Enciclopedia Cattolica Vol. VI, 1951 Moral theology Commandments and precepts

Impenitent

IMPENITENTE

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IMPENITENT. - From the eccl. Lat. impenitens, i.e. the sinner is called impenitent who, directly or indirectly, through culpable ignorance or negligence, refuses to repent of his sins when the precept of penance requires it for him.

Impenitence arises as a rule from vicious habits that blind the intellect and pervert the will, whence comes ease and insatiability in sinning, obstinacy and presumption. The remedy is, besides prayer, the consideration of the malice and the consequences of this state, in order to stir up fear, trust, the love of God and sorrow for sins.

Formal i. in grave matter, of which alone we speak here, is guilty of a most grave sin against the Holy Spirit, because the refusal to repent not only deprives him of Grace, but increases the strength of the vices, weakens the will and exposes him to the danger of final impenitence. He always has the possibility of converting, because God does not deny Grace to one who, at any moment of life, converts, but repentance becomes ever more difficult and the penance to which the sinner is reduced only at the end of life leaves for the most part many doubts about its nature and efficacy.

As regards the Sacraments, the i. must be treated as a sinner according to the Ritual, tit. IV, chap. 1, 8-9; Extreme Unction must be denied him, if he persists contumacious in manifest mortal sin, and, if this is doubtful, it is to be conferred on him under condition (CIC, can. 942). One who dies i., in the cases indicated by can. 1240, is deprived of ecclesiastical burial.

Bibliography12 works

BIBL.: Tertullian, De paenitentia, 10-12; PL 1, 1355-60; St. Ambrose, De paenitentia, 2, 7-11; PL 16, 531-46; St. Bernard, De conversione ad clericos; PL 182, 833-56; Sum. Theol., 27-29, q. 14, ss. 2-3; F. Suárez, De Sacramentis, part 2, disp. 3, sect. 1-2 (Opera omnia, 19), Venice 1748; P. Richard, Impenitentia, in D'H.C. VII, coll. 1280-85. Ascetical and oratorical works; P. Segwori, Il cristiano intruito, III, Florence 1686, rag. I and rag. ultimo; G. B. Massillon, Sopra l'impenitenza finale, in Prediche, Venice 1803, pp. 116-36; G. M. L. Monsabré, Ritiri pasquali, VIII, Turin 1907, pp. 159-77.

Giuseppe Pistoni

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By Giuseppe Pistoni

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Translated from the Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. VI (1951), col. 1709.

More by Giuseppe Pistoni: Impurity · Intemperance · Lust · Modesty and Immodesty · Prudence

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Chicago

Pistoni, Giuseppe. “Impenitente.” In Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. VI, col. 1709. Città del Vaticano: Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1951. https://azioneromana.com/article/impenitente.

MLA

Pistoni, Giuseppe. “Impenitente.” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. VI, Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1951, col. 1709. Azione Romana, https://azioneromana.com/article/impenitente.

BibTeX

@incollection{ec6_impenitente,
  author    = {Pistoni, Giuseppe},
  title     = {Impenitente},
  booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica},
  volume    = {VI},
  pages     = {1709},
  note      = {Cited by column},
  publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico},
  address   = {Città del Vaticano},
  year      = {1951},
  url       = {https://azioneromana.com/article/impenitente}
}

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