Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 14.djvu/159

 SOLIMOES

135

SOLOMON

Constitution of Benedict XIV, " Sacramentum poeni- tentife'' (1 June, 1721). There are, in addition, a number of other pontifical Constitutions and Decrees of the Holy Office on the same subject, notably those of 27 Sept., 1724, 20 Feb., 1867, and 20 July, 1890. The crime of sollicitalio ad lurpia is defined as the soliciting any person to carnal sin, to be committed with himself or another, by any priest secular or regular, immediatelj' before, during, or immediately after sacramental confession, or on the occasion of or under pretext of confession, or in the confessional itself or in any other place gc^icrally used for hearing confessions, or in a place iIkiscii by the penitent to make a confession, and this wlu'ther a sacramental confession be actually made or not. Moreover, the crime of solicitation may be committed not merely by words, but also by signs or other expressive actions, or by a letter to be read then or afterwards. If any penitent hius been thus solicited to sin, he or she cannot be absolved by any confessor until the penitent actually denounces the delinquent priest to the proper ecclesiastical authority or promises to make such denunciation as soon as possible. Even though the wicked confessor has since amended his life, or though the crime of solicitation took place many years ago, the obligation of denouncing him still remains, be- cause the law is made, not merely to procure amend- ment, but also to inflict punishment. If the penitent, without sufficient cause, does not make the denuncia- tion within a month from the time he or she has learned the obligation to do so, excommunication is incurred ipso facto. When the negligence hiis been repaired, any approved priest may absolve from the excommunication. If the penitent has reasonable ground for fearing serious damage to self or family from a formal denunciation, .some oth<'r method of informing on the deUnquent priest may l)c s<iuKht for. The denunciation is to be made to the liishop of the place where the penitent lives. If the soliciting priest be of another diocese, the ordinary of the person solicited will forward the denunciation to the bishop of the accused confessor. The denunciation must be sworn to and be made personally and by word of mouth if possible. It may also be done, in special cases, by writing or by a third party. When the denunciation is made by letter, it must be signed with full name and address, and must be a circum- stantial account of the alleged crime. Whether the penitent has consented to the solicitation or not need not be expressed. Bishops are directed to pay no attention whatever to anonymous letters of denuncia- tion. On the receipt of tlic accusation, the ecclesias- tical authority makes inquiry as to the reputation and reliability of the accuser. If the confessor be found guilty, he is subject to suspension from the exercise of his orders, privation of his benefices, dig- nities, and offices with perpetual inability to receive such again. Regulars, in addition, lose the right of voting or being voted for in the chapter of their religious order. Benedict XIV a<lded perpetual exclusion from celebrating Miiss. While the Church is thus severe on delinquent confessors, she is equally careful to protect innocent priests from caliminious charges. If any one falsely denounce a confessor on the charge of solicitation, the caluminator can obtain absolution for the perjured falsehood only from the pope himself, except at the point of death.

.SuTER-M.iRTi.v. Manual of Mural Thnluuu. II (New York, 19aS): KERRARia, Bihliolheca canonim, II (Home, I.S91), 3. V. Confegnariu.f, art. v; ibui.. VII, 9. v. Siitlicilalio, where the pon- tifical tiocumenta are given in full. Consult also works on moral theolog>* in general, e. g.: Sabktti-Rarrf.tt. CornpenrHum theotogia moraliis (New York, 1902); Tau.nton. The Iaiw nf th> Church (Ix>ndon, 1906), a. v. Soliciialion.

William H. W. Fanning.

Sollmoes Siiperiore. — A prefecture Apostolic in the .St.iir c.f ATii.izonas, Brazil, erected by a decree of the Sacred Congregation of Consistory, 23 May, 1910.

The territory of this prefecture forms a part of the ex- tensive Diocese of Manaos or of Amazonas, from which it was separated at the same time with the territory of Toff(5, which last forms another prefecture Apos- tohc. Solimoes is situated between the left bank of the Amazon and the River Jacura, a tributary of the former; the territory is traversed by a great number of watercourses and natural canals. The region has as yet been little explored, and little has been done in the way of jireaching the Gospel, as is the case with all the regions along the tributiiries of the Amazon. In recent years the Holy See has devoted its attention to the problem of evangelizing these vast but sparsely populated (egions. The mission of Solimoes is in- trusted to the Capuchin Fathers. (See "Acta S. Sedis", Rome, 1 July, 1910.)

U. Benigni.

Solomon. — Our sources for the study of the Ufe, reign, and character of Solomon are III Kings i-xii; and II Par. i-ix. Solomon (Heb. n^lV;' "peaceful"), also called Jedidiah, i. e., "beloved of Yahweh", was the second son of David by his wife, Bathsheba, and the acknowledged favourite of his father. This may have been due partly to the fact that he, as a late off- spring, considerably younger than David's other sons, was born in his father's old age, and partly to the in- tense love of DaA-iil for Bathsheba and the beautiful qualities of Solomon himself. Solomon was not the logical heir to the throne, but David conferred it upon him instead of his other brothers,:iiid in doing so he committed no wrong according to Israelitish ideas. Solomon was eighteen years old when he ascended the throne, or at least no older than this, and his successful reign of forty years speaks well for his intelligence, ability, and statesmanship. His reign offers a striking contrast to that of his father. It was almost entirely devoid of incident, and was marked by none of the vicissitudes of fortune which were so notable a feature in the career of David. Enjoying for the mo.st part peaceful relations with foreign jiowers, and set free from the troubles that ineiia<-i'd liiin at home, Solo- mon was enabled to devote himself fully to the in- ternal organization of liis kingdom and the embellish- ment of his Court. In particular he gave much atten- tion to the defence of the country (including the con- struction of fortresses), the administration of justice, the development of trarle, and the erection of a na- tional temple to the .Vlmiglity.

The territory over which sovereignty is claimed for Solomon by the historian of 111 Kirifis extended from the Euphrates to theUiverof l%gypt iiY Arish), or, to name the cities at the limits of his realms, from Tiph- .sah (Thapsacus) to Gaza (III Kings, iv, 24). The account of his reign shows that even his father's do- minions were not retained by him unimpaired. But if some of the outlying portions of David's empire, such as Damascus and Edom, were lost by Solomon, the integrity of the actual soil of Israel was secured alike by the erection of fortresses in strong positions (including Hazor, Mi'giddo, one or both of the Beth- horons, anil Baalath) and by the maintenance of a large force of war-chariots, (^f the cities selected for fort ification Hazor guarded the northern frontier, Me- giddo protected the plain of Esdra'lon, whilst the Beth-horons, with Baalath, comni.inilcd the Valley of Aijalon, thus defending the capital aL'aiiist .an attack from the maritime plain. AdilitioMitl s( cmity in this direction was obtained by the ac^quisition of Gezer. This city had hitherto been left in the hand of the Canaanites, and came into Solomon's powerbyamar- riage alliance with Egypt. Under David, Israel had become a factor to 1)(^ reckoned with in Ea.stern poli- tics, and the Pharaoh found it prudent to secure its friendship. The Fhar.aoh was probably Psieukhan- nit (Psebkh.an) 11, the la,st king of the i21st dyn.asty, who had his capital at Zoan (Tanis), anrl ruled over