Personal
sin always points toward its broader social repercussions; the effects of these two
dimensions are inseparable. Las Casas’ Confesionario focuses the personal and social
dimensions of sin on the twin goals of this tract, making restitution for the sake of
justice. Penitents individually recognize
their personal sin of injustice or are helped to recognize it; then they make public
restitution for the greater good of society. Therefore,
the personal action of penitents to make restitution has the broader social consequence of
achieving justice.
A. Specific
Legal Principles of the Confesionario: Avisos y Reglas para Confesores.
1. Doce Reglas
a. Principles
On the first page of
the Doce Reglas Las Casas states that he wrote
this Confesionairo at the request of some
religious of the Order of Saint Dominic who wanted a set of rules to guide them in the
forum of conscience. Their request suggests that the cry for restitution
and justice had a broader base of support than just Las Casas’ own experience and
knowledge. On the other hand there were those
who considered these rules harsh and not based on law.
He responds to these detractors in the Adición
de la Primera y Quinta Reglas. Although
criticized by opponents, the Doce Reglas are
framed by a series of legal principles that Las Casas uses to build his case for paying
restitution to the Indians. Las Casas, as a
good canonist, appeals to law to argue for doing justice for the crimes committed against
the Indians. Starting from the beginning of
the Confesionario, Las Casas presents the
following types of law in the Doce Reglas to
define and build his case for restitution: divine law, canon law, civil law and natural
law.
1.
Divine Law
Divine law can be
defined as those laws enacted by God and made known to humankind through revelation. A distinction can be made between the Old Law,
contained in the Pentateuch, and the New Law, which is revealed by Jesus Christ and is
contained in the New Testament. Therefore divine law is the law that God has
revealed to humankind and which is known by the study of the Old and New Testaments. In the Doce
Reglas Las Casas begins his argument to make restitution for the sake of justice from
divine law. He cites this principle four
times.
His first citation is
in Rule I, where he asserts that the penitent is obliged by divine law to unburden his
conscience in all that the confessor considers suitable for salvation, which may include
the penitent pledging his entire hacienda
as restitution. In the second reference, in
Rule VII, Las Casas joins the principle of divine law with the law of nations and natural
law to argue that all the damage the Spaniards did to the Indians was against these
principles. His third reference to divine law is in Rule
VIII. In this he asserts the following:
Moreover, he [penitent] should be ready
to accept what the king might order. And in no
manner is he to resist, or entreat [others to do so], the laws, provisions, or mandates
that the king may provide, either directly or indirectly, rather he should induce others
to obey and to complete them. Because [resistance to them] may not be practiced or done
without great offence to God, as [this type of behavior] would be to resist the good,
tranquility, preservation and liberty of his neighbors, the Indians. This [behavior] is manifestly against the divine
precept that commands us to love our neighbor.
In this example, it
might be argued that Las Casas is saying that obeying the human law of the king is obeying
the divine law to love one’s neighbor. This
too may echo Las Casas’ understanding of the Divine
Right of Kings, the doctrine asserting that sovereigns are representatives of God and
derive their right to rule directly from God. His
final reference to divine law is in the last paragraph of Rule XII where Las Casas quotes
two scripture passages (John 6:11[sic]; Matthew
7:14). It seems, Las Casas is quoting Jesus to assert the
difficulty in hearing and keeping the words that lead to life. Perhaps these final words of his Doce Reglas from divine law could be restated as
“accepting the hard words of Jesus” or “the narrow road that leads to life”.
2. Canon
Law
Canon law is the body
of law constituted by legitimate ecclesiastical authority for the proper organization and
government of the Church as a visible society. This
body of law is the officially established set of
rules governing the faith and practice of members of the Catholic Church. A single canon law is also referred to as an
ecclesiastical law, and the laws of the Code of Canon Law are frequently referred to as
the canons of the Code.
In
the Doce Reglas Las Casas makes only two
references to canon law, one is an apparent reference, the other clearly is.[9] The first
apparent reference is in Rule I where Las Casas asserts that the penitent, in so far as he
is able, is obliged by human law to unburden his conscience. This reference to
human law seems to refer to canon law, but Las Casas is not entirely clear on the point
since he does not cite any source. Yet, in this case, it seems logical to assert
that the human law treating the unburdening of one’s conscience is in canon law,
since Las Casas is treating the subject of confession and it is regulated by canon law.
In the second reference, clearly from canon law, he uses the Decretales of Gregory IX to strengthen his
arguments in Rule V, which treats those wanting to confess who are not at the point of
death.[10]
It is interesting that Las Casas uses only two canon law citations in the Doce Reglas, especially given that he is a
canonist. It seems that he would naturally draw from canonical sources first and
foremost to build his arguments. One possible explanation for his limited use of
canon law in the Doce Reglas might be the
following: he was a highly trained canon lawyer and a bishop, so he understood that by
writing the Doce Reglas he was making new law to
govern the practice of confession in his diocese; that is, he was exercising his
ecclesiastical legal right to do so. This speculation seems reasonable to explain
his limited use of canon law citations in the Doce
Reglas, but why he did not draw more from this canon law, his area of expertise, is
unknown. Even so, as will be seen, in the Adición
de la Primera y Quinta Reglas, he responds to his critics by providing additional
specific references to canon law to strengthen his arguments in Rules I and V.
Notes
