The Buckler of the Faith, Part 2 · Article 35 · Subpart 4
Of Absolution and sacramentall Satisfaction.
Sect. 5 Our Lord Iesus Christ hath giuen power to his Apostles and to theit successors to pardon sinnes, and to binde and lose sinners, Matth. 16.19. and 18.18. and Ioh. 20. A sinner is bound as long as he is obliged to the punishment due for sinne, and is vnbound when he is absolued, and that his conscience is discharged of that obligation to the punishment in which he was before bound.
This power of faithfull Pastors is exercised not only by the preaching of the Gospell in generall, whereby remission of sinnes is promised to all beleeuing and repentant sinners, and the iudgement of God pronounced against all incredulous and impenitent persons: but also by Ecclesiasticall discipline, whereby the penitent sinner is admitted and reconciled to the Church, and the impenitent put from the Communion of the faithfull. Which receiuing or reiecting God declareth to be ratified in heauen, Matth. 18.18. That is the power of the keyes which God hath put into his seruants hands, who pronounce this pardon not as Iudges, but as Ministers, and Heralds of peace and of reconciliation: declaring to the penitent duplicate page duplicate page sinner, that his sinnes are remitted by the authoritie which God giueth to the Preachers of his word. There is none (to speake properly) but God, that can absolutely forgiue sinnes. It belongs to the partie offended absolutly to pardon. It is in him to pardon sinnes, that can punish soules. It is is in him certainely to pardon, which knoweth the hearts, and the interiour repentance of sinners. Now there is none but God to whom these things are proper. In the pardon whereby a Priest pardoneth a sinner for an offence by him committed to God, there are two things to be considered, one, that there is no pardon if the sinner doth not earnestly repent, the other, that he himselfe which pardoneth hath need of pardon. Of these two points, the first is the cause that the Priests pardon is conditionall, because he knoweth not the heart, the other is a cause that the Priest should consider of himselfe, that he is rather a delinquent then a Iudge: and to teach him to feare, lest that after he hath pardoned others, he himselfe may not obtaine pardon. It is a thing certaine, that if a sinner seriously conuerting and beleeuing in Iesus Christ, canot obtaine absolution of his Pastor which is passionate, or badly informed of the truth: God will pardon him. On the contrary, if a Pastor that is indulgent, and winketh at vices, or that is deceiued by apparence of repentance, absolueth an hypocriticall sinner, and receiueth him into the communion of the faithfull, that hypocritall sinner remaineth bound before God, and shall be punished not withstanding. For God partaketh not with the errors of Pastors, neither regardeth their passions, nor can be hind…ed from doing iustice by their ignorance.
As God in the Scripture saith,*1. Cor. 9.22. 1. Tim. 4.16. That Pastors saue mens soules, because God vseth their ministerie to saue them: so Pastors pardon sinners, because God vseth their ministerie to pardon them, giuing efficacie to their words pronounced, either to al men publikely, or priuately to sinners confessing their sinnes, and thereby imprinting an assurance of absolution in sinners hearts, or thereby aggrauating the condemnation of those which despise the pardon by them propounded: this despising being contrary to God himselfe, who in the same place where he giueth them power to preach, saith, As my Father sent me, so I send you. Whose sinnes, &c. The places of Scripture where it is said that Pastors saue men, are 1. Cor. 9.22. I am made all things to all men, that I might by all meanes saue some. And 1. Tim. 4.16. For in doing this, thou shalt both saue thy selfe, and them that heare thee. Lombard, the father of the Romish Schoole, ioyneth with vsus in his fourth booke, Distinct. 28. saying,*Littera F. Dominus Sacerdotib. tribuit potestatē soluendi & ligandi, id est, ostendendi homines esse ligatos vel solutos, The Lord hath giuen power to Priests to binde and vnbinde, that is, to shew that men are bound or vnbound.
The absolutions of the Church of Rome, (as well absolution sacramentall, whereby they say, that the fault of mortal sinne is remitted, as indulgences or pardons, by the which satisfactorie penance is remitted and released) are of another nature.
For their Priests pardon with authoritie of iurisdiction ouer mens soules. And the Pope giues absolutions sealed with lead, in forme of a iudiciall sentence in a Court, although he knoweth not the sinners repentance. He hath reserued the power to himselfe to pardon all sorts of sinnes: and hath limited the power of Bishops and Priests to certaine cases. And vnderunder the shadow and pretence that it was said to Saint Peter, All that which thou shalt vnbinde on earth, he pretends to vnbinde vponupon earth, and to draw soules out of Purgatorie, whereby he reapeth great profit.
And vnderunder pretence, that in the Scripture there is mention made of vnbinding sinnes, he taketh vponupon him to discharge men of their othes, and of the subiection and fidelitie which they owe to their naturall Princes, and children of the obedience which they owe to their fathers and mothets, whensoeuer by dispite or despaire they runne into monasteries, as into a sanctuarie of rebellion. By the same power he dissolueth marriages lawfully contracted, if he find that they hauehave both bin gossips at the christening of an Infant, or are allied by the sacramēt of Confirmation. Which are euident proofs, that the Scripture is alledged by our Aduersaries to vphold this power, more in mockerie then for any hope that they hauehave to be beleeued.
Emman. Sa Aphorism. in verbo Excommunicatio, Absolutio ex causa falsa valet. Tolet. De Instruct. Sacerdot. li. 1 ca. 14 Absolutio in. iustae valet Idid. Potest absolutio fieri per procuratorem Homo inuitus potest absolui ignarus & inscius, vide Azor. li. 1. cap. 9. q. 2 Eman. Sa in verbo Excommunicatio.The absolution of Excommunication, although it be different from that of the sacramentall absolution; yet in regard of the affinitie vntounto it, deserues a line or two. The abuses therein are enormous.
The Doctors of the Church of Rome teach, that vniust absolution is auaileable. Also in the Church of Rome a man is absolued by a Proctor. And there a sinner is absolued when he knoweth it not, yea and against his will, which is as much as to saue a sinner whether he will or not. I hauehave seene those that hauehave caused absolution of their sins to come from Rome by bils of Exchange. The same Doctors say, that an hereticke and an excommunicated person may giuegive absolution at the houre of death. Tolet saith it in his first booke of the Instruction of Priests, chap. 15. That is to say, that an excommunicated person may administer the Communion, and conferre those graces, which he himselfe hath not, and whereof (if he had them) God maketh him no distributer.
Emanuel Sa the Iesuite, in the beginning of his Aphorismes sheweth vsus what words the priest vseth in giuing absolution. Among other things the Priest saith to the sinner: The passion of our Lord Iesus Christ, and the merites of the most blessed Virgine Marie, and of all the Saints; and all the good which thou shalt do, and the euill which thou shalt patiently endure, serue thee for remission of thy sinnes, and for increase of grace, and for reward of eternall life. But the Scripture saith, That the bloud of Iesus Christ cleanseth vsus from all sinne, 1. Iohn. 1.7. And, That we are iustified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Iesus Christ, Rom. 3.24. And, That by him God freely pardoneth all our offences, Coloss. 2.14. And, That there is no saluation in any other, Acts 4.12. Away then with merits, either of our owne, or borrowed of others, and all trauels and humane perfections whereby men pretend to merite pardon before God. For if in all these workes and labours there were nothing to be disliked, yet they are things which we are bound to do. For he which oweth an annuall rent, in paying that yeares rent cannot satisfie and discharge his old debts. Moreouer, to ioyne these things with the infinite merite of the Sonne of God, is, as if a man should tie a blacke coale to a bracelet or chaine of bright shining diamonds, and couple most vnequal things together.
To be short, in what place of the Scripture do they finde one word, to proue, that by our merites, or by the merites of other men, we should deserue pardon of God? That is a new Gospell, a rule of merchandise seruing for trafficke: and a doctrine drawne out of the vnwritten word. The more we stirre this matter, the more the abuse is discouered: it is like a common sincke. The taxe of the Apostolicall Chancerie rateth letters of absolution for eueryevery particular sinne at a certaine price, without excepting parricide or incest. And alwayes sinnes committed against the Pope are rated at an higher price, then those sinnes that are directly committed against God. This trafficke extendeth it selfe euen vntounto the dead.Pro mortuo excommunicato pro quo parentes supplicant litera absolutionis vaenit. Dus. 1. can. 9. For in the 44. leafe of the said Taxe these wordes are found: For a dead man that is excommunicated, for whom his parents are suppliants, a letter of absolution is sold for a ducket and nine Carolus.
And when there is an absolution to be giuen to an excommunicated King, that is done vponupon profitable conditions for the Pope, but preiudiciall and ignominious for the King. Sometime those poore Kings are condemned to certaine stripes in their owne persons; as Henrie the second King of England, that was whipt by a number of Monkes: or in the persons of their Ambassadors, as Henrie the fourth of famous memorie, our late king deceassed, was beaten by Pope Clement 8. with diuers blowes with a staffe, in the person of Monsieur de Perron Bishop of Eureux his Embassador: Or else the Pope condemnes them to send certaine troupes of souldiers to aide his Holinesse, and to make their kingdoms tributarie to the Papall Seate, as he did to Henrie the second, and to Iohn and Henrie the third, Kings of England. By these practises he hath impouerished the Emperours of Germany, and brought a puissant Empire into a poore estate, as we see at this day.
Session 14. c. 6The Councell of Trent maketh this sacramentall absolution vaine and of no effect; declaring, that notwithstanding the faith and contrition of a sinner, yet he ought not to presume that by this absolution his sinnes are truly pardoned, if the Priest at that time had not an intent to absolue him; as oftentimes there are prophane priests, or incredulous, or such as hate those to whom they giuegive absolution. Now this intent of the P…iest is vnknowne, and onelyonly to be presumed. They also make their absolution vaine by the satisfactorie penances which they impose on men. For, vnloosing the sinner by Absolution, at the same instant againe they binde him by corporall punishment, which they impose vponupon him. They pardon him, and in the meane time make him subiect to a punishment. They pardon the fault, and yet constraine him to suffer the punishment. Iesus Christ did not so: For in the 8. of Saint Iohn, pardoning the woman taken in adulterie, he onelyonly said vntounto her, Go, and sinne no more: without imposing any satisfactorie penance, either corporall or pecuniarie on her, after her absolution. All the Ecclesiasticall censures which the ancient Church vsed, and thereby humbled the sinner, were made before Absolution and Reconciliation to the Church. By those exercises of Penitence, the sinner satisfied the Church, but not Gods Iustice, which Iesus Christ hath fully satisfied.
Yet this is not all, for our Aduersaries hauing imposed satisfactorie punishments vponupon a sinner, presently after they dispence with him for money, and change corporall into pecuniary punishments, as we hauehave shewed in the 38. Section of the first booke. Bellarmine in the 13. Chapter 4. booke of Penitence saith, that the Pope by his pardons dischargeth vsus from the obedience of the commandement of God, which saith, Do workes worthy of repentance. That is to preferre the Pope before God.
Indulgentiae faciunt vt pro poenis quae per indulgentias condonantur, non teneamur praecepto illo de faciendis dignis poenitentia fructibus.You must also note, that the Councell of Trent, will not onelyonly hauehave those satisfactions to serue to amend the sinner, but also to take vengeance of sinnes pardoned. A doctrine which contradicteth it selfe: for God taketh no vengeance after he hath pardoned.
Touching cases which a Priest cannot absolue, but are reserued to the Bishop, whose power also is limited, many cases being reserued onelyonly to the Pope himselfe, the Councell of Trent in the 14. Session, groundeth those reseruations vponupon Romans, 13.1. noted in the margent of the said Councell, where Saint Paul saith, Quae à Deo sunt, ordinata sunt: Those things that are of God, are ordained or set downe in order. From whence he inferreth, that superior powers ought to reserue some things to themselues, aboue inferior persons. But this place is falsified both in sence and words: first in the sence; for this place of Saint Paul speaketh of ciuill Magistrates which beare the sword, and not of Pastors of the Church, nor of powers set in ranke and order, but ordained and established by God. Secondly, in the words, for according to the Greeke originall it is, For the powers that be, foreign.are established or ordained of God. And so the French Bible translated by the Doctors of Louain hath it. With such quotations the margent of that Councell is filled.
Those Prelates quoted not Mathew 18.18. nor Iohn 20.23. where Iesus Christ giueth all his disciples equall power to pardon all manner of sinnes, without reseruing any cases to Saint Peter, saying, Whatsoeuer you bind on earth, shall be bound in heauen; and whatsoeuer ye loose on earth, shall be loosed in heauen.