47                     TRUE

Devotion to the saints and particularly to the Most Blessed Virgin Mary in no way leads the faithful away from Jesus Christ. On the contrary, it constitutes a normal and excellent treasure [capital], and, in what concerns the Blessed Virgin, one necessary for arriving at union with Jesus Christ.

FALSE

Devotion to the saints and especially to our Lady easily causes the faithful to stray from genuine Catholic piety, which is par excellence Christocentric.

Explanation: Religious ignorance and certain pagan superstitions incline very many people to make of the saints an object of false piety, an abuse which, even occurs in the case of Christ. This is what can be seen sometimes in some parts of Our Diocese or in other regions of Brazil. The risk is not always strictly speaking to be found in devotion to the saints, but rather in religious ignorance and especially in the superstitions inherited from pagan forebears. Devotion to the saints and to our Lady as it exists in most of the pious persons of our cities presents neither exaggeration nor symptoms that would give cause for fear that such exaggerations might occur. For the rest, according to St. Thomas¹ our prayers must ascend to the throne of God by the same channel by which the divine benefits descend. As these have come by way of the saints' intercession, it is by devotion to the saints that we must approach God.

On the vital role of Mary in our sanctification, St. Pius X has written:

"...all we who are united to Christ, and as the Apostle says are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones (Eph. 5:30), have issued from the womb of Mary like a body united to its head." And further on: "If then the most Blessed Virgin is the Mother at once of God and men, who can doubt that she will work with all diligence to procure that Christ, Head of the Body of the Church (Col. 1:18), may transfuse His gifts into us, His members, and above all that of knowing Him and living through Him (I Jn. 4:9)?" And finally: "But Mary, as St. Bernard justly remarks, is the channel;² or, if you will, the connecting portion the function of which is to join the body to the head and to transmit to the body the influences and volitions of the head–We mean the neck."³

48                    TRUE

Assiduousness in receiving the sacrament of Penance is encouraged by the Church and recommended by all the doctors of the spiritual life. The Confiteor of the Mass cannot efface mortal sins. As for the forgiveness of venial sins, it can be obtained through sacramentals, like, for example, the Confiteor of the Mass, when it is accompanied by true contrition and a firm purpose of amendment. Someone who would renounce the practice of frequent confession and be content to use only the sacramentals would be deprived of many advantages

FALSE

Assiduousness in receiving the sacrament of Penance constitutes a blameworthy devotion. The Church is satisfied if the faithful confess their sins once a year. The confession made at the foot of the altar when one assists at holy Mass suffices to obtain the forgiveness of sins and precious graces which only the sacrament of Penance confers, and would be acting against the mind of the Church.

Explanation: The refuted sentence upholds an ascetical doctrine condemned by the Church's tradition and recently proscribed by Mystici Corporis Christi⁴ of Pope Pius XII:

The same result [the deplorable ruin of the faithful] follows from the opinions of those who assert that little importance should be given to the frequent confession of venial sins. Far more important, they say, is that general confession which the Spouse of Christ, surrounded by her children in the Lord, makes each day by the mouth of the priest as he approaches the altar of God.

Further on he insists:

But to ensure more rapid progress day by day in the path of virtue, We will that the pious practice of frequent confession, which was introduced into the Church by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, should be earnestly advocated. By it genuine self-knowledge is increased, Christian humility grows, bad habits are corrected, spiritual neglect and tepidity are resisted, the conscience is purified, the will strengthened, a salutary self-control is attained, and grace is increased in virtue of the Sacrament itself.

He concludes with this bitter censure: "Let those, therefore, among the younger clergy who make light of or lessen esteem for frequent confession realize that what they are doing is alien to the Spirit of Christ and disastrous for the Mystical Body of our Savior."⁵

49                        TRUE

Christian obedience consists in respect for all orders emanating from legitimate superiors as long as they do not command sin. It is not right for subjects to disobey an order simply because they do not deem it prudent.

FALSE

The orders of superiors must be executed when they seem prudent to subordinates. Obedience to imprudent commands bespeaks a servility incompatible with Christian dignity.

Explanation: The refuted proposition belongs to the so-called "new morality" condemned by the Holy Father in his allocution of March 23, 1952. It denies the theological unity of man and thus the subordination of all his actions to a last end, and, consequently, the subordination of all areas of human activity to a superior body of moral rules which regulate them in their own way.

The refuted sentence would logically lead to the doctrine of those who affirm the absolute identity between being and goodness, such that all growth in being would amount to progress in the good "simpliciter." That would mean that, for example, the more an artist develops as an artist, the more he would develop in absolute goodness. And as God is at the summit of the scale of being, whoever progresses in this path will necessarily grow nearer to God who is the Supreme Good. According to this notion, the conformity or incompatibility of the work of art with moral precepts is extrinsic and can nowise affect this ontological ascent towards God.

50                       TRUE

The proximate ends of all human activities aim at a last end which gives them unity and worth. Therefore, the principles that regard this last end thus govern all the secondary ends which relate to each specific domain of human activity.

FALSE

In the domains of human activity (business, art, literature, leisure, sports, etc.) man need only take into consideration the principles which are proper to each domain. Thus, for example, a work of art will be perfect if it is artistically successful; sport, if it reaches its specific goal, etc. None of these domains is subject to general principles of morality.

Explanation: The refuted proposition belongs to the so-called "new morality" condemned by the Holy Father in his allocution of March 23, 1952. It denies the theological unity of man and thus the subordination of all his actions to a last end, and, consequently, the subordination of all areas of human activity to a superior body of moral rules which regulate them in their own way.

The refuted sentence would logically lead to the doctrine of those who affirm the absolute identity between being and goodness, such that all growth in being would amount to progress in the good "simpliciter." That would mean that, for example, the more an artist develops as an artist, the more he would develop in absolute goodness. And as God is at the summit of the scale of being, whoever progresses in this path will necessarily grow nearer to God who is the Supreme Good. According to this notion, the conformity or incompatibility of the work of art with moral precepts is extrinsic and can nowise affect this ontological ascent towards God.

51                       TRUE

Religious and moral principles must guide all of a newspaper's sections, especially when these newspapers aim particularly at the propagation and defense of Catholic doctrine. The publication of immoral advertisements or announcements in the Catholic press is scandalous, as is the contradiction between movie criticism and advertising.

FALSE

The Catholic press must treat each topic according to its own principles, refraining from judgments based on principles superior to each one. Thus, in the moral critique of spectacles, it can censure a movie because the specific object of this section is morality; but in the advertisements, it can promote the same movie because the object of this section is advertising. The same would apply to other topics (arts, sports, etc.), all of which are ruled by their own principles independent of morality and religion.

Explanation: See the explanation for the previous proposition.

52                      TRUE

The essential point of moral formation resides in the recognition of the supreme sovereignty of God over everyone and everything. Consequently, a moral formation founded principally or exclusively on its conformity with human nature would be fundamentally flawed and will never succeed in providing a supernatural formation.

FALSE

The moral law should be inculcated as the norm that suits man by nature, and the fact that it is mandatory because it emanates from the divine authority manifested by Revelation preferably should be passed over. For the obligatory character of precepts is revolting and shocking to the mentality of modern man.

Explanation: The refuted sentence is profoundly revolutionary. It capitulates before man's revolt against the authority of the Creator. Not that this means that it is not sometimes useful, in order to render more easily practicable the precept already recognized and accepted as imposed by God, to show that in fact it corresponds to man's nature created by God and the object of His love. But a moral formation based exclusively on this consideration, which is less important than the first, would be fundamentally false.

When seeking to convince Catholics, the conformity of the Catholic religion with human nature can be shown in order to make straight the path, as long as we are dealing with sincere people. However, an apologetic that would be limited to this approach would be fundamentally inadequate. Catholicism is the religion of obedience and must be presented as such.