Chapter 23 — The enemies of religious accuse them of being wolves and robbers and of creeping into houses

We must now examine the grounds on which religious are accounted responsible for all the evils which have ever overtaken the Church. The enemies of religious accuse them of being wolves and robbers and of creeping into houses.

For they say that they enter the fold (that is, by preaching, and hearing confessions) by a door which is not the legitimate one. (John 10:1.) By this assertion, they prove their own folly. For, as the Gloss reminds us, Christ is the door. (Biblia sacra cum glossis (Venice: 1588) 5, 215F at John 10:1.) No prelate is the door; for, as the Gloss adds, Christ has reserved this office to himself. (Glossa ordinaria 5, 1184 at John 10:2.) Hence they who do not enter the fold by the door are Jews, Gentiles, philosophers, Pharisees and heretics, who enter not by Christ; (Glossa ordinaria 5, 1183 at John 10:1 (PL 114:396).) not those who do not enter by means of a bishop.

Religious are called thieves, because they are accused of stealing what is not their own, by converting the sheep of Christ not to his doctrine, but to their own tenets. They are called robbers, because they are accused of slaying the sheep which they steal. The words of the Gloss are, interpreted in this sense. (Biblia sacra cum glossis (Venice: 1588) 5, 215F; 216A.
) But, granted that it be justifiable to say that those who preach Christ truly, but without permission from a bishop, are thieves and robbers, this accusation cannot, as we have already shown, be made with regard to religious, unless we hold that a bishop or the pope is not the immediate superior of anyone under the jurisdiction of a parish priest.

Religious are likewise termed ravening wolves; because they are said to minister to the spiritual needs of the faithful, in order to fatten on their material goods, just as wolves devour sheep. (William of Saint-Amoure, De periculis, 7.) In this, they are clearly deceived. Our Lord draws a distinction between a wolf and a hireling. The vices which the enemies of religious attribute to wolves, the Gloss attributes to a hireling: a hireling is one who seeks what belongs to Christ, and who serves God, not for his own sake, but in the hope of a reward. (Glossa ordinaria 5, 1187 at John 10:12 (PL 114:397, at the verse labelled verse 11).) Hence they, whose sole crime is to preach for the sake of temporal gain are hirelings. They who physically ill-treat the faithful, as do tyrants, or who spiritually scatter them, as do the devil and heretics, his ministers, are wolves. This is made dear by the words in Acts 20:29, I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you. On this text the Gloss says: these wolves signify heretics, who are insidious, cruel and strong in controversy. (Glossa interlinearis, at Acts 20:29 (in Glossa ordinaria 6, 1201-1202).) Again, the words in Matthew 7:15, they inwardly are ravenous wolves, are specially applied by the Gloss to heretics, who, in the malice of their hearts and in their desire to injure souls, resemble wolves, whether they pursue the faithful by exterior persecution, or deprave them by false teaching. (Glossa ordinaria 5, 149 at Matt 7:15 (PL 114:110).) We have already pointed out that it is a rash judgment to assert that a man’s chief motive in ministering spiritually to his neighbour is the hope of reaping material advantage.

Religious are accused of creeping into houses because they are said to hear confessions without permission from the parish priests. Thus they creep into men’s consciences. Those who accuse them of so doing quote, in support of their opinion, the Gloss on 2 Timothy 3:6: those who make their way into households, which says that they investigate the qualities of men, and lead captive those whom they judge fitting disciples. (Peter Lombard, Commentaries on the Psalms and St. Paul, at 2 Tim 3:6 (PL 192:375C).) Now priests cannot know the characteristics of men, save by confession. As these words of the Gloss are considered, by the enemies of religious, conclusive evidence in support of their accusations, we will examine what is the true meaning of this passage.

St. Paul foretold that the latter days of the Church would be times of peril, and that there would be men, lovers of themselves. (2 Tim 3:1-2.) The term “latter days,” writes St. Augustine to Hesychius, is sometimes used of the apostolic times. (Augustine, Epistle 199, ch. 8, para. 23 (CSEL 57:264; PL 33:913).) Thus we read in the prophet Joel 2:28: and it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh. St. Peter said that this prophecy was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:17). Sometimes, however, the latter days are understood as meaning the last day, I will raise him up at the last day (John 6:54). In the passage to which reference has been made, however, the latter days must be taken to mean the time nearest to the last day. For the Apostle speaks of the future, when he says: in the last days shall come dangerous times. (2 Tim 3:1.) These words agree with those that we find in Matthew 24:12, because wickedness is multiplied, most men’s love will grow cold. The Gloss reminds us of the words of St. Paul, men shall be lovers of themselves. (Glossa interlinearis, at Matt 24:12 (in Glossa ordinaria 5, 393-394).) These are not to be understood as meaning that the vice of self-love or any other vice has at any time been absent from the world, but that it will increase in proportion as malice increases. There were in the primitive Church some men tainted with these vices; otherwise St. Paul would not have told Timothy avoid them. (2 Tim 3:5.) And, as if Timothy had asked him, how he was to avoid what did not exist, says the Apostle by way of answer: for among them are those who make their way into households (2 Tim 3:6). The vices which he mentions in the first place were to exist in years to come; but that of creeping into houses was an evil of his own time. He speaks of they who creep, not of they who will creep, and of they who lead captive, not of they who will lead captive. We are not to suppose that although using the present tense, he can have intended his words to be taken in the future tense. For, as St. Augustine says, in the same epistle, there were in the early Church men distinguished by creeping into houses. (Augustine, Epistle 199, ch. 8, para. 22 (CSEL 57:263; PL 33:913).) The words signify men, ensnared by the vices which will flourish in the latter days.

This is more expressly shown by the words in Titus 1:10: for there are many insubordinate men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially the circumcision party; they must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for base gain what they have no right to teach, are meant men who cunningly introduce themselves into families and propagate false doctrine, or those who insinuate themselves into the consciences of men and bind them with the chains of error. Such men St. Paul calls men of corrupt mind and counterfeit faith (2 Tim 3:8).

The expression reprobate concerning the faith cannot be understood of men who are to appear in the future. St. Paul does not say: “they who now creep into houses, will be reprobate concerning the faith.” he speaks in the present tense, just as when he says, these resist the truth. Their folly shall be manifest to all men. (2 Tim 3:9.) The Gloss says, that they shall be made manifest by means of the good, and it reminds us that these words were verified, especially by St. John, who overcame the heretics of the East. (Peter Lombard, Commentaries on the Psalms and St. Paul, at 2 Tim 3:9 (PL 192:376C).) Thus, it is plain that the words of St. Paul apply to heretics. Hence even were it true that religious hear confessions without any licence from their bishops, the foregoing passage from St. Paul would not be applicable to them, unless they can be proved to teach heretical doctrine.

Hence the whole fabric which has been built upon to prove that religious who hear confessions are responsible for the evils which will hereafter come upon the Church, falls to the ground. We have already proved the right of religious to hear confessions; and we have seen, also, the benefit which results from their so doing.