The Defensor minor is a work by Marsilius of Padua

Marsilius of Padua

Marsilius of Padua Marsilius of Padua Marsilius of Padua (Italian Marsilio or Marsiglio da Padova; (circa 1275 – circa 1342) was an Italian scholar, trained in medicine who practiced a variety of professions. He was also an important 14th century political figure...

 written around 1342. The Defensor minor is a restatement and defense of Marsilius's best known work, the Defensor pacis

Defensor pacis

The tract Defensor pacis laid the foundations of modern doctrines of sovereignty. It was written by Marsilius of Padua , an Italian medieval scholar. It appeared in 1324 and provoked a storm of controversy that lasted through the century...

.

The text discusses civil and ecclesiastical jurisdiction, the confession

Confession

This article is for the religious practice of confessing one's sins.Confession is the acknowledgment of sin or wrongs...

, penance

Penance

Penance is repentance of sins as well as the proper name of the Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christian, and Anglican Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation/Confession. It also plays a part in non-sacramental confession among Lutherans and other Protestants...

, indulgence

Indulgence

In Catholic theology, an indulgence is the full or partial remission of temporal punishment due for sins which have already been forgiven. The indulgence is granted by the Catholic Church after the sinner has confessed and received absolution...

s, the Crusades

Crusades

The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...

, pilgrimage

Pilgrimage

A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...

s, plenitudo potestatis

Plenitudo potestatis

Plenitudo potestatis was a term employed by medieval canonists to describe the jurisdictional power of the papacy. In the thirteenth century, the canonists used the term plenitudo potestatis to characterize the power of the pope within the church, or, more rarely, the pope's prerogative in the...

, legislative power, the origin of the sovereignty, wedding

Wedding

A wedding is the ceremony in which two people are united in marriage or a similar institution. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes...

, and divorce

Divorce

Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...

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Civil jurisdiction

With regard to jurisdiction, Marsilius distinguishes between divine and human laws, the first event which is independent of any human will and on the conduct of man in view of the afterlife, the second which determines the will of the people, endowed with coercive power and not modifiable by any clergyman.

This applies also to the Pope that even with his decrees may waive the law, manifestation of the people's sovereignty. While the beneficiaries of the two laws are identical, its object and purpose are different. The one seeks the good of the soul and the other cares for earthly well-being, with the result that the church is denied the power to make laws, even in the persistent silence of human legislation. The same applies to amendments and changes, which should remain solely with the people. The only thing that is relevant to the clergy is the non-legal rules that affect morality and resolve themselves into simple counsels and take effect with counsellors.

The clergy

The task and the main function of the clergy is to teach the sacred texts and preparing souls for the afterlife. The Church has repeatedly stated that for the sinner there is no other system of redemption from sin but confession. Marsilius, in an effort to bring man to God, regardless of any broker, says that confession should be done directly to God and that salvation comes only by true repentance. This anticipates what will be one of the tenets of Protestantism. The necessity of this Sacrament, that is only recommended and not required, is not detected from the Holy Scriptures. Only sincere repentance to the outside of any denominational gives you that peace in the soul that is the prelude of eternal salvation. Absolution from sin belongs only to God and the priest, who may do so, does so only within the Church. Sufficit soli Deo confiteri peccata ipsa, videlicet recognoscendo, et de ipsis poenitendo cum proposito talia alterius non committendi.
These words can be regarded as harbingers of what will be the principles of the Lutheran Reformation.

Sufficit sola contritio et vera poenitentia de commisso absque omni confessione facta vel fienda sacerdoti, ut immediate absolvatur per Deum. Marsilio does not exclude absolutely confession: he says only that it is useful but not essential, which it would be if it were a precept, therefore he also denies the priestly power to inflict penalties.
Only contrition frees from sin not repentance of any material or spiritual character almost like a compensation for the sin.Quamvis in hoc saeculo nullam realem aut personalem satisfactionem exhibeat pro peccatis.