Letter 136: Innocent expresses his sympathy with Jerome and promises to take strong measures to punish his opponents if he will bring specific charges against them. The date of the letter is A.D. 417.

Pope Innocent to his most highly esteemed son, the presbyter Jerome — greetings. The apostle Titus tells us plainly that faction has never done the Church any good — and that a heretic is to be admonished once and twice and then left to himself, his condemnation self-evident (Titus 3:10–11). When this rule is ignored, the evil we hoped to contain grows worse, not better. What you have suffered has moved us deeply. We can neither act effectively nor advise clearly when we are in the grip of grief, so let me begin by commending your steadfastness. You have said, in the hearing of many witnesses, that a man will gladly face false accusation and personal danger on behalf of the truth, when he is keeping his eye on the blessedness to come. I remind you of your own words — though I am sure you need no reminder. The spectacle of these atrocities has roused us to action. We have deployed the authority of the apostolic see to suppress this infection in all its manifestations. But your letters name no individuals and bring no specific charges. Without names and without charges, there is no one we can proceed against. You understand, I am sure, how these things must be handled — not through general complaints, however justified, but through specific accusations that specific judges can examine. If you are prepared to name names and make formal charges, we will appoint qualified judges to conduct the proceedings. If you believe that the situation requires us to take graver and more urgent action, tell us so plainly and we will not hesitate. In the meantime, we have written to your bishop John, advising him to exercise better oversight over his diocese, to prevent the recurrence of what has happened, and to ensure that nothing occurs within the church entrusted to him that a vigilant pastor ought to have foreseen. We expect him to take this counsel seriously. You are not alone in this.

From Pope Innocent to Jerome Innocent expresses his sympathy with Jerome and promises to take strong measures to punish his opponents if he will bring specific charges against them. The date of the letter is A.D. 417. Innocent to his most esteemed son, the presbyter Jerome. The apostle Titus 3:10-11 bears witness that contention has never done good in the church; and for this reason he gives direction that heretics should be admonished once or twice in the beginning of their heresy and not subjected to a long series of rebukes. Where this rule is negligently observed, the evil to be guarded against so far from being evaded is rather intensified. Your grief and lamentation have so affected us that we can neither act nor advise. To begin however, we commend you for the constancy of your faith. To quote your own words spoken many times in the ears of many, a man will gladly face misrepresentation or even personal danger on behalf of the truth; if he is looking for the blessedness that is to come. We remind you of what you have yourself preached although we are sure that you need no reminder. The spectacle of these terrible evils has so thoroughly roused us that we have hastened to put forth the authority of the apostolic see to repress the plague in all its manifestations; but as your letters name no individuals and bring no specific charges, there is no one at present against whom we can proceed. But we do all that we can; we sympathize deeply with you. And if you will lay a clear and unambiguous accusation against any persons in particular we will appoint suitable judges to try their cases; or if you, our highly esteemed son, think that it is needful for us to take yet graver and more urgent action, we shall not be slow to do so. Meantime we have written to our brother bishop John advising him to act more considerately, so that nothing may occur in the church committed to him which it is his duty to foresee and to prevent, and that nothing may happen which may subsequently prove a source of trouble to him. About this page Source. Translated by W.H. Fremantle, G. Lewis and W.G. Martley. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 6. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1893.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. <https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3001136.htm>. Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is feedback732 at newadvent.org. (To help fight spam, this address might change occasionally.) Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.