Whether It Is Lawful for a Bishop to Have Property of His Own?
Objection 1: It would seem that it is not lawful for a bishop to have
property of his own. For our Lord said (Matt. 19:21): "If thou wilt
be perfect, go sell all [Vulg.: 'what'] thou hast, and give to the
poor . . . and come, follow Me"; whence it would seem to follow that
voluntary poverty is requisite for perfection. Now bishops are in the
state of perfection. Therefore it would seem unlawful for them to
possess anything as their own.
Obj. 2: Further, bishops take the place of the apostles in the
Church, according to a gloss on Luke 10:1. Now our Lord commanded the
apostles to possess nothing of their own, according to Matt. 10:9,
"Do not possess gold, nor silver, nor money in your purses";
wherefore Peter said for himself and the other apostles (Matt.
19:27): "Behold we have left all things and have followed Thee."
Therefore it would seem that bishops are bound to keep this command,
and to possess nothing of their own.
Obj. 3: Further, Jerome says (Ep. lii ad Nepotian.): "The Greek
_kleros_ denotes the Latin _sors._ Hence clerics are so called either
because they are of the Lord's estate, or because the Lord Himself is
the estate, i.e. portion of clerics. Now he that possesses the Lord,
can have nothing besides God; and if he have gold and silver,
possessions, and chattels of all kinds, with such a portion the Lord
does not vouchsafe to be his portion also." Therefore it would seem
that not only bishops but even clerics should have nothing of their
own.
_On the contrary,_ It is stated (XII, qu. i, can. Episcopi de rebus):
"Bishops, if they wish, may bequeath to their heirs their personal or
acquired property, and whatever belongs to them personally."
_I answer that,_ No one is bound to works of supererogation, unless
he binds himself specially thereto by vow. Hence Augustine says (Ep.
cxxvii ad Paulin. et Arment.): "Since you have taken the vow, you
have already bound yourself, you can no longer do otherwise. Before
you were bound by the vow, you were free to submit." Now it is
evident that to live without possessing anything is a work of
supererogation, for it is a matter not of precept but of counsel.
Wherefore our Lord after saying to the young man: "If thou wilt enter
into life, keep the commandments," said afterwards by way of
addition: "If thou wilt be perfect go sell" all "that thou hast, and
give to the poor" (Matt. 19:17, 21). Bishops, however, do not bind
themselves at their ordination to live without possessions of their
own; nor indeed does the pastoral office, to which they bind
themselves, make it necessary for them to live without anything of
their own. Therefore bishops are not bound to live without
possessions of their own.
Reply Obj. 1: As stated above (Q. 184, A. 3, ad 1) the perfection of
the Christian life does not essentially consist in voluntary poverty,
but voluntary poverty conduces instrumentally to the perfection of
life. Hence it does not follow that where there is greater poverty
there is greater perfection; indeed the highest perfection is
compatible with great wealth, since Abraham, to whom it was said
(Gen. 17:1): "Walk before Me and be perfect," is stated to have been
rich (Gen. 13:2).
Reply Obj. 2: This saying of our Lord can be understood in three
ways. First, mystically, that we should possess neither gold nor
silver means that the preacher should not rely chiefly on temporal
wisdom and eloquence; thus Jerome expounds the passage.
Secondly, according to Augustine's explanation (De Consens. Ev. ii,
30), we are to understand that our Lord said this not in command but
in permission. For he permitted them to go preaching without gold or
silver or other means, since they were to receive the means of
livelihood from those to whom they preached; wherefore He added: "For
the workman is worthy of his meat." And yet if anyone were to use his
own means in preaching the Gospel, this would be a work of
supererogation, as Paul says in reference to himself (1 Cor. 9:12,
15).
Thirdly, according to the exposition of Chrysostom [*Hom. ii in Rom.
xvi, 3, we are to understand that our Lord laid these commands on His
disciples in reference to the mission on which they were sent to
preach to the Jews, so that they might be encouraged to trust in His
power, seeing that He provided for their wants without their having
means of their own. But it does not follow from this that they, or
their successors, were obliged to preach the Gospel without having
means of their own: since we read of Paul (2 Cor. 11:8) that he
"received wages" of other churches for preaching to the Corinthians,
wherefore it is clear that he possessed something sent to him by
others. And it seems foolish to say that so many holy bishops as
Athanasius, Ambrose, and Augustine would have disobeyed these
commandments if they believed themselves bound to observe them.
Reply Obj. 3: Every part is less than the whole. Accordingly a man
has other portions together with God, if he becomes less intent on
things pertaining to God by occupying himself with things of the
world. Now neither bishops nor clerics ought thus to possess means of
their own, that while busy with their own they neglect those that
concern the worship of God.
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