Is Feeneyism Catholic? - Society of St. Pius X

22 IS F EENEYISM C ATHOLIC?
In the Summa Theologica, (I-II, Q.113, A.3-5), St. Thomas
explains that in the process of justification of an adult, having the
use of his reason, there is need of a movement of the free will,
including a movement of faith and a movement of perfect contrition:
no one can be justified if he would remain in complete (even
invincible!) ignorance of the Faith! When the Church speaks of a
possible “implicit desire,” what is implicit is the doctrine of the
sacraments, not the whole doctrine of Christ. St. Augustine had
said before: “He Who created you without you, shall not justify
you without you.” 29 Note that an infant, not having yet the use of
his reason, has no other possibility to be saved than through the
actual reception of the sacrament of baptism, i.e., baptism of water.
The Council of Trent gives great authority to that teaching of
St. Thomas:
[Adults] are disposed for justification in this way: awakened
and assisted by divine grace, they conceive faith “from hearing”
(Rom. 10:7), and they are freely led to God, believing that the
divine Revelation and promises are true, especially that the unjustified
man is justified by God’s grace “through the redemption
which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24); next they know that
they are sinners; and by turning from a salutary fear of divine
justice to a consideration of God’s mercy, they are encouraged
to hope, confident that God will be propitious to them for
Christ’s sake. They begin to love God as the source of all justice
and are thereby moved by a sort of hatred and detestation for sin,
27 ST, II-II, Q.2, A.7. In this article, St. Thomas teaches that, in the Old
Testament, the common of the people could have a mere implicit faith in
Christ, “under the veil of the sacrifices” required in the Old Law, believing
what their leaders and Prophets knew explicitly; he also teaches (ad 3) that
among the Gentiles “if, however, some were saved without receiving any
revelation, [the objection to which he answers referring to the “ministry of
Angels,” he means ‘public revelation’ like that to the Hebrews; he does not
mean ‘without absolutely any revelation’] they were not saved without faith
in the Mediator, for though they did not believe in Him explicitly, they did
nevertheless, have implicit Faith through believing in Divine Providence,
since they believed that God would deliver mankind in whatever way was
pleasing to Him, and according to the revelation of the Spirit to those who
knew the truth.” This last phrase refers to private revelations, made to
Gentiles like Job, “who knew the truth.” St. Augustine gives other examples.
28 Dz. 1677; see also the first example, p.84.
29 Sermon 169, p.661, Biblioteca de los Autores Católicos (henceforth BAC).