harmful

(e.g., penances that will bring the penitent into suspicion or

ridicule), must be avoided.

2762. The Duties of the Confessor as Spiritual Physician.--(a) General

Remedies.--The confessor should give much attention to the study of

moral and ascetical works, so as to be able to suggest suitable means

to his penitents for overcoming their spiritual infirmities and

avoiding future relapses. Thus, if a penitent desires to know or ought

to be told how to struggle against anger, drunkenness or impurity, the

confessor should know how to advise him and what measures to recommend

to him.

(b) Special Remedies.--Certain classes of penitents need special

attention. Thus, the tempted and afflicted should be told the means of

fighting temptation and sadness; the scrupulous should be forbidden to

examine their consciences too carefully, or to accuse themselves

minutely, or to spend too much time at devotions; the sick and the

dying should be encouraged to dispose themselves well and to put aside

thoughts of fear and discouragement; pious persons often need

assistance when they suffer temptations to tepidity or spiritual

desolation. The careless, lazy, malicious, and hardened should be

reproved, but sternness should not be unmingled with kindness, lest the

penitent be driven away from his duty altogether.

2763. The Duties of the Confessor as Teacher and Guide.--(a)

Instruction.--The confessor should teach children and other ignorant

persons if he finds that they do not know truths necessary to be known

for a fruitful reception of the Sacrament--that is, the mysteries of

faith that must be believed explicitly and the dispositions for

receiving absolution (924). He should instruct about duties when this

will be for the penitent’s good--that is, when the penitent falsely

believes something to be sinful which is not sinful, or to be gravely

sinful that is only lightly sinful, or when the penitent’s ignorance of

an obligation is gravely culpable, or when he is invincibly ignorant

but will be kept from a sin without graver evil if he is instructed

now. If an instruction will probably do no good, a confessor should not

instruct an invincibly ignorant penitent about his duties, unless

silence will be productive of greater evils than instruction. Thus, if

the confessor foresees that the penitent will only be put in bad faith

if he is told about a duty of restitution, it would be useless and

wrong to speak to him about it; but if he should foresee that, if he

does not speak, the penitent will do worse things with great injury or

scandal to others, it would be necessary to instruct him.

(b) Direction.--In spiritual matters a confessor should be willing and

able to counsel and advise, for example, about the choice of a state of

life (marriage, clerical state, religious life), about voluntary rules

or practices (vows, austerities), and about the performance of duties

(e.g., training of children). For advice on temporal matters a priest

should either direct his penitents to lawyers, physicians or other

professional advisers, or, if he can give prudent direction himself

(e.g., on artistic, educational, or business questions), he should

preferably discuss the matter elsewhere than in the confessional.

2764. The Duties of the Confessor After Confession.--(a) _Per se_, or

by reason of his office itself, the confessor is held to guard

inviolate the secret of the confessional--that is, he may not disclose,

or use to the penitent’s disadvantage, any information received from

sacramental confession. This duty is a grave one imposed by natural law

(since there is a quasi-contract that the confessor will treat the

penitent’s confession as confidential), by divine law (since Christ, in

willing that confession be used, implicitly willed that it be so

conducted as not to become a thing odious, scandalous and harmful), and

by church law (for Canons 889, 890, 1757, 2369 strictly forbid

revelations or use of sacramental knowledge and decree severe penalties

against transgressors). Since God wipes out from remembrance the sins

He has pardoned, the confessor, being God’s representative, must treat

what he has heard as not known to him. The obligation of the seal is so

strict that no one may dispense from it, that neither Probabilism nor

epieikeia may be applied to it, and that no exception is allowed unless

the penitent himself freely, unmistakably and for a serious reason

gives permission for it to the confessor.

(b) _Per accidens_, or by reason of a mistake committed by him (e.g.,

absolution mistakenly refused or invalidly given, erroneous notion

about the gravity of a sin imparted or not corrected, restitution

imposed where not due or not imposed where due), a confessor is held to

see that the mistake is corrected and that the penitent or a third

party is spared or rescued from the harm which will follow from the

mistake. The obligation is one of justice in those cases where there is

a violation of implicit agreement (e.g., absolution unreasonably

withheld), or damage positively and culpably caused (e.g., erroneous

advice about the gravity of a sin or about the duty of restitution); it

is one of charity in other cases where the confessor can without undue

inconvenience assist the spiritual or temporal need of the penitent or

of another (e.g., penitent’s misunderstanding about his duty of

restitution which the confessor failed to clear up). The duty of

repairing mistakes is grave when there is grave damage (e.g., invalid

absolution of mortal sins) and grave guilt was contracted by the

mistake (e.g., if the invalidity was voluntary) or will be contracted

by refusal to prevent the consequences of the mistake (e.g., if the

invalidity has been discovered, and one knows that the penitent will

die unabsolved, if one does not rectify the error). The duty is light

if there is light damage (e.g., invalid absolution of free matter, or

of necessary matter confessed by a person who will go to the Sacraments

soon again), or light culpability (e.g., failure to question about the

species or number of sins, or to impose a penance, when the failure is

due to distraction or forgetfulness).

2765. Manner of Repairing Defects Made in Hearing a Confession.--(a)

The Reparation to be Made.--If the penitent has been deprived of

absolution, he should be absolved; if he has been wrongly instructed,

he should be set right; if temporal loss has been caused, temporal

restitution should be made.

(b) The Person to Whom Restitution Should Be Made.--The injured person

should be compensated. Hence if restitution was mistakenly imposed on

the penitent and he cannot recover his property, the confessor should

reimburse him; if the penitent was mistakenly excused from restitution,

payment is due the third party who loses by the advice.

(e) The Manner of Making Reparation.--If possible, the reparation

should be made in the penitent’s next confession, as this is less

troublesome to all concerned. But if the confessor has wrongly

instructed the penitent in an important matter, he is bound more

probably (after obtaining the penitent’s permission to speak about

confession matter) to retract, even outside of the confessional, if

this can be done without scandal or other serious evil, which would be

rare.

2766. Excuses from the Duty of Repairing Mistakes.--(a) Physical

Impossibility.--If the confessor does not know who the penitent is or

cannot find him, there is nothing to do but to repent over the mistake

and to pray for the penitent that God may provide for him.

(b) Moral Impossibility.--Grave inconvenience excuses, unless the

confessor has been seriously at fault against justice (e.g., by

omitting absolution, by giving incorrect instruction in an important

matter, by neglecting to warn against an occasion of serious sin, by

wrongly advising on restitution of a large sum), or the salvation of a

soul is at stake, as when an unabsolved penitent is dying (see 1797

sqq.)

2767. The Obligation of the Seal of Confession.--(a) Its

Subject.--Primarily the duty of the seal obliges the confessor,

secondarily all others to whom the matter of sacramental confession in

any way becomes known, such as bystanders, interpreters, or those who

have spied into a confession. The penitent on his part is bound to keep

as a natural secret the words of the confessor which the latter would

rightly wish to be kept confidential (e.g., it would not be fair to

excuse oneself in making necessary corrections, by saying that one was

acting under advice of one’s confessor, especially since the confessor

cannot defend himself).

(b) Its Object.--Primarily, the seal extends to all sins confessed,

whether they be light or grave, private or public; and a confessor may

not confirm from his knowledge as confessor what he also knows from

other knowledge. Secondarily, it extends to all that is declared for a

fuller explanation of the sins, such as circumstances, purpose,

occasion, cooperation, and to all those things whose revelation would

endanger the seal or make the Sacrament odious, such as the denial of

absolution, the penance given, the insincerity, impatience or

scrupulosity shown in confessing, the fact that a confession was long

or a general review. Other matters not generally known and which the

penitent reasonably wishes to be confidential (e.g., the fact that he

made his confession, his natural defects of illegitimacy or deafness)

should be kept as natural secrets. But there is no duty of sacramental

or natural silence about matters which the confessor knows from other

sources and which he is free to mention (e.g., facts learned from a

non-sacramental confession made to the priest and others with a view to

its use, or from the confessor’s own perception of a theft committed by

the penitent in the act of confession).

2768. Sins against the Seal of Confession.--(a) Direct violation

happens if a confessor declares, either to the penitent himself or to

another, matter protected by the seal, and with such clearness that

both the penitent and his sin can be recognized. This occurs even

though no names are mentioned, or the penitent is unknown to the

listeners, or is no longer living, or when the listeners do not

perceive that sacramental knowledge is being used. The sin is grave,

and, since the injury to religion and the public is always serious, it

admits of no lightness of matter. The penalty is excommunication most

specially reserved to the Pope (Canon 2369).

(b) Indirect violation happens if a confessor so speaks or acts as to

create a danger of direct violation (e.g., if he speaks so loud in the

confessional that those outside can hear, or if he is suspiciously

silent when the penitent is being commended, or if he warns the parents

of a penitent to be specially watchful of him, or if he refuses to hear

a confession because he knows from a previous confession that the

person is very scrupulous, or if he shows less confidence or regard for

the penitent). The sin admits of lightness of matter, since the danger

of direct violation may be remote; but if there is grave culpability,

suspension or even severer penalties may be inflicted (Canons 2369,

2368).

or indirect violation of the seal, but the confessor’s conduct is such

as to make confession distasteful either to the penitent or to others,

as when a superior is guided in giving his vote or directing his

subject by information gathered from confession. This is forbidden in

Canon 890.

(d) Apparent violation of the seal happens if there is really no direct

or indirect violation of the seal, or unlawful use of confessional

knowledge, but a priest’s language is calculated to arouse a reasonable

suspicion that some such sin is being committed (e.g., if a preacher or

retreat master or writer of moral cases uses illustrations from

confessions heard by him which will excite distrust in his own or other

penitents). Serious scandal and defamation may also be caused by public

statements unfavorable to the morals of a certain city or community or

class.

2769. Special Abuses.--Two abuses to which confession is especially

exposed are defamation and impurity, and hence the law of the Church

provides special safeguards against these dangers (see 2753, 2757,

2759).

(a) Defamation.--The fame of third parties is protected by the law

which forbids the confessor to inquire about the penitent’s accomplice,

the fame of the penitent by the law of the sacramental seal, and the

fame of the confessor by the law which subjects those who bring a false

accusation of solicitation against a confessor to excommunication

specially reserved to the Pope, to retractation, reparation, and severe

penance (Canons 888, n. 2, 889 sqq., 2363).

(b) Impurity.--The danger that a confessor will be tempted to

solicitation by his knowledge of the frailty of a penitent is provided

for by the law which severely commands formal denunciation of those

guilty of solicitation (Canon 904); the danger that a penitent may be

induced to yield to solicitation by a promise to absolve the sin is met

by the law which invalidates absolution of an accomplice (Canon 884).

2770. Absolutio Complicis.--Absolutio complicis in peccato turpi

invalida est praeterquam in mortis periculo (Canon 884).

(a) Objectum legis est peccatum turpe, i.e., quodvis peccatum contra

sextum, consummatum vel non consummatum, colloquiis, aspectibus vel

factis patratum. Necesse est autem quod peccatum sit utrinque certum

(quoad factum et jus), externum, et grave (qua internum et qua

externum). Unde non agitur de peccatis contra alias virtutes, neque de

peccatis luxuriae mere internis vel levibus.

(b) Subjectum de quo in lege est complex seu socius immediatus et

formalis in ipso actu peccati; et sic non sufficit ad complicitatem

cooperatio etiam proxima (1507), nec peccatum mere materiale, quale fit

ab amente, dormiente, ebrio, infante, renitente. Non requiritur tamen

quod compar sit puber vel alius sexus, neque quod confessarius tempore

complicitatis jam inter clericos adscriptus sit.

2771. Effectus Legis de Absolutione Complicis.--(a) Quoad

Absalutionem.--Invalida et illicita est absolutio directa peccati

nondum remissi si extra periculum mortis datur. Est valida sed

illicita: absolutio directa peccati nondum remissi, in periculo mortis

data, quando alius sacerdos confessionem recipere potest; necnon

absolutio indirecta peccati nondum remissi, extra periculum mortis

data, quando poenitens bona fide peccatum reticet. Est valida et licita

absolutio directa peccati nondum remissi, in periculo mortis vel in

gravissima necessitate (utputa urgente praecepto ecclesiastico et divino

confessionis et communionis annuae) data, quando alius sacerdos aut

nullimode aut nonnisi cum gravi incommodo (scil. infamiae, scandali,

periculi confessionis sacrilegae) haberi potest; necnon absolutio

directa peccati jam remissi, etiam extra hoc periculum et hanc

necessitatem facta. Non una tamen est sententia auctorum in

interpretandis dubiis hujus legis, nec omnes conveniunt cum placitis

hic positis, nam de dubiis alii strictius, alii mitius judicant.

(b) Quoad Censuram.--Excommunicatio specialissime reservata S. Sedi

ipso facto incurritur a confessario qui illicite absolvit vel fingit

absolvere, sive directe, sive (quando poenitens ad tacendum inductus

est a confessario ipso) indirecte. Censura non incurritur igitur si

confessio tantum auditur, si poenitens propria sponte peccatum reticet,

si sacerdos dubitat num poenitens complex sit (Canon 2367).

2772. Sacerdos reus delicti sollicitationis in confessione intra mensem

denuntiandus est a poenitente loci Ordinario vel S.C.S. Officii (Canon

904).

(a) Delictum sollicitationis est provocatio, etiam inefficax,

poenitentis eujuscumque ut actum quemcumque gravem contra castitatem

committat. Provocatio fit vel per verba (e.g., declarationes amoris,

invitationes, laudes), per facta (e.g., dona), per sermones (e.g.,

colloquia de turpibus a poenitente confessis), per tractatus (scil.

colloquia de re turpi agenda), per consensum internum-externum

sollicitationi poenitentis datum.

(b) Delictum sollicitationis est provocatio quae ordinem habet ad

confessionem, i.e., quae fit tempore factae confessionis (i.e., inter,

immediate ante, immediate post confessionem), vel tempore confessionis

faciendae (i.e., occasione confessionis petitae a poenitente, praetextu

confessionis falso allegatae a confessario, in loco confessionis cum

confessionis simulatione).

2773. Confessarius debet, graviter onerata ejus conscientia, de onere

denuntiationis poenitentem monere.

(a) Obligatio confessarii gravis est. Sed antequam moneat, serio

consideret utrum poenitens persona fide digna sit, utrum certo constet

de facto, de turpitudine, de gravitate, de ordine ad confessionem,

utrum detur causa excusans (e.g., mors sollicitantis; probabiliter,

ejus plena emendatio per plures annos manifestata; grave damnum

poenitentis quoad vitam, famam, fortunam, nisi gravius damnum simul

immineat bono communi). Si de delicto sollicitationis et de obligatione

poenitentis nullum dubium est, confessarius moneat, etiamsi poenitens

in bona fide sit et praevideatur certo non obtemperaturus, mortis

periculo autem excepto. Si poenitens irrationabiliter renuat

denuntiare, absolvi non potest, sed confessarius de casu consulere

debet Ordinarium.

(b) Obligatio poenitentis etiam gravis est. Denuntiatio facienda est

intra mensem a cognita obligatione., Ordinario sollicitantis, vel loci

delicti, vel poenitentis, personaliter et judicialiter. Poenitens qui

nec comparere nec scribere potest, interea excusatur; sed ille qui

justa causa exemptionis carens scienter omittit denuntiare intra

terminum unius mensis incurrit in excommunicationem latae sententiae

nemini reservatum, non absolvendus nisi postquam obligationi

satisfecerit aut se satisfacturum serio promiserit (Canon 2368, n. 2).

Confessarius non tenetur in se suscipere onus denuntiationis, nisi

secus gravissimum damnum bono publico inferretur.

2774. The Sacrament of Extreme Unction.--As Confirmation perfects

Baptism by bringing to maturity the new life of grace, so Extreme

Unction perfects Penance by strengthening against the spiritual

debility that remains after sin itself has been wiped away.

Confirmation makes ready for the battle of life, Extreme Unction

assists during the struggle of death. The fifth Sacrament is defined:

“A Sacrament of the New Law in which through the anointing with oil and

the prayer of the priest adult persons who are in danger of death

receive health of soul, and also at times health of body.”

(a) The remote matter or element of the Sacrament is oil (James, v, 14,

15). For validity it is required that this be olive oil, blessed by a

bishop or by a priest having special papal delegation, with the special

blessing for the oil of the sick (O. I.); for lawfulness, _sub gravi_

that it be oil blessed the previous Holy Thursday (Canon 734), _sub

levi_ at least that it be blessed by the bishop of the diocese, or, in

case of vacancy, by the neighboring bishop. In necessity the old oils

may be lawfully used, while chrism and the oil of the catechumens may

be used as doubtful matter. Unblessed oils and oils blessed by an

unauthorized priest do not suffice for validity.

(b) The proximate matter is the anointing of the sick man with blessed

oil. In urgent necessity it suffices to anoint one sense, or rather the

forehead; in other cases the various senses should be anointed in the

order given in the Ritual. Each anointing of a double sense should

begin with the right organ (e.g., the right eye) and should be given

with the right thumb in the form of a cross. If one organ is missing

(e.g., a hand amputated), the anointing should be made, if possible,

near to its place (e.g., on the wrist); if there is danger of

contagion, the anointing may be made by means of an instrument, such as

a brush or small stick. The anointing of the reins should always be

omitted and the anointing of the feet may be omitted for any good

reason, such as inconvenience to the dying person.

Latin Church the ordinary form is contained in the words: “_Per istam

sanctam unctionem_, etc. By this holy anointing and His most tender

mercy may the Lord forgive thee whatever sin thou hast committed by

sight (by hearing, by smell, by taste and speech, by touch, by thy

steps). Amen.” The extraordinary rite for use when there is not time to

give all the anointings is bestowed on the forehead in the words: “Per

istam sanctam unctionem et suam piissimam misericordiam indulgeat tibi

Dominus quidquid deliquisti. Amen.” The essential words of the form

are: “Per istam unctionem indulgeat tibi Dominus quidquid deliquisti,”

because they express the intercession and the effect of the rite. It

would probably be a grave sin to omit the reference to the senses in

the ordinary form, as that seems to be a notable part of the form; but

it would be a light sin, apart from contempt or scandal, to omit an

unimportant word such as “Amen.” If there is doubt about the

recipient’s capacity (i.e., whether he has reached the use of reason,

whether he is in danger of death, whether he is already dead, whether

he is impenitent and unwilling to receive the Sacrament), the form

should be conditional. The condition should be “_si es capax_,” not

“_si es dispositus_,” even in the last-mentioned case. For the

Sacrament is given validly even to one who is not well disposed (i.e.,

who lacks repentance) and there is thus the possibility, when validity

is not made dependent on the condition of good disposition, that

sacramental fruitfulness will follow later when impenitence, the

obstacle to the Sacrament’s activity, shall have been removed.

(d) The recipient of the Sacrament is a Catholic who after attaining

the use of reason has come into the danger of death through sickness or

old age. No one is capable of receiving this Sacrament unless he is

baptized, for Baptism is the gateway of the Sacraments (2671); unless

he has reached the use of reason, for the Sacrament is a remedy against

personal sin and supposes that the recipient can or formerly could

distinguish between right and wrong; unless he is in danger of death

through the infirmity of disease or of decrepitude, for St. James

teaches that the anointing is for those who are enfeebled by illness

dangerous unto death. Hence Extreme Unction cannot be administered

validly to the unbaptized, to young children who have not come to the

use of reason, to the perpetually insane, to those who are sick but not

in danger of death, to those who are in danger of death but not sick

(e.g., a strong man going to the gallows or to battle). But the

Sacrament may be administered to children who have not yet made their

first confession, if they are capable of sin, and to the insane who

once had the use of reason. The danger of death need not be immediate,

and hence Extreme Unction may be given when the disease is mortal but

the patient will last for several months or even a year, as in

tuberculosis. Illness includes not only chronic sickness, but also

fatal disorders caused by wounds, accidents, poison. The rule about the

old is that those who have reached sixty years and show some signs of

approaching death, such as great feebleness or fainting spells, even

though they have no special malady, may be anointed; for their old age

itself is a disease.

(e) The minister of Extreme Unction is the priest, since St. James

directs that the presbyters (i.e., the priests) of the Church be called

to anoint the sick. Extreme Unction, unlike Penance, is not exercised

in the form of a judicial process, and hence the power of Orders

suffices for its valid administration, and any priest, even one who

lacks jurisdiction, gives it validly. But for lawful administration

church law prescribes that the minister regularly be the ecclesiastical

superior or spiritual director (i.e., the pastor for his parish, the

head of a clerical religious institute for his house, the parish-priest

or chaplain for a lay religious body, the confessor for nuns), and that

the minister extraordinarily (i.e., in necessity) be any other priest

who has permission, or reasonably presumed permission.

(f) The effects of Extreme Unction are _per se_ an increase of

sanctifying grace, since this is a Sacrament of the Living; _per

accidens_ (i.e., when the recipient is not in the state of grace, but

is in good faith and has attrition) the forgiveness of sins and first

grace. Extreme Unction produces first grace more surely than does

absolution, if the penitent is unconscious, since it does not call for

any external manifestation of contrition; hence the importance of

anointing those who are dying but unconscious. The special benefit of

Extreme Unction is immediate preparation of the soul for entrance to

heaven, though restoration of the health of the body is sometimes

vouchsafed when this is for the spiritual good of the sick person.

Venial sins and the remains of past sins (i.e., the debility left by

them) are removed and the soul is strengthened with confidence as to

things past and future and with peace and resignation as to present

suffering. Since the Sacrament is given for the period of danger of

death, it cannot be repeated during the same danger; but should the

patient recover and relapse into a distinct danger through the same or

another sickness, there arises a new need and the Sacrament may then be

repeated.

2775. Special Duties.--In addition to the duties that are common in all

the Sacraments, the following duties should be noted in reference to

Extreme Unction.

(a) The Recipient.--_Per se_, Extreme Unction is not necessary as a

means to salvation, for sanctifying grace may be had or recovered

without it; but _per accidens_ it would be necessary as a means, if a

dying person were in mortal sin and could not recover grace except

through it. He who omits Extreme Unction unwillingly or for a good

reason (e.g., because he is well prepared for death and cannot get a

priest without very grave inconvenience) does not sin. He who omits the

Sacrament voluntarily and without good reason, is guilty of grave sin

if he acts from contempt, or gives scandal, or exposes himself to

eternal damnation; but if there is no contempt, scandal or danger to

salvation, sin is indeed committed by the neglect at such a crisis of

so important a spiritual aid, but only venial sin, since there is no

grave precept to receive this Sacrament. The recipient of Extreme

Unction should be in the state of grace; and hence, if he has mortal

sin on his conscience, he must beforehand make an act of contrition or

receive absolution with attrition, or, if neither is possible, he must

make an act of attrition. The custom of the Church calls for confession

before Extreme Unction, and divine law commands confession if one is in

mortal sin and in danger of death.

(b) The Minister.--The pastor is gravely bound in justice to give or

have given the Sacrament of Extreme Unction to all his subjects who

reasonably request it; other priests not charged with the spiritual

care of the dying person are held in charity to anoint him, if he has

not received the last rites and cannot otherwise be anointed. It is

clear that sick calls should be attended to promptly, and it would be a

serious matter to delay so long as to put the sick person in danger of

dying without Extreme Unction or of receiving it when he had become

unconscious and could not dispose himself properly. If the person has

been pronounced dead before the priest’s arrival, he should

nevertheless be absolved and anointed conditionally if the last breath

was not long before; because physicians teach that death takes

possession gradually, life lingering in the body for some time after

its external signs have ceased, for about a half hour when the end has

come after long illness, for one or two hours when death is sudden or

accidental. The ceremonies are obligatory under pain of sin, and it is

considered a serious matter to neglect the more notable parts, that is,

without reason to omit all or nearly all the prayers, or to give the

Sacrament without any sacred vestment.

properly decorated place, and should be contained in a vessel of silver

or white metal. Only in exceptional cases is it lawful to keep it in

the rectory (Canon 946). The Catechism of the Council of Trent (page

307) declares that Extreme Unction should form a subject of frequent

instruction. It is important to exhort the people not to delay in

sending for the priest till the sick person has become insensible, nor

to omit to send for him in case of sudden death, since, as already

said, life remains for some time in the body after apparent death.

(d) The People.--All those who are responsible for the good of the

dying person, such as members of the family, physicians, nurses,

relatives, friends, or neighbors, should beware of deceiving him about

his condition and his need of preparation for death; on the contrary,

they should see to it as far as they can, that he receives the last

Sacraments in good time and while he has the full use of his senses,

when the spiritual benefit and the comfort of mind will be of greater

assistance and the bodily cure more likely.

Art. 4: HOLY ORDERS; MATRIMONY

(_Summa Theologica_, Supplement, qq. 34-68.)

2776. The first five Sacraments arc necessary for the spiritual welfare

of individuals, the remaining two, which are the subject of this

Article, are needful, not for each person, but for the Church as a

body. A member of the Church may save his soul though he remains

outside the priesthood and the married state, but the spiritual good of

the Church itself requires both Orders and Matrimony. Without Orders

the Church would be deprived of her rulers, teachers and ministers of

divine things; without Matrimony the family would lack that sacramental

protection which is so important for the Christian home and the right

rearing of members of society.

2777. The Sacrament of Orders.--The spiritual office and power of a

member of the clergy is called Orders on account of the order or rank

of superiority which it gives in the Church. The rite or Sacrament by

which an Order is conferred is strictly called Ordination, and hence it

is more correct to speak of the Sacrament of Ordination than of the

Sacrament of Orders. Ordination may be defined as “a Sacrament of the

New Law in which a member of the clergy receives spiritual power in

reference to the Eucharist and the grace to exercise properly the

duties of his office.”

(a) Orders is conferred only on a member of the clergy. Just as Baptism

is preceded by catechumenate and Matrimony by espousals or engagement,

so is Ordination preceded by tonsure, a ceremony instituted by the

Church whereby a man is separated from the laity and enrolled among

clerics with a view to prepare him for Holy Orders. The candidate for

tonsure must be a male who has received Baptism and Confirmation (_sub

levi_), and who has begun his course of theology; he sins if he

approaches without a divine vocation or with the purpose not to go on

for the priesthood. The privileges of clerics are those of forum and

canon, and they are capable of receiving Orders, jurisdiction and

benefice (Canons 108 sqq). In the reception of tonsure the cleric is

admonished to make his life agree with the garb which he then assumes,

or, in other words, to cultivate the special virtues of his state (see

2596 sqq.).

(b) Ordination confers spiritual power in reference to the Eucharist,

the Sacrament of Sacraments. Just as the sacred vessels of the altar

receive a permanent consecration, so likewise the ministers of the

altar are set apart by Ordination, which confers upon them an indelible

character with the power to exercise higher or lower offices in

reference to the supreme Sacrament and the sole Sacrifice of the New

Law. Hence, an Order once conferred is eternal and the Ordination

cannot be repeated.

increase of holiness. The special feature of the grace of Orders is its

suitability for the duties of the person ordained, for, where God

imposes a special obligation, He confers also a special grace. It is

clear that the duties of the ordained in reference to the real Body of

Christ (i.e., duties as to the Eucharist and divine worship) and the

mystical Body of Christ (i.e., duties to the faithful who receive the

Eucharist and the other Sacraments) call for a high degree of virtue

and a life edifying to all. Hence the need of a special grace in

Ordination.

2778. Distinction of the Orders.--The following distinctions of the

orders or ranks of the clergy should be noted:

(a) an Order is either sacramental or non-sacramental, according as it

was instituted by Christ Himself or by the Church. It is the teaching

of St. Thomas that all of the Orders are sacramental in character, but

there is not the same degree of certainty in each case. As to the

priesthood, there is the certainty of defined dogma; as to the

diaconate (and also episcopal consecration according to many) there is

theological certainty, but no definition of faith; as to the

subdiaconate, and the lower Orders, there is probability;

(b) an Order is Major (sacred) or Minor (non-sacred) according as its

functions are concerned with consecrated or non-consecrated matter in

the celebration of the Eucharist. The Major Orders, therefore, are the

priesthood (whose office is to consecrate the Body and Blood of

Christ), diaconate (whose office is to dispense Communion to the

faithful), and sub-diaconate (whose office is to prepare the bread and

wine of the sacrifice in the consecrated vessels, that is, the chalice

and paten). The Minor Orders are those that prepare the matter of the

Eucharist in non-consecrated vessels (acolythate), or that dispose the

people for the Eucharist by freeing them from the impediments of

demonic influence (exorcistate) or of ignorance (lectorate), or that

exclude unbelievers from participation in the sacred rites

(portership). To the Sacred Orders, on account of their closer approach

to the Eucharist, are annexed the duties of celibacy and of the Divine

Office.

2779. The Hierarchy of Orders and Jurisdiction.--The Orders of the

clergy may be considered, not only in reference to power over the real

Body of Christ (i.e., the Eucharist), but also in reference to power

over the mystical Body of Christ (i.e., the Church). Those who have

power over the members of the Church belong to the hierarchy, and this

is understood in two senses:

(a) the hierarchy of Orders is composed of those who receive in

Ordination a permanent superiority over others in reference to the

worship of God and the sanctification of souls by the ministry of the

Sacraments. From divine institution this hierarchy is composed of the

three ranks of bishops, priests, and deacons; and from ecclesiastical

institution of the lower clergy in Orders. Thus, the deacon is able to

baptize and administer Communion as extraordinary minister; the priest

is the ordinary minister of Baptism and the Eucharist, and only a

priest can act as minister of Penance and Extreme Unction; the bishop

is the minister, not only of the Sacraments mentioned, but also of

Confirmation and Orders;

(b) the hierarchy of jurisdiction is composed of those members of the

Church who receive in their accepted election or canonical commission a

power over the faithful which can be lost or resigned, and which

relates to the instruction and government of subjects in matters of

faith and morals. From divine law this hierarchy is composed of the

Supreme Pontificate and the subordinate Episcopate; from ecclesiastical

law there are other ranks of authority, such as those of parish-priest,

prelate, abbot, archbishop, primate, patriarch and cardinal.

2780. The Matter and Form of the Various Orders in the Latin

Church.--(a) In the Minor Orders the matter consists in the bestowal of

the symbols of office, and the form in the words of ordination that

accompany this bestowal. The porter is ordained when he touches with

his right hand the keys of the church which the bishop presents to him

with the words: “Conduct yourself as one who must give an accounting

for the things that are under those keys”, the reader, when he touches

the lectionary (i.e., Missal, Breviary, Bible) offered him by the

bishop with the form: “Receive this book and announce well the Word of

God, knowing that, if you perform your office faithfully and usefully,

you shall receive a portion with those who from the beginning have been

good ministers of God’s word”; the exorcist, when he touches the book

of exorcisms (e.g., the Ritual, Pontifical or Missal) presented to him

with the words: “Receive and commit to memory and have power to impose

hands on the possessed, whether baptized or catechumens”, the acolyte,

when he touches the symbols of his office (i.e., first the candle and

candlestick, next the empty cruet), while the words are said: “Receive

this candlestick and candle and know that you are deputed to light the

lamps of the church, in the name of the Lord”; “Receive this cruet to

furnish the wine and water for the Eucharist of the blood of Christ, in

the name of the Lord.” “Amen” should be added by the acolyte after each

form.

(b) In the subdiaconate, ordination is given when the candidate touches

the empty chalice and the paten (the Bishop saying: “See what a

ministry is committed to you; I admonish you, therefore, so to conduct

yourselves that you may be pleasing to God”) and the Book of Epistles,

such as Missal or Bible (the Bishop saying: “Receive the Book of

Epistles and have power to read them in the holy Church of God, both

for the living and for the dead. In the name of the Father, and of the

Son, and of the Holy Ghost”).

Nov. 30, 1947 (see AAS, 40-5), determined the essential elements of

ordination to diaconate, priesthood and episcopate. Formerly this had

been a matter of discussion among theologians. In the diaconate

ordination is given by the single imposition of the hands of the Bishop

that occurs in the rite with the words of the “Preface,” of which these

are the essential: “Send into him, We ask, O Lord, the Holy Spirit, by

which he shall be strengthened by the gift of Thy sevenfold grace for

the faithful performance of the work of the ministry.”

(d) The matter of the priesthood is the first imposition of hands of

the Bishop which is made in silence. The form consists in the words of

the “Preface” of which these are the essential and required for

validity: “Give, we ask Thee, omnipotent Father, to this Thy servant

the dignity of the priesthood ...”

(e) In episcopal consecration the matter is the imposition of the

hands of the consecrating Bishop; the form is the “Preface,” the

essential words being: “Fill out in Thy priest the fullness of the

ministry....”

It is a disputed matter whether the episcopacy is a distinct Order from

the priesthood or simply an extension of it. The common opinion favors

the negative side and consequently maintains that the consecration of a

Bishop is not sacramental. Accordingly, the supreme Order of Priesthood

includes the simple priests or presbyters and the high priests or

bishops. The episcopacy confers no new power in reference to the

Eucharist, but it extends the character of the priesthood to new powers

in reference to Christ’s Mystical Body, the Church.

2781. The Minister of Ordination.--(a) For validity it is necessary

that the minister be a consecrated bishop; but the Orders of

ecclesiastical institution (i.e., subdiaconate and Minor Orders) may be

given by a priest authorized by law, or by special indult of the

Apostolic See. Thus, Cardinals, Vicars and Prefects Apostolic, and

Abbots have the power of conferring tonsure and Minor Orders from Canon

239.

(b) For lawfulness it is necessary that the consecrator of a bishop be

the Pope or a bishop designated by him; that the ordainer to other

ranks of the clergy be the proper bishop of the candidate (i.e., the

bishop of his place of origin and residence or of his place of

domicile), or a delegated bishop (i.e., the bishop who has received

dimissorial letters from the proper bishop or religious superior). See

Canons 951-967.

2782. The Special Duties of the Minister.-(a) As to the ordinandus, the

ordaining prelate must be morally certain from positive arguments that

the candidate is suitable according to the Canons; otherwise he would

be guilty of a very grievous sin and would expose himself to the danger

of sharing in the sins of others (I Tim., v. 22; Canon 973, n. 3).

(b) As to the ordination, the minister is bound to observe the law on

time and place, and to follow carefully and exactly the ceremonies of

his own Rite. If anything essential is omitted, it has to be supplied,

absolutely or conditionally, according as there is certain or only

doubtful lack. The omission of an accidental but notable ceremony

(e.g., the anointing of hands) would be seriously culpable (Canons

1002-1009).

2783. The Recipient of Orders.--(a) For validity it is necessary that

the recipient be of the male sex, for the divine law has reserved

sacerdotal and ministerial functions to men, and the church law has

properly followed this example in regard to the Orders that are of

church institution; the recipient must be baptized, for without Baptism

one has no capacity for other Sacraments; if he is an adult, he must

have at least an habitual intention freely formed of receiving the

Order to which he is raised.

(b) For lawfulness it is not sufficient that the recipient be in the

state of grace, since Ordination is not merely a personal matter, but

also a matter of great consequence to the whole Church. The recipient

of Orders takes his place among the representatives and ministers of

the Church, and therefore he should have the special qualities that fit

him for his dignity and office. Intellectually, the ordinandus must be

competent in theological and profane knowledge, and must have made a

satisfactory course of studies (Canons 972, 1364 sqq., 589-591).

According to the Code, first tonsure should not be given before the

study of theology has begun, Minor Orders may be given during the first

and second years of theology, subdeaconship only towards the end of the

third year, deaconship only after the beginning of the fourth year, and

priesthood only after the first half of the fourth year (Canon 976).

Morally, the ordinandus should be of commendable life and have the

internal and external excellence which is supposed by the Order he is

to receive. Virtues to which the Pontifical especially exhorts clerics

at their ordination are love and labor given to the Church and the

things of God’s house (porter), devotion to the Scriptures and sacred

study (lector), conquest of passion (exorcist), the light of good

example and the self-sacrifice of good works (acolyte), temperance,

vigilance, prayerfulness (subdeacon), liberality to the poor, chastity,

fortitude, zeal for preaching the word of God (deacon), elderliness in

dignity, leadership in virtue, and justice in stewardship (priesthood).

No one should be admitted to a Sacred Order who is unable to overcome a

serious habit of sin (especially _in materia turpi_), even though

secret; and if there is doubt about amendment, a test during a suitable

period of time should be made.

2784. Canonical Requirements for Ordination.--(a) Positive requirements

are: proper age (that is, the twenty-first, twenty-second, and

twenty-fourth years completed are necessary for subdeaconship,

deaconship, priesthood, respectively); Confirmation should have been

received before Ordination, for it is suitable that those who are to

strengthen others in the faith should have the character of soldier of

Christ; promotion from Order to Order should be from lower to higher in

proper succession, that fitness may be shown in lesser offices before

the greater are received; an interval must elapse between certain

Orders, which will give to clerics the opportunity to exercise the

powers they have received (e.g., between acolythate and subdiaconate a

year, between subdiaconate and diaconate three months); the candidate

for sacred ordination must have a title or some canonical means of

support (i.e., for secular clergy the title of benefice, or patrimony

or ministerial service; for religious the title of profession, common

life, etc.). The law allows certain dispensations from some of these

requirements (Canons 974 sqq.).

(b) Negative requirements are freedom from certain disabilities

introduced by the Church for the sake of the honor and dignity of the

sacred ministry. Some of these disqualifications are of their nature

permanent, and they are removed only by dispensation or by disposition

of the law (e.g., in certain cases by cessation of the cause, or by

baptism, or by religious profession), and these are known as

irregularities; other disqualifications, which are of their nature

temporary and cease with lapse of time or changes in circumstances, are

known as simple impediments. The effect of disqualification is to make

it unlawful to receive an Order, or to exercise an Order already

received. Irregularities are produced either by deficiency or by

delinquency, but the cause in either case must be certain; and, in case

of delinquency, it must be a personal sin committed after Baptism,

which is mortal, external, and consummated in act. The irregularities

from defect are: illegitimate birth; mental imperfection (such as

epilepsy, insanity, possession); bodily imperfection that makes one

unsuited for the service of the altar, on account of mutilation (e.g.,

those who have lost hand or foot, or thumb or index finger), or of

unsoundness (e.g., the blind, the deaf, the dumb, cripples,

paralytics), or of very noticeable deformity that excites ridicule or

horror (e.g., dwarfs, giants, noseless persons, those who are

hunchbacked); successive bigamy, that is, the fact that one has been

twice validly married, for St. Paul ruled that a cleric should be a man

of not more than one wife (I Tim., iii. 2, 12; Tit., i. 5, 6); infamy

of law, that is, the commission of certain crimes which the law

declares infamous _ipso facto_ or after sentence (such as profanation

of the Eucharist or of graves, violence done to the Pope or a Cardinal,

duelling, simultaneous bigamy, and certain sexual sins); participation

in capital punishment by pronouncing (i.e., as judge or juryman) or

executing the sentence of death. The irregularities from delinquency

are: apostasy, heresy, schism; reception of Baptism from a

non-Catholic; attempt at adulterous or sacrilegious marriage; voluntary

homicide, cooperation in an abortion, mutilation of self or of another,

attempt to commit suicide; unlawful exercise of medicine or surgery by

a cleric with fatal results; unlawful exercise of the powers of Major

Orders by a cleric or layman. The simple impediments are found in the

following: in those who may be weak in faith, namely, persons whose

parents are non-Catholics, or who are themselves converts (I Tim., iii.

6); in those who are prevented by other occupations, namely, persons

held by marriage, business forbidden to clerics, slavery, military

service (II Tim., ii. 4); in those who are actually in bad repute

before the community on account of misconduct (I Tim., iii. 7). See

Canons 983-991.

2785. Duties of Ordinandi According to Canon Law.--(a) Before

Ordination.--Application to the bishop must be made beforehand at an

opportune time, and testimonials of Baptism, Confirmation, Orders

already received, certificates of good character and studies, and

letters from superiors testifying to freedom from impediments and

general fitness must be presented. The candidate must undergo a special

examination and make a spiritual retreat before the day of his

ordination. The profession of faith is made before subdeaconship.

(b) During Ordination.--All the ceremonies should be observed, and

especially the physical touching of the instruments (chalice and paten,

etc.), which seems to be essential in Minor Orders and the

Subdiaconate. In the imposition of the hands in the other Major Orders,

the head of the subject should be touched physically, although even

moral touch is sufficient for validity of the Sacrament (Pius XII,

Apostolic Constitution already cited). The law requires that the

recipients of Major Orders receive Communion, and the obligations seems

to be grave for the new priests, since they celebrate with the bishop.

which the ordaining prelate imposes on the newly ordained subdeacons

and deacons should be taken from the first nocturn of the day, whether

it be feria, feast or Sunday, unless the bishop appoints otherwise. The

three Masses of the Holy Ghost, Blessed Virgin, and for the dead,

imposed on the newly ordained priests, need not be applied for the

bishop’s intention, and a stipend may be taken when they are said; but

it is fitting that they be applied in thanksgiving and for the benefit

of the bishop as well as of the whole Church on earth and in Purgatory.

These prayers and Masses do not seem to oblige under sin, though some

hold them to bind _sub gravi_. On the life duties of the clergy, see

above (2596 sqq.).

2786. Registration of Ordinations.--As in the case of marriage,

ordinations should be registered in a special book and notice of them

(if subdiaconate was received) should be sent to the pastor of the

parish of Baptism. A certificate of ordination is also to be given to

the cleric ordained (Canons 1010, 1011).

2787. The Sacrament of Matrimony.--Marriage in general is defined as

“the conjugal union of man and woman, contracted between two qualified

persons, which obliges them to one another for life.”

(a) The word union may be taken actively for the passing act of

internal and external consent, and then it refers to marriage in its

state of becoming, as it is a contract and (among Christians) a

Sacrament; or it may be taken, as it were passively, for the bond that

results from the mutual consent pledged by the parties, and then it

refers to marriage as a permanent state of life.

(b) The marriage union is conjugal; that is, its end is the procreation

and rearing of children, or the making of a family, and it therefore

gives the right to the natural acts of generation. A contract which has

other ends (e.g., a business agreement of labor or of partnership), or

which excludes procreation (e.g., an agreement of onanistic

concubinage), is not a marriage.

excluded by natural, divine or human law from making a valid contract

of marriage.

(d) Marriage is between two, one man and one woman. This unity of

marriage is its first property, resulting from its nature as a

relationship intended primarily for the propagation of the race and its

proper upbringing, and secondarily for the peace and contentment of the

married couple, their mutual assistance to one another, and their

protection against carnal temptations (299). For polyandry is opposed

to both these ends, and therefore to natural law, while polygamy does

not accord well with the secondary ends of matrimony and is forbidden

for all by the law of Christ (“They shall be two in one flesh,” Matt.,

xix. 3 sqq.). On the permission of polygamy in the later Old Testament

ages, see 303, 311.

(e) Marriage obliges the parties to one another for life. This

indissolubility of marriage is its second property, and also follows

from the natural ends of marriage. For the right propagation of the

human race is a matter that concerns not merely the married couple or

human society, but also God Himself, who is matrimony’s immediate

author and lawgiver, and God has decreed that marriage be unbreakable

except in the few instances allowed by Himself: “What God hath joined

together let no man put asunder” (Matt., xix. 6). Since the good of

marriage is inferior to the good of faith, the divine law permits a

dissolution of the bond in the case known as the Pauline Privilege (I

Cor., vii. 12-15); similarly, in a very few instances where there is a

serious good more important than the preservation of the bond (the

faith of a convert from infidelity, the observance of the counsel of

chastity, the public welfare), and where the bond itself has not the

strength of sacramentality (i.e., in a non-Christian marriage), or has

not been consummated in a Christian marriage, the divine law authorizes

the Church, the representative of God, to decree a dissolution (see

363, 314). Not only are these cases few, but the conditions are strict

(see Canons 1120-1127), and hence these exceptions are no menace to the

ends of marriage. But once consummation has been added to consent in a

Christian marriage, thereby perfecting the natural contract and

extending the sacramental signification from the mystical and severable

union of Christ with the soul by grace to the physical and perpetual

union of Christ with the Church by the Incarnation, the indissolubility

becomes complete and admits of no exception. The bill of divorce under

the Mosaic Law seems to have been a true and complete dissolution of

the marriage tie, but there is good reason to think that it was a

toleration of the Jewish civil code, not a permission given by God. The

valid marriages of infidels as such are not subject to the judgment of

the Church; and the civil authority has no power to dissolve them (even

when they are childless), otherwise individuals and the family and the

State will suffer, as experience proves.

2788. Distinctions.--(a) In reference to validity, marriage may be true

(i.e., validly contracted), or presumed (i.e., taken by the law to be

validly contracted on account of some fact, as when the validity of a

marriage was not attacked during the lifetime of the parties), putative

(i.e., really invalid, but contracted in good faith by at least one of

the spouses and not yet known by both to be certainly null), attempted

(i.e., contracted invalidly in bad faith, at least one of the parties

being aware of an invalidating impediment).

(b) In reference to perfection, marriage is legitimate (when it is

validly contracted between non-baptized persons), ratified or

sacramental (when it is celebrated between baptized persons),

consummated (when the consent given in the contract is subsequently

completed by the conjugal act). It seems that marriage lawfully

contracted between a baptized and a non-baptized person is not ratified

or sacramental, for, as the consent must be mutual, so should the

Sacrament be mutual. But a marriage free from substantial defects is

always a Sacrament, even though the contractants do not wish this, when

it is contracted between Christians, whether they be Catholics or

non-Catholics; and a marriage contracted between non-Christians becomes

a Sacrament on the Baptism of the parties.

celebrated before the pastor and two witnesses), or secret (i.e.,

celebrated before the pastor and two witnesses pledged to secrecy, and

without the publicity the Church ordinarily requires), public (i.e.,

celebrated before pastor and witnesses and with publicity such as

announcement to the people and registration in the usual marriage

book). The secret marriage is also known as a marriage of conscience

(Canons 1104-1107).

(d) In reference to the law under which it is performed, marriage is

either canonical or civil. A purely civil marriage between Catholics is

invalid, as far as the bond is concerned, since their contract, as

being a Sacrament, is subject to the Church. But the civil marriage, as

far as the purely civil consequences are concerned, is a lawful

ceremony, and is obligatory if required by law. A morganatic marriage

is made between two persons of unequal condition (e.g., between a king

and a plebeian woman) on condition that the inferior spouse and progeny

shall not share entirely in the titles and property of the superior

spouse.

2789. The Elements of the Contract of Marriage.--(a) The subject-matter

of the contract is the conjugal right or the lawful power of exercising

with the other party acts suitable for generation.

(b) The ends of the contract are, primarily, the good of the race and

of the children, and secondarily the good of the couple through mutual

assistance and protection in spiritual and temporal matters. To these

general ends may be added others which a particular person has in view,

such as dignity, wealth, honor, lawful pleasure.

in mutual agreement. But if marriage be regarded as a permanent state,

its essence is the bond of union, and consent is the efficient cause

productive of the bond. Marriage consent must have the qualities

(internal, external, mutual, free) that are necessary in every

contract, as explained in 1883.

2790. Requirements for Valid Marriage Consent.--(a) Internal

Consent.--If both or one of the parties internally and positively wills

to exclude marriage, or the right to the conjugal act, or an essential

property of marriage, the contract is null, since there is no purpose

to contract a real marriage. Similarly, if both or one of the parties

negatively (or by lack of all intention) excludes consent, there is no

marriage. It should be noted that he who intends to get a divorce later

on does not intend a permanent union or marriage, whereas he who

intends to be unfaithful or to practise onanism may nevertheless intend

to oblige himself to the duties of fidelity and of the lawful use of

marriage, and therefore to a true marriage. Fictitious consent, unless

a serious reason excuses (e.g., when one is forced under grave fear to

marry, when one becomes aware of a diriment impediment at the altar and

cannot retire without great scandal), is a mortal sin, as being a lie

in a very important matter and an injustice. If the other party was

deceived, the party guilty of feigned consent is bound to make

reparation for the damage done, and, unless the marriage has become

impossible or inadvisable, the means of reparation should be a genuine

consent revalidating the marriage. This is especially true when there

is a conflict between the internal and the external forums on account

of the inability to establish juridically the nullity of the invalid

marriage.

(b) External Consent.--Both as contract and as Sacrament, matrimony

requires some sensible manifestation of the internal consent. Since the

contract of marriage between Christians falls under the jurisdiction of

the Church, the manner of expressing the consent is regulated by Canon

Law. The solemnities required for valid and lawful marriage will be

treated below in 2826, 2827.

one is obliged by a contract without his consent. But mutuality does

not imply simultaneity, for, if the previous consent given by one party

continues, the subsequent consent given by the other is joined to it

and the consent becomes mutual.

(d) Free Consent.--If every contract must be deliberate and voluntary,

this is especially true in the case of marriage, since it entails very

heavy duties and its obligations are lifelong (cfr. 2195). In marriage

there must be full and perfect consent, though it is not necessary that

one think expressly on the essentials of the contract when assenting to

it.

2791. Defects in Consent.--Consent supposes sufficient knowledge, and

hence it may be vitiated by a defect as to knowledge.

(a) Mental Derangement.--Those who are not in possession of their

mental faculties cannot marry, whether the derangement be habitual

(e.g., idiots, the completely insane, monomaniacs on the subject of

marriage) or actual (e.g., infants, those who are completely drunk or

doped, the hypnotized or delirious, somnambulists). But defectives who

are not unbalanced all the time or on all subjects, may be able now and

then to realize the meaning of marriage and to give deliberate consent,

though the presumption is against them. Those whose mentality is of a

low grade, but who are able to judge and reason correctly (e.g., stupid

persons, the deaf and dumb, or blind), and those who have some little

fanaticism or eccentricity are not excluded; otherwise very few of

either sex could marry.

(b) Ignorance.--Substantial ignorance, or the absence of knowledge

about the essentials of marriage (viz., that it is a permanent

association of man and woman for the purpose of raising children of

their own), makes the contract null, for one does not consent to what

one does not know. Accidental ignorance, on the contrary, does not

nullify, for he who understands the main facts about marriage can

intend to contract it as others do, even though he does not know its

details or secondary features. Ignorance invalidates marriage,

therefore, if one of the parties does not know that marriage is meant

for the procreation of children or that children are procreated by

carnal intercourse; but it does not invalidate if the parties are

ignorant about physiology or scientific explanations. Substantial

ignorance in persons of marriageable age (especially young women) is

not uncommon even in these days, but it is not presumed after puberty

(Canon 1082, Sec.2).

the contract nullifies, and hence a substantial error about the person

with whom one is contracting makes marriage of no effect (e.g., if

Titus thinks he is marrying Claudia, but is really marrying her twin

sister, Sempronia; if Balbus intends to marry Caia only on condition

that she is a virgin and she is not a virgin; if Julius intends to

marry the woman who is present solely as differentiated by a personal

or individual characteristic which he mistakenly believes her to

have, such as seniority among her sisters). Error which does not

prevent essential consent does not nullify the contract. Hence, a mere

accidental error about the other party (e.g., Titus marries Claudia,

thinking she is rich, whereas she is poor, and he would never have

married her had he known her poverty) does not make marriage null,

though the Church makes the marriage of no effect when a slave is

married in the belief that he or she is free (Canon 1083, Sec.2, n, 2).

A mere speculative error about the properties of marriage (e.g., if one

believes that marriage may be lawfully dissolved for adultery) or about

the validity of one’s own marriage (e.g., if the bride erroneously

believes that the marriage she is contracting is null) does not deprive

the contract of its force, if there is really a purpose to marry as

best one may; for such an error does not act upon the will or take away

consent.

2792. Forced Consent.--Consent also supposes self-determination, and

hence in certain cases force or fear makes a marriage null and unlawful.

(a) Effect on Validity.--Coercion nullifies marriage from natural law,

when overpowering physical might extorts an external assent, or when

moral violence so terrifies as to unsettle the reason; from church law

at least, when being grave, external and unjustly caused, it compels

one to marry in order to escape the evil it inflicts or threatens. In

other cases fear does not void marriage, even though it be the cause of

the contract, as when the fear is slight, or when it is induced by

shipwreck or by the fear of sin, or when a seducer marries only because

he is threatened with prosecution unless he marries the girl whom he

seduced.

(b) Effect on Lawfulness.--He who by intimidation impels another to

marry, sins gravely if the fear is unjust and grave, or unjust and

productive of serious evils; he sins venially if the fear, though

unjust, is light and not productive of serious evils; he sins not at

all; if the fear is justly caused, unless he offends charity by his

manner of acting; revengeful spirit, etc. He who marries knowing that

the other party is forced into the contract, is guilty of serious

injustice; and he who marries unwillingly, but with the purpose to live

as if he were validly married, sins gravely by his will to live in

impurity.

2793. Conditional Consent.--Conditional consent is that in which the

agreement to marriage is made dependent on some fact or event.

(a) A condition makes marriage invalid if it neutralizes consent (e.g.,

if the condition is _de praesenti_ but unfulfilled; if it is _de

futuro_ and against the substance of marriage; if it is impossible but

seriously added); it suspends marriage if it is _de futuro_, possible,

and not against the substance of marriage; it neither nullifies nor

suspends if it is _de praesenti_ or _de praeterito_ and fulfilled.

In law the presumption is that _de futuro_ necessary or impossible

conditions and shameful conditions are not serious, or are modes

rather than conditions (see 1886), and of course in the external forum

invalidity on account of a condition has to be proved. Conditions

against the substance of marriage are such as deny essential conjugal

rights or duties (i.e., the right to have conjugal intercourse,

the duty of fidelity to the consort, of loyalty to the bond); but

they should not be confused with the purpose to violate marriage

engagements, or with a resolution, or a vow, or a pact in the form of a

mode, not to make use of the right to conjugal intercourse.

(b) A condition added to marriage consent is gravely sinful, unless

there is a very urgent reason for it; otherwise most serious evils

would result. Moreover, there is responsibility in justice for culpable

damages, as when one party gives consent conditionally without the

knowledge or against the will of the other party. A suspensive

condition (e.g., “if my parents will consent”) is regularly unlawful

without the bishop’s permission, and marriage rights may not be used in

a marriage dependent on a condition whose fulfillment is not known to

the parties. It is unlawful to make a vow or promise of chastity in the

married life unless there is moral certainty that it will be kept.

2725. The Fruits of Repentance.--(a) Every sin, no matter how grievous,