Alcala 1958

FortyYears an d FortyQuaranti ne By rty ars rty arantines

FR. JOH N R. QU IN N ,S.T .L. Prof es sor of Dogmat icTh eo lo gy School of Th eo lo gy I N, . . ssor atic logy logy

W HEN he bre aks a nei ghbo r's win dow , a boy has to do two thi ng s.He ha s totell the nei gh­ bor he is sor ry, an d he ha s to rep lace the win dow . It is mu ch the same when a ma n commit s a sin . He must be sor ry for the sin but he als o ha s to make up fo r it. Th e sac ram ent of penance is the me an s of rec onc iliatio nbet we en the sin ner and God . Th rou ghit the broken fri endsh ipbe­ twe enGod and His pro digal sons is rev ived. Eve n so, the for giv en sin ne r stil l ha s to ma ke up fo r his sin . Th ere are thr ee wa ys of liq uid ati nghi s debt of sa tis fa cti on:in­ dulge nce s,goo d wor ks and purga tor y. Si nce the Council of Tr ent 1 sol emnly de­ fin ed that ind ulg en ceswe re of va lue to the fai thf ul, it ma y pro ve be ne fic ialto recon ­ sid er the ma in elements of the Church's tea ching on thi s po int . A hundredyea rsbefor ethe Re forma tion , Joh n Hu s and Wycl iff rej ect edthe doc trin e of ind ulg ences. Th eir tea ch ingswer e dul y con dem nedby the Counci l ofCon stan ceand the dec ree sof Po pe Mar tin V . 2 After this , the inc ide nt was all but for got ten fo r a cen tur yun til Mar tin Lut her str ode into the the atre of con tro ver sy. 1 Denzi nger , En chir idio n Sym bol oru m (Herder, 19 48 ),n. 989. 2 Denzi nger , op.ci t., nn. 622, 676 , 677 , 678. W s r's , s. s to - , l the . its . e t nce s iliation e . gh dship - i i l i . i en r l s . ating i faction: - nces, s tory. f Trent 1 ly - l ences ful, ficial - i . red s e ation, s if ed i e l ences. i c ings ned b l of ce ees of ti . 2 , i t ten y til ti e versy. 1 O r, iridion b lorum ), 2 inger, t., , ,

i g

,

-

La yin g the ax e to the root , Lut her re­ duc ed the wh ole supernatur alorg anism to a dea dand dea thl yext rin sic ism .Ac cor din g to Lut her, ma n's sinsare ne ver tak en aw ay . Th ey are ove rlo oked, cov ere d ove r,as it wer e, by the clo ak of Chr ist's me rits . Th is res ults in the lug ubrio uspes sim ism tha t ma ke s of ma n a be ingtho rou gh lycorr upt and inc apa ble of any good , all of whose act s are sin s ex cept for the one act of trus t and fai th kno wn to Cat holi c the olo gy as fide s fid uc ia lis } Si nce ma n ca n do no thi nggo od , acco rd­ ing to Lut her , it is she er hypo cri syto spea k of goo d wor ks for the remova l of tempor al punishm ent ,an d it is irre leva ntto pos tula te ind ulg ences. Complete sal vat ion , aft er all, is ac hie ve dby the on e simple ac t of fa ith and trus t. Lu the rthu s arrive dat a con cep t of ind ulg en cesthat wa s con son ant wit h hi s fun dam ent althe olo gic alpri nci ple s. Th e in­ du lgenc e cou ld be no th ing mo re than a mi tig ati onof some can on ica lpen anc e im­ pos ed by Chu rchau tho rity. It the ref oreha s no th ing to do wit h the reduct ion of ma n's de bt of sat isf ac tio nbef ore Go d. 4 Su bse qu en tly, the Pro test ant pos itio n ma de its inf lue nc efel t in the the olo gy of 3 C /r .J. Mar itain , Th ree Refo rme rs (Ne w Yor k: Scrib ner' s, 19 50 ), Part I, Sec tion II, "A Spir­ itua l Drama ." 4 Denz inger , op .ci t., nn. 757-762. l t ral i t ly i sicism. ding , 's sins . l o ed, d over, , i ' its. is l l ubrious i is es i g ro ghly c ble , s t lic l gy /i s fiduci-alis. 3 ing , - , crisy l al i ent, l t te l ences. l io , after all, i ved l i . r t lgences t ental l gical ciples. - l e l ing i ation ical ce - rity. re s ing tion 's de i action : 4 quently, t a t i n l nce l gy 3 f . it i , r ers 's, ), i - l ." i . it., i ,

70