Summa Theologiae Moralis, vol. I: De Principiis

S. Th. II-II, q. 33; De Virt., q. 3.

935. There are seven spiritual almsgivings: 1) to pray for all, of which it is said in the tr. on Religion; 2) to forgive those who offend, of which was said above n. 898; 3) to console the sad, and 4) to bear with the burdensome and heavy, which pertain rather to those who are constituted in office; 5) to teach the ignorant; 6) to counsel the doubtful; 7) to correct the sinner, of which is to be said here, especially of the last which is the chief and presents a special difficulty.

936. Correction of a sinner is either judicial or fraternal:

1° That one is employed a) against sin inasmuch as it is an evil for others, especially for the common good; b) and is done to repair the order, c) by punishment of the offender; this one is a) a remedy for sin inasmuch as it is an evil of the sinner himself, b) and is done simply by his admonition, and c) directed to his amendment.

2° That one is an act of justice; this one is the chief spiritual almsgiving, whence it is an act of mercy commanded by charity.

3° That one is done by juridical action by a superior as judge; this one is done by a neighbor as by a brother for the good of the brother, and if it is done by a superior, it is not done by him as a superior, but as a private person. Hence it is defined: an admonition of a sinful neighbor made by a private person or quasi-private person that the neighbor be amended; or with S. Thomas, IV Sent., d. 19, q. 2, a. 1: an admonition of a brother concerning the amendment of faults proceeding from fraternal charity.

Between the two is paternal, which is done by a superior with authority, but without the form of a trial, for amendment and to remove scandal.

937. By natural and divine law there is a precept of fraternal correction grave of its genus. — It is proved:*:

a) From S. Matt. XVIII, 15: "If your brother sins against you, go and correct him between you and him alone; if he listens to you, you will have gained your brother" (cfr. Lev. XIX, 17; Eccli. XVII, 12; XIX, 13 sq.; Lk. XVII, 3; Gal. VI, 1; I Thes. V, 14; II Thes. III, 15).

b) From reason: By the law of nature and charity we are bound to help our neighbor who is in corporal need; therefore much more one in spiritual need. — Moreover we ought to love our neighbor; but the love of neighbor includes to wish and provide him good; therefore much more to avert a grave evil from him, such as certain mortal sin.

That precept, like charity, per se obliges all toward all, i.e. not only superiors who are bound to correct both by office or justice, and also by the order of charity because they are more suitable and more united to their subjects; but also it obliges equals, indeed subjects and sinners, although these are excused by many circumstances, as not always suitable for correction.

Superiors are parents, husband, guardians, masters and teachers, masters with respect to servants, bishops, prelates and parish priests, confessors with respect to penitents, preachers with respect to listeners.

938. Conditions required for fraternal correction. — Five conditions are required together that this precept oblige here and now:

1) Certain matter, i.e. a grave sin certainly committed, in which it is foreseen that the neighbor will relapse, or in which it is feared he will die, or will not do penance in due time.

It is said: grave sin, because since every correction is burdensome to the one correcting and includes at least some slight inconvenience, per se and ordinarily it does not oblige to remove a slight evil from the neighbor. Then a morally certain knowledge of the grave sin is required because of the danger of one's own rashness and of offending another; if there is doubt, a private person should not and cannot inquire into the life of the neighbor because it would be very burdensome and hateful to others (Prov. XXIV, 15); otherwise sometimes a superior who has the care and providence of others¹.

2) Necessity, i.e. probability that the neighbor will not amend himself of his own accord and that another equally suitable person will not correct him.

3) Utility, i.e. well-founded hope of amendment, or probability that the correction will not be harmful (e.g. by impelling to new or graver sins) but beneficial either immediately, or at least after some time. For when the end ceases the precept ceases.

Hence a) if the correction is doubtfully useful but certainly not harmful, it is to be done;

b) if the utility is not probable but doubtful, so that amendment is equally hoped for and harm is feared, per se and in general it is to be omitted because the negative precept of not harming obliges more than the affirmative precept of doing good;

c) however in such doubt, per accidens and exceptionally it is to be done, if it is foreseen that the neighbor will die in sin, or a greater evil is feared which must be prevented, e.g. dishonor of God, irreverence to religion, scandal or harm to many or to the state, indeed harm to one if it is greater or more feared than the harm of the sinner; likewise if by office the correction must be done by a superior, who even with slight hope is bound to admonish, lest discipline be weakened or scandal harm others.

4) Possibility, i.e. that it can be done without excessive inconvenience to the one correcting, such as is not the danger of some indignation which is almost always present.

The inconvenience is to be undergone all the greater, the greater is the necessity of the neighbor (in extreme necessity even with danger of life), or the gravity of the sin, or the probability of fruit, or the obligation of correcting. And indeed superiors are bound even with great inconvenience in grave necessity, indeed with danger of life if they are bound by justice, as bishops, parish priests, teachers; or with some great detriment, as parents, masters, husband, teachers; — on the contrary servants and subjects are rarely bound when the matter is easily doubtful in a particular case.

5) Opportunity, i.e. that the time, place and other circumstances suitable for amendment are present here and now: for the affirmative precept does not oblige for always, but only in sufficient circumstances.

Therefore it is not always to be employed immediately, but is often to be deferred to an opportune time, when more fruit is hoped for; indeed sometimes the reiteration of sin can be permitted that the sinner may more fervently repent, if immediate fruit is not hoped for. But if immediate fruit is hoped for, let it be done immediately, if scandal harmful to others is to be removed, or if the honor of God or of the neighbor is to be defended.

939. The manner and order to be observed in correction. — Fraternal correction can be done either by suitable speech, or by equivalent deeds or signs, by showing a sad countenance, diverting speech to other things, withdrawing temporal help, or by other ways by which the neighbor is openly or implicitly admonished.

It should always be done with great prudence and with the affection of charity, and indeed toward inferiors and equals with kindness and love (Gal. VI, 1), toward superiors with humility and reverence (I Tim. V, 1).

Lest one sin against justice by harming the reputation of a neighbor without necessity (Mt. XVIII, 15), the order to be observed in correction is prescribed: first it is to be done secretly, and this often, as long as fruit is hoped for; but if it does not help, one or two witnesses are to be employed; and if it still does not help, denunciation is made to the superior who first corrects paternally, then, if necessary, also judicially. But that order can be changed so that denunciation is made immediately: a) if the offense is public, known to the greater part of the community or soon to be made known; b) if private admonition is foreseen not to be profitable, especially if the necessity of correction is urgent, as if the sin is to the harm of the community or of religion, or to the grave harm of a third party (e.g. of reputation, of corruption of others); c) if amendment by the superior is foreseen to be much more sure and fruitful, provided the superior is prudent and discreet; d) if some law imposes denunciation, as for soliciting confessors.

940. To omit fraternal correction is a mortal sin of its genus. According to S. Thomas, if someone presumes of someone that he could draw him back from sin, and yet for fear or cupidity or shame absolutely refuses to make the correction, he sins mortally because he prefers fear, etc. to fraternal charity; but if someone is only made slower to correct from these, so that however if it were clear to him that he could draw his brother back from sin, he would not omit it, he sins only venially, because the reason of the end is not removed, e.g. if he were negligent in considering the circumstances and opportunity in which he is bound to correct, or culpably thinking himself not suitable for it.

941. The matter of correction are only grave sins committed, and therefore are not:

1) Sins to be committed: for these are matter of admonition (to counsel the doubtful), which obliges in the same circumstances as correction.

2) Material sins done from invincible or at least not gravely culpable ignorance: these are matter of instruction (to teach the ignorant), which is also of precept in the same circumstances as correction, not only out of reverence for the law but also out of charity, because the bad ignorance of those things which one is bound to know is an evil to be removed from the neighbor just like sin; however less strictly and often only under venial because it is a lesser evil. Hence according to many it is probable that private persons are not bound to instruct others about material sins against positive law (divine or human) only committed, because these are not intrinsically evil and therefore of lesser moment; it would be otherwise if by office one were bound to teach others, or if from the ignorance there arose harm to the ignorant one, or to a third party, or scandal, or irreverence toward God or religion, etc.

3) Venial sins. These however per accidens can be matter of correction, instruction or admonition sometimes to be done even under grave obligation, both by reason of the effect e.g. if from them follows a proximate danger of mortal sinning, or great scandal, or another grave evil for religion or the common good, such as disturbance of tranquility in the community, or relaxation of regular discipline in the monastery; and by reason of office, for superiors because they have the care of others.

942. Instruction of the ignorant is useful and therefore, the other conditions being supposed, is to be done in general:

1) If the ignorance is vincible and gravely culpable, e.g. if one is not in good faith but doubts, as if he should ask.

2) If the ignorance will soon become vincible, as if one ignores laws which cannot be long ignored, e.g. the first principles and first conclusions of natural law, or the obvious duties of state (of priest, of father, of judge).

3) If the ignorance is not gravely culpable, but harmful to the ignorant one, e.g. if it concerns things necessary for salvation, or induces occasion or proximate danger of sinning or of persevering in sin, or is the cause of thinking something to be sin which is not, or to be mortal which is venial.

4) Even if the ignorance is invincible and favorable, but the admonition is probably going to be profitable, at least after some time, and no greater inconveniences are feared such as infamy for others, scandal, hatreds, quarrels, e.g. about the dissolution of an invalid marriage.

On the contrary in general it is to be omitted because of a greater evil, namely if the ignorance is not gravely culpable and

a) the admonition is doubtfully profitable to the ignorant one and equally doubtfully harmful (with positive doubt), because formal sin is more to be prevented than material sin².

b) more so if it is probably not profitable, unless however a greater harm is feared either public (great scandal), or of a third party (omission of restitution), or of the ignorant one himself (a bad custom e.g. of pollution difficult to overcome);

c) most of all if it is certainly not profitable; unless however silence is equivalent to approval (e.g. if a priest or teacher being asked or seeing fornication, pollution, theft, keeps silent), or unless from not admonishing follows great harm to many or public, because the common good or of many is to be preferred to the private good of one (thus per se a priest would invalidly consecrate, or a teacher teach errors, or spouses who exercise the act of marriage so as to prevent generation), not however if harm to one follows because the spiritual good of the ignorant one can be preferred.

943. Practical remarks. — 1. Since the conditions required for the obligation of fraternal correction are rarely present for private persons (unless they are intimately united), these are rarely bound to correction, especially toward strangers whose inquiry is unknown, and therefore amendment is very doubtful. A fortiori the scrupulous are rarely bound to it, who for want of discretion would always think themselves bound to correct others, or would always doubt about it, and most often would commit improprieties.

2. The sinner is bound to amend himself at the correction: a) if he is a superior, because he is bound to procure those things which are necessary for the right fulfillment of his office, among which is his own amendment; b) if he is a scandal to others, because he is bound to abstain from scandal; c) if the neighbor is in mortal sin and about to die, unless he himself amended corrects, because then a grave necessity seems to be present to which with some inconvenience he must help.

3. In communities, colleges, etc. it is generally expedient that correction be done by way of denunciation to the superior: for he who would denounce could easily know, if he first privately admonished; indeed where it concerns grave harm to the community (not of one or another), the companions could not be absolved who refuse to denounce.

4. As to denunciation to a superior S. Alphonsus notes:

a) If it is certainly known that the brother has perfectly amended the hidden sin, and there is no danger of relapse or harm to himself or another from it, it is not lawful to denounce to the father or prelate, unless the brother expressly consents to this denunciation.

b) It is not lawful to refer the offense to mediate superiors, if the immediate superior can correct by himself, and there is no probable suspicion that he will fail in his duty; for the reputation of the neighbor, as far as possible, must be safeguarded.

c) A superior, by virtue of the knowledge obtained through private denunciation made to him as a father, cannot publicly proceed or proceed judicially, because the offense was not made manifest to him as judge.