Andreas Hofer:
Can anyone point me to some good sources (either primary sources of the Church, or accepted ones like the Catholic Encyclopedia) that state that ecclesiastical discipline is morally binding?
I’m trying to track something down, and the CCC didn’t seem to ever state this outright. Thanks for any help.
Andreas,
The Sources of Catholic Dogma; Denzinger, DE1578
Pope Pius VI wrote the following concerning the “Errors of the Synod of Pistoia.” Under the title, *Ecclesiastical Conferences *
"The prescription of the synod about the order of transacting business in the conferences, in which, after it prefaced ‘in every article that which pertains to faith and to the essence of religion must be distinguished from that which is proper to discipline,’ it adds, ‘in this itself (discipline) there is to be distinguished what is necessary or useful to retain the faithful in spirit, from that which is useless or too burdenshome for the liberty of the sons of the new Covenant to endure, but more so, from that which is dangerous or harmful, namely, leading to superstitution and materialism’; in so far as by the genrality of the words it includes and submits to a prescribed examination even the discipline established and approved by the Church,
as if the Church which is ruled by the Spirit of God could have established discipline which is not only useless and burdensome for Christian liberty to endure, but which is even dangerous and harmful and leading to superstition and materialism,–false, rash scandalous, dangerous, offensive to pious ears, injurious to the Church and to the Spirit of God by whom it is guided, at least erroneous."
The underlined word is as it appears in the text, an obvious typo.
The italicized portion is the part which I think may be of assistance to you, at least, I hope so.
Information about the Synot of Pistoia can be found here:
newadvent.org/cathen/12116c.htm