The Canons on Responsibility, Part 2

The Fourth Lateran Council called in 1215 by Pope Innocent III had three chief objectives: Church reform, freeing the Holy Land, and eliminating heresy. Part of Church reform was making clear the duties of the clergy to their calling and to their congregation, which you can see in Part 1.Innocent was not just worried about his clergy being educated and committed to helping their congregation; he also concentrated on their personal behavior. Canon 14 was on clerical incontinence, "incontinence" in the sense of lack of self-restraint:In order that the morals and conduct of clerics may be reformed for the better, let all of them strive to live in a continent and chaste way, ... Let them beware of every vice involving lust, ... so that they may be worthy to minister in the sight of almighty God with a pure heart and an unsullied body.Canon 15 became more specific:All clerics should carefully abstain from gluttony and drunkenness. They should temper the wine to themselves and themselves to…