Chapter 7

(90) To remove every danger from subjects and Superiors, no Friar shall hear the confessions of seculars without the permission of the Chapter, or of the Father Vicar General. Since this office demands not merely good and sufficient understanding, but the required experience, it shall not be exercised save by those who are qualified. The Friars appointed to hear confessions shall do so only in particular cases, when charity demands. Thus they shall avoid every danger and mental distraction, and remain composed and recollected in Christ so that without any obstacle they may walk more securely on the road to their heavenly home.

(91) Let the Friars confess at least twice a week, and receive Holy Communion every fortnight, or oftener if they wish, and their Superiors deem it expedient. During Advent and Lent they shall receive Holy Communion every Sunday. And let the Friars, according to the Apostolic admonition, carefully examine themselves beforehand, remembering on the one hand their own nothingness and unworthiness, and on the other hand, this sublime gift of God given to us with such great charity, so that they may not receive it to the injury of their souls, but rather to their increase in light, grace and virtue. And this most exalted and Divine Sacrament, wherein our dearest Saviour so lovingly condescends to abide with us always, shall be held by all in the greatest reverence. Let the Friars remain before It and pray as if they were already in their heavenly country with the holy angels.

(92) When the Friars happen to be absent from the monastery they may confess to other priests.

(93) To foster charity, the mother of every virtue, it is ordained that, with every possible Christian charity and as our father exhorts us in his first Rule, the Friars shall receive any poor pilgrim or stranger, especially religious, devoted to the service of God.

(94) It is also ordained that in reserved cases the transgressors shall have recourse, with all humility, to their Vicars, in whom they may and must confide. If the Superiors see that they are really contrite and humble, have a firm purpose to amend, and are ready to submit to a suitable penance, then they shall receive the offenders with tenderness, after the example of Christ, our true Father and Shepherd, even as the prodigal son was received by his most compassionate father. Like Christ, let them with joy carry back on their own shoulders the lost sheep to the evangelical sheepfold.

(95) Let the Vicars also bear in mind what our father, St Francis, used to say: that if we would raise up one who was fallen, we must bend down to him with compassion, as Christ our most merciful Saviour did when the adulteress was brought before Him, and not treat the accused with rigid justice and cruelty. Christ, the Son of God, descended from heaven and died on the cross for our salvation. He always showed every possible tenderness to repentant sinners. The Superiors shall bear in mind that if God were to judge us rigidly, few or none would be saved. When they impose a punishment let their whole aim be to save and not to lose the soul and the good name of the erring Friar. Let no friar be scandalized on account of the sin of a brother, nor avoid him or regard him with repugnance. On the contrary, they should feel compassion for him and love him all the more, as he has greater need of it, always remembering that, as our Seraphic Father says, each one of us would certainly be far worse if God did not prevent us by His grace. When Christ left St Peter to the world as its universal Pastor, He told him to forgive the sinner even to seventy times seven. Our Seraphic Father has left recorded in one of his letters that it was his wish, that when a Friar, no matter how great a sinner he had been, appeared before his Superior and humbly asked for mercy, he should not depart unpardoned. He even wished that the Superior offer him forgiveness though he did not ask for it. And if a sinner came to him a thousand times, it was his wish that the Superiors should never become angry or show themselves mindful of his sin, but the better to win him to Christ, Our Most Merciful Lord, should love him in all truth and sincerity, knowing that a contrite and humble heart together with a firm purpose to amend and to lead a virtuous life is sufficient before God. Christ used to say when imposing a penance: Go in peace and sin no more.

(96) Nevertheless, since to allow transgressors to go unpunished is to open wide the door to all the vices of the ill-disposed, and entice them to similar transgressions, the Superiors, in accordance with the Rule, shall with mercy impose on them a penance. In order to preserve this heritage of our Lord, we ordain that in our affairs, particularly in the correction and the punishment of the Friars, discipline be observed without recourse to excessive severity or juridical artifices.

(97) According to the concessions of Boniface VIII, Innocent and Clement, no friar shall be allowed to appeal from his Superiors to others outside our Congregation under penalty of excommunication latae sententiae, of imprisonment, and of being expelled from our Congregation. We have not entered the religious life to wrangle, but to weep over our sins and amend our lives, to obey, and to carry the cross of penance after Christ. Lest in the future the delinquent be an obstacle to the good Friars, the former shall with mercy be punished by their Superiors.

(98) And since all Christians, and much more we, Friars Minor of St Francis, must keep the Apostolic faith of the Holy Roman Church in its integrity and purity, steadfastly hold it and sincerely preach it, nay, be ready to shed our life’s blood in defence of it, we ordain that if any Friar be found, by the temptation of the devil, which God forbid, to be imbued with any error contrary to the Catholic Faith, he shall be perpetually imprisoned. To punish such and similar transgressors a secure yet humane prison shall be provided in some of our houses.

(99) Lest any friar, disliking our secluded and quiet life, should return to the flesh-pots of Egypt, after having been once set free from the fiery furnace of Babylon, we determine that he shall be excommunicated by the father Vicar General and the whole Chapter. The present Constitutions also decree that all apostates from our Congregation are ipso facto excommunicated, leaving it to the Vicar General and to the Vicars Provincials to determine the quality and quantity of punishment to be inflicted upon apostates and upon all other transgressors. The Vicars, however, shall punish them according to the quality of their sins and the humility of the penitent. Let the Vicars treat them with charitable discretion according to the ancient practices and laudable customs of our Order. But, as the illustrious Doctor, St Augustine, says, both punishment and pardon tend always to the same end – reformation of life – so in corrections let justice be tempered with mercy, in such a manner, that discipline be not relaxed without recourse to excessive severity. Thus the transgressors will be reformed in such wise that mercy and truth may meet. For this reason, the Superiors shall be chosen from among the friars who are most distinguished for mature judgement, prudence, wisdom, and experience. In all things let the friars seek counsel from the senior brethren.

(100) Lest the punishments we inflict from holy zeal may be impeded or misconstrued; and also that we may have greater freedom in proceeding against transgressors, we command that no one shall disclose the secrets of the Order. Let the friars strive to uphold the good name of all, seeking always those things that are to the praise and glory of God, and to the peace and edification of our neighbours.