Summa de Ecclesia

Notwithstanding the foregoing, it must be said as before, namely that the power of dispensing the sacraments, or the use of the keys, is common to good and evil priests alike. That this was also most fittingly and most wisely ordained, St. Thomas shows thus in bk. 4 of the Contra Gentiles: It seems unfitting that anyone should place the hope of his salvation in the goodness of a mere man. For it is said in Jer. 17: Cursed be the man that trusteth in man. But if a man could not hope to attain salvation through the sacraments unless dispensed by a good minister, he would seem to place the hope of his salvation in some way in man. That we may therefore place the hope of our salvation in Christ alone, who is God and man, it must be confessed that the sacraments are salutary by the power of Christ, whether dispensed through good or through evil ministers. To the reasons adduced to the opposite, then, answer must be made. For their solution it is to be noted, with Master Bonaventure in bk. 3 of the Sentences, dist. 10, that we can speak of the conferral of the keys on someone in two ways: either as regards those things which are of necessity, or as regards those which are of fitness. If we speak in the first way — as regards those things which are of necessity, or for the being of the key — the gift of the Holy Ghost according to freely-given grace suffices; for this, by divine institution, is given infallibly to everyone receiving the sacrament of orders, whether he be good or evil. The reason for this, moreover, is that the gift of freely-given grace is not repugnant to iniquity, since it can exist together with it, as is clear in the case of knowledge and other gifts. And again, perversity is not repugnant to the utility of that gift: for as a preacher of evil life often preaches well and frequently bears fruit — on which account the Lord would not prohibit him who in his name cast out devils although he did not follow him, as is found in Matt. 9, because this was for the utility of others — so, because that good of freely-given grace is ordained and is for¹ the common utility, although it does not profit the recipient, yet it profits others. And therefore the Lord, who in the distribution of the sacraments considers the common utility and does not retract his institution, confers that power even on the evil who have been ordained according to the form of the Catholic Church. If therefore we speak of the keys as regards that which is of their necessity — whether as regards their being or as regards their execution, since nothing is required for this except order and the aforesaid jurisdiction — the aforesaid power of the keys is in the good and in the evil alike. But if we speak as regards those things which regard fitness — since for the due use of the office merit concurs, and the authority of prelacy — it is fitting that such a one have charity or holiness of life: for since that is the office of a mediator and reconciler, and that authority is of judicial power, and no one is a good mediator who is an enemy, and no one is a good judge in that cause in which he is the accused, it is most fitting that the minister of this power be clean and holy. Hence Isa. 52: Be ye clean, you that carry the vessels of the Lord; otherwise, even if he be a minister, yet he is not fit or worthy. With these points noted, it is easy to answer the objections. For to all the authorities adduced to the opposite a single answer can be given, namely that they speak of the keys or of their use as regards fitness, but not as regards necessity: for although all priests have the power of loosing and binding, yet they do not have it rightly and worthily except those who keep the apostolic life and doctrine. Hence the aforesaid authorities do not say that evil priests do not have the aforesaid power, but they signify that those alone use this power worthily and rightly who are such in the aforesaid apostolic life and doctrine, as the Master of the Sentences expounds in bk. 4, dist. 20.

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To the first, then, it is answered that, although holiness of life is required in the minister using the keys by way of congruity, yet not by way of necessity, as was shown above. Hence, since only imitators of the apostles can worthily and rightly bind and loose, that reason well proves that no one worthily has the use of the keys who has not been an imitator of the holiness of Peter. In this sense Aug. says that blessed Peter, who with the power had fitness in the reception of the keys, bore the figure of the good.

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To the second — and the answer is the same — we say that for the use of the keys there is required by necessity the gift of the Holy Ghost, understanding by the gift of the Holy Ghost the gift of freely-given grace, which is the very power of the keys. But understanding by the gift of the Holy Ghost the gift of grace that makes one pleasing, it is not required by necessity, in the sense that without it the thing could not be done, though well by congruity — whether because without it the thing is done unfittingly or not rightly on the part of the user, although one submitting himself to the keys obtains the effect of the keys — and therefore the reason does not go through. To the third it is answered that blessed Aug., as St. Thomas says, speaks of the remission of sins according as holy men cooperate toward it, not by force of the keys but by congruent merit. And therefore he says that God ministers the sacraments even through the evil — among which sacramental absolution is to be counted — but through the members of the dove, that is, through holy men, he effects the remission of sins, inasmuch as by their intercessions he remits sins. Or it can be said that he names as members of the dove all those not cut off from the Church: for those who receive the sacraments from them obtain grace, but not those who receive from those who are cut off from the Church, for by this very fact they sin — except for baptism, which in case of necessity it is licit to receive even from an excommunicate. To the fourth it is answered in the same⁵ way: that Aug. speaks of the remission of sins which is effected not by force of the keys but by congruent merit, or by the suffrage of the Church's prayer. Hence he says: which is given through prayer, that is, through the groaning of the dove; or he speaks as regards fitness, not as regards necessity — whence the gloss on the Decree says thus: The avaricious do not give the remission of sins, that is, they are not worthy to give. Or again, by the avaricious, robbers and usurers he understands those cut off, as the same gloss also expounds. To the fifth it is answered that the saying of blessed Greg. is to be taken just as the saying of blessed Aug. was taken, namely as regards the fitness of the use of the keys or of the dispensation of the sacraments, for it is most true that no one can worthily and rightly execute this as the apostles did, unless he has imitated their doctrine and life. To the sixth, which is the authority of Origen, answer is to be made in the same way. To the seventh reason it is answered, with St. Thomas in bk. 4, that when it is said that no wise etc. — this is true of a king who can be defrauded or deceived, such as earthly kings are; but of such sort is not the heavenly King, who cannot be defrauded: for whatever he does redounds wholly to his honour, even that some use the keys ill, for he knows how to elicit good from evil and even through the evil to do much good — and therefore there is no likeness. To the eighth, with Master Bonaventure in bk. 4, answer is made in two ways. First, that God does not give to the unworthy for his own sake, but for the common utility; and therefore the evil man, although he be not worthy of having, yet can be useful, and therefore he confers it on him. Second, it is said that God does this to show the abundance of his bounty, who maketh his sun to rise upon the good and the evil, Matt. 5. And this for the first book of this Summa.

End of the First Book.