CONSUETUDINARI. — In general, C. are those who have contracted a consuetudo in the most proper sense of a habit, and are therefore also called “abitudinari.”
In itself, consuetude, even in the moral sphere, is the cause that produces the habit, and therefore the distinction between the two concepts is that between cause and effect; but in moral theology, the two terms are often, as here, identified. Furthermore, a habit in itself may be good or bad, but here, given the subject matter that concerns us, only a bad habit is taken into consideration.
I. GENERAL NOTIONS
At least according to the more recent theologians, c. are sinners who have acquired the habit of one or more specific sins and who go to confession for the first time after acquiring that habit. If, after this first confession, they relapse into the same sins and once again present themselves before the tribunal of penance, they are no longer called c., but recidivists (v. RECIDIVITÀ).Care must be taken here. In speaking of c., reference has been made to a subject who, in repeating his acts, acts under the impulse of habit, not of passion. The habit of sin, according to the common understanding—which is also that of s. Tommaso and s. Alfonso—is a permanent quality by which the individual is naturally inclined to sin, and consequently falls frequently, readily, easily, and almost without any resistance. Passion, on the other hand, is a movement of the sensitive appetite originating in the perception of an external object, even though it may have repercussions in the organism of the acting subject. One who acts out of habit has his intellectual and volitional faculties almost naturally and permanently directed toward an evil end; one who acts out of passion is ordinarily inclined toward the good and only momentarily feels an impulse toward evil. The former therefore sins, moved from within, through evil will; the latter, excited from without and through weakness. The former acts spontaneously, with ease and readiness, and yields even to a slight temptation, almost without resisting; the latter too is defeated, but has been overcome by passionate excitement, ordinarily a grave one, after having struggled seriously. One who sins out of habit rarely experiences an impulse to repentance; one who sins out of passion, on the contrary, immediately comes to his senses and grieves over the sin.
It should nevertheless be noted that falls occurring through passionate impetuosity, if repeated frequently, gradually become a habit.
To have the habit of sin, two things are required: 1) the repetition of sinful acts of the same kind; 2) a certain degree of frequency in the repetition of the acts themselves.
When the evil habit may be said to have been established cannot be determined by a fixed rule, because it depends on the rather practical evaluation of three elements: a) the character of the person who sins; b) the longer or shorter interval of time between one sinful act and another; c) the differing nature of the sins.
If one wishes to give a general indication, not to be taken as a mathematical rule, one might say: 1) in sins of action committed alone, e.g., theft and drunkenness, five falls each month over a considerable period may suffice to form the habit, provided that a certain interval of time elapses between one fall and the next; 2) for sins of action committed with others (e.g., fornication), one fall a month for a year may suffice; in sins of thought (e.g., hatred) or of speech (such as blasphemy), one or two falls a week over the same period may suffice.
But this always presupposes that the other elements required for the formation of the habit are present: namely, that the falls occur with ease and immediacy and with an almost total lack of resistance, without any immediate repentance and sorrow for the sin committed.
II. THE IMPUTABILITY OF THE ACTS OF THE C
A custom or habit may be voluntary or involuntary. A habit is said to be voluntary when its formation was knowingly intended and there was no retraction; or even when the acquisition of the habit was involuntary, if the subject became aware of it without proceeding to retract it; or when, after retraction, the agent neglected the means necessary for the eradication of the bad habit.A habit is said to be involuntary when the subject has effectively retracted the vicious habit voluntarily acquired, or has retracted it as soon as he became aware of it, if it was acquired involuntarily.
As regards the imputability of a bad habit that has been acquired, the matter is readily stated: a voluntary habit in the sense described above is imputable; an involuntary habit, or even one that is simply non-voluntary and has not yet been noticed, is not.
As regards the imputability of the acts that, in the C., are caused by the bad habit, the following principles apply: 1) when the habit is involuntary, although it increases the voluntary element through the greater impulse that it brings to the action, it diminishes and sometimes removes imputability, because it diminishes or removes the possibility of a free determination. In other words, in this case the acts are either not imputable or their imputability is reduced, according to the degree of awareness.
2) When the habit is voluntary, it always increases the voluntary element and, however much it may diminish the degree of freedom in the action, it generally increases the malice of the act. The reasons are evident: the habit was voluntarily acquired, and a certain awareness remains even with the habit; the will’s greater inclination toward the action and the ease of sinning are attributable to the subject, who originally willed the habit together with all its consequences.
III. HABITUAL SINNERS AND SACRAMENTAL ABSOLUTION
What importance does a bad habit have in relation to the evaluative judgment that the confessor must make concerning the penitent’s dispositions (can. 886); in other words, how must the confessor deal with habitual sinners?The question is posed especially with regard to habits that incline one to grave sin. Naturally, it is assumed that the habit is voluntary and therefore imputable, and that the penitent denounces it as such, either spontaneously or at the confessor’s request, which he cannot refuse (Denz-U, 1208). Now, provided that there is an effective retraction of the habit, that is, the resolution to eradicate it by effective means, habitual sinners can and must be absolved. Indeed, a bad habit is not sin except as an initial act of the will; but, as time goes on, it is merely an inclination to sin.
It should be noted that the retraction concerns the will’s present disposition, and need not necessarily extend to the future, except as a resolution to employ the means necessary for the effective eradication of the habit. The anticipation of the future may make the implementation of this resolution appear difficult: this is irrelevant.
Only one who has been confirmed in grace or has received this revelation can be certain of his future sinlessness.
Moreover, it is sufficient for the retraction to be expressed through ordinary signs of penitence; extraordinary signs are not necessary, since they are not required in order for the penitent to be considered well disposed toward the Sacrament.