Thomas Aquinas on Mental Disorder and the Sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist: Summa Theologica 3.68.12 and 3.80.9 Revisited
ABSTRACT In this article, I seek to clarify the subjects of two articles in Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologica (ST) in which he addresses whether baptism should be given to furiosi et amentes (ST 3.68.12) and the Eucharist to "those who have not the use of reason" (ST 3.80.9) I argue that the subgroups identified in these articles are not always represented accurately in the most common translation of the ST into English and that this has subsequently negatively impacted upon attempts to interpret the articles. I propose an alternative reading, both of each article individually and of the two articles collectively, based on a model of mental capacity.