i 7 8 



THE MEANS OF GRACE 



ual welfare of his penitents. 1 Hence arises the 

 strict obligation of either giving sacramental ab- 

 solution or denying or deferring the same accord- 

 ing to the dictates of conscience. 2 



I. When Absolution Should Be Given. — 

 The confessor is bound in strict justice, and under 

 pain of mortal sin, to absolve all properly dis- 

 posed penitents who confess to him; for every 

 Catholic who is truly sorry for his sins has a 

 right to the Sacrament of which absolution is an 

 essential part. 3 The presumption, as we have 

 seen before, is always in favor of the penitent, 

 and unless a confessor has serious reasons for 

 assuming the contrary, he should act on the ethi- 

 cal principle that every man must be presumed 

 to be good until or unless he is proved to be bad 

 (nemo pracsumitur mains nisi probetur). All 

 that is necessary is to have moral certainty that 



1 i Cor. IV, i-2.— St. Thomas, 

 Summa Theol., 3a, Suppl., qu. 18, 

 art. 4. 



2 Rit. Rom., tit. 3, c. 1, n. 22: 

 "Videat diligenter sacerdos, quando 

 et quibus conferenda vel deneganda 

 vel differcnda sit absolutio, ne ab- 

 solvat eos, qui talis beneficii sunt 

 incapaces." 



3 Gury, Comp. Theol. Mor., II, n. 

 467: "Absolutio concedi debet ex 

 iustitia et sub gravi omni poenitcnti 

 rite confesso et legitime disposito. 

 Ratio est, quia in ipso confessionis 

 actu initus est quidam quasi-contrac- 

 tus sacer, vi cuius poenitens rite 

 confessus et legitime dispositus ha- 



bet ius ad sacramentum suscipien- 

 dum. Secus enim onus intolerabile 

 sine iustS causa poenitcnti impone- 

 retur, scilicet, ut apud alium con- 

 fessionem instituat, quin confidere 

 tuto possit, se ab isto novo confes- 

 sario absolutioncm esse acccpturum. 

 Praeterea hoc etiam exigit finis in- 

 stilutionis sacramenti et tribunalis 

 poenitentiae, quod miscricordiae im- 

 pcrticndae causa a Christo institu- 

 turn est. Sacerdos igitur absolu- 

 tionem poenitenti disposito dene- 

 gando iniuste ageret, potestate da- 

 vium abuteretur et odiosum red- 

 deret sacramentum." 



