by Paul G. Matheson
The Church teaches that baptism is necessary for salvation, as the Council of Trent declares, “if any one saith, that baptism is free, that is, not necessary unto salvation; let him be anathema” (Sess. 7, Can. 5). If the necessity of baptism means that without actually receiving the sacrament, its end cannot possibly be attained; then the doctrine of baptism of desire would be a contradiction to it, as it entails the possibility of someone being saved who desires the sacrament and is unable to receive it. If, however, the necessity of baptism means this, then we face a dilemma. To be consistent, we would also be required to hold that justification through perfect contrition without actually receiving the sacrament of penance contradicts the necessity of penance. Moreover, we would be forced to conclude that the Council of Trent contradicted itself in its own teachings.
Penance is as Necessary as Baptism
The Council of Trent decreed that the sacrament of penance is necessary for all who have fallen after baptism:
“From the institution of the sacrament of Penance as already explained, the universal Church has always understood that the entire confession of sins was also instituted by the Lord, and is of divine right necessary for all who have fallen after baptism.”
Sess. 14, Ch. 5; bold emphasis added.
In fact, for those who have fallen into mortal sin after baptism, the council declared that the sacrament of penance is as necessary as baptism is for those not yet baptized.
“Baptism is administered but once, and cannot be repeated; penance may be administered and becomes necessary, as often as we may have sinned after baptism, according to the definition of the Fathers of Trent. ‘For those who fall into sin after baptism,’ say they, ‘the sacrament of penance is as necessary to salvation, as is baptism for those who have not been already baptized’ (Session XIV, Chapter II).”
Catechism of the Council of Trent, p.176; bold emphasis added.
The difference between the necessity of these two sacraments is only for whom they are necessary. Baptism is necessary for everyone without qualification, since everyone is conceived with original sin (except Our Lord and Our Lady). Penance is only necessary for those who have fallen into mortal sin after baptism. It isn’t necessary for everyone, since not everyone falls into mortal sin after baptism. But for whom they are necessary, they are equally necessary. This equivalent necessity is not controversial; it has been a common and consistent teaching throughout the history of the Church. Bishop George Hay (d. 1811) explains it here in his 1783 book, The Sincere Christian:
“As it is impossible to obtain salvation while we are in the state of sin, and at enmity with God, and as this sacrament of penance is appointed by Jesus Christ, to be the means of restoring us to the friendship of God, by cleansing us from the guilt of actual sins committed after baptism, in the same way as baptism itself is the means of cleansing us from original sin, and from all actual sins committed before baptism; therefore, the sacrament of penance is absolutely necessary for salvation to those who have lost the grace of God by mortal sin after baptism, as baptism itself is to those who have not yet received it.”
pp.64-65; bold emphasis added.
Necessity of Means – Baptism and Penance
The equivalent necessity of the sacraments of baptism and penance can be better understood by the distinctions of necessity between the sacraments. In his book, Church of Christ, Fr. E. Sylvester Berry, S.T.D. explains, “in regard to attaining salvation, theologians distinguish between those things which are necessary by a necessity of means and those which are necessary by a necessity of precept.” Things that are necessary by a necessity of means are “the means of salvation, constituted such by their nature or by divine institution,” and things that are necessary by a necessity of precept, “are necessary simply because prescribed by law.” (p.235) The sacraments of baptism and penance are necessary by a necessity of means, while the other five sacraments are only necessary as a necessity of precept, as explained in Rev. John Thein’s Ecclesiastical Dictionary:
“There are two sacraments, baptism and penance, which are necessary as the means of salvation: baptism for all men, and penance for all those who after baptism have fallen into mortal sin. The five other sacraments are also necessary for salvation, but only of a necessity of precept, for they are not established to confer first sanctifying grace.”
p.617, “Sacrament”; bold emphasis added.
That both baptism and penance are necessary by a necessity of means has been consistently taught in the Church ever since the means/precept distinction has been used to describe the necessity of sacraments. As examples, here are the teachings of St. Robert Bellarmine and St. Alphonsus Liguori.
“Baptism and Penance are necessary by divine institution, by a necessity of means simply; Baptism indeed for all, Penance for those who sin mortally after Baptism.”
St. Robert Bellarmine, Disputationes, Lib. 1 Cap. 22.
“Some sacraments are necessary for salvation by a necessity of means, at least in implicit desire, such as baptism and penance: but others only by a necessity of precept.”
St. Alphonsus Liguori, Theologia Moralis, Lib. 6, Tract. 1, n. 6.
The Council’s Anathema
Finally, to emphasize just how great the necessity of the sacrament of penance is for those who have fallen into mortal sin after baptism, the Council of Trent anathematized anyone who says such a person is able to be justified without it.
“CANON XXIX.-If any one saith, that he, who has fallen after baptism, is not able by the grace of God to rise again; or, that he is able indeed to recover the justice which he has lost, but by faith alone without the sacrament of Penance, contrary to what the holy Roman and universal Church-instructed by Christ and his Apostles-has hitherto professed, observed, and taught; let him be anathema.”
Sess. 6, Can. 29; bold and italics emphasis added.
To recap, for a baptized person in mortal sin, the sacrament of penance is as necessary as the sacrament of baptism is for those not yet baptized, both sacraments are necessary by a necessity of means, and anyone that says such a person is able to be justified without the sacrament of penance is anathema per the Council of Trent.
Apparent Contradictions
It would, then, appear to be a heresy and direct contradiction of the Council of Trent to say a baptized person in mortal sin is able to be justified without actually receiving the sacrament of penance. But if this is a real contradiction, then we find ourselves in a predicament. For both the council and the council’s catechism explicitly teach that, despite the necessity of penance, perfect contrition may be substituted for it.
“The Synod teaches moreover, that, although it sometimes happen that this contrition is perfect through charity, and reconciles man with God before this sacrament be actually received, the said reconciliation, nevertheless, is not to be ascribed to that contrition, independently of the desire of the sacrament which is included therein.”
Sess. 14, Ch. 4; bold emphasis added.
“The form of a sacrament signifies what the sacrament accomplishes: these words “I absolve thee” signify the accomplishment of absolution from sin through the instrumentality of this sacrament: they therefore constitute its form….This form is not less true, when pronounced by the priest over him, who by means of perfect contrition, has already obtained the pardon of his sins. Perfect contrition, it is true, reconciles the sinner to God, but his justification is not to be ascribed to perfect contrition alone, independently of the desire which it includes of receiving the sacrament of penance.”
Catechism of the Council of Trent, p.161-162; bold emphasis added.
How could the Council of Trent have declared that the sacrament of penance is necessary for all baptized persons who fall into mortal sin, as necessary as baptism is for those not yet baptized, and that it is anathema to say such a person is able to be justified without the sacrament of penance, but then apparently contradict itself by teaching that such a person can be justified without having actually received the sacrament of penance?
This apparent contradiction is resolved by understanding that when the Council of Trent teaches that a sacrament is necessary for salvation, without which a person can’t be justified, it means the sacrament is necessary, at least in desire, and that without receiving those sacraments “or without the desire of them” a person can’t be justified (Sess. 7, Can. 4). There is, then, no real contradiction between the council’s teaching that a baptized person in mortal sin cannot be justified without the sacrament of penance, and its teaching that such a person can, indeed, be justified without actually having received the sacrament. Likewise, as “the sacrament of penance is as necessary to salvation, as is baptism for those who have not been already baptized” (Sess. 14, Ch. 2), there is no real contradiction between the necessity of baptism and the doctrine of baptism of desire.
If we insist that the necessity of baptism entails that salvation cannot possibly be attained without actually receiving the sacrament, then we must hold the same with regard to the necessity of the sacrament of penance for those in mortal sin after baptism. If it’s not possible for someone with the desire for baptism to be saved if they do not actually receive the sacrament before death, then it’s not possible for a baptized person in mortal sin to be saved without actually receiving the sacrament of penance before death, no matter how perfect their contrition may be. If the doctrine of baptism of desire contradicts the necessity of baptism, then the doctrine of perfect contrition contradicts the necessity of penance. If we reject the one, we must reject the other.
References
Bellarmine, St. Robert. Disputationes de controversiis christianae fidei. Tomus Secundus. Cum Pont. Max Caesar. Maiest. Regis Galliae, & Reipub. Venetae Gratia & Privilego. Ingolstadii. Ex Officina Typographica Davidis Sartorii. 1583. https://books.google.com/books?id=0_FoAAAAcAAJ. Trans. by Paul Matheson.
Berry, E. Sylvester, S.T.D. The Church of Christ. St. Louis: B. Herder Book Co. 1927. https://ia803001.us.archive.org/0/items/TheChurchOfChristAnApologeticAndDogmaticTreatiseBerryRev.E.Sylvester5729.o/.
Catechism of the Council of Trent. Published by command of Pope Pius V. Trans. Rev. J. Donovan. Baltimore: Lucas Brothers. 1834. https://books.google.com/books?id=rrE9AAAAYAAJ.
Hay, Bp. George. The Sincere Christian, Instructed in the Faith of Christ From the Written Word, Vol.II. Dublin: P. Wogan. 1783. https://archive.org/details/bim_eighteenth-century_the-sincere-christian-in_hay-george_1783_2.
Liguori, St. Alphonsus. Theologia Moralis. Lib. VI. Paris: Apud Gaume Fratres, Bibliopolas. 1834. https://books.google.com/books?id=sh9MAAAAYAAJ. Trans. by Paul Matheson.
Thein, Rev. John. Ecclesiastical Dictionary. New York: Benzinger Brothers. 1900. https://archive.org/details/ecclesiasticaldi00theirich.
Trent, The Council of. (1545-1563). The Canon and Decrees of the Sacred and Ecumenical Council of Trent. Trans. Rev. J. Waterworth. London: Burns and Oates, Ld., 1848. https://archive.org/details/cu31924029369760.
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