1. New Testament: Commission to Peter; Paul on Excommunication; Jas 4:15: Confess your sins to one another

 2. Public Restoration of Notorious Sinners; “Great/Church/Public Penance”:
  a) Intercession of Martyrs;  Perpetua
  b) Bishop's Reconciliation Cyprian - GREAT VARIETY

 3. Nicea canons 8 - 13 [FIXED PUBLIC penances enjoined for apostasy]

Basil's [PUBLIC] Canonical Penances: FIXED but adaptable

 4. FIFTH and SIXTH CENTURY PRACTICE

Monastic emphasis on (1) inner transformation, (2) lifestyle of penitance, (3) charity towards neighbor rather than fixed, liited acts

 5. PENITENTIALS; Celtic, Burchart,

 6. FOURTH LATERAN COUNCIL 1215

 7. LATER PENITENTIALS: John of Flamborough [Q. & A.] (1210) and Lichfield/Coventry Tract on Hearing Confessions (1230)

 8. AQUINAS on PENANCE as VIRTUE

 9. The VIRTUE of PENITENCE

10. TRENT; Borromeo's Milan Penitential; DeSales; Ligouri

11. (1950) VERBAL ABSOLUTION & COMMUTATION

....x....  ’ “”.

Depuis: The Christian Faith

CHAPTER XVI
RECONCILIATION AND THE ANOINTING OF THE SICK


The beginning of the Christian vocation is marked by a call to repentance, to metanoia, linked with the promise of forgiveness, and leading to God's kingdom. Thus, repentance has its first place in the initiation to the Christian life; but it is not limited to it. It is called for even after baptism and it always includes the assurance of God's mercy.
There is, however, a difference between the first turning to God and the reeonciliation of those who have fallen into sin after baptism. The first forgiveness is given in the birth to a new existence; it coincides with a person's entrance into the Chureh, the communion of those who believe and have life in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. The Christian's new situation after baptism gives to sin and repentanee a nezu dimension: both affect a human being's relation not only to God but also to the Church. Sin remains, no doubt, an offence against the Creator and Saviour; but it also implies an inner dissociation from the spiritual communion with God's people. Similarly, repentanee requires, together with a return to God, the desire to share once again in the life of the community. Forgiveness eomes fronr God's mercy but ineludes the re-admission into the Church's life. From the earliest times this has been coneretely apparent in the faet that a grave offence was sanctioned by the exclusion from the Eueharist, and forgiveness signified by the re-admission to the saerificial banquet.
Hence the doctrine of sacramental penanee must take into account two distinct yet closely interwoven realities: firstly, the inner renewal of the sinner whose relation to God, severed by sin, is restored in conversion and repentanee; seeondly, the ecelesial diseipline by whieh the reconciliation of the sinner takes place within the Christian community.
No other sphere of the Church's life has, perhaps, undergone through the centuries such radical changes as has the penitential discipline. The patristic period was eharacterised by the practiee of public penance. Having been excluded from the community, the sinner was reconeiled after a period of penance; the reeonciliation was granted

654 THE CHRISTIAN FAITH RECONCILIATION AND THE ANOINTING OF THE SICK 655

only once in a life-time and therefore was frequently postponed to the time of death. Some rigoristic groups, however, denied altogether the power of the Church to remit sins; others made the demands for reconciliation too exacting. Hence the early ecclesiastical documents had to be concerned with the Church's right to forgive; they stressed the obligation to grant forgiveness at least at the time of death.
The documents of the early Middle Ages reflect the transition to a new penitential system, which gradually led to the present practice. With the fourth Lateran Council the general framework of the penitential discipline, including confession at least once a year, was settled.
Most documents reflect the theology of sacramental penance progressively developed by scholastic theology. It took its specific orientation at the time of the pre-Reformation period. Thus, in the Council of Trent, emphasis was laid on the acts of the penitent and on the Church's sacrarnental action; but the relation of sin and forgiveness to the community of the faithful was not stressed. In recent years, however, the renewed ecclesiology which the Second Vatican Council made its own once again brought to the fore the relation of sin and reconciliation to the life of the Christian community.
The introduction to the Ordo Paenitentiae (1973) and the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation (1984) elaborate on the themes of sin, reconciliation and the forms of celebrating sacramental reconciliation. For sin, see chapter XX.
The anointing of the sick is closely related to penance. Classical theology conceived it as the Christian's final preparation and purification for the heavenly glory, according to the prevalent interpretation given to this sacrament during the middle Ages. The biblical text on which it is based (James 5.14f), however, already testified to the fact that it is ordained to the healing of both soul and body. A certain ambiguity has long prevailed in the ecclesiastical documents concerning this sacrament. Early texts witness to its practice in the early Church as an anointing of the sick; the documents of the Middle Ages and the Council of Trent conceive it ntore as "extretne unction", i.e., as the sacrament of the dying, though it is also called "saered anointing of the siek". Once again it is the merit of the Second Vatican Council to have restored the more ancient tradition of this sacrament of the sick. The general introduction to the Ordo unctionis infirmorum (1972) gives a more balanced understanding and practice of this sacrament.

Thus the main points of doctrine in the Church documents on sacramental reconciliation and anointing of the sick are the following:
Reconciliation
The Church must herself be reconciled through dialogue, catechesis and the celebration of the sacraments: 1673, 1674, 1675, 1676b.
The Church has the power to forgive sins: 21, 25, 1601, 1615, 1616,
1617, 1643, 1660 / 46.47, 1943, 1979. Penance is a sacrament instituted by Jesus Christ: 28, 32, 1305, 1311, 1612, 1615, 1617, 1641, 1943. It is distinct from baptism as a judicial act: 1618, 1619, 1642, 1944. Sacramental penance is necessary: 1429, 1610, 1611/20, 1623, 1626, 1646, 1944, 1979.
The Church must offer reconciliation at least at the time of death: 1602, 1604.
On the part of the penitent are required contrition, confession and satisfaction: 1612, 1614/5.14, 1620, 1644, 1944.
Contrition, its nature and necessity: 1612, 1614/6.7.11.12.14, 1622, 1645, 1944.
Through perfect contrition sins are forgiven: 1623.
Imperfect contrition, i.e., attrition, is a sufficient disposition for confession and is salutary: 1614/6.7, 1624, 1645.
Confession of all mortal sins committed after baptism is required: 1610, 1611 / 20, 1612, 1614 / 8.9, 1625, 1626, 1646-1648, 1670, 1676c, 1944.
It must be practised at le:ast once a year: 1608, 1670.
Confession should be private: 1606, 1608, 1609, 1672.
Satisfaction, its need and meaning: 1611/21, 1612, 1630-1634, 1652-1655, 1944.
On the part of the Church sacramental absolution is required: 1612, 1614 / 10, 1620.
It is a judicial act: 1628, 1649, 1676d.
The confessor must have the requisite qualities: 1676b.
Formula of absolution: 1671.
Cases can be reserved: 1611/25, 1614/13, 1629, 1651.
The minister of the sacrament of penance is the priest, authorised by the bisltop: 1605, 1611/20.21, 1612, 1614/12.13, 1627, 1629, 1650, 1707, 1714, 1740.
Role of penitent: 1669b.
Norms of general absolution are to be followed: 1670, 1676e.

656 THE CHRISTIAN FAITH RECONCILIATION AND THE ANOINTING OF THE SICK 657

The fruit of sacramental penance is the reconciliation with God: 1306, 1612, 1614/10, 1621, 1943f, 1980; and with the Church: 1662, 1667, 1669a.
Not all temporal punishment is remitted: 1630, 1652, 1944, 1980. Various forms of doing penance: 1669.
The Church asks pardon for the sins of the past: 1677a-e, 1678, 1679, 1680b.
Penance and conversion: 1680a. Anointing of the Sick

It is a true sacrament: 28, 32, 1305, 1311, 1635, 1636, 1656, 1660/ 48;
instituted by Christ: 1311, 1636, 1637, 1656; 1668a.
The death and resurrection of Christ are the source of the sacrament's power: 1668b.
It is promulgated by St. James: 1636, 1656.
It is administered by an anointing with oil accompanied by a prayer: 1603, 1613, 1636, 1658, 1668.
The minister of the sacrament is the priest: 1603, 1613, 1659.

THE FIRST GENERAL COUNCIL OF NICAEA (325)
Many local Councils of the early centuries dealt with the reconciliation of sinners, e.g., Carthage (251 and 252) at the time of the Decian persecution, Elvira in Spain (c. 300-303) during the persecution of Diocletian, the general Council of the Western Church in Arles (314), the Synod of Ancyra (314). Great differences as regards practical norms of the reconciliation of apostates and other public sinners are found in these Councils. Yet in the general Council of Nicaea a consensus on the basic attitudes was reached. This gathering of 318 bishops took a definite stand against Novatianism, which denied the power of the Church to forgive sins; against rigoristie practices it also decided that reconciliation must not be denied at the time of death, though with the proviso that in case of recovery such persons would be ranked among the penitents.
(The reconciliation of Novatians)
1601 Canon 8: As to those who call themselves Cathars, i.e., 127 the "pure" [the Novatians], if they come to the Catholic
and apostolic Church, this holy and great Synod has decided that after receiving the imposition of hands they remain in the ranks of the clergy. They must, however, above all promise in writing to accept and follow the doctrines of the Catholic and apostolic Church, to have communion with 'digamists' [people living in a second marriage] and with those who have lapsed in persecution, for whose reconciliation provision has been made and a time has been fixed.
(Reconciliation of the dying and viaticum)
1602 Canon 13: As to those who are departing from this life, 129 the old canonical law is now to be kept: anyone about
to die should not be deprived of the ultimate and most necessary viaticum. If, after having been reconciled and received again into the fellowship, one should recover one's health, such a one should be placed in the ranks of those who share only in the communion of prayer. In general, to anyone who is departing from this life and asks to partake of the Eucharist the bishop after investigation should grant it.

INNOCENT I
LETTER TO DF.CENTIUS, BISHOP OF GUBBIO (416)
This letter intends merely to clarify practical points regarding the administration of the anointing of the sick, viz., who is to administer it; but

in reality it sums up the contemporary teaching. It links the anointing with the text of James; the oil is blessed by the bishop; it is used, apart from the sacramental rite, also for other purposes; the anointing is done by bishops or priests; it is called a'sacrament' which, however, must not be understood in the later technical sense as one of the seven sacraments. Still, the fact that those who undergo penance and hence are excluded from the Eucharist cannot receive it, indicates that it is considered as something more than a pious custom.
(On the anointing of the sick)
1603 [Your next question] concerns the text from the epistle
216 of the blessed apostle James: "Are any among you sick?
They should call for the elders of the Church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven" [James 5:14]. This must undoubtedly be accepted and understood as referring to the oil of Chrism, prepared by the bishop, which can be used for anointing not only by priests but also by all Christians whenever they themselves or their people are in need of it. The question whether the bishop can do what undoubtedly can be done by priests seems superfluous, for priests are mentioned simply because bishops are prevented by other occupations and cannot visit all the sick. But if a bishop is in a position to do so and thinks it proper, he, to whom it belongs to prepare the Chrism, can himself without hesitation visit the sick to bless them and anoint them with Chrism. But it may not be used on those undergoing penance for it is of the nature of a sacrament. How could one think that one kind of sacrament should be allowed to those to whom the rest is denied?
 

Add Celestine from bottom of p. 658

(Reconciliation at the time of death)
1604 It came to our notice that penance is denied to the dying, 236 and the desire of those who in the hour of death wish to
be helped by this remedy for their souls is not fulfilled. We confess to be horrified that anyone should be so impious as to despair of God's mercy, as if he could not succour one who takes refuge in him at any time and liberate him or her who is oppressed by the weight of sins, from the burden of which one wishes to be freed. What else is this but to inflict death on the dying, and by one's cruelty to kill his/her soul that it may not be absolved? Because God is most ready with his assistance, he adds this promise to the invitation to penance: "On whatever day sinners will turn to me, their sins will not be remembered against them" (cf. Ez 33:12 and 16 Vulg].[...] Since God is the knower of the heart, at no time must penance be denied to one who asks for it.
LEO I
LETTER TO THEODORE, BISHOP OF FREJUS (452)
This great Pope also takes up the doctrinal and pastoral problems of the penitential discipline, mainly the need to offer reconciliation to the dying. In this letter, he explains the role of the priest in reconciliation. His role is indispensable. lt is described by Leo as 'supplication', which reflects the consciousness of the early Church that in forgiving sins the priest does not act in his own right but carries out the mediating mission of Christ. Yet this supplication is not merely a personal prayer of the priest, but the official intercession of the Church who has the mandate to lead sinners through penance to reconciliation with God.
(The priest's role in reconciliation)

CELESTINE I 1605 God's manifold mercy comes to the aid of human beings LETTER TO THE BISHOPS OF VIENNE AND 308 who have fallen so that the hope of eternal life may be NARBONNE (428) restored not only through the grace of baptism but also

Reconciliation at the time of death remained controversial on various grounds: 1) suspicions concerning the sincerity of those in danger of death, as they seemed to seek absolution only out of fear; 2) the need for works of satisfaction which seemed indispensable for reconciliation. In this official letter Pope Celestine insists on offering reconciliation to the dying who ask for it. His letter reflects a great pastoral concern for the faithful in the decisive hour of their death, and an absolute trust in God's mercy.

through the remedy of penance. Thus, those who have violated the gifts of their new birth can come to the forgiveness of their crimes by a judgment in which they condemn themselves. These remedies of the divine goodness have been so ordained that God's forgiveness cannot be obtained except through the supplication of the priests. For "the one mediator between God and humankind, the man Jesus Christ" [1 Tim 2:5] gave to

660 THE CHRISTIAN FAITH RECONCILIATION AND THE ANOINTING OF THE SICK 661


those who hold authority in the Church the power to grant the
discipline of penance to those who confess and, after they have
been purified through salutary satisfaction, to admit them to the
communion of the sacraments through the door of reconciliation.
LE'1"1ER TO THE BISHOPS OF ROMAN RURAL
DISTRICTS (459)
In this letter, the same Pope deals with the secrecy required in confession to safeguard the reputation of the penitent; the practice is presented as apostolic tradition.
(Confession in secret)
1606 I order that all measures be taken to eradicate the 323 presumptuous deviation from the apostolic rule through
an illicit abuse of which I have learned of late. In the procedure of penance, for which the faithful ask, there should be no public confession of sins in kind and number read from a written list, since it is enough that the guilt of conscience be
revealed to the priests alone in secret confession. Though such fulness of faith seems praiseworthy which out of the fear of God
is not afraid of shame before human beings, yet not all sins are such that those who ask for penance would not fear them to become publicly known. Hence this objectionable practice must
be removed lest many be kept away from the remedies of penance, either out of shame or for fear that their enemies rnay com.e to know of facts which could bring harm to them through
legal procedures. For that confession is sufficient which is first
offered to God, then also to the priest whose role is that of an intercessor for the sins of the penitents. Finally a greater number
will be induced to penance only if the conscience of the penitent is not made public for all to hear.
THE THIRD COUNCIL OF TOLEDO (589)
The llth canon of this regional Council is of particular interest as it belongs to a period of transition. It sternly reasserts the old penitential order with its basic structure of exclusion from the community, satisfaction through a protracted period of time, and finally reconciliation. Ever since Hermas, this way of penance was granted only once in a life-time. The Council reflects the new practice of granting reconciliation to penitents as often as they ask for it, according to a new code of canons. The new practice had eome from Ireland and England to France, and from there had spread also to Spain. The text is found in Mansi, IX, 995.

(The old penitential system against the new procedure)
1607 It came to our knowledge that in some Churches in
Spain people go through the discipline of penance for their sins, not according to the canons but in a most shameful manner, viz., as often as they happen to fall into sin they ask for reconciliation from the priest. To eradicate this execrable presumption this holy Council commands that penance be granted according to the old canons, which means that [the priest] first suspends from the communion the person who repents of one's deed, that he lets the person come frequently to the imposition of hands along with the other penitents, that after he or she has completed the time of satisfaction with the approval of the priest, the priest restores the person to communion. But those who fall back into their former vices, either during the time of penance or after reconciliation, should be condemned in accordance with the severity of the earlier canons.
THF. FOURTH LATERAN GENERAL COUNCIL (1215)
This Council is a landmark in the history of ecclesial penance. In its Symbol it re-asserts the power of the Church to forgive sins, against the anti-clerical sects of the Albigensians and the Waldensians (cf n. 21). Concerning the discipline of penance it prescribes as a minimum the annual reception of the Eucharist. Such a legislation was called for, once the possibility of repeated absolution was generally accepted (cf n. 1607i). The rule of annual confession puts an end to the many fluctuations of the previous centuries. The Council also exhorts the priests to fulfil their spiritual and pastoral office in the administration of sacramental penance (cf. DS 813); finally it puts strict sanctions on the breach of the seal of sacramental confession.
(The rule of annual confession)
1608 Every faithful of either sex who has reached the age of 812 discretion should at least once a year faithfully confess
all one's sins in secret to one's own priest. They should strive as far as possible to fulfil the penance imposed on them, and with reverence receive at least during Easter time the sacrament of the Eucharist.[...] But if anyone wishes for good reasons to confess one's sins to another priest, one must first ask and obtain permission from one's own priest because otherwise that priest has no power to bind or loose him or her.


662 THE CHRISTIAN FAITH RECONCILIATION AND THE ANOINTING OF THE SICK 663

(The seal of confession)
1609 Let [the confessor] take absolute care not to betray the
814 sinner through word or sign, or in any other way
whatsoever. In case he needs expert advice he may seek it without, however, in any way indicating the person. For we decree that he who presumes to reveal a sin which has been manifested to him in the tribunal of penance is not only to be deposed from the priestly office, but also to be consigned to a closed monastery for perpetual penance.
THE GENERAL COUNCIL OF CONSTANCI:
CONDEMNATION OF ERRORS OF
WYCLIF AND HUS (1415)
Wyelif in England (d. 1384) and Hus in Bohemia (d. 1415, burned at the stake) were the forerunners of the Reformation. In accordance with their doctrine of the Church (ef n. 807/8i) and the sacraments (cf n. 1303i), they maintained that the forgiveness of sins is obtained not through the ecclesiastical authority but simply by the contrition of the heart.
(Error of Wyclif condemned)
[1610] 7. If a person is duly contrite, any exterior confession
1157 is superfluous and useless

MARTIN V
BULL INTER CUNCTAS (1418)
On this document, see n. 1304i.
(Questions proposed to the followers of Wyclif and Hus)
1611/20 Whether he believes that, apart from heartfelt 1260 contrition, if a qualified priest is available, a Christian
is bound by a necessity of salvation to confess only to him, and not to one or more laypersons, however good and devout they may be.
1611/21 Whether he believes that a priest, in the cases 1261 permitted to him, can absolve from sin a sinner who
has confessed and is contrite, and impose a penance on him or her.
1611/25 Whether he believes that the jurisdictional authority

1265 of the Pope, of an archbishop and bishop, in loosing and binding is greater than the authority of a simple priest, even if he has the care of souls.
THE GENERAL COUNCIL OF FLORENCE
DECREE FOR THE ARMENIANS (1439)
On this document see n. 1305i. The decree proposes an interpretation of sacramental penance along the lines of Thomas Aquinas' theology. Thus, it keeps the balance between the pre-Thomist conception which placed the essence of sacramental penance on the side of the penitent, one's works of satisfaction, confession and contrition, and the later Scotist view for which the essence of the sacrament consists only in the absolution, while the acts of the penitent are considered merely as preparatory disposition. With St. Thomas the Decree considers the acts of the penitent as the 'quasi-matter', therefore as a constitutive element of the sacrament, and the absolution as the form'.
The text on "extreme unetion" is also based on St. Thomas. It includes the positive aspect of healing for mind and body; thus the sacrament is presented not as that of the dying only, but of the sick.
(The Sacrament of Penance)
1612 The fourth sacrament is penance. Its quasi-matter consists
1323 in the actions of the penitent which are divided into three
parts. The first of these is contrition of the heart, which
requires that one be sorry for the sin committed with the resolve
not to sin in the future. The second is oral confession which
requires that the sinner confess to one's priest in their integrity
all the sins he or she remembers. The third is satisfaction for the
sins according to the judgment of the priest, which is mainly
achieved by prayer, fasting and almsgiving. The form of this
sacrament is the words of absolution spoken by the priest who
has authority to absolve, either ordinary or by commission from
his superior. The effect of this sacrament is absolution from sins.
(The sacrament of "extreme unction")
1613 The fifth sacrament is extreme unction. Its matter is olive 1324 oil blessed by the bishop. This sacrament may not be
given except to a sick person whose life is feared for. He is to be anointed on these parts: on the eyes on account of sight, on the ears on account of hearing, on the nostrils on account of smelling, on the mouth on account of taste and speech, on the hands on account of touch, on the feet on account of movement, on the loins on account of the lust seated there.

TFIE CHRISTIAN FAITH
the soul, of the body as well. Of this sacrament blessed James the apostle says: "Is anyone among you sick?[...]" (James 5:1411.
BULL EXSURGE DOMINE (1520)
Luther's theology of penance is part and parcel of his doctrine on justifieation: grace is exclusively God's gift; it is ours not on account of any work or merit on our part, but only through faith. As regards penance, Luther considered it a sacrament, and he encouraged confession as a means of awakening faith in God's forgiveness; but confession had to be entirely free from any coercion. In the words of absolution the sinner found the assurance of God's promise. Luther polemised against the practice of the Church in which, he thought, the works of the penitent were considered more important than the faith in God's mercy, so that hurnan beings relied on themselves more than on God. He further objected to the reservation of the power of forgiveness to priests because of which, in his view, the sacrament of penance became a means of clerical domination.
The Bull Exsurge Domine is the first official rejection of Luther's doctrine. The propositions which are condemned are selected from his works, mostly in his own words. To understand Luther's position and the signcance of the conflict, the propositions must, however, be read in the wider context of his theology.
(Errors of Luther eondenmed)
[1614/51 That there are three parts of penance: contrition, 1455 confession and satisfaction, is not founded on Holy Scripture nor on the holy ancient Christian Doctors.
[1614/6] Contrition which arises from examination, 1456 consideration and detestation of sins, whereby one
recounts one's years in the bitterness of one's soul, pondering over the grievousness, number and ugliness of one's sins, over the loss of eternal happiness and the fall into eternal damnation, such a contrition makes one a hypocrite and a greater sinner than before.
[1614/7] Very true, and better than all the previous teaching 1457 on the kinds of contrition is the maxim: not to do it
again is the height of penance; the best penance is a new life.

RECONCILIATION AND 'IT-IE ANOINTING OF THE SICK 665
Do not on any account presume to confess venial sins, nor even all mortal sins, for it is impossible for you to recall all mortal sins. This is why only public mortal sins were confessed in the early Church.
[1614/9] If we wish to confess everything clearly, we desire in 1459 reality to leave nothing to the mercy of God to forgive.
[1614/10] Sins are not remitted to anyone unless, when the priest 1460 remits them, one believes that they are remitted; rather
the sin would remain if one did not believe that it is remitted. For, the remission of sin and the giving of grace are not sufficient; it is also necessary to believe that sin is remitted.
[1614/11] Do not believe that you are absolved on account of 1461 your contrition, but on account of Christ's word:
"Whatever you loose...", etc. fMt 16:19]. Hence I say: If you have received the absolution of a priest, have confidence and firmly believe that you are absolved; and absolved you will truly be, whatever your contrition.
[1614/12] In the impossible supposition that one who confesses 1462 would n.ot be sorry, or that the priest would give
absolution not seriously but in jest, yet, if one believes that one is absolved, the penitent is in very truth absolved.
[1614/13] In the sacrament of penance and the remission of guilt, 1463 the Pope or the bishop does no more than the lowliest
priest; in fact, where there is no priest, any Christian can do as much, even a woman or a child.
[1614/14] No one needs to answer a priest that one is sorry; 1464 nor should the priest inquire.
THE GENERAL COUNCIL OF TRENT
FOURTEENTH SESSION
DOCTRINE ON THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE (1551)
The Council of Trent not only answers the attacks of the Reformers against sacramental penance, but at the same time gives a coherent exposition of the nature and structure of this sacrament as understood then. It insists primarily on the fact that penance is a sacrament instituted by Christ (Chapter 1), distinct from baptism since it consists, on the part of the minister, in a judicial act exercised on the members of the Christian community (Chapter 2). Thus



666 THE CHRISTIAN FAITH RECONCILIATION AND THE ANOINTING OF THE SICK 667

the basis of the Catholic doctrine is proposed against the Protestant position. In the following chapter the parts of sacramental penance are described in general terms: the three acts of the penitent are contrition, confession and satisfaction (Chapter 3). Then these parts are described in detail: first contrition, with special reference to imperfect contrition, i.e., attrition, which is vindicated against Luther's attacks (Chapter 4); then confession of all mortal sins (Chapter 5); the absolution by the minister, who is the priest only (Chapter 6); the need for the priest to have jurisdiction, and the possibility of reserving cases to the bishops (Chapter 7); finally the need of imposing a penance, along with the meaning of satisfaction (Chapters 8 and 9).
Chapter I: The necessity and the institution of the
sacrament of penance
1615 If in all those who are regenerated there were such 1668 gratitude towards God that through his kindness and
grace they constantly preserved the justice which they have received in baptism, there would have been no need to institute another sacrament for the forgiveness of sins besides baptism itself. But since God, who is "rich in mercy" [Eph 2:4], "knows how we are made" [Ps 103 (102):14], he has given a remedy of life also to those who after baptism have delivered themselves up to the bondage of sin and the devil's power, namely the sacrament of penance whereby the benefit of Christ's death is applied to those who have fallen after baptism.
1616 Penance was indeed at all times necessary for all who 1669 had stained themselves by any mortal sin in order to
obtain grace and justice—not excepting those who desired to be cleansed by the sacrament of baptism—so that they might turn from their perversion, make amendment, and detest so great an offence of God with hatred of sin and a sincere and heartfelt sorrow. Therefore the Prophet says: "Repent and turn from all your iniquities, otherwise iniquity shall be your ruin" [Ez 18:30 Vulg.]. The Lord also said: "Unless you repent, you will all perish" just as they did [Lk 13:5]. And Peter, prince of the apostles, recommended penance to sinners who were about to receive baptism with the words: "Repent and be baptised ° everyone of you" [Acts 2:38].

sacrament of penance, principally when after his resurrection he breathed upon his disciples and said: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" (jn 20:22]. The universal consensus of the Fathers has always acknowledged that by so sublime an action and such clear words the power of forgiving and retaining sins was given to the apostles and their lawful successors for reconciling the faithful who have fallen after baptism; and with good reason the Catholic Church denounced and condemned as heretics the Novatians who in the past stubbornly denied the power of forgiveness. Therefore this holy Council approves and accepts the words of the Lord in their full and true meaning and condemns the fictitious interpretations of those who, in contradiction with the institution of this sacrament, distort these words to make them refer to the power of preaching the word of God and of proclaiming the Gospel of Christ.
Chapters 11: The difference between the sacraments of
penance and baptism
1618 Besides, it is clear that this sacrament differs in many
1671 ways from baptism. Apart from the fact that it differs
very widely in matter and form, which constitute the essence of a sacrament, it is beyond question that the minister of baptism need not be a judge since the Church does not exercise judgment on anyone who has not first entered it through the gate of baptism. "For what have I to do", the apostle asks, "with judging those outside?" [1 Cor 5:12]. It is otherwise with those who are of the household of the faith, whom Christ the Lord has once made members of his Body by the bath of baptism [1 Cor 12:12]. For, it was his will that, if afterwards they should defile themselves by some crime, they would not be cleansed by receiving baptism again—this is not allowed under any condition in the Catholic Church—but that they would present themselves before this tribunal in order that they might be set free through the sentence of the priest; and this not once only, but as often as, repentant of the sins committed, they turn to that tribunal.

1617 Yet before the coming of Christ penance was not a 1619 Moreover, the effect of baptism is different from that of
1672 penance. For by baptism we "put on Christ" [Gal 3:27] 1670 sacrament; nor is it one after his coming for anyone who and are made an entirely new creature in him, receiving has not been baptised. But the Lord instituted the full and integral remission of all sins. To this newness and

integrity, however, we are by no means able to arrive by the sacrament of penance without many tears and labours on our part, as divine justice demands. Hence penance has rightly been called by the holy Fathers "a laborious kind of baptism".' This sacrament of penance is necessary for salvation for those who have fallen after baptism, just as baptism itself is for those who have not yet been regerierated.
Chapter 111: The parts of penance and its effect
1620 The holy Council teaches moreover that the form of the 1673 sacrament of penance, in which its power principally
resides, consists in these words of the minister: I absolve you, etc. In accordance with a custom of the holy Church certain prayers are laudably added to these words; they do not, however, in any way belong to the essence of the forrn, nor are they necessary for the administration of the sacrament. The "quasimatter" (quasi materia) of this sacrament is the acts of the penitent oneself, viz., contrition, confession and satisfaction. In as much as these acts are by divine institution required in the penitent for the integrity of the sacrament and for the full and complete forgiveness of sins, they are called parts of penance.
1621 As to the reality (res) and the effect of this sacrament, so
1674 far as concerns its power and efficacy, it consists in
reconciliation with God. In persons who are pious and receive this sacrament with devotion, it is likely to be followed at times by peace and serenity of conscience with an overwhelming consolation of spirit.
1675 In declaring this doctrine on the parts and the effect of
this sacrament, the holy Council at the same time
condemns the view of those who maintain that the parts of
penance consist in the terrors of a striken conscience and in faith.
Chapter IV: Contrition
1622 Contrition holds the first place among the acts of the
1676 penitent mentioned above. It consists in the sorrow of
the soul and the detestation of the sin committed,
together with the resolve not to sin any more. This disposition
1. Cf. v.g. GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS, Oratio 39, 17.

(motus) of contrition was necessary at all times for the attainment of the remission of sins. In a person who has fallen after baptism it prepares for the forgiveness of sins if it is joined with trust in the divine mercy and the intention to fulfil whatever else is required for the right reception of this sacrament. Therefore the holy Council declares that this contrition implies not only cessation from sin and the resolve and beginning of a new life, but also the hatred of the old according to the word: "Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed against me, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit" [Ez. 18:31].[...]
1623 Moreover, the Council teaches that, although it sometimes 1677 happens that this contrition is perfect through charity
and reconciles humanity to God before this sacrament is actually received, this reconciliation, nevertheless, is not to be ascribed to contrition itself without the desire of the sacrament, a desire which is included in it.
1624 As to imperfect contrition, which is called attrition, since 1678 it commonly arises either from the consideration of the
heinousness of sin or from the fear of hell and of punishment, the Council declares: If it excludes the will to sin and implies the hope for pardon, it not only does not make one a hypocrite and a greater sinner, but is a gift of God and a prompting of the Holy Spirit, not indeed as already dwelling in the penitent but only moving one—an impulse by which the penitent is helped to prepare for oneself a way unto justice. Though without the sacrament of penance it cannot of itself lead the sinner to justification, it nevertheless disposes one to obtain the grace of God in the sacrament of penance. For, it is thanks to this salutary fear that the Ninivites, after the terrifying preaching of Jonas, did penance and obtained mercy from the Lord (cf. Jonah 3]. Falsely, therefore, do some accuse Catholic writers as if they maintained that the sacrament of penance confers grace without any good disposition (motu) on the part of those receiving it; this is something which the Church of God never taught or accepted. Falsely also do they assert that contrition is extorted or forced, not free and voluntary.
Chapter V: Confession
1625 From the institution of the sacrament of penance as

1679 already explained the whole Church has always
understood that the complete confession of sins was also instituted by the Lord Icf. James 5:16; 1 Jn 1:9], and is by divine Law necessary for all who have fallen after baptism. For, when he was about to ascend from earth to heaven, our Lord Jesus Christ left priests to represent him (cf. Mt 16:19; 18:18; Jn 20:23] as presiding judges to whom all mortal sins into which the faithful of Christ would have fallen should be brought that they, in virtue of the power of the keys, might pronounce the sentence of remission or retention of sins. For it is clear that without knowledge of the case priests could not exercise this judgment, nor could they observe equity in the imposition of penances if the penitents declared their sins only in general and not specifically and in particular.
1626 Thus it follows that all mortal sins of which penitents 1680 after a diligent self-examination are conscious must be
recounted by them in confession, though they may be most secret and may have been committed only against the last two precepts of the decalogue Icf. Ex 20:17; Mt 5:28]; for these sins sometimes wound the souls more grievously and are more dangerous than those which are committed openly. As regards venial sins by which we are not excluded from the grace of God and into which we fall more frequently, it is right and profitable, and implies no presumption whatever, to declare them in confession, as can be seen from the practice of devout people; yet, they may be omitted without guilt and can be expiated by many other remedies. But since all mortal sins, also those of thought, make of human beings "children of wrath" (Eph 2:3] and enemies of God, there is need to seek God's pardon equally for them all through an open and humble confession. Hence when Christ's faithful strive to confess all sins that occur to their memory, they undoubtedly place all of them before the divine mercy for pardon. But those who fail to do so and knowingly withhold some, place nothing before the divine goodness for remission, "for if the sick is ashamed to lay open one's wound before the physician, the medicine does not heal what it does not know."1
1. ST. JsxoME, Comment. in Ecclesiasten, 10, 11.

(Also those circumstances which change the species of the sin must be confessed (DS 1681). Confession is not a torture since only confession of those sins is required which after diligent examination come to mind; sins which are not remembered are included in the confession and forgiven (DS 1682). The practice of secret confession is based on old traditions; public confession is never obligatory. The obligation to confess was not introduced by the fourth Lateran Council; this Council only determined that the existing precept of confession shnuld be fulfilled at least once a year (DS 1682).)
Chapter VI: The minister of the sacrament and absolution
1627 With regard to the minister of this sacrament the holy 1684 Council declares: False and totally foreign to the truth
of the Gospel are all doctrines which in a very destructive manner extend the ministry of the keys to all other persons besides bishops and priests. They do so in the belief that the words of the Lord: "Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" [Mt 18:18] and: "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained„ I jn 20:23], were, in contradiction with the institution of this sacrament, addressed to all the faithful of Christ without difference or distinction, with the result that everyone has the power to forgive sins, public ones by public correction, if the sinner complies, and secret ones by spontaneous confession to anyone. The Council likewise teaches that even priests who are in mortal sin exercise the office of forgiving sins as ministers of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit conferred in ordination, and that the opinion of those who maintain that bad priests do not possess this power is wrong.
1628 It is true that priestly absolution is the dispensation of
1685 another's kindness; yet, it does not consist in the mere
ministry of proclaiming the Gospel or of declaring that the sins have been forgiven, but it has the pattern of a judicial act in which the priest pronounces sentence as judge. Hence the penitent should not be so complacent about one's faith as to consider oneself truly absolved before God on account of his or her faith alone, even if one has no contrition, or if the priest has no mind to act seriously and to absolve truly. For faith without penance would effect no remission of sins, and one would be most negligent about one's salvation if, knowing that a priest absolved one jokingly, one would not diligently seek another who would act seriously.

Chapter VII: Jurisdiction and reservation of cases
1629 It is in the nature and meaning of a judgment that the 1686 sentence be pronounced only over one's subjects. Hence
the Church of God has always been convinced, and this Synod confirms as fully true, that absolution is of no value if it is pronounced by a priest on one over whom he has neither ordinary nor delegated jurisdiction.
(For pastoral reasons the absolution of special sins may be reserved to the bishop; but on the point of death all reservations are cancelled (DS 1687f).)
Chapter VIII: The necessity and fruit of satisfaction
1630 Finally, as regards satisfaction: it is among the parts of 1689 penance the one which, though at all times recommended
to the Christian people by our Fathers, yet in our age has become the main target of attack under the pretext of piety by those "holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power" [2 Tim 3:5]. The holy Synod declares: It is utterly false and contrary to the word of God that the guilt is never remitted by the Lord, without the entire punishment also being condoned. For, apart from the divine Tradition, clear and striking examples are found in Holy Scripture by which this error is refuted in the plainest possible manner [cf. Gen 3:16ff Num 12:14f,• 20:11 f,• 2 Sam 12:13f etc.].
1631 Indeed, the nature of divine justice seems to demand 1690 that those who have sinned through ignorance before baptism be received in grace in one manner, and in another manner those who have already once been liberated from the slavery of sin and the devil, who have received the gift of the Holy Spirit, and yet have not feared knowingly to "violate the temple of God" [1 Cor 3:17] and to grieve the Holy Spirit [Eph 4:30]. It is also in keeping with the divine clemency that sins should not be pardoned to us without any satisfaction, with the consequence that we would consider sin as trivial and, when the occasion arises, would fall into more grievous sins, insulting as it were and outraging the Holy Spirit [cf. Heb 10:29], storing up wrath for ourselves on the day of wrath [cf. Rom 2:5; James 5:3]. For without doubt these satisfactory penances greatly detach penitents from sin; they act like a bridle to keep them in check, and make them more cautious and vigilant in the future. They also heal the after-effects of sin and destroy evil habits, acquired through a bad life, by acts of virtues opposed to them. And no way of averting the punishments which threaten us from the Lord was ever held in the Church of God more secure than the practice of the works of penance done with a sorrowful heart [Mt 3:2, 8; 4:17; 11:21, etc.]. Besides, when we suffer in satisfaction for our sins we conform ourselves to Christ Jesus who made satisfaction for our sins [cf. Rom 5:10; 1 Jn 2:1fJ, from whom comes all our sufficiency [cf. 2 Cor 3:5]; this gives us the surest pledge that, while suffering with him, we shall also be glorified with him [cf. Rom 8:17].
1632 However, this satisfaction which we made for our sins 1691 is not ours in such a way that it be not through Christ
Jesus. For, while we can do nothing of ourselves as of ourselves, we can do everything with the cooperation of him who strengthens us [cf. Phil 4:13]. Thus humankind has nothing wherein to glory, but all our glorying is in Christ [cf. 1 Cor 1:31; 2 Cor 10:17; Gal 6:14], in whom we live [cf. Acts 17:28], in whom we merit, in whom we make satisfaction, bringing forth worthy fruits of penance [cf. Lk 3:8]; these fruits have their efficacy from him, by him they are offered to the Father, and through him they are accepted by the Father.
1633 Hence the priests of the Lord have the duty to impose 1692 salutary and proportionate satisfactions as suggested by
spiritual prudence, in accordance with the nature of the crime and the ability of the penitents, lest they become partakers of the sins of others [cf. 1 Tim 5:22] if they connive at their sins and deal too leniently with them by imposing only some sort of slight penance for very grave faults. Let them keep in mind that the satisfaction imposed by them is meant not merely as a safeguard for the new life and as a remedy to weakness, but also as a vindicatory punishment for former sins. For the early Fathers also believe and teach that the keys of the priests are given not only to loose but also to bind [cf. Mt 16:19; 18:18; Jn 20:23]. They did not for that reason consider the sacrament of penance as a tribunal of wrath and punishment; similarly no Catholic ever thought that through these satisfactions of ours the value of the merit and satisfaction of our Lord Jesus Christ is obscured or to some extent diminished. This is the interpretation of the innovators when they teach that a new life is the best penance, with the result that they do away with all efficacy and practice of penance.

Chapter IX: The works of satisfaction
1634 Moreover, [this Council] teaches that the generosity of 1693 the divine goodness is so great that we are able to make
satisfaction before God the Father through Christ Jesus, not only by the penances which we voluntarily undertake for the expiation of sin, or which are imposed on us by the priest's judgment according to the measure of the sin, but also—and this is the most forceful proof of love—by the temporal affliction imposed on us by God, if we bear them with patience.
 

DOCTRINE ON THE SACRAMENT OF EXTREME
UNCTION (1551)
The Council of Trent enunciated the doctrine on the anointing of the sick in the same session as, and in continuation with, the doctrine on the sacrament of penance, to which it is related. The document offers a suitable treatment of the subject.
The introduction places the sacrament in the context of the Christian life. Chapter 1 deals with the controversial question of its institution. Some theologians had taught that it was instituted by St. James. Luther had vigorously denied that an apostle could institute a sacrament. The Council teaches the institution of the sacrament by Christ, and its promulgation by the apostle James. Chapter 2 treats the effect of the sacrament; chapter 3 its minister and recipient. Luther had objected to the practice of anointing only the dying, a restriction not found in James' text. The Council still partly continues the Scholastic tradition which had considered this anointing the "extreme" unction, but uses as well the more ancient term of this sacrarnent—"the anointing of the sick". It also extends the sacrament to those seriously ill and includes among its effects psychological comfort and the restoration of bodily health.

Foreword
1635 It seenied good to the holy Council to add to the 1694 preceding doctrine on penance the following concerning the sacrament of extreme unction, which was considered by the Fathers as the complement not only of penance but also of the whole Christian life, which ought to be a continual penance.

First, therefore, with regard to its institution, it declares and teaches the following: our most merciful Redeemer wished his servants to be provided at all times with salutary remedies against all weapons of all enemies; as in the other sacraments he prepared the greatest aids for Christians to keep themselves, during their lifetime, free from every grave spiritual evil, so did he protect the end of life with the sacrament of extreme unction as with a very strong safeguard. For, though throughout our whole life, our adversary seeks and seizes upon occasions to devour our souls in any possible way [cf 1 Pet 5:8], yet there is no time when he strains more vehemently all the powers of his cunning to ruin us utterly, and, if possible, to make us lose even faith in the divine mercy, than when he perceives that the end of our life is near.
Chapter I: The institution of the sacrament of extreme unction
1636 This sacred anointing of the sick was instituted by Christ 1695 our Lord as a true and proper sacrament of the New
Testament. It is alluded to indeed by Mark [6:13], but is recommended to the faithful and promulgated by James the apostle and brother of the Lord: "Are any among you sick?", he says, "they should call for the elders of the Church, and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven" IJames 5:14]. By these words, as the Church has learned from the apostolic Tradition handed down and received by her, he teaches the matter, the form, the proper minister and the effect of this salutary sacrament. For the Church has understood that the matter is oil blessed by the bishop, because the anointing very aptly represents the grace of the Holy Spirit with which the soul of the sick is invisibly anointed. And the form consists of these words: "By this unction", etc.
Chapter 11: The effect of this sacrament
1637 Further, the reality (res) and effect of this sacrament are 1696 explained in the words: "and the prayer of faith will
save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven" [James 5:15]. For the reality is the grace of the Holy Spirit, whose anointing takes away the sins if there be any still to be expiated, and also the remains of sin; it comforts and strengthens the soul of the sick person by awakening in him or her great confidence in the

RECONCILIATION AND THE ANOINTING OF THE SICK 677
prescribed. No contempt of so great a sacrament is then possible without a great sin and without offence to the Holy Spirit himself.
1640 These are the points concerning the sacraments of 1700 penance and extreme unction which this holy, ecumenical
Synod professes and teaches, and proposes to all the faithful to be believed and held. Besides, it submits the following canons to be observed without violation; those who affirm the contrary it condemns and anathematises for ever.
Canons on the sacrament of penance
1641 1. If anyone says that in the Catholic Church penance is
1701 not truly and properly a sacrament, instituted by Christ
our Lord to reconcile the faithful with God himself as they fall into sin after baptism, anathema sit [cf nn. 1615ff1.
1642 2. If anyone confuses the sacraments and says that 1702 baptism itself is the sacrament of penance, as though
these two sacraments were not distinct, and that, therefore, penance is not correctly called "the second plank after shipwreck", anathema sit [cf nn. 1618f, 1943].
1643 3. If anyone says that these words of the Lord Saviour:
1703 "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any,
they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retairted" [Jn 20:22f1, are not to be understood as referring to the power of forgiving and retaining sins in the sacrament of penance, as the Catholic Church has always understood them from the beginning; but if one distorts them, in contradiction with the institution of this sacrament, to make them refer to the authority of preaching the Gospel, anathema sit Icf n. 1617].
1644 4. If anyone denies that for the full and perfect remission 1704 of sins three acts are required of the penitent, constituting
, ' as it were the matter of the sacrament of penance, namely, contrition, confession and satisfaction, which are called the three parts of penance; or says that there are only two parts of penance, namely, the terrors of a conscience stricken by the realisation of sin, and the faith derived from the Gospel or from absolution, by which one believes that on? s sins are forgiven through Christ, anathema sit [cf nn. 1620, 1621].
1645 5. If anyone says that the contrition which is evoked by

1705 examination, consideration and hatred of sins, whereby
one recounts one's years in the bitterness of on? s soul [cf. Is 38:15], reflecting on the grievousness, the multitude and baseness of one's sins, the loss of eternal happiness and the incurring of eternal damnation, along with the resolve of amendment, is not a true and beneficial sorrow and does not prepare for grace, but makes one a hypocrite and a greater sinner; or finally that this sorrow is forced and not free and voluntary, anathema sit [cf. 1622, 1614/6].
1646 6. If anyone denies that sacramental confession was 1706 instituted, and is necessary for salvation, by divine Law;
or says that the manner of confessing secretly to a priest alone, which the Catholic Church has always observed from the beginning and still observes, is at variance with the institution and command of Christ and is a human invention, anathema sit fcf nn. 1625ffl.

one's sins are forgiven, provided only one believes oneself absolved, even if the priest does not absolve seriously but in jest; or says that the confession of the penitent is not required in order that the priest be able to absolve one, anathema sit [cf nn. 1628, 1614/12].
1650 10. If anyone says that priests who are in mortal sin do 1710 not have the power of binding and loosing, or that priests
are not the only ministers of absolution, but that to each and all of the faithful it was said: "Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" [Mt. 18:18], and "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" [jn 20:23], so that by virtue of these words everyone could absolve from sins, from public ones merely by correction, if the sinner complies, and from secret ones by voluntary confession, anathema sit [cf n. 1627].


1647 7. If anyone says that for the remission of sins in the 1651 11. If anyone says that bishops do not have the right to 1707 sacrament of penance it is not necessary by divine Law
to confess each and all mortal sins which one remembers 1711 reserve cases to themselves, except such as pertain to
external government, and that, therefore, the reservation

after a due and diligent examination, also secret ones, and those against the last two precepts of the decalogue, as also the circumstances that change the species of a sin; but says that such a confession is useful only to instruct and console the penitent, and that in olden times it was observed only in order to impose a canonical penance; or says that those who endeavour to confess all sins want to leave nothing to the divine mercy to pardon; or finally that it is not allowed to confess venial sins, anathema sit Icf nn. 1625ffJ.
1648 8. If anyone says that confession of all sins as it is 1708 observed in the Church is impossible and is a human
tradition which pious people must abolish; or that it is not binding on each and all of the faithful of Christ of either sex once a year in accordance with the Constitution of the great Lateran Council, and that for this reason the faithful of Christ are to be persuaded not to confess during Lent, anathema sit.
1649 9, If anyone says that the sacramental absolution of the
1709 priest is not a judicial act but a mere ministry of
pronouncing and declaring to one who confesses that

of cases does not prevent a priest from truly absolving from such reserved sins, anathema sit.
1652 12. If anyone says that the whole punishment is always 1712 remitted by God together with the guilt and that the
satisfaction of penitents is nothing else but the faith by which they realise that Christ has satisfied for them, anathema sit [cf n. 1630].
1653 13. lf anyone says, concerning temporal punishments, 1713 that no satisfaction is made to God through the merits
of Christ by means of the punishments inflicted by him and patiently bome, or of those imposed by the priest, or finally of those voluntarily undertaken, as fasts, prayers, alms-giving or other works of piety; and that, therefore, the best penance is merely a new life, anathema sit [cf nn. 1631f].
1654 14. If anyone says that the satisfactions by which 1714 penitents atone for their sins through Christ Jesus are
not worship of God but human traditions which obscure the doctrine of grace, the true worship of God and the benefit of Christ's death itself, anathema sit [cf n. 1633].

1655 15_ If anyone says that the keys have been given to the 1715 Church only to loose and not also to bind and that,
therefore, the priests, when imposing penances on those who confess, act contrary to the purpose of the keys, and to the institution of Christ; and that it is a fiction that, after the eternal punishment has been removed by virtue of the keys, there often remains a temporal punishment to be expiated, anathema sit (cf n. 1633].
Canons concerning extreme unction
Canon 1 teaches, against Luther, Calvin and Melanchton, that the anointing of the sick is a true sacrament. Canon 2 teaches its spiritual effect. The text of james is not to be interpreted, as Calvin did, as referring merely to tlre charisrn of healing. Canon 4 affirms that the priest is the only ministcr of the sacrament, and rejects the interpretation given by the Reformers to the text of James, narnely that 'presbyters' has a purely secular meaning, referring to seniority or social influence on the community.
1656 1. If anyone says that extreme unction is not truly and 1 1716 properly a sacrament instituted by Christ our Lord (cf.
Mt 6:13] and promulgated by the blessed apostle James IJames 5:14], but only a rite received from the Fathers or a human invention, anathema sit (cf nn. 1636, 16391.
1657 2. If anyone says that the sacred anointing of the sick
1717 neither confers grace, nor remits sins, nor comforts the
sick; but that it does no longer exist as if it consisted
only in the grace of healing of olden days, anathcrma sit fcf nn. 1639, 1637].
1658 3. If anyone says that the rite and usage of extreme 1718 unction which the holy Roman Church observes is
contrary to the doctrine of the blessed apostle James and, therefore, must be changed; and that it can without sin be held in contempt by Christians, anathema sit (cf n. 1639].
1659 4. If anyone says that the presbyters of the Church who, 1719 as blessed James exhorts, should be brought to anoint
the sick are not priests ordained by a bishop but the senior members of each community, and that, for this reason, the proper minister of extreme unction is not only the priest, anathema sit (cf n. 1638].

PIUS X
DECREE LAMENTABILI OF THE HOLY OFFICE (1907)
ARTICLES OF MODERNISM CONDEMNED
Though the practice of penance and reconciliation underwent profound changes in the Church, its substance as an authoritative action of the Church, expressed already in the biblical texts, always remained intact. But the way in which Modernists used biblical criticism and historical research, led them to unduly undermine the foundation of the doctrinal tenets on sacramental penance. Hence some of the Modernist articles condemned by Pius X refer to penance. As regards the anointing of the sick, the Modernists understood the text of James as alluding merely to a pious custom. The text affirms more, though obviously it does not imply a definition of sacrament which came much later in history. For this document, cf n. 143i.
(Modernist errors about penance and anointing condemned)
[1660/46] In the primitive Church the concept of a Christian 3446 sinner reconciled through the authority of the Church
did not exist; only very slowly did the Church become accustomed to such an idea. Furthermore, even after penance was acknowledged as an institution of the Church it was not called a sacrament, because it would have been taken for a shameful sacrament.
[1660/47] The words of the Lord: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If 3447 you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you
retain the sins of any, they are retained" (Jn 20:22f1, refer in no way to the sacrament of penance, inspite of what the Fathers of Trent were pleased to affirm.
1660/481 In his epistle (5:14f) James does not intend to 3448 promulgate a sacrament of Christ, but he recommends
some pious custom; if perhaps he sees in this custom a certain means of grace, he does not accept it in the rigorous sense in which it is understood by theologians who determined the notion and the number of sacraments.
BENEDICT XV
APOSTOLIC LETTER SODALITATEM NOSTRAE
DOMINAE (1921)
Canon Law (1917) followed the scholastic tradition which required that those receiving the anointing of the sick be "in danger of death on account of

682 THE CHRISTIAN FAITH RECONCILIATION AND THE ANOINTING OF THE SICK 683


illness or old age" (canon 940). However, in a letter addressed to the sodality of 'Bona Mors', dedicated to the care of the dying, the Pope interpreted the law in a liberal sense. Shortly later Pius XI took the same attitude (cf. AAS 15 (1923) 10.5). The text of this letter is found in AAS 13 (1921)
345.
(The time for the anc'nting of the sick)
1661 The members join this sodality in order to exercise the
apostolate of 'good health' according to the rules of the sodality. They should make every effort in order that those who are in their last crisis may not delay the reception of the viaticum and the extreme unction till they are about to lose their consciousness. On the contrary, according to the teaching and the precepts of the Church, they should be strengthened by these sacraments as soon as their condition worsens and one may prudently judge that there is danger of death.

PIUS XII
ENCYCLICAL LETTER MYSTICI CORPORIS (1943)
In keeping with its general theme, this encyclical views sin and reconciliation in their ecclesial context. The sinner is not separated from the Church, but he or she defiles Christ's Body; one must be restored to full life with the help of the Body. Text in AAS 35 (1943) 203. The same encyclical contains an exhortation to frequent devotional confession (ibid.,
235).
1662 The fact that the Body of the Church bears the august
name of Christ must not lead anyone to suppose that,
also during this time of its earthly pilgrimage, its membership is
restricted to those who are eminent in sanctity, or that it is
composed only of those whom God has predestined to eternal
beatitude. For it is in keeping with the infinite mercy of our
Saviour that he does not here refuse a place in his mystical Body
to those whom he formerly admitted to his table (cf. Mt 9:11; Mk
2:16 Lk 15:2]. Schism, heresy, or apostasy are such of their very
nature that they sever a person from the Body of the Church;
but not every sin, even the most grievous, is of such a kind. Nor
does all life depart from those, who, though by sin they have
lost charity and divine grace and are consequently no longer
capable of a supernatural reward, nevertheless retain Christian
faith and hope, and illuminated by heavenly light, are moved
by the inner promptings and stirrings of the Holy Spirit to

conceive a salutary fear and divinely urged to prayer and repentance of their sin.
Let all, therefore, abhor sin, which defiles the mystical members of the Redeemer; but should anyone have unhappily fallen, if one has not by his obstinacy rendered oneself unworthy of the fellowship of the faithful, then let him or her be welcomed most lovingly, and let a practical charity see in him or her a frail member of Jesus Christ. For it is better, as St. Augustine says, "to be healed within the organism of the Church than to be cut off from its body as an incurable member."' "So long as a member still adheres to the body its cure is not beyond all hope; but if it has been cut off it cannot be cured or made whole."2

THE SECOND VATICAN GENERAL COUNCIL
With regard to sacramental penance, the Council continues the general pastoral tradition of the Church; priests must be aware of the importance of the sacrament; they must instruct the faithful, and be available for hearing confessions (CD 30; PO 5, 13). They too should frequently avail themselves of this sacrament (PO 18).
Two texts, however, open new perspectives: the very brief description of sacramental penance in the Constitution on the Church presents the sacrament in its ecclesiological context; the Constitution on the liturgy decrees that a new rite, more expressive of the meaning of the sacrament, must be prepared to overcome the dangers of routine and individualism inherent in the present practice.
The constitution on the Church gives to the anointing of the sick a rich meaning in the life of the Church. It clearly repudiates the trend which connected this sacrament too exclusively with the time of death. While accepting the scholastic conception according to which the sacrament is the ultimate purification and the preparation for final glory, it connects it with the other tradition which included healing among its effects. Most of all, it integrates the sufferings of the sick into the mystery of Christ's saving passion and death; conformation to the mystery of Christ makes human sufferings fruitful for the entire people of God.
The change in outlook had been prepared by the Constitution on the liturgy where the more ancient term 'anointing of the sick' is used in preference to the more popular term 'extreme unction'. The Constitution states that the sacrament should be administered early, when illness becomes serious. It further requests that the ritual be revised; a continuous ceremony must be prepared, which will integrate the various rites for the sick in a new sequence: confession,
1. Cf. Sr. AUGUSTINE, Epistola 157, 3, 22.
2. Cf. ST. AUGUSTINE, Sermo 137, 1.
1.
anointing and viaticum, as against the former sequence of confession, viaticum and anointing.

CONSTITUTION SACROSANCTUM CONCILIUM (1963) (The Sacrament of penance)
1663 72. The rite and formulas for the sacrament of penance are to be revised so that they more clearly express both the nature and the effect of the sacrament.
(The anointing of the sick)
1664 73. "Extreme unction", which may also and more fittingly
be called "Anointing of the sick", is not a sacrament for those only who are at the point of death. Hence, as soon as one of the faithful begins to be in danger of death from sickness or old age, the fitting time for him or her to receive this sacrament has certainly already arrived.
1665 74. In addition to the separate rites for anointing of the
sick and for viaticum, a continuous rite shall be prepared according to which the sick person is anointed after one has made one's confession and before one receives viaticum.
1666 75. The number of anointings is to be adapted to the
occasion, and the prayers which belong to the rite of anointing are to be revised so as to correspond with the varying conditions of the sick who receive the sacrament.

DOGMATIC CONSTITUTION LUMEN GENTIUM (1964) (On penance and the anointing of the sick)
1667 11.[...] Those who approach the sacrament of Penance
obtain pardon from God's mercy for the offence committed against him, and are, at the same time, reconciled with the Church which they have wounded by their sins and which by charity, by example and by prayer labours for their conversion. By the sacred anointing of the sick and the prayer of the presbyters the whole Church commends those who are ill to the suffering and glorified Lord that he may raise them up and save them [cf. James 5:14-16]. And indeed she exhorts them to contribute to the good of the People of God by freely uniting themselves to the passion and death of Christ [cf. Rom 8:17, Col 1:24; 2 Tim 2:11-21; 1 Pet 4:13].

PAUL VI
APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION SACRAM UNCTIONEM
INFIRMORUM (30 November 1972)
By this Apostolic Constitution, Pope Paul VI promulgates the new rite
f
or the sacrament of the anointing of the sick, prepared by the S. Congregation for Divine Worship in 1971. The rite is called "Rite of Anointing and Pastoral Care of the Sick". In promulgating it, the Pope uses his apostolic authority, as the sacramental rite itself has been modified "in such a way that, in view of the words of St. James, the effects of the sacrament might be better expressed". The Pope quotes the doctrine of the Second Vatican Council with regard to the serious illness required for receiving the sacrament (cf n. 1664); he adds that the sacrament "can be repeated if the sick person, having once received the anointing, recovers and then again falls ill, or if, in the course of the same illness, the danger becomes more serious". The text is found in AAS 65 (1973) 5ff.
(The rite of the anointing of the sick)
1668 Since this revision in certain points touches upon the
sacramental rite itself, by our apostolic authority we lay
down that the following is to be observed for the future in the
Latin Rite:
The sacrament of the anointing of the sick is administered to those who are seriously ill, by anointing them on the forehead and hands with properly blessed olive oil, or, according to circumstances, with another blessed plant oil, and saying once only the following words: Per istam sanctam unctionem et suam piissimam misericordiam adiuvet te Dominus gratia Spiritus Sancti, ut a peccatis liberatum te salvet atque propitius allevet (Through this holy anointing may the Lord in his love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit. May the Lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up).

THE NEW ORDO UNCTIONIS INFIRMORUM
(7 December, 1972)
The general introduction to the new Rite of Anointing and the Pastoral Care of the Sick is both theologically and pastorally constructive in its tone and content. The first section sets the context: the meaning of human sickness in the mystery of salvation (nos. 1-4). The second part deals with the meaning of the celebration of the sacraments of the sick: A. Anointing, including those who are to be anointed, the minister of anointing and the requirements for a proper celebration (nos. 5-25); B. Viaticum (nos. 16-29); C. A Continuous

686 THE CHRISTIAN FAITH
Rite—penance, anointing, and eucharist as viaticum—(nos. 30-31). The third, fourth and fifth sections treat: III. the offices and ministries for the sick; IV.
the adaptations possible by the conferences of bishops; and V. the adaptations by the minister of the sacraments (nos. 32-41).
The new ritual includes a rich variety of rites and texts (Scripture and prayers) for a diversity of situations: visit to the sick, communion of the sick, anointing of the sick (outside or within the Eucharistic celebration), as well as
pastoral care of the dying: Viaticum, commendation of the dying, rites for exceptional circumstances, etc.
1668a 1. Suffering and illness have always been among the
greatest problems that trouble the human spirit. Christians feel and experience pain as do all other people; yet their faith helps them to grasp more deeply the mystery of suffering and to bear their pain with greater courage. From Christ's words they know that sickness has meaning and value for their own salvation and for the salvation of the world. They also know that Christ, who during his life often visited and healed the sick, loves them in their illness.
1668b 7. In the anointing of the sick, which includes the
prayer of faith (cf. James 5:15], faith itself is manifested.
Above all this faith must be made actual both in the minister of
the sacrament and, even more importantly, in the recipient. The
sick person will be saved by personal faith and the faith of the
Church, which looks back to the death and resurrection of Christ,
the source of the sacrament's power fcf. James 5:151' and looks
ahead to the future kingdom that is pledged in the sacraments.
1668c 33. It is thus especially fitting that all baptised Christians
share in this ministry of mutual charity within the Body
of Christ by doing all they can to help the sick return to health,
by showing love for the sick, and by celebrating the sacraments
with them. Like the other sacraments, these too have a
community aspect, which should be brought out as much as possible when they are celebrated.
1668d 40. The minister should take into account the particular circumstances, needs, and desires of the sick and of other
members of the faithful and should willingly use the various opportunities that the rites provide.
1. Sr. Txonans, In 4 Sententiarum, d. 1 q. 1, a. 4, quaestioncula 3.

RECONCILIATION . ND THE ANOINTING OF THE SICK 687
THE NEW ORDO PAENITENTIAE
(2 December, 1973)
The Decree Reconciliationem inter Deum et homines of the S. Congregation for Divine Worship, dated December 2, 1973, promulgates with the approval of Pope Paul VI the new order for the celebration of the sacrament of penance. The Second Vatican Council had requested that the rite for this sacrament be revised (cf n. 1663). The old ritual was found too jejune: no place was given in it to the word of God, nor did it express the ecclesial dimension of sin and reconciliation. The deficieneies often led to a routine performance of the rite. The text of the Decree of promulgation of the new rite is found in AAS 66 (1974) 172-173.
The new Ordo Paenitentiae, published shortly after, begins with an extensive doctrinal exposition of the sacrament of penance. It then outlines the various forms in which the sacrament can be celebrated: reconciliation of individual penitents; of several penitents with individual confession and absolution; and communal reconciliation without individual confession, with general absolution. Non-sacramental penitential services are also foreseen. Norms are given for the adaptation of the new rites to varying circumstances; the rites are marked by considerable flexibility. Insistence is laid on the use of the Bible for the preparation of the penitent and on a greater personal commitment on the part of both priest and penitent.
The first part of the general introduction places the sacrament of reconeiliation in the context of God's saving action through Jesus Christ in the Church. Thus its doctrinal presentation becomes more biblical, spiritual and pastoral than has been customary in former documents. The nature of the sacrament is described as reconciliation with God (in a Trinitarian perspective), as reconciliation among human beings and as the expression of a common striving for peace and justice in the world. Thus the ecclesial dimension of the sacrament is made to stand out clearly.
The norms for reconciliation of several penitents without individual confession are repeated in a condensed form. These norms had been given earlier in the Normae Pastorales of June 16, 1972; cf. AAS 64 (1972) 510-514. The obligation of confessing mortal sins individually, affirmed by the Council of Trent, is maintained; it cannot be replaced hy general confession and absolution. Where grievous sins are absolved in a ge-ieral absolution, they must be confessed individually afterwards. These nornis, repeated in both documents, while meeting ui gent pastoral needs, reflect an anxiety lest the practice of individual confessiou be undermined.
(Penance in the Life an? Liturgy of the Church)
1669 4. The people of God do penance continually in many
and various ways. Sharing in the sufferings of Christ by
their own suffering, pei-forming works of mercy and charity,
undergoing a constant cunversion to the Gospel of Christ, they

688 THE CHRISTIAN FAITH
become to the world a symbol of conversion to God. This the Church expresses in its life and celebrates in its liturgy, when the faithful profess themselves sinners and ask pardon of God and their brothers and sisters—as happens in penitential services, in the proclamation of the word of God, in prayer, in the penitential elements of the Mass.
And in the sacrament of Penance, the faithful "obtain pardon from God's mercy for the offence committed against him, and are, at the same time, reconciled with the Church which they have wounded by their sins and which by charity, by example and by prayer labours for their conversion" [cf n. 1667].
1669a 5. Since sin is an offence against God and breaks our
friendship with him, penance "has for its ultimate objective that we should love God and commit ourselves wholly to him."1 When the sinner, therefore, by God's mercy takes the road of penance, he or she returns to the Father who "first loved us" [1 Jn 4:19], to Christ who gave himself up for us [cf. Gal 2:20; Eph 5:25], and to the Holy Spirit who is poured out on us abundantly (cf. Tit 3:6].
But, "because of a secret and loving mystery of dispensation, human beings are joined together by a supernatural bond in such wise that the sin of one injures the others, and the holiness of one benefits the others."2 In the same way, penance always brings with it reconciliation with the brothers and sisters whom sin likewise injures.
Further human beings often act together in perpetrating injustice. In the same way they help one another when doing penance so that, freed from sin by the grace of Christ, they might, with all people of good will, make peace and achieve justice in the world.
(Both penitent and priest celebrate the sacrament)
1669b 11. The role of the penitent is of the greatest importance in this sacrament.
1. Pau[ VI, Apostolic Constitution Paenitemini (17 February 1966); AAS 58 (1966) 179.
2. Pn[n. VI, Apostolic Constitution Indulgentiarum Doctrina (1 january 1967); AAS 59 (1967) 9.

RECONCILIATION AND THE ANOINTING OF THE SICK 689
When, properly disposed, one approaches this saving remedy which Christ instituted, and confesses one's sin, on? s actions form part of the sacrament itself. The words of absolution, pronounced by the minister in the name of Christ, complete the sacrament.
Thus the penitent, while experiencing the mercy of God in one's life and proclaiming it, joins the priest in celebrating the liturgy of a Church engaged in the holy task of self-renewal.
(Norms for general absolution)
1670 31. It can happen that, because of a particular
combination of circumstances, absolution may be, or even ought to be, given to a number of people together, without individual confession of sins.
Aside from danger of death, it is permissible, in a case of grave necessity, to absolve a number of people together, even though they have confessed only in general terms, if they are truly repentant. This can happen when the number of penitents is too great for the number of confessors present to hear their confessions properly, individually, in the time available, with the result that the penitents through no fault of their own would be compelled to remain without sacramental grace or holy communion for a long time. This can happen on the missions especially, but also in other places, in any gathering where the need arises.
If enough confessors are available, the mere presence of a large crowd of penitents—as on a great festival or at a pilgrimage—does not justify communal confession and absolution.
32. It is for the bishop of the diocese to judge whether the conditions are such as to justify communal sacramental absolution, after he has taken counsel with the other members of the episcopal conference.
Apart from the instances laid down by the bishop of the diocese, if on other occasions there should arise grave need for communal sacramental absolution, the priest should, for legality, apply to the local ordinary beforehand, if this is possible. But if it is not possible to approach the bishop beforehand, he should at the earliest opportunity inform him of the necessity which arose and that he had administered communal absolution.

690 THE CHRISTIAN FAITH
(No. 33 stresses the need of proper disposition on the part of the penitents in case of general absolution. No. 34 demands that those who have received absolution from a grave sin in general absolution, confess this sin within one year; besides, the obligation to confess all grave sins at least once a year remains in force).

(The formula of absolution)

1671 46. The priest with his hands extended over the penitent's
head (or at least with his right hand extended), says:
Deus, Pater misericordiarum, qui per mortem et resurrectionem Filii
sui mundum sibi reconciliavit et Spiritum Sanctum effudit in
remissionem peccatorum, per ministerium Ecclesiae indulgentiam
tibi tribuat et pacem. Et ego te absolvo a peccatis tuis in nomine
Patris, et Filii, + et Spiritus Sancti. (God, the Father of mercy,
reconciled the world to himself through the death and
resurrection of his Son and poured out the Holy Spirit for
the forgiveness of sins. May he grant you pardon and peace
through the ministry of the Church. And I absolve you from
your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit).
JOHN PAUL II
ENCYCLICAL LETTER REDEMPTOR HOMINIS (1979)
In the concluding section of the encyclical the Pope speaks about the Church's role in realising the redemptive mission of Jesus Christ. In particular, a fuller realisation of the central place of the Eucharist is needed and a deeper
understanding of sacramental penance. He develops the reasons why individual eonfession remains important in the Christian life. The text is found in AAS 71 (1979) 314-315.

(The significance of individual celebration of the sacrament of penance)
1672 20. In the last years much has been done to highlight in
the Church's practice—in conformity with the most
ancient tradition of the Church—the community aspect of
penance and especially of the sacrament of penance itself. Such
efforts are certainly very useful and are bound to contribute much
to the enrichment of the penitential practice in the Church today.
However, we cannot forget that conversion is a particularly
profound inward act in which the individual cannot be replaced
by others, where the community cannot become a substitute in
place of the single members. Although participation by the

RECONCILIATION AND THE ANOINTING OF THE SICK 691
brotherly and sisterly community of the faithful in a common penitential celebration is a great help for the act of personal conversion, nevertheless, in the final analysis, it is necessary that in this act there should be a pronouncement of the individual oneself from the depth of one's conscience with one's full sense of guilt and of trust in God, placing oneself like the Psalmist before him to confess: "Against you, you alone have I sinned" [Ps 51 (50):4]. Thus, in faithfully observing the century old practice of the sacrament of Penance—i.e., the practice of individual confession with a personal act of sorrow and the intention to amend and make satisfaction—the Church defends the human soul's individual right to a more personal encounter of each one with the crucified forgiving Christ, with Christ who says through the minister of the sacrament of Reconciliation: "Your sins are forgiven" IMk 2:5], "go your way, and from now on do not sin again„ IJn 8:11]. As is evident, this is also a right on Christ's part with regard to every human being redeemed by him: his right to meet each one of us in that key moment in the soul's life, in the moment of conversion and forgiveness. By guarding the sacrament of Penance, the Church expressly affirms her faith in the mystery of the Redemption as a living and lifegiving reality that fits in with our human inward truth, with human guilt and also with the desires of the human conscience.
APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION RECONCILIATIO ET
PAENITENTIA
(2 December 1984)
In a shattered world there is a great longing for reconciliation. The Apostolic Exhortation, using the "Propositions" prepared by the Synod of 1983 on Reconciliation and Penance in the Mission of the Church speaks about the role of the Church in carrying out her mission of reconciliation. It indicates the radical cause of the wounds and divisions between different people, and between people and God. Finally, it indicates the means that enable the Church to promote reconciliation. The reconciling Church is herself called to reconciliation which is a gift of God (cf also n. 887). The loving kindness of God calls for a response of the Christian to live a reconciled life. The pastoral activity of presence and reconciliation is to be carried out by dialogue, catechesis, and the sacraments, especially that of reconciliation. John Paul 11 puts an added restriction, not found in the liturgical books, of the use of the first and third forms of reconciliation. The text is found in AAS 77 (1985) 185-275.

(The reconciling Church must herself be reconciled)
1673 9.[...]The Church, if she is to be reconciling, must begin
by being a reconciled Church. Beneath this simple and indicative expression lies the conviction that the Church, in order ever more effectively to proclaim and propose reconciliation to the world, must become ever more genuinely a community of disciples of Christ[...J, united in the commitment to be continually converted to the Lord and to live as new people in the spirit and practice of reconciliation.
To the people of our time, so sensitive to the proof of concrete living witness, the Church is called upon to give an example of reconciliation especially within herself. And for this purpose we must all work to bring peace to people's minds, to reduce tensions, to overcome divisions and to heal wounds that may have been inflicted by one person on another when the contrast of ch?ices in the field of what is optional becomes acute; and on the contrary we must try to be united in what is essential for Christian faith and life, in accordance with the ancient maxim: In what is doubtful, freedom; in what is necessary, unity; in all things, charity.
(Method of dialogue)
1674 24. The Church in fact uses the method of dialogue in
order the better to lead people—both those who through
baptism and the profession of faith acknowledge their
membership of the Christian community and also those who are
outside—to conversion and repentance, along the path of a
profound renewal of their own consciences and lives, in the light
of the mystery of the redemption and salvation accomplished
by Christ and entrusted to the ministry of the Church. Authentic
dialogue is above all, therefore, aimed at the rebirth of
individuals, through interior conversion and repentance, but
always with profound respect for consciences and with patience
and at the step-by-step pace indispensable for modern conditions.
(Catechesis on reconciliation and penance)
1675 26. From the pastors of the Church one expects, first of
all, a catechesis on reconciliation. This must be founded on
the teaching of the Bible, especially the New Testament, on the
need to rebuild the Covenant with God in Christ the Redeemer

and Reconciler. And, in the light of this new commission and friendship, and as an extension of it, it must be founded on the teaching conceming the need to be reconciled with one's brothers and sisters, even if this means interrupting the offering of the sacrifice (cf. Mt 5:23ff . Jesus strongly insists on this theme of fraternal reconciliation: for example, when he invites us to turn the other cheek to the one who strikes us, and to give our cloak too to the one who has taken our coat [cf. Mt 5:38-40], or when he instils the law of forgiveness which each one receives to the measure that he or she forgives (cf. Mt 6:12(, forgiveness to be offered even to enemies [cf. Mt 5:43ff], forgiveness to be granted seventy times seven times [cf. Mt 18:2ff], which means in practice without any limit.[...]
The pastors of the Church are also expected to provide catechesis on penance Here too the richness of the biblical message must be its source. With regard to penance this message emphasises particularly its value for conversion, which is the term that attempts to translate the word in the Greek text, metanoia, which literally means to allow the spirit to be overturned in order to make it turn towards God.
(Renewal of the sacrament of reconciliation)
1676a 28. It is good to renew and reaffirm this faith at a moment
when it might be weakening, losing something of its coYnpleteness or entering into an area of shadow and silence, threatened as it is by the negative elements of the above mentioned crisis. For the sacrament of confession is indeed being undermined, on the one hand by the obscuring of the moral and religious conscience, the lessening of a sense of sin, the distortion of the concept of repentance, and the lack of effort to live an authentically Christian life. And on the other hand it is being undermined by the sometimes widespread idea that one can obtain forgiveness directly from God, even in an habitual way, without approaching the sacrament of reconciliation. A further negative influence is the routine of a sacramental practice sometimes lacking in fervour and real spontaneity, deriving perhaps from a mistaken and distorted idea of the effects of the sacrament.
(Ministry of this sacrament)
1676b 29. For the effective performance of this ministry, the confessor must necessarily have human qualities of

694 THE CHRISTIAN FAITH

prudence, discretion, discernment and a firmness tempered by gentleness and kindness. He must likewise have a serious and careful preparation, not fragmentary but complete and harmonious, in the different branches of theology, pedagogy and psychology, in the methodology of dialogue, and above all in a living and communicable knowledge of the word of God. But it is even more necessary that he should live an intense and genuine spiritual life. In order to lead others along the path of Christian perfection the minister of penance himself must first travel this path. More by action than by long speeches he must give proof of real experience of lived prayer, the practice of the theological and moral virtues of the Gospel, faithful obedience to the will of God, love of the Church and docility to the Magisterium.
(Importance and function of the sacrament)
1676c 31.1 The first conviction is that, for a Christian, the
sacrament of penance is the ordinary way of obtaining forgiveness and the remission of serious sins committed after baptism. Certainly, the Saviour and his salvific action are not so bound to a sacramental sign as to be unable in any period or area of the history of salvation to work outside and above the sacraments. But in the school of faith we learn that the same Saviour desired and provided that the simple and precious sacraments of faith would ordinarily be the effective means through which his redemptive power passes and operates. It would therefore be foolish, as well as presumptuous, to wish arbitrarily to disregard the means of grace and salvation which the Lord has provided.
1676d 31.2 The second conviction concerns the function of the
sacrament of penance for those who have recourse to it. According to the most ancient traditional idea, the sacrament is a kind of judicial action; but this takes place before a tribunal of mercy rather than of strict and rigorous justice, which is comparable to human tribunals only by analogy, namely in so far as sinners reveal their sins and their condition as creatures subject to sin, commit themselves to renouncing and combatting sin, accept the punishment (sacramental penance) which the confessor imposes on them and receive absolution from him.

RECONCILIATION AND THE ANOINTING OF THE SICK 695
(Forms of celebration)
1676e 32. The first form—reconciliation of individual penitents
is the only normal and ordinary way of celebrating the sacrament, and it cannot and must not be allowed to fall into disuse or to be neglected. The second form—reconciliation of a number of penitents with individual confession and absolution—even though in the preparatory acts it helps to give greater emphasis to the community aspects of the sacrament, is the same as the first form in the culminating sacramental act, namely individual confession and individual absolution of sins. It can thus be regarded as equal to the first form as regards the normality of the rite. The third form however—reconciliation of a number of penitents with general confession and absolution—is exceptional in character. It is therefore not left to free choice but is regulated by a special discipline.
JOHN PAUL II
APOSTOLIC LETTER TERTIO MILLENNIO ADVENIENTE
(10 November 1994)
Since the very first Jubilee celebration in 1300, conversion has consistently been one of the major objectives in every jubilee. On the verge of the third millennium of Christianity, John Paul 11 invites the whole Church to do an examination of conscience that it might respond better to Christ's call to make disciples of all nations (Mt 28:19). That meant taking into account the very ways that the Church itself has hindered the access of many to her and their Lord. The Pope goes into details and invites believers to avoid past mistakes and respond with their whole self to the Lord. The text can be found in AAS 87 (1994), pp. 5-41; Origins 24 (1994), pp. 401-416.
(The Joy of Conversion)
1677a 32. [...] Nevertheless, the joy of every Jubilee is above all
a joy based upon the forgiveness of sins, the joy of conversion. It therefore seems appropriate to emphasize once more the theme of the Synod of Bishops in 1984: penance and reconciliation [ef. Apostolic Exhortation Reconciliatio et Paenitentia]. That Synod was an event of extraordinary significance in the life of the postconciliar Church. It took up the ever topical question of conversion ["metanoia"], which is the pre-condition for reconciliation with God on the part of both individuals and communities.

RECONCILIATION AND THE ANOINTING OF THE SICK 697

(Forms of Counterwitness and Scandal)
1677b 33. Hence it is appropriate that, as the Second
Millennium of Christianity draws to a close, the Church should become more fully conscious of the sinfulness of her children, recalling all those times in history when they departed from the spirit of Christ and his Gospel and, instead of offering to the world the witness of a life inspired by the values of faith, indulged in ways of thinking and acting which were truly forms of counter-witness and scandal.
Although she is holy because of her incorporation into Christ, the Church does not tire of doing penance: before God and humankind she always acknowledges as her own her sinful sons and daughters. As Lumen Gentium affirms: "The Church, embracing sinners to her bosom, is at the same time holy and always in need of being purified, and incessantly pursues the path of penance and renewal" [LG 8].
The Holy Door of the jubilee of the Year 2000 should be symbolically wider than those of previous Jubilees, because humanity, upon reaching this goal, will leave behind not just a century but a millennium. It is fitting that the Church should make this passage with a clear awareness of what has happened to her during the last ten centuries. She cannot cross the threshold of the new millennium without encouraging her children to purify themselves, through repentance, of past errors and instances of infidelity, inconsistency, and slowness to act. Acknowledging the weaknesses of the past is an act of honesty and courage which helps us to strengthen our faith, which alerts us to face today's temptations and challenges and prepares us to meet them.
1677c 34. Among the sins which require a greater comitment
to repentance and conversion should certainly be counted
those which have been detrimental to the unity willed by God for his
People. In the course of the thousand years now drawing to a
close, even more than in the first millennium, ecclesial
communion has been painfully wounded, a fact "for which, at
times, people of both sides were to blame" [UR 3]. Such wounds
openly contradict the will of Christ and are a cause of scandal
to the world [UR 1]. These sins of the past unfortunately still
burden us and remain ever present temptations. It is necessary

to make amends for them, and earnestly to beseech Christ's forgiveness. [...]
1677d 35. Another painful chapter of history to which the sons
and daughters of the Church must return with a spirit of repentance is that of the acquiescence given, especially in certain centuries, to intolerance and even the use of violence in the service of truth.
It is true that an accurate historical judgment cannot prescind from careful study of the cultural conditioning of the times, as a result of which many people may have held in good faith that an authentic witness to the truth could include suppressing the opinions of others or at least paying no attention to them. Many factors frequently converged to create assumptions which justified intolerance and fostered an emotional climate from which only great spirits, truly free and filled with God, were in some way able to break free. Yet the consideration of mitigating factors does not exonerate the Church from the obligation to express profound regret for the weaknesses of so many of her sons and daughters who sullied her face, preventing her from fully mirroring the image of her crucified Lord, the supreme witness of patient love and of humble meekness. From these painful moments of the past a lesson can be drawn for the future, leading all Christians to adhere fully to the sublime principle stated by the Council: "The truth cannot impose itself except by virtue of its own truth, as it wins over the mind with both gentleness and power" [DH 1].
1677e 36. Many Cardinals and Bishops expressed the desire for
a serious examination of conscience above all on the part of the Church of today. On the threshold of the new Millennium Christians need to place themselves humbly before the Lord and examine themselves on the responsibility which they too have for the evils of our day. The present age in fact, together with much light, also presents not a few shadows.
How can we remain silent, for example, about the religious indifference which causes many people today to live as if God did not exist, or to be content with a vague religiosity, incapable of coming to grips with the question of truth and the requirement of consistency? To this must also be added the widespread loss of the transcendent sense of human life, and confusion in the ethical sphere, even about the fundamental values of respect for

life and the family. The sons and daughters of the Church too need to examine themselves in this regard. To what extent have they been shaped by the climate of secularism and ethical relativism? And what responsibility do they bear, in view of the increasing lack of religion, for not having shown the true face of God, by having "failed in their religious, moral, or social life"? [GS 19].
It cannot be denied that, for many Christians, the spiritual life is passing through a time of uncertainty which affects not only their moral life but also their life of prayer and the theological correctness of their faith. Faith, already put to the test by the challenges of our times, is sometimes disoriented by erroneous theological views, the spread of which is abetted by the crisis of obedience vis-?-vis the Church's Magisterium.
And with respect to the Church of our time, how can we not lament the lack of discernment, which at times became even acquiescence, shown by many Christians concerning the violation of fundamental human rights by totalitarian regimes? And should we not also regret, among the shadows of our own day, the responsibility shared by so many Christians for grave forms of injustice and exclusion? It must be asked how many Christians really know and put into practice the principles of the Church's social doctrine.
An examination of conscience must also consider the reception given to the Council, this great gift of the Spirit to the Church at the end of the second millennium. To what extent has the word of God become more fully the soul of theology and the inspiration of the whole of Christian living, as Dei Verbum sought? Is the liturgy lived as the "origin and summit" of ecclesial life, in accordance with the teaching of Sacrosanctum Concilium? In the universal Church and in the particular Churches, is the ecclesiology of communion described in Lumen Gentium being strengthened? Does it leave room for charisms, ministries, and different forms of participation by the People of God, without adopting notions borrowed from democracy and sociology which do not reflect the Catholic vision of the Church and the authentic spirit of Vatican II? Another serious question is raised by the nature of relations between the Church and the world. The Council's guidelines—set forth in Gaudium et Spes and other documents—of open, respectful and cordial dialogue, yet accompanied by careful discernment and courageous witness to the truth, remain valid and call us to a greater commitment.

APOSTOLIC LE1"1'F;R ORIENTALE LUMEN
(2 May 1995)
This Apostolic Letter comes a hundred years after Leo XIII published his Orientalium Dignitas (cf. Leonis XIII Acta, 14 [1894], 358-370). Leo recalled the esteem and the concrete help which the Holy See gives the Eastern Churches, and its willingness to safeguard their specific qualities. John Paul 11, in the wake of his Tertio Millenrtio Adveniente, mentions the division in the Church as an urgent call to conversion. Paragraph 17 starts off with a long quotation from Tertio Millennio Adveniente, 34 (n. 1677c). The text is in Origins 25 (1995-1996) 1-13.
(The Sin of Division among Christians)
1678 17.[...] The sin of our separation is very serious: I feel
the need to increase our common openness to the Spirit who calls us to conversion, to accept and recognize others with fraternal respect, to make fresh, courageous gestures, able to dispel any temptation to turn back. We feel the need to go beyond the degree of communion we have reached.

PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE
TOWARDS A BETTER DISTRIBUTION OF LAND: THE
CHALLENGE OF AGRARIAN REFORM
(23 November 1997)
This document, the full title of which is Towards a Better Distribution of Land: the Challenge of Agrarian Reform is quite unprecedented; but the situation of our world is reaching dramatic proportions. Humanity urgently needs to increase and quicken its awareness of the human, social and ethical problems caused by the phenomenon of the concentration and misappropriation of land. Such problems affect millions of persons and deprive many peoples of the possibility of true peace. This "scandalous situation of property and land use, present on almost all continents"—as the Council refers to it in its presentation—demands that there is not even a moment to lose. Drawing on John Paul I1's Tertio Millennio Adveniente, it renews the Pope's challenging call to conversion in the social and political fields, to re-establish the right of the poor and marginalized. Only thus can they enjoy the use of the land and its goods that the Lord has given to all and to each one of his sons and daughters. The text is in Origins 27 (1997), pp. 129ff.
(Equitable redistribution of land)
1679 60.[...] This exceptional ecclesial event [the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000] should prompt all Christians to make a serious examination of conscience on their witness in the

700 THE CHRISTIAN FAITH RECONCILIATION AND THE ANOINTING OF THE SICK 701


present and also to a fuller awareness of the sins of the past, "recalling those times in history when [Christians][...] indulged in ways of thinking and acting which were truly forms of counterwitness and scandal" [John Paul II, Tertio Millennio Adveniente, 33: n. 1677b].
In treating the subject of an equitable redistribution of land, central to the jubilee tradition in the Bible, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace wants to focus the attention of all on one of the most squalid and painful spectacles—that of the shared responsibility, including that of many Christians, for grave forms of injustice and exclusion, and the acquiescence of too many of them in the violation of fundamental human rights [cf. 36: n. 1677e].
61. In many contexts, acquiescence in evil, which is a troubling sign of spiritual and moral degeneration not for Christians alone, is producing a disturbing cultural and political void which makes people incapable of change and renewal. While social relations are not changing, and justice and solidarity remain absent and invisible, the doors of the future are closing, and the destiny of many peoples remains locked into an increasingly uncertain and precarious present.
The spirit of the Jubilee urges us to cry "Enough!" to the many individual and collective sins that bring about intolerable situations of dire poverty and injustice. By calling attention to the special and essential significance of justice in the biblical message—that of protection of the weak and of their right, as children of God, to the wealth of creation—we strongly hope that, as in the biblical experience, the jubilee year will help us today to restore social justice through a distribution of land ownership carried out in a spirit of solidarity in social relations.
BULL OF INDICTION INCARNATIONIS MYSTERIUM
(29 November 1998)
The Bull of Indiction of the Jubilee could not but draw on the above documents (nn. 1677-1679) and specify what the believer's understanding of true conversion should be. John Paul 17 insists on the profound and intrinsic unity of "sacramental action" and "existential act". As a direct and immediate consequence, he invites all Christians (a) to purify their desires and intentions, and (b) to render pleasing to God their historical and economic heritage. The text is in Origins 28 (1998), 445-452.


(Penance, Conversion and Indulgence)
1680a 9. [...] The Sacrament of Penance offers the sinners "a
new possibility to convert and to recover the grace of justification" [CCC, n. 1446] won by the sacrifice of Christ. The sinner thus enters the life of God anew and shares fully in the life of the Church. Confessing his own sins, the believer truly receives pardon and can once more take part in the Eucharist as the sign thnt he has again found communion with the Father and with his Church. From the first centuries, however, the Church has always been profoundly convinced that pardon, freely granted by God, implies in consequence a real change of life, the gradual elimination of evil within, a renewal in our way of living. The sacramental action had to be combined with an existential act, with a real cleansing from fault, precisely what is called penance. Pardon does not imply that this existential process becomes superfluous, but rather that it acquires a meaning, that it is accepted and welcomed.
Reconciliation with God does not mean that there are no enduring consequences of sin from which we must be purified. It is precisely in this context that the indulgence becomes important, since it is an expression of the "total gift of the mercy of God" [John Paul II, Bull Aperite portas Redemptori (6 January 1983), 8: AAS 75 (1983), 98]. With the indulgence, the repentant sinner receives a remission of the temporal punishment due for the sins already forgiven as regards the fault.
(The Purification of Mind and Heart)
1680b 11. These signs have long been part of the traditional
celebration of Jubilees. Nor will the People of God fail to recognize other possible signs of the mercy of God at work in the Jubilee. In my Apostolic Letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente, I suggested some which may help people to live the exceptional grace of the Jubilee with greater fervour [cf. 33.37.51: AAS 87 (1995), 25-26; 29-30; 36]. I recall them briefly here.
First of all, the sign of the purification of memory; this calls everyone to make an act of courage and humility in recognizing the wrong done by those who have borne or bear the name of Christian.
By its nature, the Holy Year is a time when we are called to conversion. This is the first word of the preaching of Jesus, which

significantly enough is linked with readiness to believe: "Repent and believe the Good News" [Mk 1:15]. The imperative put by Christ flows from realization of the fact that "the time is fulfilled" [Mk 1:15]. The fulfilment of God's time becomes a summons to conversion, which is in the first place an effect of grace. It is the Spirit who impels each of us to "return into ourselves" and to see the need to go back to the Father's house [cf. Lk 15:17-20]. Examination of conscience is therefore one of the most decisive moments of life. It places each individual before the truth of one's own life. Thus one discovers the distance which separates one's deeds from the ideal which one had set oneself.
The history of the Church is a history of holiness. The New Testament strongly states this mark of the baptized: they are "saints" to the extent that, being separate from the world insofar as the latter is subject to the Evil One, they consecrate themselves to worshipping the one true God. In fact, this holiness is evident not only in the lives of the many Saints and Blessed recognized by the Church, but also in the lives of the immense host of unknown men and women whose number it is impossible to calculate [cf Rev 7:9]. Their lives attest to the truth of the Gospel and offer the world a visible sign that perfection is possible. Yet it must be acknowledged that history also records events which constitute a counter-testimony to Christianity. Because of the bond which unites us to one another in the Mystical Body, all of us, though not personally responsible and without encroaching on the judgement of God who alone knows every heart, bear the burden of the errors and faults of those who have gone before us. Yet we too, sons and daughters of the Church, have sinned and have hindered the Bride of Christ from shining forth in all her beauty. Our sin has impeded the Spirit's working in the hearts of many people. Our meagre faith has meant that many have lapsed into apathy and been driven away from a true encounter with Christ.
As the Successor of Peter, I ask that in this year of mercy the Church, strong in the holiness which she receives from her Lord, should kneel before God and implore forgiveness for the past and present sins of her sons and daughters. All have sinned and none can claim righteousness before God [cf. 1 Kings 8:46]. Let it be said once more without fear: "We have sinned" Uer 3:25], but let us keep alive the certainty that "where sin increased, grace abounded even more" [Rom 5:20].

The embrace which the Father reserves for repentant sinners who go to him will be our just reward for the humble recognition of our own faults and the faults of others, a recognition based upon awareness of the profound bond which unites all the members of the Mystical Body of Christ. Christians are invited to acknowledge, before God and before those offended by their actions, the faults which they have committed. Let them do so without seeking anything in return, but strengthened only by "the love of God which has been poured into our hearts" (Rom 5:5). At the same time, there will be no lack of fair-minded people able to recognize that past and present history also records incidents of exclusion, injustice and persecution directed against the sons and daughters of the Church. [...]
Let us therefore look to the future. The merciful Father takes no account of the sins for which we are truly sorry [cf. Is 38:17]. He is now doing something new, and in the love which forgives he anticipates the new heavens and the new earth. Therefore, so that there may be a renewed commitment to Chritian witness in the world of the next millennium, let faith be refreshed, let hope increase and let charity exert itself still more.
12. One sign of the mercy of God which is especially necessary today is the sign of charity, which opens our eyes to the needs of those who are poor and excluded.[...]
There is also a need to create a new culture of international solidarity and cooperation, where all—particularly the wealthy nations and the private sector—accept responsibility for an economic model which serves everyone.[...]
The Jubilee is a further summons to conversion of heart through a change of life. It is a reminder to all that they should give absolute importance neither to the goods of the earth, since these are not God, nor to man's dominations or claim to domination, since the earth belongs to God and to him alone: "the earth is mine and you are strangers and sojourners with me" [Lev 25:23]. May this year of grace touch the hearts of those who hold in their hands the fate of the world's people!.

704 THE CHRISTIAN FAITH INDULGENCES 705


APPENDIX
INDULGENCES
Not all the temporal punishment for sins is forgiven through sacramental absolution. The penances imposed on the penitent are meant to reduce this punishment. In the Middle Ages penances were protracted and burdensome. They could be reduced or remitted by the ecclesiastical authority on certain conditions; good works, prayers, and contributions to pious causes played an important role in this discipline. This remission of penances, and with them of the temporal punishment of sins, either partially or totally, is called indulgences. These are to be clearly distinguished from the forgiveness of the sins themselves which must first be obtained in the sacrament of penance. The foundation of the Church's power to remit temporal punishment is the treasury of the merits of Jesus Christ himself, and with him of all the saints, whose life is pleasing to God.
Indulgences have, in the course of history, given rise to many problems. During the Middle Ages there was, on the part of those who granted them, the danger of misusing their power for the sake of material gains; on the part of those who made use of them, there was the danger of a mechanical, superstitious conception of good works and supernatural merits. In fact, abuses in the practice of indulgences and misunderstandings as regards their meaning were among the primary causes that brought about the Reformation.
At a deeper level, indulgences raise important theological problems. What does the Church's power to grant the remission of temporal punishment consist in? What is meant by the "treasury" of the Church which can be applied to all the faithful, living and dead? This theology developed only gradually, and found its mature expression in the Apostolic Constitution of Pope Paul VI (1976).
Thus, the ecclesiastical documents concerned with indulgences treat mainly two aspects: the practical problems of abuses to be remedied; the progressive theological understanding of indulgences.
* * *

The main doctrinal points covered by these documents are the following:

Indulgences are granted from the "treasury" of the merits of Christ and the Saints: 1681, 1683, 1685/17, 1687, 1688. 1691.

The Church has the authority to grant the faithful the remission of temporal punishments: 35, 1682, 1684/26.27, 1685/17-19, 1686,
1690/1-5, 1692/5.
Indulgences may be applied to the dead: 1685/22, 1689, 1690/3.
The use of indulgences is salutary: 35, 1685/20-22, 1686. Abuses must be avoided: 1686.

The Bull of Clement VI is the most important document in the early history of indulgences. In 1300 Boniface VIII had proclaimed a Jubilee year which was to be celebrated every hundred years, with a plenary indulgence for all who made a pilgrimage to Rome and fulfilled certain conditions. In 1343 Clement VI decided that the Jubilee should be held every fiftieth year, beginning with 1350. He took this occasion to set out the doctrinal foundation of indulgences as it had been developed by scholastic theology. The doctrine comprises three points: Christ's merits are superabundant; to the treasure of Christ's merits, the merits of the Saints are added; this treasury is entrusted to the Church. A more complete understanding of this 'treasury' will only be worked out by later theology.
1681 The only-begotten Son of God[...] "whom God made our 1025 Wisdom, our righteousness, and sanctification and
redemption" I1 Cor 1:30], "entered once for all into the Holy place, not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption" [Heb 9:12]. For "you were ransomed not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ like that of a lamb without defect or blemish" [1 Pet 1:18f7. Immolated on the altar of the cross though he was innocent, he did not merely shed a drop of his blood—although this would have sufficed for the redemption of the whole human race because of the union with the Word—but a copious flood, like a stream, so that "from the sole of the foot even to the head there was no soundness in him" (cf. Is 1:6]. What a great treasure, then, has the good Father acquired for the Church militant, if the merciful shedding of blood is not to be empty, meaningless and superfluous. He wanted to lay it up for his children, so that there might be "an unfailing treasure for human beings; those who draw from it "obtain friendship with God" [cf. Wis 7:14].
1682 This treasure[...][Christ] committed to the care of St. Peter, 1026 who holds the keys of heaven, and to his successors, his
own vicars on earth, who are to distribute it to the faithful for their salvation. And they are to apply it with compassion, for pious and good reasons, in order that it may benefit those who are truly contrite and who have confessed, at times for the complete remission of the temporal punishment due to sin, at times for the partial remission, either by general or particular disposition, as before God they judge more expedient.

INDULGENCES 707
To this mass of treasure the merits of the Blessed Mother of God and of all the elect, from the first just person to the last, also contribute, as we know; nor is it at all to be feared that it could be exhausted or diminished, first on account of the infinite merits of Christ, as already mentioned, and further because the more men and women are drawn to righteousness by having this treasure applied to them, so much the more does the store of those merits increase.

MARTIN V
BULL INTER CUNCTAS (1418) On this document, see n. 1304i.
(Questions proposed to the followers of Wyelif and Hus)
1684/26 Whether he believes that for a pious and just cause 1266 the Pope can grant indulgences for the remission of
sins to all Christians who are truly contrite and have confessed, especially to the pilgrims to the holy places and those who offer them a helping hand.
1684/27 Whether he believes that through this grant those who 1267 visit the churches and those who offer them a helping hand can obtain such indulgences.
LEO X
BULL EXSURGE DOMINE (1520)
The abuses in granting and popularising indulgences had already led to the attacks made against the Church by Wyclif and Hus (ef n. 1684). The indulgence offered by Pope Julius 11 to all those who contributed in the sumptuous restoration of the Basilica of St. Peter (1510), and its popular promulgation through Tetzel in Germany became the occasion for Luther's revolt against the Church. The condemnation of Luther by Leo X contains six propositions concerning indulgences.
(Errors of Luther condemned)
[1685/17] The treasures of the Church from which the Pope gives 1467 indulgences are not the merits of Christ and of the Saints.
[1685/18] Indulgences are a pious fraud on the faithful

1468 dispensing them from doing good works; they are among those things that are allowed, not among those that are expedient.
[1685/19] Indulgences, for those who really gain them, do not 1469 have the value of remitting the punishment incurred before the divine justice by actual sins.
[1685/20] They are led astray who believe that indulgences are 1470 salutary and spiritually fruitful.
[1685/21] Indulgences are necessary only for public crimes; they 1471 are rightly granted only to the hardened and impatient.
[1685/22] There are six kinds of people for whom indulgences 1472 are neither necessary nor useful, viz., the dead or the
dying, the infirm, those who are legitimately prevented, those who have committed no crimes, those who have committed crimes but not public ones, those who perform better works.

THE GENERAL COUNCIL OF TRENT
TWENTY-FIFTH SESSION
DECREE ON INDULGENCES (1563)
The council of Trent first took up the pending question of indulgences at the disciplinary level. In its 21st Session (1562) it decided that no fees should be collected on granting indulgences. In this way one of the rampant malpractices was stopped. However, deep doctrinal problems had been raised by the controversy with the Reformers. These questions were postponed to the end of the Council which had to be precipitated, partly on account of the illness of Pope Pius IV. Hence only a short decree was issued in the 25th Session (1563). In this Decree the deeper theological issues about the meaning of temporal punishment, the Church's authority to remit them, and the concept of the treasury of the Church were bypassed; only the basic truths about indulgences were re-stated: the Church's power to grant them and the need of discernment in the use of this power.
1686 Since the power of granting indulgences was conferred
1835 on the Church by Christ, and as she made use of this
power divinely given to her [cf. Mt. 16:19; 18:18] even in
the early times, the holy Council teaches and commands that
the use of indulgences, most salutary to the Christian people
and approved by the authority of the holy Councils, is to be

retained in the Church; and it condemns with anathema those who assert that they are useless or who deny that the Church has the power to grant them.
In granting them, however, it desires that moderation be observed in accordance with the ancient custom approved in the Church, lest too much relaxation should weaken the ecclesiastical discipline.[...]
(Abuses must be suppressed and all evil traffic in indulgences, which is a source of scandal, must be abolished. The people must get proper instruction so that superstition, ignorance and irreverence be avoided. Synods should study the problems that arise and report their findings to the Holy See).

PAUL VI
APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION INDULGENTIARUM
DOCTRINA (1967)
During the Second Vatican Council the Bishops' Conferences were asked to submit their opinion on a reform of the system of indulgences. Though the question referred only to the canonical and pastoral aspects of indulgences, the doctrinal problems, shelved ever since the Council of Trent, could not be ignored. The Apostolic Constitution of Jan. 1, 1967, provides an answer to these problems.
Most important in this document is the explanation of the 'treasury' of the Church, which is presented not in terms of a quantitative storing up of treasures, but in a personalistic way as being identical with Jesus Christ himself. Also significant is the new definition of indulgences and the way in which the role of the Church in granting them is conceived. New norms are then laid down for gaining plenary and partial indulgences. The text is found in AAS 59 (1967) 5-24.
1687 Christ who committed no sin, suffered for us [cf.1 Pet
2:21 f]; he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed
for our iniquities, and by his bruises we are healed [cf. Is 53:4f1
Following in Christ's footsteps, the faithful have always
endeavoured to help one another on their pilgrimage to the
heavenly Father by prayer, the performance of good works and
by penitential expiation. The more fervently they were inspired
by charity, the more closely they followed the suffering Christ
carrying each one's own cross in expiation of their sins and of
the sins of others, convinced that they could assist their brothers
and sisters to obtain salvation from God the Father of mercy.
This is the ancient dogma of the communion of saints, according
to which the life of each of the children of God is joined, in

710 THE CHRISTIAN FAITH

Christ and through Christ, to the lives of all one's fellow Christians by a wonderful link in the supernatural oneness of the mystical Body of Christ, in one mystical person as it were.
1688 It is thus that one should understand the term 'treasury
of the Church'. It is not to be regarded as something akin to a hoard of material wealth accumulated over the centuries. Rather it is the infinite and inexhaustible value which the expiation and merits of Christ have in the sight of God, offered to the end that the whole of humanity might be freed from sin and arrive at fellowship with the Father. It is Christ the Redeemer himself in whom the satisfaction and merits of his redemption still exist and retain their efficacy. Further, this treasury also includes the truly immense value, immeasurable and constantly renewed, which the prayers and good works of the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints possess in the sight of God; they followed in the footsteps of Christ the Lord with the help of his grace, sanctified themselves and completed the work which the Father had given them to do, so that, effecting their own salvation, they also contributed to the salvation of their brothers and sisters in the unity of the mystical Body.
1689 "For all who belong to Christ and have his Spirit are
brought together into one Church and cleave together in him [cf. Eph. 4:16]. Therefore the union of the wayfarers with the brethren who have gone to sleep in the peace of Christ is in no way interrupted; on the contrary, according to the perennial faith of the Church it is strengthened through the exchange of spiritual goods. For, because those in heaven are more closely united with Christ, they establish the whole Church more firmly in holiness[...] and in many ways contribute to its further upbuilding [cf. 1 Cor 12:12-27]. This is because, from the moment they have been received into the heavenly home and enjoy the presence of the Lord [cf. 2 Cor 5:8], through him and with him and in him they unceasingly intercede with the Father for us, laying before him the merits which through Christ Jesus, the one Mediator between God and humankind [cf. 1 Tim 2:5], they have won on earth while they were serving God in all things and completing in their flesh what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ on behalf of his Body, the Church [cf. Col 1:24]. In this way, their fraternal interest is of great help for our weakness" [LG 49].

INDULGENCES 711

Thus there is indeed a perennial bond of charity and an abundant exchange of all goods among the faithful, whether they have already taken possession of the heavenly home, or expiate their failings in purgatory, or are still on their pilgrimage on earth; thereby all the sins of the entire mystical Body are expiated and the divine justice is placated; and the divine mercy is moved to forgiveness so that the contrite sinners be brought sooner to the full fruition of the goods of God's family.
(Norms for indulgences)
1690/1 An indulgence is the remission in the sight of God of
the temporal punishment due to sins which have already been blotted out as far as guilt is concerned; the Christian believer who is properly disposed gains it on certain conditions with the help of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, authoritatively dispenses and applies the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints.
1690/2 An indulgence is either plenary or partial, according to whether it involves total or partial remission of the temporal punishment due to sins.
1690/3 Indulgences, either plenary or partial, can always be applied to the dead by way of intercession (suffragium).
1690/4 Henceforth a partial indulgence will be described merely by the term 'partial indulgence', with no additional determination of days or years.
1690/5 The Christian faithful who is contrite at least interiorly
and fulfils a work to which a partial indulgence is attached, obtains through the help of the Church a remission of temporal punishment equal to that which one has already obtained through one's own action.
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
(7 December 1992)
Taking note of the fact that "the doctrine and practice of indulgences in the Church are closely linked to the effects of the sacrament of Penance" (§ 1471), the Catechism quotes the brief definition of Paul VI of what indulgences are (cf n. 1690/1). It then insists on the positive dimension of indulgences and repeats the traditional teaching that they can be applied to the living and the dead.

712 THE CHRISTIAN FAITH (The practice of indulgences)

1691 1478. An indulgence is obtained through the Church who,
by virtue of the power of binding and loosing granted her by Christ Jesus, intervenes in favour of individual Christians
and opens for them the treasury of the merits of Christ and the saints to obtain from the Father of mercies the remission of the temporal punishments due for their sins. Thus the Church does not want simply to come to the aid of these Christians, but also
to spur them to works of devotion, penance, and charity [cf. Paul VI, Indulgentiarum Doctrina: n. 1689/5].
1498. Through indulgences the faithful can obtain the remission of temporal punishment resulting from sin for themselves and also for the souls in Purgatory.
JOHN PAUL II
BULL OF INDICTION INCARNATIONIS MYSTERIUM
(29 November 1998)
The Apostolic Letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente placed the years of immediate preparalion to the Jubilee year "under the sign of the Most Holy Trinity: through Christ—in the Holy Spirit—to God the Father" (3). It thus announced and paved tlte way to the celebration of the year 2000, but only mentioned the practice of indulgences: "The tradition of jubilee years involves the granting of indulgences on a larger scale than at other times" (14).
The Bull of Indiction then applied the Apostolic Letter's intuitions to thc itnpending celebration of the Jubilee, the dates and modalities for its celebration, and the granting of indulgences. Summing up the main lines of his Apostolic Letter, John Paul II gives the pride of placc—on the theological level—to the communion of saints". On the practical level, there are two major novelties: the Church is invited to "kneel before God and implore forgiveness for the past and present sins of her sons and daughters", while nations are called to "create a new culture of international solidarity and cooperation".
The Bull was published together with a decree from the Sacred Penitentiary, signed on 29 November 1998 and nteant to define "the discipline to be observed for gaining the Jubilee indulgence" (introduction to the Decree). The text of both documents can be found in Origins 28 (1998), pp. 445-452 and 452-453 respectively.

(Vigorous language of conversion and penance)

1692/1 2. [...] The period of the Jubilee introduces us to the vigorous language which the divine pedagogy of


INDULGENCES 713
salvation uses to lead people to conversion and penance. These are the beginning and path of peopl? s healing, and the necessary condition for them to recover what they could never attain by their own strength: God's friendship and grace, the supernatural life which alone can bring fulfilment to the deepest aspirations of the human heart.
(Pilgrimage as exercise of pious asceticism)
1692/2 7. In the course of its history, the institution of the Jubilee
has been enriched by signs which attest to the faith and foster the devotion of the Christian people. Among these, the first is the notion of pilgrimage, which is linked to the situation of one who readily describes one's life as a journey. From birth to death, the condition of each individual is that of the homo viator. Sacred Scripture, for its part, often attests to the special significance of setting out to go to sacred places. [...]
Pilgrimages have always been a significant part of the life of the faithful, assuming different cultural forms in different ages. A pilgrimage evokes the believer's personal journey in the footsteps of the Redeemer: it is an exercise of practical asceticism, of repentance for human weaknesses, of constant vigilance over one's own frailty, of interior preparation for a change of heart. Through vigils, fasting and prayer, the pilgrim progresses along the path of Christian perfection, striving to attain, with the support of God's grace, "the state of the perfect man, to the measure of the full maturity of Christ" [Eph 4:13].
(Christ, the 'door')
1692/3 8. In addition to pilgrimage, there is the sign of the holy
door, opened for the first time in the Basilica of the Most Holy Saviour at the Lateran during the Jubilee of 1423. It evokes the passage from sin to grace which every Christian is called to accomplish. Jesus said: "I am the door" [Jn 10:7], in order to make it clear that no one can come to the Father except through him. This designation which Jesus applies to himself testifies to the fact that he alone is the Saviour sent by the Father. There is only one way that opens wide the entrance into the life of communion with God: this is Jesus, the one and absolute way to salvation. To him alone can the words of the Psalmist be applied in full truth: "This is the door of the Lord where the just may enter" f Ps 118:20].

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To focus upon the door is to recall the responsibility of every believer to cross its threshold. To pass through that door means to confess that jesus Christ is Lord; it is to strengthen faith in him in order to live the new life which he has given us. It is a decision which presumes freedom to choose and also the courage to leave something behind, in the knowledge that what is gained is divine life (cf. Mt 13:44-46]. [...]
(The Sacrament of Reconciliation and Indulgences)
1692/4 9. Another distinctive sign, and one familiar to the
faithful, is the indulgence, which is one of the constitutive elements of the Jubilee. The indulgence discloses the fulness of the Father's mercy; who offers everyone his love, expressed primarily in the forgiveness of sins. Normally, God the Father grants his pardon through the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation [cf. John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Reconciliatio et Paenitentia, 28-34: AAS 77 (1985), 250-273; see nn. 1676a-e]. Free and conscious surrender to grave sin, in fact, separates the believer from the life of grace with God and therefore excludes the believer from the holiness to which he is called. Having received from Christ the power to forgive in his name [cf. Mt 16:19; Jn 20:23], the Church is in the world as the living presence of the love of God who leans down to every human weakness in order to gather it into the embrace of his mercy. It is precisely through the ministry of the Church that God diffuses his mercy in the world, by means of that precious gift which from very ancient times has been called "indulgence".
The Sacrament of Penance offers the sinner "a new possibility to convert and to recover the grace of justification" [CCC, 1446] won by the sacrifice of Christ. [...] The sacramental action had to be combined with an existential act, with a real cleansing from fault, precisely what is called penance. Pardon does not imply that this existential process becomes superfluous, but rather that it acquires a meaning, that it is accepted and welcomed.
Reconciliation with God does not mean that there are no enduring consequences of sin from which we must be purified. It is precisely in this context that the indulgence becomes important, since it is an expression of the "total gift of the mercy of God" [John Paul 1I, Bull Aperite portas Redemptori (6 January 1983), 8: AAS 75 (1983), 98] With the indulgence, the repentant

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sinner receives a remission of the temporal punishment due for the sins already forgiven as regards the fault.
(Vicariousness and Punishment)
1692/5 10. Because it offends the holiness and justice of God
and scorns God's personal friendship with the human being, sin has a twofold consequence. In the first place, if it is grave, it involves deprivation of communion with God and, in consequence, exclusion from a share in eternal life. To the repentant sinner, however, God in his mercy grants pardon of grave sin and remission of the "eternal punishment" which it would bring.
In the second place, "every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called purgatory. This purification frees one from what is called the "temporal punishment" of sin" [CCC, 1472], and this expiation removes whatever impedes full communion with God and with one's brothers and sisters.
Revelation also teaches that the Christian is not alone on the path of conversion. In Christ and through Christ, one's life is linked by a mysterious bond to the lives of all other Christians in the supernatural union of the Mystical Body. This establishes among the faithful a marvellous exchange of spiritual gifts, in virtue of which the holiness of one benefits others in a way far exceeding the harm which the sin of one has inflicted upon others. There are people who leave in their wake a surfeit of love, of suffering borne well, of purity and truth, which involves and sustains others. This is the reality of "vicariousness", upon which the entire mystery of Christ is founded. His superabundant love saves us all. Yet it is part of the grandeur of Christ's love not to leave us in the condition of passive recipients, but to draw us into his saving work and, in particular, into his Passion. This is said in the famous passage of the Letter to the Colossians: "In my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his Body, that is, the Church" (1:24]. [...]
Everything comes from Christ, but since we belong to him, whatever is ours also becomes his and acquires a healing power. This is what is meant by "the treasures of the Church", which are the good 1,vorks of the saints. To pray in order to gain the indulgence means to enter into this spiritual communion and

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therefore to open oneself totally to others. In the spiritual realm, too, no one lives for himself alone. And salutary concern for the salvation of one's own soul is freed from fear and selfishness only when it becomes concern for the salvation of others as well. This is the reality of the communion of saints, the mystery of "vicarious life", of prayer as the means of union with Christ and his saints. He takes us with him in order that we may weave with him the white robe of the new humanity, the robe of bright linen which clothes the Bride of Christ.
This doctrine on indulgences therefore "teaches firstly how sad and bitter it is to have abandoned the Lord God [cf. Jer 2:19]. When they gain indulgences, the faithful understand that by their own strength they would not be able to make good the evil which by sinning they have done to themselves and to the entire community, and therefore they are stirred to saving deeds of humility" [Paul VI, Apostolic Constitution Indulgentiarum doctrina (1 January 1967), 9: AAS 59 (1967), 18]. Furthermore, the truth about the communion of saints which unites believers to Christ and to one another, reveals how much each of us can help others—living or dead—to become ever more intimately united with the Father in heaven.