The-papacy-its-history-dogmas-genius-and-prospects-wylie

226 OF PENANCE AND CONFESSION.tion of sin from a priest having authority.'"* The Councilof Trent requires all to believe, under pain of damnation,that " the Lord specially instituted the sacrament of penancewhen, after his resurrection, he breathed on his disciples,saying, " Receive ye the Holy Ghost : whosesoeversins ye remit, they are remitted unto them ; and whosesoeversins ye retain, they are retained."-f- The fathers go onto argue, that the power of forgiving sins, which Christ undoubtedlypossessed and exercised, was communicated tothe apostles and their successors, and that the Church hadalways so understood the matter.j Of this last, however,the council adduces no proof, unless we can regard as suchthe anathema with which it attempts to terrify men intothe belief of this dogma. None can be saved, the RomanCatholic Church holds, without the sacrament of penance.It is " as necessary to salvation," says the Council of Trent," for those who have sinned after baptism, as baptism itselffor the unregenerate."§ " Without its intervention," saysthe Trent Catechism, " we cannot obtain, or even hope for,pardon." This sacrament, as regards its form, consists inthe absolution pronounced by the priest ; and as regards itsmatter, it consists in contrition, confession, and satisfaction,which are the acts of the penitent. These are the severalparts which are held to constitute the whole. Let us speakbriefly of each of these.Contrition is defined by Dens to be " sorrow of mind andabhorrence of the sin, with a full purpose not to sin anymore." This differs little from what Protestant divinesIIare accustomed to call godly sorrow ; and had the matterrested here, we might have congratulatedRome on retainingat least one portion of truth ; but she has spoilt allby the distinction which immediately follows of perfect andimperfect contrition. Perfect contrition flows from love to* Theol. Mor. et Dog. Petri Dens, torn. vi. p. 1. + John, xx. pp. 22, 23.t Concil. Trid. sess. xiv. cap. i. § Ibid. sess. xiv. cap. ii.IITheol. Mor. et Dog. Petri Dens, torn. vi. p. 47.