OBEDIENCE. – A moral virtue, annexed to justice, which regulates the relationship of subjects with authority and renders the will prompt to carry out the command of a superior (Sum. Theol., 2a-2ae, q. 80, a. ult.).
I. NOTIONS, VALUE, AND DEGREES OF O
It should be noted that in obedience a general aspect may be distinguished, according to which, considering the reverence owed to one who is superior, it is contained potentially in many other virtues: in religion, if it concerns God; in piety, if it concerns parents; in observance, if it concerns superiors in general; but it is distinguished from them inasmuch as its specific object is the precept to be carried out (loc. cit., q. 104, a. 3).Among moral virtues it occupies an eminent place, second only to religion; if, however, one considers the object which obedience despises in order to unite itself to God, it is the greatest of the moral virtues. Three kinds of goods may be despised by man in order to unite himself to God: external goods, goods of the body, and spiritual goods. And since in a certain way the first of these is the will, man uses all other goods for it; among the virtues, obedience is the most praiseworthy. All other good works (including martyrdom) are meritorious before God only if done in order to carry out His will (ibid.).
In Scripture, obedience is most vividly praised; it is the distinctive mark of the Redeemer, the cause of justification, while it warns that every evil derives from disobedience (Rom. 5:19; Phil. 2:8; Heb. 5:8; Lk. 2:49; Jn. 4:34; 5:30, etc.).
There are three degrees of obedience: 1) material obedience: the execution of the commanded work; this is not a specific virtue, but merely observance of the law; 2) formal obedience: the execution of the work as commanded; that is, obeying for the reason of the superior’s right over the subject, conforming one’s will to that of the superior; 3) obedience of judgment.
(cont. 111, 127 sg., 142 sg.). In ordination, priests add a specific “promise” of obedience to the bishop and his successors.
This promise, although not a vow, binds juridically under grave matter. Its object is set forth in can. 128: “Whenever and for as long as, in the judgment of the bishop, the necessity of the Church so requires, provided that no legitimate impediment excuses, every cleric must accept and faithfully fulfill the office entrusted to him by the bishop.” This office is to be understood in a broad sense, so as to include that of chaplain, confessor, etc. The CIC requires necessity for the diocese, not merely utility; the final redaction excluded the proposed phrase evidens utilitas in order to avoid arbitrariness on the part of the bishop; the bishop must be unable to provide for the spiritual good of souls in any other way. The priest must be free from legitimate impediments; thus he must have sufficient strength and ability and not be subject to other grave duties. The bishop is the judge in such matters and may avail himself of can. 2399 and, if necessary, 2220 ff. The priest has the right of recourse to the Holy See; which, on account of the scarcity of clergy, generally favors the bishop, except in the case of a choice of religious state. There is no trace of such an explicit promise in the first centuries; it spreads in the 7th–9th centuries, despite little favor from Rome; by the 15th century the practice is general. The promise is imposed only on secular priests: until the 13th century bishops required the giving of priests from religious orders, but with the Mendicants the exemption (v.) was extended even to this point. Bishops and archbishops promise obedience to the pope.
III. RELIGIOUS OBEDIENCE (virtue and vow)
Obedience is one of the essential evangelical counsels in the religious state and is confirmed by a public vow (v.) (can. 487, 574, 593). To the intrinsic goodness of the virtue is added the motive of religion; and thus for the religious, obedience constitutes the most excellent moral virtue (Extr., Ioann. XXII, 1, 14; cf. also Sum. Theol., 2a-2ae, q. 186, aa. 5, 8). The object of the vow is the precepts given by superiors by virtue of the vow itself, not other various prescriptions and laws of any kind.The Holy See and the rules in general dispose that superiors bind by the bond of vow only in exceptional cases, specifying their will in an unequivocal manner; this occurs rarely; yet from every disposition of the Rule and of the superiors there arises the obligation to obey by the virtue of obedience, since the superiors, in addition to dominative power, by which they command in matters of vows, are invested with domestic power and, in exempt clerical religious institutes, with jurisdiction.
The vow and, where the vow is lacking, the virtue, oblige the execution of the work under the prescribed circumstances. Obedience has well-defined limits: all moral laws, ecclesiastical and constitutional, except for the right of superiors to dispense. Moreover, a superior, by virtue of the vow, can command only those things which are in accordance with the Rule and all that is required for its proper observance and the attainment of the institute’s purposes. The Friars Minor and the Jesuits are bound to obey in all things that are not sinful or contrary to the Rule; this extension, according to some authors, pertains only to the virtue, not to the vow. By virtue of domestic power (vi virtutis), every superior may command beyond the Rule whatever is useful for the community or for the good of the person; and in case of doubt the presumption is in favor of the superior.
Heroic acts may be the object of obedience, provided that the nature of the institute permits it, the individual is bound to it, and the common good so requires (persecutions, plagues, missions); likewise if the institute cannot otherwise fulfill assignments entrusted to it by the Holy See (dangerous missions). Ridiculous things may be the object of the virtue only as a test (rationalitas in latentibus).
The religious must obey by virtue of a vow: 1) to the pope and the Sacred Congregation of Religious; to other Congregations by apostolic mandate, or only vi virtutis; 2) to the bishop in institutes of diocesan law; in those of pontifical law only in matters determined by common law; 3) to internal superiors within the limits fixed by their individual legislations (can. 499–502). Lesser officials may command vi voti only by virtue of the Rule or delegation; in other cases the obligation is vi virtutis.
The gravity of a violation is determined by the grave matter, the superior’s intention to bind under grave matter, and the fully human act of the individual.
Common law, save for can. 2220–22, has no specific penalties for the violation of the vow of obedience; usually the individual legislations provide for this.