CHAPTER IV.
RECTORS OF CHURCHES
The rector of a church is a presbyter to whom is entrusted the care of some church which is neither a parochial church nor a church attached to a house of an institute of consecrated life.
§ 1. The rector of a church is nominated by the eparchial bishop, without prejudice to the right of the major superior of a religious institute or society of common life in the manner of religious to propose a suitable priest of his institute or society for the nomination.
§ 2. Even if the church belongs to some clerical institute of consecrated life of pontifical or patriarchal law, it is the competence of the eparchial bishop to nominate the rector of a church proposed by the superior.
§ 3. If the church is attached to a seminary or other college which is governed by presbyters, the rector of the seminary or college is at the same time the rector of the church, unless the eparchial bishop has determined otherwise.
§1. In the church committed to him the rector of the church may not perform parochial functions, except with the consent of or, if need be, delegation from the parish priest, with due regard for can. 336, §2.
§ 2. The rector of the church can celebrate the Divine Liturgy and the Liturgy of the hours there with due regard for the legitimate statutes of foundation and as long as, in the judgement of the local hierarch, they are in no way prejudicial to the parochial ministry.
If he thinks it advisable, the local hierarch can order the rector of a church to celebrate specific sacred functions, even parochial ones, in the church committed to him, and to make the church available to certain groups of the Christian faithful.
Without the permission, at least presumed, of the rector of the church or higher authority, no one is allowed to celebrate the Divine Liturgy or the liturgy of the hours, administer the sacraments or perform other sacred functions in the church; but this permission must be given or denied according to the norms of the law.
Under the authority of the local hierarch and with due regard for the legitimate statutes and acquired rights, the rector of the church must see to it that the Divine Liturgy, sacraments and the liturgy of the hours are celebrated in the church according to the prescriptions of the liturgical books and of the law; that obligations are faithfully fulfilled; that the ecclesiastical property is carefully administered; that provision is made for the maintenance and the adornment of the sacred furnishings and buildings. He must also ensure that nothing whatever is done which is in any way unbecoming to the holiness of the place and to the reverence due to the house of God.
The eparchial bishop can remove the rector of a church for a just cause. If the rector of the church is a member of a religious institute or society of common life in the manner of religious, can. 1391, § 2 is to be observed.
TITLE VIII.
EXARCHIES AND EXARCHS
§1. An exarchy is a portion of the people God which, because of special circumstances, is not erected as an eparchy, and which being delimited territorially or on some other basis, is entrusted to an exarch to be nurtured by him.
§2. In the erection, modification, suppression of an exarchy that is located within the territorial boundaries of a patriarchal Church, can. 85, §3 is to be observed. For the erection, modification and suppression of other exarchies only the Apostolic See is competent.
The exarch governs the exarchy either in the name of the one who nominated him or in his own name. This must be specified in the erection or modification of the exarchy.
What is said in the law concerning eparchies or eparchial bishops applies also to exarchies or exarchs, unless it is expressly provided otherwise in the law or is evident from the nature of the matter.
§ 1. Within the territorial boundaries of a patriarchal Church the exarch is nominated by the patriarch with the consent of the permanent synod and without prejudice to cann. 181-188 if the exarch is one who is to be ordained bishop. In other cases, for the nomination of the exarch only the Apostolic See is competent.
§ 2. An exarch nominated by the patriarch cannot be removed from office except with the consent of the synod of bishops of the patriarchal Church.
§ 3. The exarch takes canonical possession of the exarchy entrusted to him by showing the decree of nomination to him who is governing the exarchy in the interim.
§ 1. The exarch constituted outside the territorial boundaries of the patriarchal Church can ask the patriarch for suitable presbyters to undertake the pastoral care of Christ\’s faithful. The patriarch is to satisfy this request, as far as possible.
§ 2. Presbyters sent to the exarchy by the patriarch whether for a determined time or not, are considered attached to the exarchy and are subject in all things to the power of the exarch.
From decrees of the exaech who governs the exarchy in the name of the Roman Pontiff or the patriarch, recourse is made respectively to the Apostolic See or the patriarch. From decrees of the exarch who governs an exarchy in his own name, recourse is made according to the ordinary norms of the law.
Exarchs are bound by the obligation of visiting the see of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul according to the norm of can. 208, except exarches who govern an exarchy entrusted to them in the name of the patriarch.
§ 1. Exarchs appointed by the patriarch must, every five years, send a written report to the patriarch about the spiritual and temporal state of the exarchy.
§ 2. An exarch appointed by the Roman Pontiff must present the same report to the Apostolic See every five years and if he belongs to a patriarchal Church, must also send a copy of the report to the patriarch as soon as possible.
§ 1. The exarch is bound by the laws concerning the eparchial assembly, the eparchial curia, the presbyteral council, the college of eparchial consultors and the pastoral council, but they may be equitably adapted to the peculiar nature of places and persons, in the judgment of the authority who erected or modified the exarchy.
§ 2. If the college of consultors cannot be constituted according to the norm of can. 271, §3, the exarch is to constitute a committee of not less than three presbyters noted for their prudence and chosen, if possible, from among the members of the presbyteral council, if it exists. He must seek the consent or advice of this committee whenever the law states that
the eparchial bishop needs the consent or counsel of the college of eparchial consultors in order to act.
§ 1. The government of an exarchy that is vacant or impeded transfers to the protosyncellus or, if there is none, to the parish priest who is senior by presbyteral ordination.
§ 2. He to whom falls the interim governance of the exarchy must as soon as possible inform the authority whose right it is to nominate the exarch, so that he may provide. Meanwhile he can use all the powers and faculties, whether ordinary or delegated which the exarch had, unless they were committed to the latter on personal considerations.
§ 1. While in office, an exarch who is not an ordained bishop has the privileges and insignia of the first dignity after the Episcopal dignity.
§ 2. As to whether these privileges and insignia are to be retained or not after the expiry of his function, particular law is to be observed.
TITLE IX.
ASSEMBLIES OF HIERARCHS OF SEVERAL CHURCHES SUI IURIS
§ 1. Where it seems advisable in the judgment of the Apostolic See, periodic assemblies are to be held of patriarchs, metropolitans of metropolitan Churches sui iuris, eparchial bishops, and, if the statutes state so, other local hierarchs of various Churches sui iuris, even of the Latin Church, exercising their authority in the same nation or region. These
assemblies are to be convoked at regular intervals by the patriarch or another authority designated by the Apostolic See. The object of these meetings is that by sharing the insights of wisdom born of experience and by the exchange of views, the pooling of their resources is ratified for the common good of the Churches, so that unity of action is fostered, common works are facilitated, the good of religion is more readily promoted and ecclesiastical iscipline is preserved with better effect.
§ 2. The decisions of this assembly do not have juridically binding force unless they deal with matters which cannot be prejudicial to the rite of each Church sui iuris or to the power of the patriarchs, of synods, of metropolitans
and of the councils of hierarchs; they have besides to have been passed at least by two-thirds of the members having deliberative vote, and finally approved by the Apostolic See.
§ 3. A decision, even if passed by a unanimous vote, which in any way whatever exceeds the competence of this assembly, is devoid of all force until it is approved by the Roman Pontiff in person.
§ 4. Every assembly of hierarchs of several Churches sui iuris is to draw up its own statutes in which is to be fostered, as far as possible, also the participation of the hierarchs of those Churches which are not yet in full communion with the Catholic Church. The statutes, to have force, need to be approved by the Apostolic See.
TITLE X.
CLERICS
§ 1. Clerics, who are also called sacred ministers, are Christian faithful who, chosen by the competent ecclesiastical authority, are deputed through a gift of the Holy Spirit received in sacred ordination to be ministers of the Church participating in the mission and power of Christ, the Pastor.
§ 2. In virtue of sacred ordination clerics are distinguished from the other Christian faithful by divine institution.
Clerics joined among themselves by hierarchical communion and constituted in various degrees participate in diverse ways in the one divinely instituted ecclesiastical ministry.
In virtue of sacred ordination clerics are distinguished as bishops, presbyters and deacons.
Clerics are constituted in the degrees of orders by sacred ordination itself; but they cannot exercise their power except according to the norm of the law.
If besides bishops, presbyters or deacons, other ministers, constituted in minor orders, generally called minor clerics, are admitted or instituted for the service of the people of God or to exercise the functions of the sacred liturgy, they are governed only by the particular law of their own Church sui iuris.
THE FORMATION OF CLERICS
It is the proper right and obligation of the Church to train clerics and her other ministers; this obligation is particularly and more diligently fulfilled through the erection and governing of seminaries.
§ 1. The task of fostering vocations, especially to the sacred ministries, belongs to the whole Christian community, which, given its corresponsibility, must be solicitous for the needs of ministry of he whole Church:
1° parents, teachers and other first educators of Christian life are to take care that families and schools are so animated by the spirit of the gospel that boys and youths can freely listen to the Lord calling them through the Holy Spirit and can readily respond to Him;
2° clerics, especially parish priests, are to strive to discern and foster vocations both in adolescents and in others, even of a more advanced age;
3° it is especially for the eparchial bishop, joining forces with other hierarchs, to stir up his flock in promoting vocations and to co-ordinate initiatives.
§ 2. Particular law is to provide that either regional or, in so far as is possible, eparchial projects for promoting vocations are instituted in all Churches. These projects ought to be open to the needs of the universal Church, especially missionary needs.
§ 1. It is up to the synod of bishops of the patriarchal Church or council of hierarchs to set up a programme for the training of clerics, in which the common law must be set forth in a more detailed manner for seminaries located within the territorial boundaries of its own Church. In other cases it is up to the eparchial bishop to develop this type of programme for his own eparchy, without prejudice to can. 150, §3. It is also up to the same authorities to change the above programme.
§ 2. The programme of formation may be, by common agreement, common to an entire region or nation or even with other Churches sui iuris, provided care is taken that the specific character of the rites suffer no harm.
§ 3. Faithfully observing common law and keeping in mind the tradition of its own Church sui iuris, the programme of formation of clerics is to include, in addition to other things, more specific norms about the personal, spiritual, doctrinal and pastoral formation of students as well as about individual disciplines to be taught and the ordering of courses and of examinations.
ART. I.
THE ERECTION AND GOVERNANCE OF SEMINARIES
§ 1. In the minor seminary, in the first place those who seem to show signs of a vocation to the sacred ministry are to be instructed so that they can more easily and clearly discern it themselves and refine it by a dedicated spirit; according to the norm of particular law, others also can be instructed who, even though they do not seem to be called to
the clerical state, can be formed to fulfill certain ministries or apostolic works. Other institutes which, according to their statutes, serve the same purposes, even if they differ in name, are equivalent to a minor seminary.
§ 2. In the major seminary, the vocation of those who are already considered suitable by certain signs for steadfastly undertaking the sacred ministries is more fully cultivated, proven and confirmed.
§ 1. A minor seminary may be erected in any eparchy if the good of the Church demands it and the personnel and financial resources permit it.
§ 2. A major seminary is to be erected which serves either one very large eparchy or, if not a whole Church sui iuris, at least, by mutual agreement, several eparchies of the same Church sui iuris, and even of diverse Churches sui iuris which have an eparchy in the same region or nation so that, whether by the suitable number of students or the number of properly experienced moderators and teachers, as well as by sufficient material resources, and the best combined efforts, instruction is provided for which nothing is left wanting.
Even if it is preferred that a seminary, especially minor seminaries, be reserved to students of one Church sui iuris, on account of special circumstances students of another Church sui iuris can be admitted in to the same seminary.
§ 1. A seminary is erected by the eparchial bishop for his own eparchy or in common for several eparchies by the eparchial bishops of those same eparchies or by higher authority, however with the consent of the council of hierarchs if that higher authority is of a metropolitan Church sui iuris or with the consent of the synod of bishops of the patriarchal Church if it is a patriarchal Church.
§ 2. Eparchial bishops, for whose subjects a common seminary has been erected, cannot validly erect another seminary without the consent of the authority which erected the common seminary, or if it concerns a seminary erected by the eparchial bishops themselves, without the unanimous consent of the bishops who agreed or without the consent of their higher authority.
§ 1. A seminary legitimately erected is a juridic person by the law itself.
§ 2. The rector of the seminary acts in person in all juridical matters unless particular law or the statutes of the seminary have determined otherwise.
§ 1. A seminary common to several eparchies is subject to the hierarch designated by those who erected the seminary.
§ 2. The seminary is to be exempt from parochial governance; the rector of the seminary or his delegate is to fulfill the office of the parish priest for all who are in the seminary, with the exception of matrimonial matters and with due regard for the prescription of can. 734.
§ 1. A seminary is to have its own statutes, in which are determined first of all he specific purpose of the seminary and the competence of its authorities. Furthermore, the statutes are to establish the manner of nomination or election, term in office, rights and obligations and the just remuneration of the moderators, officials, teachers and of the councils as well as plans by which they and even the students participate in the concerns of the rector especially in the observance of the seminary discipline.
§ 2. The seminary is also to have its own directory. In it the norms of the programme of formation of clerics are adapted to the special circumstances of the seminary and are put into effect. In it are to be determined in greater detail the chief items of seminary discipline which, without prejudice to the statutes, concern the formation of students as well as the daily routine and the ordering of the whole seminary.
§ 3. The statutes of the seminary need the approval of the authority which erected the seminary. This authority is also competent, in case of need, to modify them. As regards the irectory, these prerogatives belong to the authority determined in the statutes.
§ 1. In whatever seminary there is to be a rector, and if the situation warrants, a finance administrator and other moderators and officials.
§ 2. The general management of the seminary in accordance with the norm of the statutes is the responsibility of the rector. It is for him to enforce the observance of the statutes and of the directory of the seminary by all, to co-ordinate the works of other moderators and officials, and to foster the unity and collaboration of the whole seminary.
§ 1. There is also to be at least one spiritual father, distinct from the rector; the students can also freely go to any other presbyter approved by the rector for their spiritual direction.
§ 2. Besides the ordinary confessors, other confessors are to be designated or invited, keeping intact the right of the students to go to any confessor whomsoever, even outside the seminary, without prejudice to the discipline of the seminary.
§ 3. In making judgements about persons it is not permitted to ask for the opinion of confessors or spiritual fathers.
§ 1. If a curriculum is set up in the seminary itself there are to be on hand a suitable number of teachers properly selected and truly experts in their own science and, in major seminaries, possessing suitable academic degrees.
§2. The teachers should update regularly their professional preparation. Co-operating harmoniously among themselves and with the moderators of the seminary they are to concur in achieving an integrated formation of the future ministers of the Church, while aiming at the unity of faith and of formation among the varieties of disciplines.
§ 3. Teachers of the sacred sciences, having followed the footsteps of the holy fathers and doctors highly praised by the Church, especially of the East, are to strive to illustrate doctrine from the eminent treasury handed down by them.
§ 1. It is for the authority which erected the seminary to take care to provide for the expenses of the seminary even by taxes and offerings mentioned in cann. 1012 and 1014.
§ 2. Religious houses too are subject to the seminary tax unless their only support comes from alms or they actually have a study centre mentioned in cann. 471, § 2 and 536, § 2.
ART. II.
FORMATION FAR MINISTRY
§ 1. Only those students are to be admitted in to the seminary who, according to the norm of the statutes, are proven from documents to possess the required abilities.
§ 2. No one is to be accepted unless it is shown with certainty that he has received the sacraments of baptism and chrismation with holy myron.
§ 3. Those who were students in another seminary or in a religious institute or society of common life in the manner of religious are not to be admitted before obtaining the testimony of the rector or the superior, especially concerning the reason for dismissal or departure.
Students, even if admitted into a seminary of another Church sui iuris, or into a common seminary for several Churches sui iuris, are to be formed in their own rite. Any custom to the contrary is reprobated.
Can 344
§ 1. Adolescents and young people living in a minor seminary are to have appropriate relationships with their families and peers, which they need for sound psychological, particularly emotional, development; however they are carefully to avoid all things which, according to sound psychological and pedagogical norms, can diminish in any way the free choice of a state of life.
§ 2. Assisted by suitable spiritual direction students are to be trained in making personal and responsible decisions in the light of the gospel and for the continual refinement of their various natural abilities, not omitting any appropriate virtues of human nature.
§ 3. The curriculum of a minor seminary is to include those studies required in each nation for beginning higher studies, and in so far as the plan of studies permits, also those which are especially useful for undertaking the sacred ministry. Care is generally to be taken that students obtain a civil diploma, just so that their studies can be pursued somewhere else as well, if such happens to be their choice.
§ 4. Students more advanced in age are to be formed either in a seminary or a special institute, taking into account each one\’s earlier formation.
The formation of students is to be completed in the major seminary, supplementing those things which, perhaps, in individual cases, were lacking in their formation in the minor seminary, by integrating the spiritual, intellectual and pastoral formation so that they may be effective ministers of Christ in the midst of the Church, a light and the salt for the world of this age.
§ 1. The formation of those aspiring to the sacred ministry is to be such that they learn to cultivate in the Holy Spirit familiar companionship with Christ and to seek God in all things so that, impelled by the love of Christ the Pastor, they become solicitous to gain all people for the
§ 2. Day by day let them draw especially from the word of God and the sacraments force for their spiritual life and strength for their work of apostolate:
1° through watchful and constant meditation of the word of God and getting a faithful understanding of it according to the Fathers of the Church, let the students acquire the habit of configuring their life ever more to the life of Christ, and, fortified in faith, hope and charity, let them train to live according to the pattern of the gospel;
2° let them participate assiduously in the Divine Liturgy, which being the source and summit of the whole of Christian life, is so to be seen for seminary life as well;
3° let them learn to celebrate constantly the Liturgy of the hours according to their own rite and draw nourishment from it for their spiritual life;
4° having great regard for spiritual direction, let them learn how to examine their conscience rightly, and let them receive the sacrament of penance frequently;
5° let them venerate with filial piety Holy Mary, the ever virgin Mother of God, whom Christ has made mother of all men and women;
6° such exercises of piety are to be fostered that are helpful to the spirit of prayer and make for the strengthening and defence of an apostolic vocation, especially those exercises that are commended by the venerable tradition of their own Church sui iuris; recommended in all event are spiritual retreat, instruction concerning the sacred ministries, exhortation about spiritual progress;
7° the students are to be educated to have the sense of the Church and of its service as well as in the virtue of obedience and in mutual fraternal co-operation;
8° they are to be helped also in cultivating all those other virtues which have great relevance to their vocation, such as discernment of spirits, chastity, fortitude; let them also esteem and cultivate those virtues which are most valued by people and commend the minister of Christ, among which are sincerity, a keen concern for justice, the spirit of poverty, fidelity to one\’s promises, good manners, modesty in conversation joined with charity.
§ 3. The disciplinary norms of the seminary are to be applied having regard for the maturity of the students so that, while they learn by degrees to regulate themselves, they get in to the habit of using their freedom wisely and of behaving spontaneously and diligently.
Can. 347 – Doctrinal instruction should be directed so that the students, understanding the general culture of the place and time and investigating the undertakings and accomplishments of the human spirit, may acquire broad and solid instruction in the sacred sciences, so that educated with a fuller understanding of the faith and strengthened in the light of Christ, the teacher, they may be able more effectively to illuminate the people of their time and serve truth.
§ 1. For those who are destined for the priesthood, the studies of the major seminary, without prejudice to can. 345, are to be comprised of philosophical and theological courses, which can be followed either successively or conjointly. These same studies are to encompass at least six complete years in such a way that two full years are devoted to the philosophical disciplines and four full years to theological studies.
§ 2. They ought to start the philosophical-theological course with an introduction into the mystery of Christ and the economy of salvation, and they shall not finish until there has been shown, taking into consideration the order or hierarchy of the truths of Catholic doctrine, the relationship between all the disciplines and their coherent arrangement.
§ 1. Philosophical instruction should be such that it accomplishes a formation in the human sciences; therefore, having taken into account the wisdom both of the ancient and the recent age, of the whole human family and especially of their own culture, the perennially valid philosophical patrimony is to be sought.
§ 2. Both historical and systematic courses are to be taught so that students can easily discern truth and falsehood with a sharp intellectual discretion, can properly pursue theological investigations with a mind open to the word of God, and be made more suitable for carrying out the ministry by a dialogue with the learned people of this age.
§ 1. Theological disciplines are to be so taught in the light of faith in such a way that students deeply penetrate Catholic doctrine drawn from divine revelation and express it in their own culture so that it may be nourishment for their own spiritual life and an instrument for usefully carrying out effective ministry.
§ 2. It is necessary that sacred scripture be as the soul of all theology, and must influence all sacred disciplines; therefore in addition to exegesis, an accurate methodology, the principal sources of the economy of salvation as well as the greater themes of biblical theology are to be taught.
§ 3. Liturgy is to be taught in virtue of its special importance as a necessary source of doctrine and of a truly Christian spirit.
§ 4. As long as the unity which Christ wished for His Church has not been fully brought into reality, ecumenism is to be one of the necessary considerations of each and every theological discipline.
Teachers of the sacred sciences, since they teach with a mandate from ecclesiastical authority, are faithfully to teach the doctrine proposed by it, and are to submit humbly in all things to the constant magisterium and supervision of the Church.
§ 1. The pastoral formation is to be adapted according to the conditions of place and time and to the aptitude of the students whether celibate or married and to the needs of the ministry for which they are preparing themselves.
§ 2. Students are to be instructed especially in the catechetical and homiletic arts, liturgical celebration, parish administration, dialogue of evangelization with non-believers or non-Christians, or with the less fervent Christian faithful, the social apostolate and the instruments of social communication, not neglecting auxiliary disciplines such as psychology and pastoral sociology.
§ 3. Although students are preparing themselves for the ministry in their own Church sui iuris, they are to be formed in a truly universal spirit by which they are prepared in spirit to respond in the service of souls everywhere in the world. Therefore, they are to be thoroughly instructed about the needs of the universal Church, and especially about the apostolate of ecumenism and evangelization.
According to the norm of particular law, there are to be exercises and tests strengthening pastoral formation, in such areas as social or charitable service, catechetical instruction, but especially in the pastoral internship during philosophical-theological formation, and in the diaconal internship before ordination to the presbyterate.
The formation of deacons not destined for the priesthood is to be appropriately adapted from the norms given above so that the curriculum of studies extends at least three years keeping in mind the traditions of their own Church sui iuris concerning the services of the liturgy, the word and charity.
Candidates for ordination are to be properly taught the obligations of clerics and led to undertake and fulfill them magnanimously.
§ 1. The rector is to send a report on the formation of the students each year to their eparchial bishop or, as the case may be, to their major superior; but concerning the status of the seminary, to those who erected it.
§ 2. The eparchial bishop or major superior is to visit the seminary frequently to attend to the formation of his students, especially if they are to be promoted to sacred orders.
CHAPTER II.
THE ASCRIPTION OF CLERICS TO AN EPARCHY
§1. Every cleric must be ascribed as cleric either in an eparchy or an exarchy or a religious institute or a society of common life in the manner of religious or in an institute or association that has obtained the right to ascribe clerics either from the Apostolic See or, within the territorial boundaries of the Church over which he presides, from the patriarch with the consent of the permanent synod.
§2. What is laid down concerning the ascription of clerics in an eparchy and their dismissal from it, is applicable, with due adaptations, also to the other juridical persons mentioned above and, if the particular law so states, to the patriarchal Church itself, unless the law has expressly provided otherwise.
Through diaconal ordination a person is ascribed as cleric in the eparchy for whose service he is ordained, unless in accordance with the norm of the particular law of his own Church sui iuris he has already been ascribed in the same eparchy.
For the valid transfer of a cleric already ascribed in an eparchy to another eparchy, he must obtain from his eparchial bishop a dimissorial letter signed by him and also from the eparchial bishop of the eparchy in which he wishes to be ascribed a letter of ascription signed by him.
§ 1. Retaining his ascription, a cleric may move to another eparchy for a specified time, which is renewable more than once. For this a written agreement between both the eparchial bishops must be made in which the rights and obligations of the cleric or of the parties are determined.
§ 2. Five years after a lawful move a cleric is ascribed ipso iure in the host eparchy, if, after this desire of his was manifested in writing to both eparchial bishops, it was not objected to by either of them in writing within four months.
A cleric who is solicitous about the universal Church, chiefly for the sake of evangelization, is not to be denied a transfer in ascription or a move to another eparchy labouring under a severe shortage of clergy, so long as he is prepared and suitable for carrying out the ministry there, except for a true need in his own eparchy or Church sui iuris.
§ 1. For a just reason a cleric can be recalled from the other eparchy by his own eparchial bishop or returned by the hosting eparchial bishop observing the agreements made as well as equity.
§ 2. One legitimately returning to his own eparchy from another does so without prejudice to and having preserved all of he rights which he would have had if he had exercised the sacred ministry there.
The following cannot validly ascribe a cleric in an eparchy, dismiss him from it, or grant permission to the cleric to move outside of it:
1° the administrator of the patriarchal Church, without the consent of the permanent synod; the patriarchal exarch and the administrator of an eparchy without the consent of the patriarch;
2° in other case, the administrator of an eparchy, unless the eparchial see has been vacant for a year, and then only with the consent of the college of eparchial consultors.
The ascription of a cleric to some eparchy does not cease except by valid ascription to another eparchy or by loss of the clerical state.
§ 1. For licit transfer in or move to another eparchy just cause such as the advantage of the Church or the good of the cleric himself are required. Permission is not to be denied except for serious reasons.
§ 2. If the particular law of the Church sui iuris so prescribes, it is also required for the licit transfer to an eparchy of another Church sui iuris that the eparchial bishop releasing the cleric obtain the consent of the authority determined by the same particular law.
§ 1. The eparchial bishop is not to ascribe an alien cleric to his eparchy unless:
1° the needs or advantage of the eparchy require it;
2° he is convinced that the cleric has the aptitude to carry out the ministry, especially if the cleric is coming from another Church sui iuris;
3° he is convinced by a legitimate document that the cleric has obtained legitimate dismissal from his eparchy; and he has obtained from the dismissing eparchial bishop, secretly if appropriate, suitable testimonials concerning the background and the morals of the cleric;
4° the cleric has declared in writing that he is devoting himself to service of the new eparchy according to the norm of the law.
§ 2. The eparchial bishop is to inform the previous eparchial bishop about the completed ascription of the cleric to his eparchy as soon as possible.
CHAPTER III.
THE RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF CLERICS
Clerics have, as their first obligation, to announce the kingdom of God to all and to represent the love of God towards all humanity in the ministry of the word and sacraments and even in their whole lives, so that all , loving one another and above all things loving God, may be built up and increase in the Body of Christ which is the Church.
Clerics are bound in a special manner to the perfection which Christ Proposed to his disciples, since they are consecrated to God in a new way by sacred ordination, so that they may become more suitable instruments of Christ, the eternal priest, in the service of the people of God, and at the same time that they be exemplary models to the flock.
§1. Clerics are to devote themselves to the daily reading and meditation of the word of God, so that having become faithful and attentive hearers of Christ, they can be true ministers of preaching. They are to be assiduous in prayer, in liturgical celebrations and especially in their devotion to the mystery of the Eucharist. They are to daily examine their consciences and frequently receive the sacrament of penance. They are to honour St. Mary, the ever virgin Mother of God, and implore from her the grace of conforming themselves to her Son; they are to carry out the other pious exercises of their own Church sui iuris.
§ 2. They are to attach great importance to spiritual direction and to take time for spiritual retreats at the times established according to the prescriptions of the particular law.
Clerics are bound by a special obligation to show reverence and obedience to the Roman Pontiff, the patriarch and the eparchial bishop.
§1. Clerics have the right to obtain from their eparchial bishop, after the requirements of law have been satisfied, an office, a ministry or a function to be exercised in the service of the Church.
§ 2. Clerics are to accept and faithfully carry out every office, ministry or function committed to them by the competent authority whenever, in the judgement of this same authority, the needs of the Church require it.
§ 3. However, in order that they may exercise a civil profession the permission of their own proper hierarch is required.
§1. After completing the formation which is required for sacred orders, clerics are not to stop devoting attention to the sacred sciences. Indeed they are to take measures to acquire a more profound and updated knowledge and use of them through formative courses approved by their own hierarch.
§ 2. They are to attend conferences which the hierarch has judged suitable for promoting the sacred sciences and pastoral matters.
§ 3. Also, they are not to neglect to acquire for themselves as much knowledge of profane sciences, especially those sciences connected more intimately with the sacred sciences, such as those which the cultured people ought to have.
Clerical celibacy chosen for the sake of the kingdom of heaven and highly suited to the priesthood, is to be greatly esteemed everywhere in accordance with the tradition of the whole Church; likewise, the state of the married clergy as sanctioned by the practice of the early Church and of the Eastern Churches for centuries, is to be held in honour.
Clerics, celibate as well as married, should shine forth in the splendour of chastity; it is for particular law to establish suitable means to attain this end.
The praiseworthy common life among the celibate clergy is to be fostered, in so far as possible, so that they may be mutually helped in cultivating the spiritual and intellectual life and may be able to co-operate more fittingly in the ministry.
All clerics should celebrate the Liturgy of the hours according to the particular law of their own Church sui iuris.
According to the norm of the particular law clerics are to celebrate the Divine Liturgy frequently, especially on Sundays and holy days of obligation; indeed daily celebration is eagerly encouraged.
Clerics, united by the bond of charity with their fellow brothers of whatever Church sui iuris, are to work together in unison for the building up of the Body of Christ. Consequently, whatever be their condition, and though they may be holding different offices, they are to co-operate among themselves and help one another.
All clerics are to have a concern for vocations to the sacred ministry and to the life in institutes of consecrated life, promoting them not only by preaching, catechesis and other suitable means, but especially by the witness of life and ministry.
§ 1. Glowing with apostolic zeal, clerics are to be an example to all in works of charity and hospitality especially towards the sick, the afflicted, the persecuted, the exiled and the refugees.
§ 2. Unless prevented by a just impediment, clerics are bound by the obligation to provide assistance to Christ\’s faithful out of the spiritual goods of the Church, especially the word of God and the sacraments, if the demand is not inopportune, and the faithful are properly disposed, and are not prohibited by law from receiving the sacraments.
§ 3. Clerics are to recognize and promote the dignity of the laity and the specific role they have in the mission of the Church, especially by acknowledging
the multiform charisms of the lay people and by directing their competence and experience for the good of the Church especially in ways foreseen by the law.
Clerics are to abstain completely from all those things unbecoming to their state, according to the norms determined in detail by particular law, and also to avoid those things which are alien to it.
Although clerics ought to have the same civil and political rights as other citizens, nevertheless:
1° they are forbidden to assume public offices which entail a participation in the exercise of civil power;
2° since military service is less appropriate for those in the clerical state, clerics are not to take it up voluntarily except by permission of their hierarch;
3° they are to make use of exemption from exercising public functions and offices alien to the clerical state as well as military service granted in their favour by civil laws, agreements or customs.
§ 1. As ministers of reconciliation of all in the love of Christ, clerics are to take measures to foster among all people peace, unity and harmony based on justice.
§ 2. Clerics are not to have an active part in political parties nor in the supervision of labour unions unless, in the judgement of the eparchial bishop or, if particular law so states, of the patriarch or of another authority, the need to protect the rights of the Church or to promote the common good requires it.
§ 1. Imbued with Christian spirit of poverty, clerics are to strive to lead a simple life and thus to be witnesses to the heavenly goods before the world; using spiritual discretion let them designate their temporal goods to correct use; and from the goods they acquire on the occasion of the exercise of an ecclesiastical office, ministry, or function, let them first provide for their own suitable sustenance and for the fulfilment of their obligations and then devote and share the rest in works of the apostolate or of charity.
§ 2. Clerics are forbidden to exercise by themselves or through another any business or trade whether for their own benefit or for that of another, except with permission of the authority defined by particular law or by the Apostolic See.
§ 3. Clerics are forbidden to post bond, even from his own goods, unless he has consulted his own eparchial bishop or, as the case may be, the major superior.
§ 1. clerics, even if they do not have a residential office, nevertheless are not to leave their eparchy for a notable period of time determined by particular law without the permission, at least presumed, of their local hierarch.
§ 2. A cleric who is residing outside his own eparchy is subject to the eparchial bishop in those matters which regard the obligations of his state of life. If he will reside there for a lengthy time, he is to inform the local hierarch without delay.
Particular law is to be observed in regard to the attire of clerics.
Clerics to whom have been granted rights and insignia, which are connected to dignities conferred upon them cannot use them outside the place where the authority who granted the dignity exercises his authority or upon the granting of the same dignity written consent was given to use them with no exception , or unless they accompany the authority who had granted the dignity or represent him or have obtained the consent of the local hierarch.
Clerics are to strive to avoid any controversies whatever; if however controversies arise among them, they are to be referred to the forum of the Church and this should also be done; if possible, even in the cas of controversies between clerics and other Christian faithful.
§1. Clerics have the right to a suitable sustenance and to receive a just remuneration for carrying out the office or the function committed to them; in the case of married clerics, the remuneration must be adequate for the maintenance of their family, unless this has been otherwise sufficiently provided.
§ 2. Besides, they have the right that there be provided for themselves as well as for their families, if they are married, suitable pension funds, social security as well as health benefits, in order that this right can be put in to effect, clerics are bound by an obligation on their part to
contribute to the fund spoken in can. 1021, § 2 according to the norm of the particular law.
It is the full right of the clerics, keeping firm can. 578, § 3, to associate with others for pursuing the ends suitable to the clerical state; but it belongs to the eparchial bishop to judge authentically concerning this suitability.
Clerics have the right to annual vacations for a proper period of time to be determined by the particular law.
To clerics, whatever be their condition, solicitude of all Churches is to be in the heart and therefore they are to show willingness to serve them wherever there is great necessity, and especially with the permission or exhortation of the proper eparchial bishop or superior to exercise their ministry in the missions or regions labouring under a shortage of clerics.
CHAPTER IV.
THE LOSS OF THE
Sacred ordination once validly received, never becomes void A cleric however loses the clerical state:
1° by a judicial sentence or an administrative decree which declares the invalidity of the sacred ordination;
2° by the penalty of deposition legitimately imposed;
3° by a rescript of the Apostolic See or in accordance with the norm of can. 397, of the patriarch; this rescript cannot be granted licitly by the patriarch and is not granted by the Apostolic See to deacons without serious reasons, to priests (presbyters) without very serious reasons.
A cleric who loses the clerical state according to the norm of law, loses with it the rights proper to the clerical state, nor is he further bound by the obligations of the clerical state, without prejudice however to canon 396; he is forbidden to exercise the power of order, without prejudice to cann. 725 and 735, § 2; he is ipso iure deprived of all offices, ministries, functions and any delegated power.
Except for the case, in which the invalidity of sacred ordination is declared, loss of the clerical state does not carry with it a dispensation from the obligation of celibacy, which is granted only by the Roman Pontiff.
The patriarch, with the consent of the synod of bishops of the patriarchal Church or, if there is danger in delay, of the permanent synod, can grant the loss of the clerical state to clerics having domicile or quasi-domicile within the territorial boundaries of the proper patriarchal Church and who are not bound by the obligation of celibacy or if bound, are not petitioning a dispensation from this obligation; in other case, the matter is to be referred to the Apostolic See.
One who has lost the clerical state by rescript of the Apostolic See, can be readmitted among clerics solely by the Apostolic See, but one who obtained the loss of the clerical state from the patriarch can be readmitted among the clerics also by the patriarch.
TITLE XI.
LAY PERSONS
In this Code, the name of lay people is applied to the Christian faithful whose proper and special state is secular and who, living in the world, participate in the mission of the Church, and are not in holy orders nor ascribed to the religious state.
In addition to those obligations and rights which are common to all the Christian faithful and those which are determined in other canons, the lay Christian faithful have the obligations and possess the rights which are enumerated in the canons of this title.
It is for lay people to seek the
Lay people have the right to have recognized that freedom in the affairs of the earthly city which belongs to all citizens; when they exercise such freedom, however, they are to take care that their actions are imbued with the spirit of the gospel and take in to account the doctrine set forth by the magisterium of the Church; but they are to avoid proposing their own opinion as the teaching of the Church in questions which are open to various opinions.
§ 1. With due regard for the right and obligation to preserve everywhere their own rite, lay persons have the right to participate actively in the liturgical celebrations of any Church sui iuris whatsoever, according to the norms of the liturgical books.
§ 2. If the necessity of the Church and genuine advantage so recommend, and when sacred ministers are lacking, certain functions of the sacred ministers may be committed to lay persons, according to the norms of law.
§ 1. In addition to catechetical instruction, which should be received from infancy, lay people have the right and obligation of acquiring a knowledge, suitable to their capacity and condition, of the doctrine revealed by Christ and taught by the authentic magisterium of the Church, so that they may be able not only to live according to that doctrine, but also to announce it, and, if need be, to defend it.
§ 2. Lay people also possess the right to acquire that deeper knowledge of the sacred sciences which are taught in ecclesiastical universities or faculties or in institutes of religious science by attending classes and obtaining academic degrees.
§ 3. Likewise, the prescriptions as to the suitability having been observed, lay people are qualified to receive a mandate to teach the sacred sciences from competent ecclesiastical authority.
Lay people should study zealously their liturgical, spiritual, theological and disciplinary patrimony, so that mutual goodwill, esteem and unity of action between the lay members of different Churches sui iuris is fostered, and so that the variety of rites does not harm the common good of the society in which they live, but rather may daily lead more to the same good.
Lay people, aware of the obligation set forth in can. 14, should know that this obligation has a greater impelling force in those circumstance in which people can hear the gospel and know Christ only through them.
Lay people who live in the married state in accordance with their own vocation are bound by a special duty to work for the building up of the people of God through their marriage and their family.
Can 408
§1. Lay people who excel in the necessary knowledge, experience and integrity are qualified to be heard as experts or consultors by ecclesiastical
authorities, whether individually or as members of various councils and assemblies, whether parochial, eparchial or patriarchal.
§ 2. Besides those ecclesiastical functions to which lay persons are by common law admitted by a competent authority to other functions, excepting those which require holy orders or which are expressly forbidden to lay people by the particular law of their own Church.
§ 3. Lay people are fully subject to ecclesiastical authority in respect to the exercise of ecclesiastical functions.
§ 1. Lay people who are appointed permanently or temporarily to some special service of the Church are obliged to acquire a suitable formation which is required to fulfill their function duly; they are obliged to discharge it conscientiously, diligently and with dedication.
§ 2. They have the right to a just remuneration suited to their condition by which they can, with due regard for the prescriptions of civil law, provide decently for their own needs and those of their family. They have likewise the right that provisions be made for insurance, social security and health welfare in their own regard and that of their family.
TITLE XII.
MONKS AND OTHER RELIGIOUS AS WELL AS MEMBERS OF OTHER INSTITUTES OF CONSECRATED LIFE
CHAPTER I.
MONKS AND OTHER RELIGIOUS
ART. I.
GENERAL CANONS
The religious state is a stable mode of common life in an institute approved by the Church, in which the Christian faithful, by closer following Christ, the teacher and exemplar of holiness, under the action of the Holy Spirit, totally dedicate themselves by a new and special title through public vows of obedience, chastity and poverty, observed according to the norms of the statutes under a lawful superior, they renounce the world and totally dedicate themselves to the acquisition of perfect charity in service to the
The state of the religious is to be fostered and promoted by all.
1° DEPENDENCE OF RELIGIOUS ON THE EPARCHIAL BISHOP, THE PATRIARCH AND THE APOSTOLIC SEE
§ 1. All religious are subject to the Roman Pontiff as their supreme superior, being bound by the obligation to obey him also in virtue of the vow of obedience.
§ 2. In order to provide better for the welfare of institutes and for the needs of the apostolate, the Roman Pontiff can by reason of his primacy over the universal Church, contemplating the common welfare, exempt institutes of consecrated life from the governance of the eparchial bishop and subject them to him alone or to another ecclesiastical authority.
As regards internal governance and religious discipline, religious institutes are subject, unless law provides otherwise, immediately and exclusively to the Apostolic See, if they are of pontifical law; if they are of patriarchal or eparchial law, they are immediately subject to the patriarch or eparchial bishop, with due regard for can. 418, §2.
§ 1. With respect to monasteries and congregations of eparchial law, it pertains to the eparchial bishop:
1° to approve typicon of monasteries and statutes of congregations, and to approve changes introduced in to them in accordance with the norm of law, except those which had been approved by a higher authority;
2° to grant dispensations that exceed the power of the religious superiors from the same typicon and the statutes, when lawfully requested from him, in single cases and for individual occasions only;
3° to make a visitation of monasteries, including dependent ones, as well as of each house of congregations located in his territory, whenever he conducts a canonical visitation there as well as when truly special reasons require it according to his judgement.
§ 2. These rights pertain to the patriarch with respect to orders and congregations of patriarchal law which have their headquarters within the territorial boundaries of the Church over which he presides; otherwise the same rights with respect to all orders, as well as to monasteries and congregations which are not of eparchial law, belong to the Apostolic See alone.
§ 3. When a congregation of eparchial law has extended itself to other eparchies, nothing can validly be changed in the statutes, except by the consent of the eparchial bishop of the eparchy where the principal house is located, however, after consultation with the eparchial bishops in whose eparchies the other houses are located.
§ 1. All religious are subject to the authority of the local hierarch in matters which pertain to the public celebration of divine worship, to the preaching of the word of God to the people, to the religious and the moral education of the Christian faithful, especially of children, to catechetical and liturgical instruction and to what becomes the clerical state, as well as to various works of the apostolate.
§ 2. It is the right and duty of the eparchial bishop to make a visitation of each monastery and of houses of orders and congregations in his territory in respect to the matters mentioned in § 1 as often as he conducts a canonical visitation there or whenever he judges that grave reasons suggest it.
§ 3. The eparchial bishop can entrust apostolic work or duties pertaining to the eparchy to religious only with the consent of the competent superiors, without prejudice to common law and with observance of the religious discipline of the institutes safeguarding their own character and specific purpose.
§ 4. Religious who have committed an offence outside their house and have not been punished by their own superior, though warned by the local hierarch, can be punished by that hierarch even if the religious had lawfully left their house and returned to it.
Patriarchs as well as local hierarchs shall foster meetings with the superiors of religious at fixed times with regular intervals and in addition whenever it seems opportune in order that the apostolate exercised by the religious may be carried out in common concert and harmony.
If abuses have crept into houses of institutes of patriarchal or of pontifical law or in their churches, and the superior, warned by the local hierarch, has failed to take care of it, the same local hierarch is obliged to defer the matter without delay to the attention of the authority to which the institute is immediately subject.
2° SUPERIORS AND MEMBERS OF RELIGIOUS INSTITUTES
§ 1. Major superiors are: the president of a monastic confederation, the superior of a monastery sui iuris, the superior general of an order or congregation, the provincial superior, their vicars and others who have power corresponding to provincials, and also those who, in the absence of the above mentioned persons, in the meantime legitimately succeed them in office.
§ 2. Under the designation of superior of monks and other religious does not come either the local hierarch or the patriarch, without prejudice to the canons which assign power over them to the patriarch or to the local hierarch.
§ 1. The president of a monastic confederation, the superior of a non-confederated monastery sui iuris, the superior general of the order or congregation, are obliged to forward a report on the state of the institutes which they head to the authority to which they are immediately subject at least every five years, according to the form prescribed by the same authority.
§ 2. Superiors of institutes of eparchial or patriarchal law shall send a copy of their report to the Apostolic See.
§ 1. Major superiors who have the function of visitators according to the typicon of monasteries or statutes of orders and congregations, shall make a visitation at the times determined in them of all houses subject to them in person or through another if they are legitimately impeded.
§ 2. The members are to deal with the visitator confidentially and they are obliged to respond according to the truth in charity to lawful questioning and indeed, no one has the right to divert the members from this obligation by any means or to hinder the object of the visitation in any manner.
§ 3. The local hierarch must visit all religious houses, if the major superior who has the right of visitation has not made a visitation for five years, and after being warned by the local hierarch, still has neglected to visit them.
Superiors are bound by a grave obligation to take care that the members entrusted to them conduct their lives in accordance with their typicon or statutes; superiors shall help the members by example and exhortation in pursuing the purpose of the religious state, and they are to make suitable provision for their personal needs, to care zealously for the sick and to visit them, to reprove the untruly, to console the fainthearted, and to be patient towards all.
§ 1. Superiors are to have their own permanent council, established according to the norm of the typicon or statutes, whose co-operation they are to employ in exercising their office. In cases prescribed by the law they are obliged to seek its consent or counsel in accordance with the norm of can. 934.
§ 2. Particular law shall provide whether in houses of less than six members a council shall be established or not.
A monastery, monastic confederation, order and congregation and their provinces and houses, legitimately erected, are by the law itself juridical persons. Their capacity, however, of acquiring, possessing, administering or alienating temporal property can be excluded or limited by the typicon or statutes.
In the typicon or statutes norms shall be established for the use and the administration of property which foster, express and protect the their own form of poverty.
The temporal property of religious institutes is governed by cann. 1007 – 1054, unless the common law provides otherwise or it appears otherwise from the nature of the matter.
All religious without exception, whether superior or subject, must not only observe faithfully and integrally the vows which they have pronounced, but also regulate their life and tend to the perfection of their state according to the typicon or statutes through faithful adherence to the mind and purpose of their founder.
Each and every religious is bound by the obligations to which clerics are obliged by common law, unless the law provides otherwise or it appears otherwise from the nature of the matter.
A member in perpetual vows is ascribed to the religious institute as a cleric by ordination as a deacon, or, in case of a cleric already ascribed to an eparchy, by perpetual profession.
Letters of religious to their superiors and also to the local hierarch, patriarch, legate of the Roman Pontiff, and the Apostolic See, as well as the letters which they themselves receive from them, are not subject to any inspection.
It is not permitted to confer on religious merely honorific titles of dignities or offices; unless the typicon or statutes permit this in regard to the title of the office of the major superior already held by the religious.
Can 431
§ 1. Without the written consent of the major superior, a religious cannot be promoted after the first vows to dignities or offices outside the institute, except those which are conferred in an election by the synod of bishops of a patriarchal Church and without prejudice to can. 89, § 2; having fulfilled the function, the religious must return to the monastery, order or congregation.
§ 2. A religious who becomes a patriarch, bishop or exarch:
1° remains bound by the vows and by the other obligations of his profession, except those which he himself prudently judges incompatible with his dignity. He lacks active and passive voice in his own monastery, order or congregation, and is not subject to the authority of the superiors, and remains subject in virtue of the vow of obedience only to the Roman Pontiff;
2° the religious who after the expiry of their office return, without prejudice to cann. 62 and 211 at all events, to their monastery, order or congregation, can possess active and passive voice, if this is permitted by the typicon or statutes.
§ 3. A religious who becomes a patriarch, bishop or exarch:
1° if through profession he lost the capacity of acquiring the ownership of goods, he has the use, usufruct, and administration of the goods which come to him; the property which he acquires as patriarch, eparchial bishop, or exarch acquires, he acquires for the patriarchal Church, eparchy, or exarchy; all others, for the monastery or order;
2° if through profession he did not lose the ownership of goods, he regains the use, usufruct, and administration of the goods which he had; he fully acquires for himself those which come to him afterwards;
3° in either case, he must dispose of the goods according to the will of the donors, if it is not out of regard for his person that he comes by goods.
A dependent monastery, a house or province of a religious institute of any Church sui iuris, also of the Latin Church, which with the consent of the Apostolic See is ascribed to another Church sui iuris, must observe the law (ius) of this latter Church, save for the prescriptions of the typicon or statutes which refer to the internal governance of this religious institute and save for the privileges granted by the Apostolic See.
ART. II.
MONASTERIES
§ 1. A monastery is a religious house in which the members strive toward evangelical perfection by the observance of the rules and traditions of monastic life.
§ 2. A monastery sui iuris is one which does not depend on another one and which is governed by its own typicon approved by competent authority.
A monastery is of pontifical law if it was erected by the Apostolic See or recognized as such by its decree; of patriarchal law if it is a stauropegial one; of eparchial law if it was erected by the bishop but as not obtained a decree of recognition from the Apostolic See.
1° ERECTION AND SUPPRESSION 01 MONASTERIES
§ 1. The eparchial bishop is competent to erect a monastery sui iuris, having consulted the patriarch within the territorial boundaries of the patriarchal Church, or, in other instances, the Apostolic See.
§ 2. It is reserved to the patriarch to erect a stauropegial monastery.
Can 436
§1. Any monastery sui iuris can have dependent monasteries. Of these some are filial monasteries if, by virtue of the very act of their erection or of the decree issued according to the typicon, they can evolve to the status of a monastery sui iuris; others are subsidiary monasteries.
§ 2. For the valid erection of a dependent monastery is required the written consent of the authority to which the monastery sui iuris is subject and of the eparchial bishop of the place where the monastery is being erected.
§ 1. The permission to erect a monastery, even a dependent one, comprises the right to have a church and to perform sacred ministries as well as to carry out religious works proper to the monastery in accordance with the norm of the typicon, without prejudice to the conditions lawfully stipulated in the document of erection.
§ 2. Written permission of the eparchial bishop is required in the case of any monastery for the construction and opening of schools, guest-houses or similar buildings distinct from the monastery.
§ 3. In order to convert a monastery to other uses, the same formalities are required as for erecting it, except when it concerns a conversion that concerns only the internal governance and religious discipline.
§ 1. The patriarch is competent to suppress, within the territorial boundaries of the Church over which he presides, a monastery sui iuris or a filial one of eparchial law or a stauropegial one, for a grave reason, with the consent of the permanent synod and at the request of, or after having consulted, the eparchial bishop if the monastery is of eparchial law, and after having consulted the superior of the monastery, and the president of the confederation if the monastery has been confederated, save for the right of suspensive recourse to the Roman Pontiff.
§ 2. Other monasteries sui iuris or filial monasteries can be suppressed only by the Apostolic See.
§ 3. A subsidiary monastery can be suppressed by a decree given by the superior of the monastery on which it depends in accordance with the norms of the typicon, with the prior consent of the eparchial bishop.
4. The property of a suppressed monastery sui iuris devolves upon the confederation if it was confederated; otherwise upon the eparchy, or, if it was stauropegial, upon the patriarchal Church. The property of a suppressed dependent monastery devolves upon the monastery sui iuris. To decide on the property of a monastery of pontifical law is reserved to the Apostolic See, without prejudice in all instances to the will of the donors.
§ 1. Several monasteries sui iuris subject to the same eparchial bishop may form a confederation with the written consent of the eparchial bishop, who is also entitled to approve the statutes of the confederation.
§ 2. The confederation of several monasteries sui iuris of different eparchies or of stauropegial monasteries located within the territorial boundaries of a patriarchal Church may be established after consultation with the eparchial bishops who have an interest, with the consent of the patriarch, to whom is also reserved the approval of the constitutions of the confederation.
§ 3. In other instances, the Apostolic See is to be approached for the establishment of a confederation.
§ 1. The aggregation of a non-confederated monastery sui iuris to, or the withdrawal from a confederation is reserved to the same authority spoken of in can. 439.
§ 2. A confederation, however, within the territorial boundaries of a patriarchal Church can be suppressed only by the patriarch, with the consent of the synod of bishops of the patriarchal Church, after consultation with the eparchial bishops who have an interest, and of the president of the confederation, without prejudice to suspensive recourse to the Roman Pontiff; the suppression of other confederations is reserved to the Apostolic See.
§ 3. It is reserved to the authority which suppressed the confederation to dispose of the property that belongs to the suppressed confederation, without prejudice to the will of the donors; in such a case the patriarch needs the consent of the permanent synod.
2° THE SUPERIORS, SYNAXES, AND FINANCE OFFICERS OF MONASTERIES
§ 1. In monasteries superiors and synaxes have that power which is determined in the common law and the typicon.
§ 2. Superiors in monasteries sui iuris have power of governance in so far as it is expressly granted to them in law or by the authority to which they are subject, without prejudice to can. 979.
§ 3. Beyond what is determined by common law, the power of the president of a monastic confederation must be determined in the statutes of the same confederation.
Without prejudice to the typicon of the monastery requiring more, in order that a person be capable to assume the office of superior of a monastery sui iuris, it is required that the person be perpetually professed, be professed at least ten years, and is at least forty years old.
§ 1. The superior of a monastery sui iuris is to be elected by the synaxis convened according to the norms of the typicon and having observed cann. 947 – 960, without prejudice to the right of the bishop of the eparchy to preside at the synaxis of election in person or through another.
§ 2. At the synaxis of election of the superior of a confederate monastery sui iuris, the president of the confederation presides over the election in person or through another.
§ 1. The office of superior of a monastery sui iuris is conferred for an indeterminate time, unless the typicon states otherwise.
§ 2. Unless the typicon prescribes otherwise, superiors of dependent monasteries are appointed by the superior of the monastery sui iuris for a time determined in the typicon itself, with the consent of the council if the monastery is filial, but after consulting the council if it is a subsidiary one.
§ 3. Superiors who have completed the seventy-fifth year of age, or who have become inadequate to discharge their office because of failing health or some other grave cause, shall tender their resignation from office. It is for the synaxis to accept it.
Members of the synaxis of election shall seriously strive to elect those whom they know for sure before the Lord as being truly worthy and suited for the office of superior, abstaining from any abuse whatever, especially from procuring votes for themselves or for others.
The superior shall reside in the monastery and shall not be absent from it except according to the norm of the typicon.
§ 1. There shall be a financial administrator for the administration of temporal property in a monastery, who shall discharge this office under the direction of the superior.
§ 2. The superior of a monastery sui iuris shall not have also the office of the financial administrator. Although the office of the financial administrator of a dependent monastery is better separated from the office of the superior, the one may nevertheless be cumulated with the other if necessity demands it.
§ 3. The financial administrator is appointed by the superior of the monastery sui iuris with the consent of the council unless the typicon states otherwise.
3° ADMISSION TO A MONASTERY SUI LURIS AND THE NOVITIATE
For one to be admitted into a monastery sui iuris it is required that the person is moved by the right intention, is suited for leading a monastic life and is not prevented by any impediment established by the law.
Before being admitted to the novitiate, a candidate is to live in the monastery under the special care of an approved member for a period of time specified in the typicon.
Without prejudice to prescriptions of the typicon which require more, the following cannot be validly admitted to the novitiate:
1° non-Catholics;
2° those who have been punished with canonical penalties except those mentioned in can. 1426, § 1;
3° those who are under imminent threat of a serious penalty on account of a crime of which they are legitimately accused;
4° those who are under eighteen years of age, except if it is the case of a monastery which has temporary profession, in which instance seventeen years of age is sufficient;
5° those who are entering the monastery induced by force, grave fear or by fraud or those, who are admitted by a superior induced in the same way;
6° spouses, during a marriage;
7° those who are held by the bond of religious profession or by another sacred bond to an institute of consecrated life, unless it is a case of lawful transfer.
No one can be admitted licitly to the novitiate of a monastery of another Church sui iuris without the permission of the Apostolic See, unless it is the case of candidates who are destined for a dependent monastery of their own Church as mentioned in can. 432.
§ 1. Clerics ascribed to an eparchy cannot be licitly admitted to the novitiate without consulting their own eparchial bishop nor can they be admitted licitly, if the eparchial bishop objects to it because their departure will result in grave harm to souls which cannot be prevented otherwise; or if it concerns those who are destined to the priesthood in a monastery but are restrained by some impediment established in law.
§ 2. Likewise, parents whose help is necessary in raising and educating children cannot be licitly admitted to the monastery, as well as children who are obliged to assist a father or mother, a grandfather or grandmother who are in great need, unless the monastery has provided otherwise for this.
§ 1. It is the superior of a monastery sui iuris who admits to the novitiate after having consulted the council.
§ 2. Superiors themselves must make certain of the suitability and the full freedom of a candidate in choosing the monastic state by using appropriate means.
§ 3. In respect to the submission of documents as well as the various testimonials concerning their good conduct and suitability, the prescriptions of the typicon shall be followed.
Norms are to determined in the typicon concerning the dowry, where it is required to be furnished by aspirants, to be administered under the special supervision of the local hierarch, as well as in respect to the restitution of the entire dowry, without the income already accrued, to one who is leaving the monastery for whatever reason.
The novitiate begins with the reception of the monastic habit or in any other manner prescribed in the typicon.
§ 1. A monastery sui iuris can have its own novices who shall be initiated into monastic life in the same monastery under the direction of a suitable member.
§ 2. In order that the novitiate be valid, it must be performed in the monastery sui iuris itself, or, by a decision of the superior, after consulting the council, in another monastery sui iuris of the same confederation.
§ 3. If a monastery sui iuris, whether a confederated one or non-confederated one, cannot comply with the prescriptions on the formation of novices, the superior is obliged to send the aspirants to another monastery in which the same prescriptions are conscientiously observed.
§ 1. In order that the novitiate be valid, it must last for three full and continuous years, but in monasteries in which a temporary profession precedes final profession, one year is sufficient.
§ 2. In every year of the novitiate, an absence of less than three months, continuous or with interruptions, does not affect the validity of the novitiate; but the time that has fallen short must be made up, if it is more than fifteen days.
§ 3. The novitiate shall not be extended beyond three years, without prejudice to can. 461, § 2.
Can 458
§1. For the formation of the novices a novice master is to be appointed according to the norms of the typicon. This novice master is to be a member distinguished for prudence, charity, piety, knowledge and observance of monastic life, and must be professed for at least ten years.
§ 2. The rights and duties of this master, especially in respect to the manner of formation of the novices, as well as his relations to the synaxis and the superior of the monastery, are to be determined in the typicon.
§1. During the novitiate the novices are to be continually engaged in their formation under the guidance of the master by means of the study of the typicon, pious meditations and assiduous prayer; they are to learn thoroughly what pertains to the vows and the virtues; they should have exercises suited to the rooting out of vices, the curbing of impulses, and the acquisition of virtues.
§ 2. During the novitiate, novices shall not be assigned to tasks outside the monastery nor engage in the regular study of letters, science or the arts.
With due regard for can. 467, §1, novices cannot validly renounce their property in any manner whatever or mortgage it.
§ 1. A novice can freely leave the monastery sui iuris or be dismissed for a just cause by the superiors or the synaxis in accordance with the typicon.
§ 2. When the novitiate is completed, a novice shall be admitted to profession if judged suitable, otherwise the novice is to be dismissed. If a doubt remains whether a novice is suitable, the time of novitiate can be prolonged in accordance with the norms of the typicon but not beyond one year.
4° CONSECRATION OR MONASTIC PROFESSION
§ 1. The monastic state is definitively assumed with perpetual profession, which includes the three perpetual vows of obedience, chastity and poverty.
§ 2. In the making of profession the prescriptions of the typicon and the liturgical books shall be observed.
The typicon of the monastery shall be observed in what pertains to the different degrees of monastic profession, with due regard for thejuridical force of the profession according to common law.
For the validity of perpetual monastic profession it is required:
1° that the novitiate has been validly completed;
2° that the novice be admitted to the profession by the superior of the monastery sui iuris with the consent of the council, and that the profession is received by the same superior personally or through another;
3° that the profession be explicit and made and received without force, grave fear or deceit;
4° that other requirements in the typicon for the validity of the profession be fulfilled.
What is prescribed in common law for temporary profession has force also with monasteries in which such a profession in accordance with the typicon precedes perpetual profession.
Perpetual monastic profession renders acts that are contrary to the vows invalid if the acts can be nullified.
§ 1. A candidate for perpetual monastic profession must, within sixty days prior to the profession, renounce in favour of whomever the candidate prefers all goods which he or she actually possesses on condition that the profession subsequently takes place; a renunciation made before this time is ipso iure invalid.
§ 2. As soon as the profession has been made, all necessary steps shall be taken at once in order that the renunciation become effective also in civil law.
Can – 468
§ 1. Any temporal goods whatsoever which accrue to the member after perpetual profession in virtue of any title are acquired by the monastery.
§ 2. The monastery is responsible for the debts and obligations which the member incurred after final profession with the permission of the superior. If, however, the member incurred debts without permission of the superior, the member must be held responsible.
§ 3. It shall be a fixed rule that an action can always be brought against one who has profited from the contract entered into.
With the perpetual profession the members lose ipso iure whatever offices they may have been holding; they lose their eparchy and are aggregated to the monastery with the full effects of law.
A document regarding the perpetual profession is to be signed by the professed member and by the one who received the profession, even by delegation, and it is to be preserved in the archives of the monastery. The superior of the monastery sui iuris is to notify it as soon as possible to the parish priest of the parish where the baptism of the member was recorded.
5° FORMATION 01 MEMBERS AND MONASTIC DISCIPLINE
§ 1. The manner of formation of members is to be determined in the typicon in such a way that they be permanently motivated to aim more fully toward holiness of life as well as that their abilities be developed through the study of sacred doctrine and the acquisition of human culture in accordance with the needs of the time, and that they thereby become more adept in the arts and tasks which are lawfully undertaken by the monastery.
§ 2. The formation of monks destined for sacred orders is to proceed according to the plan of formation of clerics prescribed in can. 330 in the monastery itself, if it has a facility of studies set up according to can. 340, § 1, or under the direction of an authorized moderator in another seminary or institute of higher studies approved by ecclesiastical authority.
The superior of a monastery sui iuris can grant dimissorial letters for sacred orders to his members, after they have made perpetual profession, and in accordance with the norm of the typicon. These letters are to be sent to the local eparchial bishop where the monastery is located, even if it is a dependent monastery, or, if it is a stauropegial monastery, to the bishop designated by the patriarch.
§ 1. In individual monasteries the liturgy of the hours is to be celebrated daily according to the typicon and legitimate customs. Likewise, the Divine Liturgy shall be celebrated on all days except those which are excluded by the prescriptions of the liturgical books.
§ 2. The superiors of monasteries shall take care that all members, in accordance with the typicon:
1° who are not lawfully prevented, take part daily in the liturgy of the hours and Divine Liturgy when they are celebrated, take time for contemplation of divine things, and diligently apply themselves to other exercises of piety;
2° can freely and frequently approach spiritual fathers and confessors;
3° make a spiritual retreat for several days every year.
§ 1. The members of monasteries shall receive the sacrament of penance often in accordance with the norm of the typicon.
§ 2. without prejudice to the typicon advising that confession be made to certain confessors, all members of the monastery can without interference with the discipline of the monastery, receive the sacrament of penance from any priest possessing the faculty to administer this sacrament.
Can – 475
§ 1. In each monastery, in accordance with the number of members, several spiritual fathers and confessors shall be assigned by the superior of the monastery, if it is the case of priest-monks of the same monastery who have the faculty of administering the sacrament of penance; otherwise by the local hierarch, after he has heard the superior of the monastery sui iuris, who before that must consult with the interested community.
§ 2. For monasteries in which there are no priest-monks, the local hierarch shall designate in the same manner a priest who will regularly celebrate the Divine Liturgy and preach the word of God in the monastery, with due regard for can. 612, § 2.
Members of the monastery, whether within or outside the monastery, are to wear the monastic habit prescribed by their own typicon.
§ 1. The enclosure shall be observed in monasteries in the manner prescribed in the typicon, without prejudice to the right of the superior to admit, in individual instances and for a grave reason, into parts subject to the enclosure persons of the other sex other than those who may enter the enclosure in accordance with the typicon.
§ 2. The parts of the monastery subject to the law of enclosure shall be clearly indicated.
§ 3. It is up to the superior of a monastery sui iuris, with the consent of the council and after notifying the local hierarch, to prescribe precisely the boundaries of the enclosure or to change them for just reasons.
The superior of the monastery may permit that members stay outside the monastery for a time determined in the typicon. However, for an absence which exceeds one year, unless it is for reason of study or illness, the permission is required of the authority to whom the monastery is subject.
If, in the judgement of the local hierarch, the assistance of monasteries is needed in the catechetical instruction of the people, all superiors, when requested by that hierarch, ust provide such instruction to the people themselves or through others in their own churches.
A parish cannot be established in the church of a monastery, nor can monks be appointed parish priests without the permission of the patriarch within the territorial boundaries of the Church over which he presides, or in other cases, of the Apostolic See.
6° HERMITS
A hermit is a member of a monastery sui iuris who has given himself or herself totally into heavenly contemplation and who is totally separated from people and the world.
In order to undertake the life of a hermit, it is necessary that the member has obtained the permission of the superior of the monastery sui iuris to which the member belongs, given with the consent of the council, and has lived in a monastery at least six years calculated from the day of perpetual profession.
The place where the hermit lives is to be designated by the superior of the monastery and is in a special manner separated from the world and from other parts of the monastery; but if the place is situated outside the fold of the monastery, the written consent of the local hierarch is also required.
The hermit depends on the superior of the monastery and is obliged by the canons on monks and the typicon of the monastery in so far as they can be reconciled with life as a hermit.
The superior of the monastery sui iuris has the authority, with the consent of the council, to terminate the eremitical life for just reasons, even against the wish of the hermit.
7° THE STAUROPEGIAL MONASTERY
§ 1. The patriarch can for a grave reason, having consulted the eparchial bishop and with the consent of the permanent synod, concede the statutes of a stauropegial monastery in the very act of foundation of a monastery sui iuris.
§ 2. The stauropegial monastery is directly subject to the patriarch in such a way that only he himself enjoys the rights and obligations of an eparchial bishop toward the monastery, the members assigned to it, as well as the persons who day and night dwell in the monastery. Other persons, however, connected with the monastery are subject directly and exclusively to the patriarch only in those aspects which concern their duties and offices.
8° TRANSFER TO ANOTHER MONASTERY
§ 1. A member cannot transfer from one monastery sui iuris to another of the same confederation without written permission of the president of the confederation.
§ 2. For a transfer from a non-confederated monastery to another monastery subject to the same authority, the permission of the same authority is required; but if the monastery to which the transfer is sought is subject to another authority, the permission of this authority is also required.
§ 3. The patriarch, the eparchial bishop and the president of the confederation cannot grant this permission except after having consulted the superior of the monastery sui iuris from which the transfer is sought.
§ 4. For a valid transfer to a monastery of another Church sui iuris the permission of the Apostolic See is required.
§ 5. The transfer occurs by the admission of the superior of the new monastery sui iuris with the consent of the synaxis.
§ 1. The one who transfers to another monastery sui iuris of the same confederation does not make the novitiate nor make a new profession, and from the day of the transfer he loses all rights and is released from the obligations towards the previous monastery and takes on the rights and duties of the second, and is ascribed to it as a cleric, if he is a cleric.
§ 2. The one who transfers from one monastery sui iuris to another monastery sui iuris that does not belong to any confederation or belongs to a different one shall observe the prescription of the typicon of the monastery to which he or she in respect to the obligation to make a novitiate and profession. If there is no provision for it in the typicon, the person does not make the novitiate nor a new profession, but the effects take place from the day of transfer, unless the superior of the monastery requires the person to go through some probationary period, not longer than a year, in the new monastery. When the probationary time has passed, he or she either shall be ascribed permanently in the new monastery by the superior with the consent of the council or synaxis in accordance with the typicon, or shall return to the previous monastery.
§ 3. In the transfer from a monastery sui iuris to an order or congregation cann. 544 and 545 are to be observed, with the necessary adaptations.
§ 4. The monastery sui iuris from which the member transferred keeps the goods which had been already acquired by it because of or through the member. In respect to a dowry, it belongs to the monastery to which transfer occurs, from the day of transfer, without the revenues that have accrued.
9° EXCLAUSTRATION AND SEPARATION FROM THE MONASTERY
§ 1. The indult of exclaustration can be granted only to a member of a monastery sui iuris who is in perpetual vows. When this member petitions, the indult can be granted by the authority to whom the monastery is subject after hearing the superior of the monastery sui iuris along with the council.
§ 2. The eparchial bishop can grant this indult only for up to three years.
Exclaustration can be imposed by the authority to which the monastery is subject, at the request of the superior of the monastery sui iuris with the consent of the council, for grave reasons and with observance of equity and charity.
The exclaustrated member remains bound by the vows and other obligations of the monastic profession which are compatible with his or her condition; the member must put off the monastic habit; during the time of the exclaustration he or she lacks active and passive voice and is subject to the eparchial bishop of the place where he or she dwells in the place of the superior of his or her own monastery also in virtue of the vow of obedience.
§ 1. The perpetually professed member shall not request the indult to leave the monastery and return to secular life except for the most grave reasons pondered before the Lord. A petition shall be submitted to the superior of the monastery sui iuris, who shall forward it, together with his or her votum and that of the council, to the Apostolic See.
§ 2. An indult of this kind is reserved to the Apostolic See.
§ 1. The indult of leaving the monetary and returning to secular life that has been lawfully granted and intimated to the member carries with it ipso iure, unless it was repudiated by the member at the moment of notification, the dispensation from the vows as well as from all obligations arising from profession, but not from the ones that are attached to a sacred order if he is in sacred orders.
§ 2. If a member who had left a monastery and returned to secular life is again received into the monastery, he shall go through the novitiate and profession again as if he or she had never been in religious life.
§ 1. A monk in perpetual vows who is in sacred orders, if he has obtained the indult of departure from the monastery and returns to the world, cannot exercise sacred orders until he has found a benevolent eparchial bishop to receive him.
§ 2. The eparchial bishop can receive him either unconditionally or on a trial basis for five years. In the first instance, the monk is thereby ascribed to the eparchy by the law itself; in the other case, after the completion of five years unless he was prior to that, expressly dismissed.
A member who, after making profession, has unlawfully left the monastery, must without delay return to it. The superiors must solicitously seek such members out and receive them back if they return moved by sincere penitence; otherwise, they shall be punished according to the norm of law, even with dismissal.
§ 1. One who during the temporary profession wishes to leave he monastery for grave reason and return to the world, shall submit a petition to the superior of the monastery sui iuris
§ 2. The superior shall forward this petition, together with his or her votum and that of the council, to the eparchial bishop whose competence it is, even for a monastery of pontifical law, to grant in this instance the indult of departure from the monastery and return to secular life, unless particular law reserves this to the patriarch for monasteries located within the territorial boundaries of a patriarchal Church.
10° DISMISSAL OF MONKS
§ 1. A member shall be held dismissed from the monastery ipso iure who:
1° has publicly rejected the Catholic faith;
2° has celebrated or attempted marriage, even only a civil one. § 2. The superior of the monastery sui iuris, having consulted the council, shall in such cases without delay, after collecting the proofs, issue a declaration on the facts so that the dismissal is juridically established, and he or she shall inform the authority to whom the monastery is immediately subject of this as soon as possible.
§ 1. A member who is the cause of very grave imminent external scandal or harm to the monastery, can be expelled at once from the monastery, by the superior with the consent of the council. asking to remove immediately the monastic habit.
§ 2. The superior of the monastery sui iuris, if the case warrants it, shall see to it that the dismissal procedure progresses in accordance with the law, or shall defer the matter to the authority to which the monastery is subject.
§ 3. A member expelled from the monastery who has received a sacred order is forbidden to exercise the order unless the authority to whom the monastery is subject has decided otherwise.
A member can be dismissed during temporary profession by the superior of the monastery sui iuris with the consent of the council according to can. 552, §§ 2 and 3, but, for validity, the dismissal must be confirmed by the eparchial bishop, or by the patriarch if the particular law decrees it for the monasteries situated within the territorial boundaries of a Patriarchal Church.
§ 1. For the dismissal of a perpetually professed member, with due regard for can. 497, the president of the monastic confederation or the superior of a non-confederated monastery sui iuris is competent to issue a decree of dismissal, either of them with the consent of the council, which in this instance must be composed, for validity, of at least five members, including the presiding superior, in such a way that if the number of ordinary councillors is insufficient or they are absent, others are to be called in accordance with the typicon or the statutes of the confederation; the voting, however, must be done secretly.
§ 2. In order to decide on dismissal, in addition to other conditions possibly stipulated in the typicon, it is required for validity:
1° that there is a lack of reform and the reasons for dismissal are grave, culpable and juridically proven;
2° that the dismissal was preceded, unless the nature of the reason for dismissal precludes it, by two warnings with the formal threat of dismissal, which were to no avail;
3° that the reasons for dismissal were presented in writing to the member, granting the member, after each warning, full opportunity of defence;
4° that the usable time established by the typicon has elapsed since the last warning. § 3. The written responses of the member, shall be attached to the acts which are to be submitted to those mentioned in § 1.
§ 4. The decree of dismissal cannot be executed unless it is approved by the authority to whom the monastery is subject.
§ 1. The decree of dismissal shall be intimated as soon as possible to the interested member.
§ 2. The member can, within ten days, either have recourse with suspensive effect, or, unless the decree of dismissal has been confirmed by the Apostolic See, demand that the case be tried in judicial proceedings.
§ 3. The decision about the recourse against the decree of dismissal belongs to the Apostolic See, or, if it is a member who has domicile within the territorial boundaries of the
§ 4. If the case is to be treated in a judicial proceeding, it is to be done by the tribunal of the authority immediately superior to the one which has confirmed the decree of dismissal. The superior who has rendered the decree of dismissal shall hand over the acts collected in the matter to this tribunal and the case shall be processed according to the canons on penal trial without the possibility of appeal.
By lawful dismissal, excluding that one mentioned in can. 497, all bonds as well a obligations stemming from monastic profession cease by the law itself; and if the member had been promoted to a sacred order, can. 494 is to be observed.
§ 1. One who lawfully departs or who was lawfully dismissed from the monastery cannot claim anything from it for any kind of work performed therein.
§ 2. The monastery, however, shall extend equitable and evangelical charity toward a member who is being separated from it.
ART. III.
ORDERS AND CONGREGATIONS
§ 1. An order is a society erected by competent ecclesiastical authority in which the members, although they are not monks, make a profession which is equivalent to monastic profession.
§ 2. A congregation is a society erected by competent ecclesiastical authority in which the members make the three public vows of obedience, chastity and poverty, which however are not equivalent to monastic profession, but have their own force according to the law.
§ 1. An order is of pontifical law if it is erected by the Apostolic See or recognized as such by a decree of the same; of patriarchal law, if it has not obtained the decree of recognition from the Apostolic See.
§ 2. A congregation is:
1° of pontifical law, if it is erected by the Apostolic See or recognized as such by a decree of the same;
2° of patriarchal law, if erected by the patriarch or recognized as such by his decree, and it has not obtained a decree of recognition from the Apostolic See;
3° of eparchial law, if erected by the eparchial bishop, and it has not obtained a decree of recognition from the Apostolic See or from the patriarch.
§ 3. An order or a congregation is called clerical when, on account of the object or purpose intended by the founder or in virtue of lawful custom, under the direction of presbyter, it exercises the ministry proper to sacred orders, and is recognized as such by ecclesiastical authority.
1° ERECTION AND SUPPRESSION OF AN ORDER CONGREGATION, PROVINCE, HOUSE
§ 1. The eparchial bishop can erect only congregations, but he shall not erect them without consulting the Apostolic See, and, in addition, within the territorial boundaries of a patriarchal Church, without consulting the patriarch.
§ 2. The patriarch can erect orders and congregations with the consent of the permanent synod and after consulting the Apostolic See.
§ 3. A congregation of eparchial law which, within the territorial boundaries of patriarchal Church, has spread to several eparchies of the same territory can become of patriarchal law by a decree of the patriarch, after he has consulted interested parties and he has obtained the consent of the permanent synod.
§ 1. An order, even of patriarchal law, lawfully erected, although consisting of only one house, can be suppressed, besides by the Apostolic See, and to which it is also reserved to dispose of the property of the suppressed order, without prejudice to the wishes of the donors.
§ 2. A congregation of patriarchal or eparchial law, lawfully erected, although consisting of only one house, can be suppressed, besides by the Apostolic See, by the patriarch, within the territorial boundaries of the Church over which he presides, after consultation with the interested parties and with the consent of the permanent synod and of the Apostolic See.
§ 1. A province is a part of the same order or congregation, consisting of several houses, and which a major superior rules directly.
§ 2. To divide an order or congregation into provinces, to unite established provinces or to modify their boundaries, to erect new ones or to suppress erected ones, pertains to the authority determined by the statutes of the order or congregation.
§ 3. To make provisions concerning the property of suppressed provinces, with due regard to justice and the wishes of the donors, pertains, unless the statutes direct otherwise, to the general synaxis, or, in urgent necessity, to the superior general with the consent of the council.
§ 1. An order or a congregation cannot validly erect a house without the written consent of the eparchial bishop. If it is the case of erecting the first house of an order or congregation of patriarchal law in some eparchy, the consent of the patriarch is required within the territorial boundaries of the patriarchal Church, or in other cases, the consent of the Apostolic See.
§ 2. The matters mentioned in can. 437 shall apply also to houses of orders and congregations.
The house of an order or congregation cannot validly be suppressed except after consultation with the eparchial bishop. The suppression of the only house of an order or a congregation is reserved to the authority which in accordance with can. 507 can suppress the order or congregation.
2° SUPERIORS, SYNAXES AND FINANCE OFFICERS IN ORDERS AND CONGREGATIONS
§ 1. The superiors and synaxes in orders and congregations have that power which is determined in common law and the statutes.
§ 2. In clerical orders and congregations of pontifical or patriarchal law, moreover, superiors and synaxes possess power of governance for both the external as well as the internal forum, in conformity with the statutes.
§ 1. The general synaxis, which is the highest authority according to the norm of the statutes, is to be so structured that it represents the entire order or congregation and is a true sign of its unity in love.
§ 2. Not only provinces and houses, but even every member can freely send his or her wishes to the general synaxis in a manner determined in the statutes.
§ 1. In order that a member be appointed or elected validly to the office of superior, an appropriate period of time is required after perpetual profession, to be determined by the statutes, which in the case of the major superiors must be at least ten years from first profession.
§ 2. If it is the case of the superior general, there is moreover required for validity that he or she be thirty-five years of age.
§ 1. Superiors are to be constituted for a certain and appropriate term of office, unless the statutes decree differently for the superior general.
§ 2. However, before the determined time has elapsed they can be removed from office, or be transferred to another office for reasons, and according to the procedure, determined by the statutes.
§ 3. It shall be provided in suitable norms of the statutes that members shall not stay for too long time in the office of superior without interruption.
§ 1. The superior general is designated by election according to the statutes.
§ 2. Other superiors are designated in accordance with the statutes in such a way that if they are elected, they need the confirmation of the competent major superior but if they are appointed, that this be done after suitable prior consultation.
§ 3. The prescriptions of cann. 947 – 960 as well as of can. 445 shall be carefully followed in elections.
§ 1. There shall be financial administrators in orders and congregations for the administration of temporal goods; a general financial administrator who administers the goods of the entire order or congregation; a provincial financial administrator for the province, a local financial administrator for each single house; all of whom shall discharge their office under the authority of the superior.
§ 2. A major superior cannot fulfil the office of general financial administrator or provincial financial administrator. The duties of a local financial administrator although it is preferably separated from the office of the superior, can nevertheless be combined with it if necessity demands it.
§ 3. If the statutes are silent on the manner of designating financial administrators, they shall be appointed by the major superior with the consent of the council.
3° ADMISSION TO ORDERS AND CONGREGATIONS AND THE NOVITIATE
§ 1. The minimum age required for valid admission to the novitiate of an order or congregation is seventeen years completed. In respect to other requirements for admission to the novitiate cann. 448, 450, 452, and 454 shall be observed.
§ 2. No one can be admitted lawfully to the novitiate of a religious institute of another Church sui iuris without the permission of the Apostolic See; exceptions are candidates who are destined for a province or house, mentioned in can. 432, of their own Church.
Before being admitted to the novitiate, a candidate is to be suitably prepared for a period of time and in the manner determined in the statutes, under the special care of an approved member.
The right to admit candidates to the novitiate pertains to major superiors according to the norm of the statutes and with due regard for can. 453, §§ 2 and 3.
The novitiate begins in the manner prescribed by the statutes.
The erection, transfer and suppression of the location of the novitiate shall be done by a decree of the superior general with the consent of his or her council.
§ 1. In order that the novitiate be valid, it must be made in the house in which the novitiate is located; in special cases and by way of an exception, the candidate can, with the permission of the superior general, given with the consent of the council, make the novitiate in another house of the same order or congregation, under the direction of an approved member who takes the place of the master of novices.
§ 2. The major superior can permit a group of novices to live for a certain period of time in another house of the same order or congregation designated by him.
§ 1. For the validity of the novitiate it must comprise one full and continuous year. An absence of less than three months, either continuous or with interruptions, does not ffect the validity; but, if it exceeds fifteen days, the unfinished time must be made up, even though it had been devoted to exercises of apostolate meant to complete the formation of the novices.
§ 2. If a longer period is prescribed in the statutes for the novitiate, this is not required for the validity of the profession.
§ 1. A director shall be appointed for the formation of the novices in accordance with the statutes; the director shall be a member who is professed at least ten years from first profession, outstanding in prudence, charity, piety, knowledge, and the observance of religious state, and, in a clerical order or congregation, a presbyter.
§ 2. Assistants can be given to the director, if this is necessary, who are subject to the director in everything that pertains to the direction of the novitiate and the formation of the novices.
§ 3. It is up to the director alone to provide for the formation of the novices, and the management of the novitiate pertains to him alone. Thus, no one else is allowed to interfere in these things under any pretext whatever, except that superiors may intervene as allowed by the statutes, so too visitators. As regards the religious discipline of the entire house, the director as well as the novices is subject to the superior.
§ 4. The novice is subject to the power of the director and of the superiors and is bound to obey them.
§ 1. The prescriptions of cann. 459 – 461 apply also to orders and congregations.
§ 2. Before making their temporary profession, novices must cede to whom they wish and for the whole time they are bound by the profession the administration of the goods they actually possess and of those which might accrue to them afterwards, disposing freely of their se and usufruct.
4° PROFESSION IN ORDERS AND CONGREGATIONS
§ 1. The temporary profession, with the three vows of obedience, chastity and poverty, is to be made for the period of time determined in the statutes.
§ 2. This profession can be renewed several times in accordance with the statutes, provided that put together the period is never shorter than three years nor longer than six.
For the validity of temporary profession it is required:
1° that the novitiate has been validly completed;
2° that the novice be admitted to profession by the competent superior according to the statutes with the consent of the council, and the profession be received by the same superior in person or through another;
3° that the profession be expressed and made without force, grave fear or fraud;
4° that other requirements stipulated in the statutes for the validity of the profession be fulfilled.
A temporarily professed member is held by the same obligation to observe the statutes as a perpetually professed one; he or she lacks active and passive voice, unless it is otherwise expressly provided in the statutes.
§ 1. Temporary profession renders acts contrary to the vows unlawful, but not invalid.
§ 2. This profession does not deprive the member of the ownership of one\’s own goods nor the capacity to acquire other ones. However, the member is not permitted gratuitously to renounce the right of disposing of goods by an act effective during life.
§ 3. But whatever the member in temporary vows acquires by his or her own industry or in respect to the order or congregation is acquired for the order or congregation; unless the contrary is lawfully proven, it is presumed that the member acquires in respect to the order or congregation.
§ 4. The professed can change the renunciation or disposition mentioned in can. 525, § 2 not by his or her own resolve but with the consent of the major superior, as long as the change is not in favour of the order or congregation, at least not in respect to a notable part of the goods. The renunciation or disposition ceases to have force at the member\’s departure from the order or congregation.
§ 5. If the temporarily professed members have incurred debts and obligations, they must respond for them, unless it was with the permission of the superior that they transacted the business of the order or congregation.
§ 6. As soon as the temporary profession is made, whatever offices held by the professed become vacant ipso iure.
In congregations, at least before perpetual profession the member shall freely make a last will which also is valid in civil law.
By perpetual profession members assume definitively the religious state, lose their own eparchy and are incorporated with full effects of law in the religious order or congregation.
Besides the requirements mentioned in can. 464, it is required for the validity of perpetual profession that it be preceded by temporary profession in accordance with can. 526.
In orders the perpetual profession is equivalent to the perpetual monastic profession, hence cann. 466 – 468 are to be applied.
In congregations:
1° the canonical effects of perpetual profession remain the same as those determined in can. 529 for temporary profession, except if otherwise provided by common law;
2° the major superior can, with the consent of the council, permit a perpetually professed member at the member\’s own request to make a cession of his or her goods, provided that it is done prudently;
3° it is up to the general synaxis to introduce in to the statutes, if it deems it opportune, the obligation for a member to renounce his or her patrimony, acquired or to be acquired, which renunciation, however, cannot be done prior to perpetual profession.
§ 1. In making any profession, the prescriptions of the statutes are to be observed.
§ 2. A document regarding the profession is to be signed by the professed member and by the one who received the profession, even by delegation, and it is to be preserved in the archives of the order or congregation. In the case of perpetual profession, the major superior must notify it as soon as possible to the parish priest of the parish where the baptism of the member was recorded.
5° FORMATION OF MEMBERS AND RELIGIOUS DISCIPLINE IN ORDERS AND CONGREGATIONS
§ 1. The manner of formation of members according to the norm of can. 471, § 1 is to be determined in the statutes.
§ 2. The formation of the members who are destined for sacred orders is to proceed according to the plan of clerical formation prescribed in can. 330 at a facility for studies of the order or congregation approved by the general synaxis or the major superiors in accordance with the statutes. However, if it is not possible to have a facility of studies of their own set up according to can. 340, § 1, the members must be instructed, under the guidance of an approved moderator, in another seminary or school of higher studies approved by ecclesiastical authority.
§ 1. Major superiors can grant, in accordance with the statutes, dimissorial letters for sacred orders to perpetually professed members.
§ 2. The bishop to whom the superior must address the dimissorial letters is the eparchial bishop of the place in which the candidate has a domicile; to another bishop, however, if the eparchial bishop has given permission, is of a Church sui iuris different from that of the candidate, is absent, or, finally, if the eparchy is vacant and the one who governs it is not an ordained bishop. In each case it is necessary that all this be certain to the ordaining bishop by an authentic document of the eparchial curia.
§ 1. In each house of orders and congregations the liturgy of the hours shall be celebrated according to the norms of the statutes and lawful custom.
§ 2. The superiors shall see to it that all members fulfill in accordance with the statutes what is prescribed in can. 473, § 2.
§ 3. Members of orders and congregations should approach the sacrament of penance frequently, observing can. 474, § 2.
§ 1. The superiors shall see to it that suitable confessors are available to the members.
§ 2. The confessors in clerical orders and congregations of pontifical or patriarchal law are designated by the major superior according to the statutes; but in other cases by the local hierarch after hearing the superior, who must previously consult the interested community.
In respect to the habit of the members the prescriptions of the statutes, and outside their own houses also the norms of the eparchial bishop are to be followed.
The norms respecting the enclosure shall be determined in the statutes of individual orders and congregations in accordance with their own character, without prejudice to the right of superiors, even local ones, to permit something different for a just cause in individual instances.
Superiors are to see to it that, without prejudice to the character of the institute and to religious discipline, members designated by them are readily available to help especially in the eparchy where they dwell, if their help is required by the local hierarch or the parish priest to meet the needs of the faithful whether in their own churches or outside them.
A member of an order or congregation who is a parish priest remains bound by the vows and the obligations of his profession as well as of the statutes in so far as this observance of the statutes is compatible with the obligations of his office. He remains subject to the superior in matters which pertain to religious discipline, but in those which concern the office of parish priest he has the same rights and obligations as the other parish priests, and is subject in the same way to the eparchial bishop.
6° TRANSFER TO ANOTHER ORDER OR CONGREGATION OR TO A MONASTERY SUI IURIS
§ 1. Within the territorial boundaries of the patriarchal Church a member can validly transfer to another religious institute with the written permission of the patriarch and with the consent of his or her own superior general and the superior general of the order or congregation to which he or she wishes to transfer, or, if a member wants to transfer to a monastery, of the superior of the monastery sui iuris; for the granting of their consent, the superiors require the previous consent of their council or, in a monastery, of the synaxis.
§ 2. A member can validly transfer from a congregation of eparchial law to another religious institute of eparchial law with the written consent of the eparchial bishop of the place where the main house of the religious institute to which transfer is to be made is located, after consultation with the superior general of the congregation from which transfer is to be made, with the consent of the superior general of the congregation or the superior of the monastery sui iuris to which he or she transfers. For the granting of this consent the superiors need the prior consent of their council or, in a monastery, of the synaxis.
§ 3. In other cases the member cannot validly transfer to another religious institute without the consent of the Apostolic See.
§ 4. The consent of the Apostolic See is required for the validity of a transfer to a religious institute of another Church sui iuris.
§ 1. The one who transfers must go through the entire novitiate, except if the superior general or the superior of the monastery sui iuris, each of them with the consent of the council, on account of special circumstances, reduces the time of the novitiate, but not below six months. During the novitiate, the vows remaining in force, the rights and particular obligations which the member had in the previous order or congregation are held suspended, and the member is bound by the obligation to obey the superiors of the new religious institute and the director of novices also in virtue of the vow of obedience.
§ 2. At the completion of the novitiate the one who transfers, if professed of perpetual vows, shall publicly make perpetual profession according to the statutes of the religious institute to which he or she transferred. By this new profession one is fully united to the new institute, and, if he is a cleric, he is ascribed to it as a cleric as well. But one who has thus far made temporary profession, shall make a temporary profession in the same manner for at least three more years, except in the case when he or she completed the entire novitiate of three years in the monastery sui iuris to which he or she transferred.
§ 3. If the member does not make the profession in the religious institute to which he or she transferred, that member must return to the previous institute, unless in the meantime the time of profession has expired.
§ 4. In respect to goods and dowry can. 488, § 4 shall be observed.
7° EXCLAUSTRATION AND LEAVING THE ORDER OR CONGREGATION
§ 1. The temporarily professed may freely leave the order or congregation at the expiration of the time of the vows.
§ 2. One who, while still in temporary vows, requests for a grave reason to leave the order or congregation, can obtain from the superior general with the consent of the council the indult to leave the order or congregation definitively and return to secular life, with the effects mentioned in can. 493; in congregations of eparchial law, the indult, in order to be valid, must be confirmed by the local eparchial bishop where the main house of the same congregation is located.
§ 1. The major superior, having consulted the council, can for a just cause exclude a member in temporary vows from the renewal of the temporary vows or from making perpetual profession.
§ 2. Physical or psychic illness, even if contracted after temporary profession, which in the judgement of experts renders a member in temporary vows incapable of leading life in the religious institute, constitutes a reason for not admitting that person to the renewal of temporary profession or the making of perpetual profession, unless the infirmity was contracted on account of the negligence of the institute or because of the work performed in the institute.
§ 3. However, if the member becomes insane during temporary vows, that member cannot be dismissed from the institute even if he or she cannot make a new profession.
§ 1. The indult of exclaustration can be granted by the authority to which the order or congregation is subject having heard the superior general and the council. The imposition of exclaustration, however, can be decreed by the same authority at the request of the superior general acting with the consent of the council.
§ 2. In other aspects of exclaustration cann. 489 – 491 shall be observed.
§ 1. A perpetually professed member shall not ask for the indult to leave the order or congregation and to return to secular life except for most grave reasons. Such a member shall submit a petition to the superior general, who shall forward it, along with his or her votum and that of the council, to the competent authority.
§ 2. In orders, an indult of this kind is reserved to the Apostolic See; but in congregations, in addition to the Apostolic See, it can be granted also by:
1° the patriarch with respect to all members who have domicile within the territorial boundaries of the Church over which he presides, after having consulted, if it is a congregation of eparchial law, the eparchial bishop;
2° the eparchial bishop of the eparchy in which the member is domiciled, if it is the case of a congregation of eparchial law.
§ 3. The indult of departure from the order or congregation has the same canonical effects as stated in can. 493; but with respect to a member who is in a sacred order, can. 494 is to be applied in addition.
A member who is unlawfully absent from the house of their own order or congregation with the intention of withdrawing from the power of superiors, is to be solicitously sought after by the same superiors; if, however, within the time prescribed by the statutes, he does not return, he is to be punished according to the norm of law or even dismissed.
8° DISMISSAL FROM AN ORDER OR CONGREGATION
What is prescribed in cann. 497 and 498 concerning dismissal or expulsion shall apply to all members of orders and congregations. The competent authority is the major superior having consulted the council; if it concerns expulsions, with the consent of the council. If there is danger in delay and there is no time to reach the major superior, the local superior, with the consent of the council, can expel a member, notifying at once the major superior.
§ 1. A temporarily professed member can be dismissed by the superior general with the consent of he council unless the dismissal is reserved in the statutes to eparchial bishop or another authority to which the order or congregation is subject.
§ 2. In deciding about the dismissal, in addition to other conditions which might be prescribed by the statutes, the following must be observed:
1° the reasons for dismissal must be grave, and on the part of the member, external and imputable;
2° the lack of the religious spirit, which can be a cause of scandal to others, is a sufficient cause for dismissal if repeated warnings, along with salutary penances, have been in vain;
3° the reasons for dismissal must be certain in the mind of the dismissing superior, although it is not necessary that they be formally proven. Yet, they must always be made known to the member, granting the member full opportunity of defence, and the responses are to be faithfully submitted to the dismissing superior.
§ 3. A recourse against the decree of dismissal has suspensive effect.
The superior general is competent with respect to the dismissal of a perpetually professed member, and besides the norms of cann. 500-503 are to be observed.
