Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 14.djvu/670

 THEOLOGY

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THEOLOGY

tain commandments of God, even if they wish and endeavour to do so; besides, they are without the help of grace which might make it possible for them", was taken from the work and rejected as heretical and blasphemous. Now Probabihsm was least reconcil- able with this Jansenistic thesis, which could be main- tained the easier, the stricter the moral obligations laid upon man's conscience were and the severer the system proclaimed as solely justified was. Conse- quently, the adherents of the Jansenistic doctrine en- deavoured to attack Probabihsm, to throw suspicion on it as an innovation, to represent it even as leading to sin. The exaggerations of a few Probabilists who went too far in their laxity, gave an opportunity to the Jansenists to attack the system, and soon a num- ber of scholars, notably among the Dominicans, abandoned Probabihsm, which they had defended till then, attacked it and stood up for Probabiliorism; some Jesuits also opposed Probabihsm. But by far, the majority of the Jesuit writers as well as a vast number of other orders and of the secular clergy, adhered to Probabihsm. An entire century was taken up with this controversy, which probably has not its equal in the history of Catholic theology.

Fortunately, the works on either side of this con- troversy were not popular writings. Nevertheless, exaggerated theories caused a glaring inequaUty and much confusion in the administration of the Sacra- ment of Penance and in the guidance of souls. This seems to have been the case particularly in France and Italy; Germany probably suiTered less from Rigorism. Hence it was a blessing of Divine Provi- dence that there arose a man in the middle of the eighteenth century, who again insisted on a gentler and milder practice, and who, owing to the eminent sanctity which he combined with sohd learning, and which raised him soon after his death to the honour of the altar, received the ecclesiastical approbation of his doctrine, thereby definitively estabUshing the milder practice in moral theology.

This man is Alphonsus Maria Liguori, who died in 1787 at the age of 91, was beatified in 1816, canonized in 1839, and declared Doctor Ecclesiie in 1871. In his youth Liguori had been imbued with the stricter principles of moral theology; but, as he himself con- fesses, the experience which a missionary life extend- ing over fifteen years gave him, and careful study, brought him to a realization of their falseness and evil consequences. Chiefly for the younger members of the religious congregation which owed its existence to his fervent zeal, he worked out a manual of moral theology, basing it on the widely used "Medulla" of the Jesuit Hermann Busenbaum, whose theses he sub- jected to a thorough examination, confirmed by in- ternal reasons and external authority, illustrated by adverse opinions, and here and there modified. The work, entirely Probabilistic in its principles, was first puljlished in 1748. Received with universal applause and lauded even by popes, it went through its second edition in 1753; edition after edition then followed, nearly every one showing the revising hand of the author; the" last, ninth, edition, published during the lifetime of the saint, appeared in 1785. After his beatification and canonization his "Theologia mora- lis" found an even wider circulation. Not only were various editions arranged, but it almost seemed as though the further growth of moral theology would be restricted to a reiteration and to compendious revi- sions of the works of St. Alphonsus. An excellent critical edition of the "Theologia moralis Sti. Al- phonsi" is that of L(:>onard Gaud(^, C.SS.R. (Rome, 1905), who has verified all the quotations in the work and illustrated it with scholarly annotations.

No future work on practical moral theology can pass without ample references to the writings of St. .Mphonsus. Hence it would be impossible 'to gain a clear insight into the present .slate of moral theology

and its development without being more or less con- versant with the system of the saint, as narrated in the article Probabilism. The controversy, which is still being waged about Probabilism and .-Equiprobabihsm, has no significance unless the latter oversteps the limits set to it by St. Alphonsus and merges into Probabiliorism. However, though the controversy has not yet been abandoned theoretically, still in every-day practice it is doubtful if there is any one who follows other rules in deciding doubtful cases than those of Probabihsm. Tliis ascendancy of the milder school in moral theology over the more rigor- ous gained new impetus when Alphonsus was canon- ized and when the Church pointed out in particular that Divine Providence had raised him up as a bul- wark against the errors of Jansenism, and that by his numerous writings he had blazed a more rehable path which the guides of souls might safely follow amid the conflicting opinions either too lax or too strict. Dur- ing his lifetime the saint was forced to enter several literary disputes on account of his works on moral theology; his chief adversaries were Concina and Patuzzi, both of the Dominican Order, and cham- pions of Probabiliorism.

The last decades of the eighteenth century may well be called a period of general decadence as far as the sacred sciences, moral theology included, are con- cerned. The frivolous spirit of the French Encyclo- pedists had infected, as it were, the whole of Europe. The Revolution, which was its offspring, choked all scientific life. A few words about the state of moral theology diu'ing this period may suffice. Italy was torn asunder by the dispute about Rigorism and a milder practice; in France, Rigorism had received the full rights of citizenship through the Jansenistic move- ment and held its own till late in the nineteenth cen- tury; Germany was swayed by a spirit of shallo^\Tiess which threatened to dislodge Christian morals by rationalistic and natural principles. The "general seminaries" which Joseph II established in the Austrian states, engaged professors who did not blush to advance heretical doctrines and to exclude Chris- tian self-restraint from the catalogue of moral obliga- tions. Other German institutions, too, offered their chairs of theology to professors who had imbibed the ideas of "enlightenment", neglected to insist on Catholic doctrines of faith and, putting aside the supernatural life, sought the end and aim of educa- tion in a merely natural morality. But in the second decade of the nineteenth century the PVench Revolu- tion had spent itself, quiet had again followed the turmoil, the political restoration of Europe had been begun. A restoration also of the ecclesiastical spirit and learning was also inaugurated and the gradual rise of moral theology became noticeable. Apart from the purely ascetical side, there are three divisions in which this new life was plainly visible: catechism, popular instruction, pastoral work.

Though it is the purpose of catechetical teaching to instruct the faithful in the entire range of Christian religion, in the doctrines of faith no less than in those of morals, yet the former may also be conceived and discussed with respect to the duties and the way by which man is destined to obtain his last end. Hence, the catechetical treatment of religious questions may^ be regarded as a portion of moral theology. During the period of "enlightenment ", this branch had been degraded to a shallow moralizing along natural hues. But that it rose again in the course of the past century to a lucid explanation of the sum-total of the Christian doctrine, is attested by numerous excellent works, both catechisms and extensive discussions. To these may be added the more thorough manuals of Chris- tian doctrine intended for liighcr schools, in which the apologetical and moral portions of religious instruc- tion are treated s(icntifi<':illy and adapted to the needs of the time. There is nothing, however, which pre-