Re: CFL database

["John J. Bengii" <nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

which the men of old left to her, and
follow those paths." They have answered like the Jews: "We will not walk in
them; but we will follow the thoughts of our hearts"; and they have said,
"We will be as the other nations."

904. They make a rule of exception.

Have the men of old given absolution before penance? Do this as exceptional.
But of the exception you make a rule without exception, so that you do not
even want the rule to be exceptional.

905. On confessions and absolutions without signs of regret.

God regards only the inward; the Church judges only by the outward. God
absolves as soon as He sees penitence in the heart; the Church when she sees
it in works. God will make a Church pure within, which confounds, by its
inward and entirely spiritual holiness, the inward impiety of proud sages
and Pharisees; and the Church will make an assembly of men whose external
manners are so pure as to confound the manners of the heathen. If there are
hypocrites among them, but so well disguised that she does not discover
their venom, she tolerates them; for, though they are not accepted of God,
whom they cannot deceive, they are of men, whom they do deceive. And thus
she is not dishonoured by their conduct, which appears holy. But you want
the Church to judge neither of the inward, because that belongs to God
alone, nor of the outward, because God dwells only upon the inward; and
thus, taking away from her all choice of men, you retain in the Church the
most dissolute and those who dishonour her so greatly tha