Expert: Fr. Timothy Johnson - 3/6/2010

Question
Dear Father,

I have two unrelated questions, if possible:

1. I may be moving shortly, and am trying to sell off some possessions, such as some Catholic books I acquired.  Would it be morally permissible for me to re-sell some of these books even if the prices at which I would sell them (e.g., on Amazon.com) would be higher than that at which I purchased them, such that I would make a small profit for them?  Or is it necessary to sell them at or below the price at which I bought them (in which case, since I bought some from individuals who were selling them very inexpensively, at only $1-2 each, it might not be worth trying to sell them anyway)?

2. I have had great difficulty in seeing how Canon 844 of the new Code of Canon Law can be reconciled with traditional Catholic teaching.  I know that the Church has disciplinary infallibility and can never positively command something evil.  At the same time, this canon seems to allow heretics or schismatics (such as the Greek and Russian sects, who deny de fide teachings, like papal infallibility) to receive Holy Communion even without renouncing their errors and leaving their schism.  Similarly, I do not see how it could ever be possible, in the canon's language, that a Catholic could seek absolution or other sacraments from a heretic or schismatic WITHOUT "danger of...indifferentism."  All that I have read from prior popes and saints leads me to think they would have expressed horror at such an idea, and yet I worry that denying this canon would be to attack the Church's disciplinary infallibility.

Is it permissible for a Catholic, without sin, to hold that this canon 844 of the new 1983 code contains error, and is not covered by the charism of disciplinary infallibility, or is one bound under pain of sin to accept it and believe that somehow it can be reconciled with prior teaching?

Thank you very much for your help.

May God bless you.

Answer
Hi, Michael:
Thanks for the questions...
1. There would be nothing wrong with making a reasonable profit by selling books that are used at a higher price than you originally paid for them.  You got a real good deal on the books when you first got them, but this does not mean that they could actually take a higher selling price commensurate with their quality and the willingness of those buying to purchase them.
2. The questions surrounding this particular, rarely employed canon, do make a rather in depth study with all due concern and diligence.  The question is the balance between valid sacraments, and the ecclesiological reality of full-communion verses partial communion of some sort.  It is certainly not a case of unmitigated, absolute religious indifferentism, as the case is seen as exceptional, and only in the case when a Catholic minister cannot be approached.  In my opinion, it would be difficult to say or suggest that the Supreme Authority of the Roman Catholic Church could propose something sinful, and outside the charism of disciplinary infallibility.  In fact, the term "disciplinary infallibility" as a charism would make an interesting study itself - is there such a thing, properly speaking, and defined by the Catholic Church?  Yours is a very deep and thoughtful question that, while important, goes beyond the scope of what I must typically tackle in this forum...

Fr. Timothy Johnson