George Gobat

George Gobat (born at Charmoilles, in the Diocese of Basel, 1 July 1600; died 23 March 1679) was a French Jesuit theologian.

Life

Gobat entered the Society of Jesus, 1 June 1618. After teaching the humanities he was professor of sacred sciences at Fribourg, Switzerland (1631–41), and of moral theology at the Jesuit college in Halle, Belgium (1641–44). He then was at Munich (1644–47), rector at Halle (1647–51), and professor of moral theology at Ratisbon (1651–54). He was rector at Fribourg (1654–56), and professor of moral theology at Constance (1656–60), where he was also canon penitentiary of the cathedral, a post he retained until his death.

Works Gobat's works include: (Fribourg, 1633–34) , a translation of a French work by Paul Ragueneau , a collection of practical cases on the Sacraments (republished at Munich in 1669 and Constance in 1670 and 1672 as ) a number of smaller works on the Jubilee These were republished several times in three volumes under the title , including at Douai in 1701 and Venice in 1749. Following the casuistic method, Gobat applies questions of theology to contemporary conditions in Germany, drawing on his experiences in the confessional and on cases referred to him for settlement.

Several of Gobat's doctrines were later condemned by the Holy See, including by Pope Innocent XI in 1679, the year of Gobat's death. , the Bishop of Arras, published thirty-two propositions condemning the 1701 Douai edition of the . Writers in France, Germany, and Holland criticized the Jesuits based on this condemnation of Gobat's teaching; other Jesuits wrote in his defense. Works defending Gobat include (Liege, 1703) by Gabriel Daniel, and (Ingolstadt, 1706) by .