Council of Trent on Justification
By infused grace, mediated sacramentally
which is not remission of sins merely, but also the sanctification and renewal of the inward man
THE POSITION
Justification is not only the forgiveness of sins but the inward renewal of the person. Chapter 7 names baptism, "the sacrament of faith," as its instrumental cause, and says God's charity is poured into the heart by the Holy Spirit "and is inherent therein." Canon 11 condemns the view that people are justified "by the sole imputation of the justice of Christ, or by the sole remission of sins."
4 OTHERS HOLD THIS
ABOUT THIS FIGURE
Met in twenty-five sessions over three periods, at Trento in northern Italy except for two sessions held at Bologna in 1547. Called by Paul III and closed under Pius IV. It answered the Reformation point by point: Scripture and tradition, the canon, original sin, justification and the seven sacraments. From the Sixth Session on, each subject is set out in chapters and then in canons ending "let him be anathema." The Catholic Church counts it the nineteenth ecumenical council; the Orthodox and Protestant churches do not count it as ecumenical. Read here in J. Waterworth's 1848 translation.
Cite this page
"Council of Trent on Justification", Examined Doctrine, July 2026 edition, https://examineddoctrine.com/position/trent/justification (archived at https://examineddoctrine.com/editions/2026-07/position/trent/justification).