On the Just Punishment of Heretics

by Alfonso De Castro

1114 pages, Hardcover

Published July 4, 2024

Reviews

[James Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sitting at around 1100 pages, this book is an extremely lengthy, but phenomenal read, especially for those who are interested in theology, law, and history. Fr. Alfonso De Castro's work written in the 1500s is a tremendous defense of the Catholic Faith, and discussed the symptoms, treatments, and preventative methods surrounding heresies. He provides an excellent defense on why heresy is one of the worst sins, how the Church must be charitable in working with those who many have fallen into heresy, how secular leaders have the right to defend the souls of their flock from heretics, and what could be done to prevent heresies from spreading in the first place. All of his work is backed up by a great deal of scriptural, biblical foundations, supplemented by commentaries from early church fathers, theologians, and even ancient philosophers. The editor of this book, Fr. Paul M. Kimball, SSPX, did a tremendous job in the footnotes, specifically citing thousands of references Fr. De Castro made, providing clarification notes, and the occasional but not-so-common correction when the author misattributed a quote from one theologian to another (keep in mind the author wrote this 500 years ago!). Reading this tome has really made me appreciate Fr. De Castro's incredible task researching and putting together thousands of quotations to supplement direct, and sometimes complex theological arguments in the days before the Internet and at the dawn of the printing press.

I would easily call this a 10 out of 10 book. I feel like this is a must read for any Canon lawyer, anyone who studies the history of law, moral theologians, and students of ecclesiastical history. The author often cites and discusses the Code of Justinian and the Decretals of Gregory IX (famously compiled under St. Raymond of Peñafort), using theology, citing scripture often, as a defense for laws pertaining to heresy published in these works. Fr. De Castro does not shy away from opinions that would now seem controversial, such as the execution of some obstinate heretics, the burning of heretics' works, and the opposition to translating scripture into the vulgar language. However, before he makes any claims related to these issues, he builds on early in this book very precisely how to define what heresy is, why it is bad, who exactly is and is not a heretic, how they should be mercifully received by the church, and delineating where the ecclesiastical and civic lines lay in dealing with heretics.

I thank Fr. Paul Kimball and Dolorosa Press for translating, editing, and publishing this work. I pray that they may continue to work on other writings from theologians from this era, and that we may see an increase of Latinists who can translate and publish works that have been a bedrock of theology for centuries.