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 PRECONIZATION

376

PREDESTINARIANISM

seized and judicial proceedings against him begun. All the documents connected therewith were publish- ed under the title "Causa QuesneUiana" (Brussels, 1705). They form one of the most valuable sources of the authentic history of Jansenism. In 1705, the Archbishop of iMechlin was one of the first to publish in his diocese the Bull "Vineam Domini Sabbaoth", in which Clement XI condemned the theory of respectful silence (see J.\xsenius and J.\nsenism), and his action elicited the congratula- tions of the sovereign pontiff. At Mechlin as at Bruges, Precipiano had to tight in defence of the right of asylum attached to certain places or religious houses, and at Mechlin his efforts were at first com- pletely thwarted by the civil power. As a last resort he was forced to excommunicate the procurator- general and the members of the Grand Conseil; the magistrates replied by imposing on him an enormous fine, and the heavy penalty of "aquje et ignis in- terdictio". Through the personal intervention of Philip V, who esteemed the prelate highly, the quarrel was ended without encroachment on the rights of the Church, or dishonour to their doughty champion.

De Ram, Synodicum Bdgicum. I (Mechlin. 182S) ; De Schrevel Biogr.nat.deBelgique. XVIII (Brussels, 1905); Claessens, Hist, des aTcheniqu.es de Malines (Louvain, ISSl); Proost, Hisl. du droit d'asile en Belgique (Ghent, 1S70).

J. Forget.

Preconization (Lat. pnecotuzare, to publish, from prceco, herald, public crier). This word means: (1) in its strict juridical sense the ratification in a public con- sistory of the choice made by a third person of a titular of a consistorial benefice, for example a bishopric. The pope approves the election or postulation of the titular made by a chapter, or ratifies the presentation of a candidate made by the civil power. This precon- ization is preceded by an informative process, which according to the present discipline is raised by the Consistorial Congregation for the countries not under Congregation of Propaganda, but the information is furnished by the Secretarj' of State if the question at hand refers to sees situated outside of Italy; (2) some authors define preconization as the report made in the above-mentioned informative process by the cardinals at the consistory (Bargilliat, " PriElectionas juris ca- nonici", I, Paris, 1907, 467); (3) again, preconization is considered the announcement to the pope that in an approaching consistory a cardinal will propose in the name of the head of a State the candidate whom the latter himself has designated for asee (Andre, "Cours de droit canon", s. v. Preconization, V, Paris, 1860, 340) ; (4) finally, preconization is also the act by which the pope ratifies, in a consistory, a nomination of a Isishop which has been made previously by a decree of the Consistorial Congregation. According to a Decrea of the Congregation of Rites, 8 June, 1910 ("Acta Apostolicae Sedis", 1910, 5S6) the date of the anni- versary of the election of a bishop is no longer that of his preconization in the consistory, but that of the de- cree or letter by which he is appointed.

Saqmcller. LeliTbuch des katholischeti Kirchenrechts (Frei- burg. 1900), 264; HixscHius, .System des katoHsehen Kirch- enrechts, II (Berhn, 1S7S), 673; and canonists generally, apropos of the nomination of bishops.

A. Van Hove.

Precursor, The. See John the Baptist, Saint.

Predella. See Altar, sub-title. Altar-steps.

Predestinarianism is a heresy not unfrequently met with in the course of the centuries which reduces the eternal salvation of the elect as well as the eter- nal damnation of the reprobate to one cause alone, namely to the sovereign will of God, and thereby ex- cludes the free co-operation of man as a seconilary factor in bringing about a happy or unhappy future in the life to come.

I. Character and Origin. — The essence of this heretical predestinarianism may be expressed in these

two fundamental propositions which bear to each other the relation of cause and effect: (a) the absolute will of God as the sole cause of the salvation or damna- tion of the individual, without regard to his merits or demerits; (b) as to the elect, it denies the freedom of the will under the influence of efficacious grace while it puts the reprobate under the necessity of committing sin in consequence of the absence of grace. The system in its general outlines may thus be described: the question why some are saved while others are damned can only be answered by assuming an eternal, absolute, and unchangeable decree of God. The salvation of the elect and the damnation of the reprobate are simply the effect of an unconditional DiWne decree. But if those who are predestined for eternal life are to attain this end -n-ith metaphysical necessity, and it is only such a necessity that can guarantee the actual accomplishment of the Divine will, God must give them during their lifetime ef- ficacious graces of such a nature that the possibility of free resistance is systematically excluded, while, on the other hand, the will, under the influence of grace, is borne along without reluctance to do what is right and is forced to persevere in a course of righteousness to the hour of death. But from all eternity God has also made a decree not less absolute whereby he has positively predestined the non-elect to eternal torments. God can accomplish this design only by denying to the reprobate irresistibly ef- ficacious graces and impeUing their ^-fll to sin con- tinually, thereby leading them slowly but surely to eternal damnation. As it is owing to the will of God alone that heaven is to be filled with saints, without any regard to their merits, so also it is owing to that same will of God that heU is to be filled with the reprobate, without any regard to their foreseen sins and demerits and with such only as God has eternally, positively, and absolutely destined for this sad lot. In any case sin is the most efficacious means of infallibly bringing to hell, with some appear- ance of justice, those who are positively destined for reprobation. In its further development Predes- tinarianism admits of a harsher and of a milder form according as its adherents by insisting exclusively on the salvific will of God push positive reprobation into the background or endeavour to hide under a pious phraseology what is most offensive in their doctrine, i. e. God's supposed relation towards sin. And yet this element forms the keystone of the whole system. For the all-important question is: Can God the all just absolutely and positively predestine anyone to hell? Can the all holy incite and force anyone to sin with the intention of consigning him to eternal damnation? The denial of the uni- versality of the salvific will of God and the restriction of the merits of Christ's passion to the elect are only natural consequences of the fundamental principles of this heresy.

The history of dogma shows that the origin of heretical Predestinarianism must be traced back to the misunderstanding and misinterpretation of St. Augustine's views relating to eternal election and reprobation. But it was only after the death of this great doctor of the Church "(430) that this heresy sprang up in the Church of the West, whilst that of the East was preserved in a remarkable manner from these extravagances. Beginning from the anony- mous author of the second part of the so-called "Pra'destinatus" (see below) up to Calvin, we find that all the adherents of this heresy have taken ref- uge behind the stout shield of Augustinism_. The question therefore to be answered at present is this: Did St. Augustine teach this heresy? We do not wish to gainsay that St. Augustine in the last years of his life fell a victim to an increased rigorism which may find its psychological explanation in the fact that he was called to be the champion of Chris-