Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 14.djvu/672

 THEOLOGY

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THEOLOGY

the science is as old as the Church itself, as appears from the manifold instructions given by Jesus to His Apostles for the care of souls (^Iatt., x, 6 sqq.; Mark, vi, 8 sqq. ; Luke, ix, 3 sqq. ; x, 4 sqq. ; xxii, 35) and from the pastoral letters of St. Paul and the very detailed instructions they give to Timothy and to Titus in regard to the sacred ministry. The writings of the Fathers, from the Apostolic age onward, are replete with pastoral instruction. St. Ignatius of Antioch [a. d. no (Harnack)] scatters such advice throughout his epistles — see, for instance, "Ad Magnesios" (Har- nack'sed., "Patres apostohci", 11,29). Thelettersof St. Cyprian (a. d. 248) are, many of them, either wholly or in part written about the care of souls (cf . P. L., IV. 194 sq.) — "Qui Antistites in ecelesia eligendi? "Qualis esse debeat vita sacerdotum?" etc. His " De lapsis" (P. L., IV, 477) is a classic among pastoral instructions. St. Gregory Nazianzen (a. d. 389), ex- plaining his flight to Pontus, tells his ideas of the pastor of souls in "Oratio apologetica de fuga sua", a work sometimes called "De sacerdotio" (P. G., XXXV, 408), and sets down pastoral care as a great science and art, "Ars quffdam artiuni et scientia scientiarum mihi esse videtur hominem regere". Other landmarks in the history of pastoral theology- are St. Ambrose, "De officiis ministrorum" (P. L., XVI, 25); St. John Chrvsostom, "De sacerdotio" (P. G., XLVIII, 623); St! Isidore of Seville, "De in- stitutione clericorum", "De institutionibus monacho- rum", "De regulis clericorum" (P. L., LXXXIV, 25, 45, 77); St. Bernard's letters and treatises "De con- sideratione", "De moribus episcoDorum ", "De con- versione ad clericos" (P. L., CLXXXII, 727, 809, 833). The great classic among patristic works on the care of souls is "Regute pastoraUs liber" (P. L., LXXVII, 13), written by St. Gregory the Great (c. A. D. 590) to John, Bishop of Ravenna.

During the Middle Ages, there was not yet a sepa- rated and systematized science of pastoral theology. Scholasticism did not recognize this science apart from other branches of theology. Dogma and moral were so taught as to include the application of their conclu- sions to the care of souls. Still, even then writings of the great Doctors of the Church were at times purely pastoral; such were the "Opuscula", 17-20, of St. Thomas Aquinas; St. Bonaventure's "De sex alis seraphim", "Dereginiine anima;", "Confessionale"; the "Summa theologica" (Books II, III), together with the "Summa confessionahs" of St. Antoninus, Bishop of Florence. At the same time, writers on mystical theology (see V. My.stical Theology) have often entered into the domain of pastoral theology-. Not until the period of the Counter-Reformation did the science of pastoral theology take its present sys- tematized form. During the latter half of the fif- teenth century, in certain places, pastoral duties were very much neglected. By the daw-n of the sixteenth century, the care of souls was to many priests and not a few bishops a lost or a never-acquired art, with the result that the laity were ready to throw off what was deemed to be a useless clerical yoke. In such places, a reform of the clergy was sorely needed. The Council of Trent set itself to bring about a true reformation of the priesthood. Cat holic bishops and t heologians fol- lowed the lead of the council. The result was the treatment of the care of souls as a science by itself. During the following centuries of true reform and of battle with false reform, the most scientific treatises on jiastoral duties and rights were written. John of Avila, Louis of Granada, Peter de Soto, Claude le Jay (Institutiones practiea>), Neumayr (Vir apo.stolicus), Posscvin (Praxis curae pastoralis), Segneri, Oiier, Molina, Toledo (De instructione sacerdotum), Cardinal Cajetan, St. Charles Borromeo (Instructio pastorum), the works of St. Francis de Sales, of Rodriguez, of Scaranielli — .such are a few of the scientific treatises that did much to illumine and to

strengthen the pastors of the Counter-Reformation. In 1759 St. Alphonsus Liguori Lssued his great pas- toral theology, "Homo apostolicus". He epito- mized the conclusions reached by him in his "Moral Theology", applied these conclusions practically to the work of hearing confessions, and added four ap- pendices bearing specifically upon such pastoral duties as the direction of souls, the assistance of the dying, the examination of those to be ordained priests, and the duties of confessors and pastors in regard to their own as well as their flock's sancMfication. This work, together with the legislation of Benedict XIV in the matter of diocesan synods, gave a great impetus to the science of pastoral theology.

D. Sources. — Tradition and Holy Writ, in so far as they portray the ideal Priest, Teacher, and Pastor, and hand down to us His ideas for the care of souls, are the first sources of pastoral theology. As evidence of Tradition the decrees of general councils are of the highest moment. Next come pontifical Constitu- tions — Bulls, Briefs, and Motu Proprios; decrees of Roman Congregations; the works cited in Sanford- Drum, op. cit. below-; the various sources of dogmatic and moral theology and of canon law, in so far as they bear directly or indirectly upon the care of souls. Decrees of various provincial councils and diocesan synods together with pastoral letters of archbishops and bishops are also among the sources whence pastoral theology draws. For ecclesiastical legislation, one must follow the "Acta Apostolicae Sedis", a monthly official bulletin pubUshed in Rome; the promulgation of laws, authentic interpretations, decisions and rescripts of the Roman Cm-ia is now effected ipso facto by pubhcation in this periodical. For past decisions, the various decreta authentica of different Roman Congregations must be consulted. Such are "Thesaurus resolutionum Sacrae Congrega- tionis Concihi", from 1718 (Rome); "Decreta authen- tica Congregationis Sacrorum Rituum" (Rome, 1898); "Decreta authentica sacrae Congregationis Indulgentiis Sacrisque Reliquiis Praepositae", from 1668 to 1882 (Hatisbon); Pallottini, "Collectio om- nium decretorum Sacrae Congregationis Concilii" (Rome, 186S); Bizarri, "Collectanea Sacrae Congre- gationis Episcoporum et Regularium" (Rome, 1863, 1885); "Collectanea Sacrae Congregationis de Pro- paganda Fide" (Rome, 1893, 1907). A handy reference work in this matter is Ferraris, "Prompta bibliotheca", together with its supplement edited by Buceeroni (Rome, 1885). Ojetti, "Synopsis rerum niorahum et juris pontificii" (Prato, 1904), is also useful. For the pastoral care of religious communi- ties, necessary information may be obtained from Vermeersch, "De religiosis et missionariis supple- menta et momnnenta", together with the periodical

supplements thereto (Bruges, 1904 ), and Dom

Bastien, "Constitution de Leon XIII sur les instituts a vceux simples et leur relations avec les autorit^s dioc(5saines" (Bruges), a work which has been trans- lated into English by Lanslots (Pustet, New York). Periodicals giving current direction and information as to the care of souls are: "Acta Sancta; Sedis" (Rome, from 1865), now discontinued; "Analecta juris pontificii" (Rome, 1833; Paris, 1869), replaced by "Analecta ecclesiastica" (Rome, 1893-1911); "II Monitore Ecclesiastico" (Rome, 1876); "The American Ecclesiastical Review" (Philadelphia, 1889); "The Irish Kc-clesiaslical Record" (Dublin, 1865); "Nouvellc licvuc Thrologique" (Tournai, 1869) ; "Theologischprakl isclic Quart alschrift " (Linz) ; "Zeitschrift fiir katholi.sche Theologie" (Innsbruck, 1877).

E. Contents. — From the days w-hen St. Gregory the Great wrote his classic "Regula? pastoralis liber', the duties that make for the care of souls have been conveniently divided into those of the teacher, of the minister of the sa<Ted nivsteries, and of the