Quem mortalia crimina post Baptismum commissa premunt hortor prius publica poenitentia satisfacere ita sacerâ—otis iudicio reconciliatum communioni sociari si vult non ad iudicium condemnationem sui Eucharistiam percipere sed secreta satisfactione solui mortalia crimina non negamus I exhorte euery man saieth this holy doctour that is burdened after his baptisme with mortall sinne to satisfie for the same by publike penaunce and to be reconciled by the priestes iudgement and to be restored to the communion of Sainctes if he meane to receiue the holy Sacrament not to his iudgement and condemnation And I deny not in this case but deadly sinnes may be remitted by secrette satisfaction Thus he By whose woordes you see in what a damnable state moste men now of dayes stand seeing that who so euer receiueth the Sacrament of Christes body and bloud besore he be reconciled by a priestes sentence and assoiled of his sinnes he doth receiue it to his euerlasting damnatioÌ„ Vnto whose iudgemeÌ„t I ioyne S. CypriaÌ„ in this same matter complaining very earnestly vpon certayne Conuersies in his dayes that would aduenture vpon Christes body and bloude Serm. de lapsis aute exomologesim factam criminis ante purgatam conscientiam sacrificio manu sacerdotis Besore their sinnes be confessed and their coÌ„sciences purged by sacrifice and the Priestes hande Al these thinges might be at large declared and confirmed further by the iudgemeÌ„t of most auncient Fathers but because I haue bene very long and enough already may seme to be sayde for suche as by reason wil be satisfied and a great deale more then any Protestant wil aunswer vnto and also the scriptures theÌ„ selues giuing the priest so plainl power of binding and reteining as weâ— as of remitting and loosing will doo more with these that haue charged them selues with the belief of nothing that is not in expresse writing of Gods woord then the vniforme consent of al ages and the moste notable persons in the same In respect of their humour therfore I wil not say much more for this pointe then I haue sayed onely my meaning now is for the Catholiques comforte to repete a fewe suche euident sentences out of most authentique authors by whom we may take a taste not onely of their meaninges which is much for the matter but especially of the Churches practise in al ages most couÌ„tries christened since the Apostles time which I accoÌ„pt the most surest way to touche and trye trueth by that by the example of al our forefathers euery man may willingly learne to submit him selfe to the senteÌ„ce of suche as God hath made the iudges of his soule and sinnes That confession hath euer bene vsed of al mortal sinnes in al couÌ„tries and ages since â—hristes time it is proued by the witnesse of moste learned fathers with an aunswer to suche thinges as oute of the fathers be sometimes obiected to the contrarie The eleuenth Chap. I am the longer in this approued trueth because I remember what S. Chrisostom saieth Dâ— sacerli 2. And I see by these dayes that it is very true which he writeth Multa arte opus esse vt qui laborant Christiani vltrò sibiipsis persuadeant sacerdotum curationibus sese submittere That it is a pointe of highe wisdom and conning to bring to passe that Christian men which are sicke in soule would persuade them selues to submitte in all causes them selues to the priestes curing For in deede in Nectarius his predecessours dayes ther was suche an offence arose to the simple sorte and such a Trageady in Constantinople Church by the noughty facte of a Deacon there An aunsvver to a certaine storie alleaged by the aduersaries against CoÌ„fession that their Bishoppe was gladde to make the state of penaunce whiche then was often publiste euen for priuate sinnes to be a great deale more free then before Whervppon the people tooke occasion of suche liberty and licentious life that when their common Penitenciarie by the commandement of Nectarius was remoued they were exceding loath to confesse or doo iuste Penaunce for their sinnes att all Thughe that good man condescending to the peoples weakenes ment neuer to take away that whole order wherein he had no authority because it is no politike prouision but Christes institution but onely that the penaunce should not be publike except the party listed of those sinnes which were to the saied Penitenciarie confessed in secrette Which facte of his thoughe perchaunce it was necessary for that tyme yet it was not allowed of the Writers of the same History Lib. 9. ca. 35 tripar histor as a thing sayeth Sozomenus that broughte muche dissolute life and alteration of the peoples manners in to the Churche Yet oure aduersaries are in such distresse for the maintenaunce of their contrary assertion against holie Confession that they be not ashamed to alleadge this mans doubtfull example Whiche if it were good and to be folowed yet made yt nothing against priuate shrifte which they call nowe auricular confession or if it did make againste the whole Sacrament euery way ministered yet it coulde not of reason be folowed being but one Bishoppes compelled acte and that disalowed euen of the reporters them selues and proued to be euel by the practise of all Churches christened to the contrary And sure it is that S. Chrysostome who succeded Nectarius had much a doo to bring the people made more licencious by the foresayd graunt to the distincte numbering of all their sinnes to the priest Sermon de paenit coÌ„fess againe which he knewe to be necessary by Christes institution and therefore in exhorting them to confession he speaketh much of bashfullnes which the people had in vttering their sinnes and of feare of vpbraiding of suche thinges as they had confessed to the priestes and of comming furth as it were to a publike stage to open their offences as the vse was in his predecessours dayes Of al which thinges and other impedimeÌ„tes of confession this doctor doth discharge the penitents by awarranting them that priuate confession which is made without witnesse and to him that shall no laye any thing confessed to theire chardge or open it to the worlde is enough thoughe the open order vsed before he counteth the more perfect and better wherin he saieth that Iob was not a shamed to confesse his faultes before the worlde muche lesse Christen men shoulde be abashed to open them selues to God not meaning so by confession made to God as thougâ—e he discharged them of opening their sinnes in the close consistorie of the priestes iudgment which he in deede did not but he meaneth Magister quaâ—to seÌ„tentiaruÌ„ as the Maister firste aunswered and other schole men of greate and exacte iudgement after him that in steede of publike confession made in the face of the Church secrette opening to the priest who occupieth there the seate of God and therefore would
much more theÌ„ must we now vse the same where it is more required where Christ hath instituted a Sacrament to that ende to remit sinnes committed by relapse after Baptisme Mat. 3. Mar 1. And in dede the custom of Iohn the Baptist proueth that there was a kind of confession necessarie or at the leaste conuenient before the institutioÌ„ of this SacrameÌ„t For the EuaÌ„gelistes doo say Baptizabantur ab eo in Iordane confiâ—entes peccata sua men were baptised of him in Iordan and made coÌ„fession of their sinnes So that Iohn may seme to haue prepared the way to Christes doctrine and Sacramentes not onely by his baptisme but also by the vsing of the people to confesse their faultes and yet it is not necessarie that his vsage of penaunce should be of like force or should conteyne an exact confession of euerie sinne as the institution of Christ afterward did include no more theÌ„ this batism may be thought to be fully answerable either in maner of vsage or force efficacy to the holy sacrameÌ„t of Baptisme by Christ instituted for the office of the new lawe And in an other place the sayd S. Basil treateth how yong Nons and holie sacred Virgens shoulde confesse Questione 100. them selues And in an other place he admonisheth all men to be circuÌ„spect in choice of their ghostlie father by whose sentence sinnes ought with singular discretion to be iudged or examined Whereby it is most manifeste that coÌ„fession to the priestes was vsed and compted necessarie in his dayes Nicephorus later then he Niceph cartophilax ad Theodos but a learned Greke writer declareth also vnto Theodosius a moncke that the power of binding and loosing sinnes was committed to Bishopes by oure merciful Lorde Christe Iesus in so much saith he that once all men came and confessed their secrete sinnes to them by whome they either receiued pardon or were put backe But nowe throughe the encrease of Christian people and great tediousnes of the worke they haue coÌ„mitted this busines much what to religious persons such as he of tried coÌ„ditions for to be most profitable to others Thus saith he in sense These therfore many other do testify for their Church in what soleÌ„ne vse sacramental Confession hath euer ben wherin we haue the lesse need to stand loÌ„g seing the same History that our Aduersaries doe somtime alleadge plainely reporteth that not only in the Church of Constantinople but also in the west Churches Penitentiaries appointed to heare Confessions and namely at Rome alwaies since Nouatus the Heretiks false opinion touching penance rose a vertuous Priest sadde secreat and wise was appointed to heare the sinnes of al men and was called the Penitentiarie then as he and the like of that office be called yet We call them Confessours of olde in Grece they were named Spirituall maisters or Fathers as we now terme them in our Mother tongue Ghostlie Fathers also Qui secundùm vnius cuiusque culpam indicebant mulctam Who saieth Sozomenus according to euery mans faulte prescribed due penance Which penaÌ„ce though it were often openlie done by the confessours appointment yet the sinnes were not knowen for whiche the penance was prescribed For the confession was secreat or auricular as we call it now as is plaine by the Historie elles the Prieste of that office should not haue bene charged with secrecie and silence though the confession sometimes was also open where the penitents deuotion or desire so required as it may be yet For it is no mater for the substance of the Sacramente whether it be publike or priuate And it is the condiscending to the peoples weaknes that that should be so secreat generally which often in old time hath ben opeÌ„ And yet I think no man was euer coÌ„pelled by any precept of the Church to coÌ„fesse in the publik face of the Church his sinnes that were coÌ„mitted secretly Epist ad Episc Piceni Campaniae See this place at large by and by folovving hereafter Though in Leo the great his daies there was a custome not allowable that men were forced to geue vppe a libell openly of all their sinnes Which rigorous custom the saied holy Father afterward abrogated Neuer the lesse the penance was of olde often publike the fourme wherof appeareth in S. Ambrose in Tertullian who both haue written seueral bookes De Poenitentia PoeniteÌ„tes in S. Augustine in sundrie places and in this present Historie of Sozomenus And loÌ„g after their daies there were some that were called Poenitentes PeniteÌ„ts which were barred from the holy CoÌ„munion the secrets sone raigne holy of the blessed mysteries of the Masse so long as their prescribed penaÌ„ce indured besides fasting almose other like penalties enioyned And especially in LeÌ„t time there wer of these deuout publik Penitents as appereth by diuerse orders of the seruice in the Church appointed agreeing to theÌ„ who lightly were seperated till the celebrating of Christes supper passioÌ„ in the holy daies next before Easter Wherof yet in most Churches ther remaineth a smal signe by disciplin geueÌ„ to the people with rods on the same daies But now these many yeres the peoples feablenes considered there is no publike Penance geuen nor receiued in the Sacrament muche lesse open Confession made of any secret crimes the Churche being well assured that this Auricular Confession fullie aunswereth Christes institution and agreeth also with the often practise of the Primitiue Church herein though the Heretikes and some of their faultours as Beatus Rhenanus B. Rhenanus or who els so euer wrote the Preface that commonlie is annexed to Tertullian deny the same And truely seing their wanton pleasure is not to beare secreat Confession I dare sai thei caÌ„ much lesse away with publike Penance or Confession which is a thousand times more burdenous But now if you would coÌ„ferre with the Fathers of al ages and of euery notable Church touching this Confession to Gods Priests you may beginne if you list euen at this day and driue vppe both the truth of the doctrine the perpetual practise thereof euen to the Apostles time Sess 14. Cap. 5. de Confess Ca. 3. â— In the late holie Councell holden at Trent bothe the doctrine is confirmed declared with al grauitie and also the Aduersaries of that Sacrament and the misconstruers of Christes woordes of remission to pertaine to preaching of the Gospel and not to the very act of absolution De Sacrament Poeniten be by the consent of al Catholike states of the Christian world accursed excommunicated It was at Florence also decreed in a most notable generall assemblie of both the Latin and Greke Churche that as well the whole Sacrament of Penance as that especiall part which is called Confession was of Christes institution In the great Councel holden at Lateran Can. 21. Omnis vtriusque sexus there is so plain charge geuen to euery
what should we talke of other impedimentes where this comfortable motion is so great What comforte can be more theÌ„ to haue suche a frend who for that I ioyne with him yea euen my owne soule to his after the dearest maner and moste secret sorte must needes be to me as a ful staye in al doubtes of conscience a witnesse of my sorowfull harte an intercessour for my sinnes a suerty before God for my amending a minister in my reconciliation and one that vnder Christ as S. Clement also saieth shal both beare my sinnes vpon him selfe Clemens li. 2. coÌ„sti cap. 23. and take charge of me to saluation In which case me thinke surely man is after a sorte set in merueilous quietnesse and almost discharged euen of him selfe his owne custody whiles he giueth ouer his owne aduise iudgement and wholly hangeth in earth vpon him whome God hath appoynted to be his pastour and gouernoure of his soule Therfore good Reader cal vpon Christ for encrease of saith and beleue onely this ordinaunce of God was of infinite wisdome and high prouidence prouided for thy sake and it caÌ„ not be burdenous vnto thee Christ shal giue thee courage and hart to withstand the contrary temptations and so serue him though thou forsake thy selfe To vs therfore confusion of face for oure sinful life and to him honoure and glory euerlasting AMEN THE SECOND PARTE OF THE TREATISE concerning the Popes Pardons The authour by iuste causes was moued to beleue the trueth of this doctrine of PardoÌ„s before he knewe the meaning of them and afterwarde founde them to be of greater importaunce then he tooke them before to be The first Chapter OF the highe power of remission and pardoning of sinnes giuen by Christ to his onely spouse the Church in the persons of her holy Bishopes and priestes as a thing annexed to the whole order to be exercised in the sacrameÌ„t of penauÌ„ce vpon al men that be of their seuerall iurisdictions and humbly shall submitte themselues by confession of their faultes to their iudgementes I haue already spoken so muche as may suffice for the satisfiyng of the sober and iust reproufe of the contentious And now because as wel the course of my former matter as the speciall neede of these dayes driueth me therevnto I wil make further searche and trial of the right of that chalenge The argument of the treatise folovving which as wel the highe Prieste as other principall Pastours and Bishoppes make by the force of their prelacie and keye of iurisdiction ouer and aboue the power of orders touching Pardons IndulgeÌ„cies Wherof whiles I doo intreate the more attention hede I require of thee gentle Reader because here al the lamentable Tragedy and toile of this time first did begin and here haue al those that perished in the late contradiction of Core principally fallen And in no article of Christian faith euer more offence hath bene receiued of all sortes almost euen of the wise then in this one of the Popes pardons And to be plain in the matter Tvvo causes moued the Authour to thinkâ— pardons good where sincerity is most required two causes moued me to beleue like and allowe the sayde power of Pardons and indulgencies long before I either knew the coÌ„modity of them or had sought out the ground and meaning of them First was the Churches authority which I credited in al other articles long before I knewe any of them or coulde by reason or scripture mainteine them Whose iudgemente to folowe by my Christian professioÌ„ in al other pointes and to forsake in this one of the Popes PardoÌ„s had bene mere folly and a signe of phaÌ„tasticall choice of thinges indifferent which is the proper passion of heresy Neither did I theÌ„ know that the Church of Châ—iâ—â— had allowed such thinges because I had red the determination of any generall Councels or the Decrees of some chife gouernours of the sayde Church touching suche Pardons or because I had by histories and note of diuers ages seeÌ„ the practise of the faithfull people herein by whiche wayes her meaning of doubtfull thinges is most assuredly knowen but onely I deemed that the Church allowed them and misliked the contrary because such as bare the name of christiaÌ„ folke and catholike men did approue them and sometimes lamented the lacke of them A good rule for the vnlearned And surely for an vnlearned man I count it the briefest rule in the worlde to kepe him selfe both in faith and conuersatioÌ„ euer with that company which by the general and common callinge of the people be named Catholikes For that name kept S. Augustin him selfe in the trueth and trew Church Contra epistolam Manichaei quam vocant fundamenti cap. 4. muche more it may doe the simple sorte who is not hable to stande with an Heretique that will chaleÌ„ge the Church to him selfe by Sophistical reasons froÌ„ the ChristiaÌ„s that for lacke of learninge can not aunswer him Well this coÌ„pany of Catholikes brought me to knowe the Church my Creed caused me to beleue the Churche no lesse coÌ„cerning the Popes Pardons then any other arcicle of oure Christian professioÌ„ which though it were not of like weight yet it was to me of like trueth and al in like vnknowen at the time The second cause that moued me to reuerence the power of pardoning in the highe Bishope The secoÌ„d cause that moued the vvriter herof to beleue that pardoÌ„s vveâ— good and to like his Indulgencies was the very persons of them which first reproued the same In whoÌ„ because I saw the world to note wonder at other many most blasphemouse inexcusale heresies I verily deemed thoughe I was then for my age almost ignorant of al thinges that this opinion and impugnation of Pardons coulde neither be of God nor of good motion that first beganne in them and begatte suche a number of most wicked and contentious opinions as streight vpoÌ„ the costrolling of the Churches power herein did ensue not onely against Christes officers in earth but against his Saintes in heauen and against him selfe in the blessed Sacrament This extreme intollerable issue methought verely could haue no holy entrance therefore with the other named cause stayed me in the Churches faith euen theÌ„ wheÌ„ I had no feeling nor sense in the meaning of these matters But afterwarde reading the history of the pitiful fal of oure time and there considering the finister intent and occasion of the first improufe of Pardons al the straÌ„ge endeuours of Luther whose name is cursed to all good men who first in all mans memory sauing one wicleffe who was condemned in Constance Councel for the same was so bold onely vpon contentioÌ„ and couetousnes to condemne that which him self in coÌ„science knewe to be true and lawful I could not but muche be confirmed in my faith therby And yet al this while thoughe the matter of Pardons seemed to