Book five The Temporal Goods of the Church

§ 1.

The Catholic Church has an innate right to acquire, retain, administer and alienate temporal goods in pursuit of its proper ends independently of civil power.

§ 2.

The following ends are especially proper to the Church: to order divine worship; to provide decent support for the clergy and other ministers; to perform the works of the sacred apostolate and of charity, especially towards the needy.

The universal Church and the Apostolic See, the particular churches as well as any other juridic person, whether public or private, are capable of acquiring, retaining, administering and alienating temporal goods in accord with the norm of law.

The right of ownership over goods under the supreme authority of the Roman Pontiff belongs to that juridic person which has lawfully acquired them.

§ 1.

All temporal goods which belong to the universal Church, the Apostolic See, or other public juridic persons within the Church are ecclesiastical goods and are regulated by the following canons as well as by their own statues.

§ 2.

The temporal goods of a private juridic person are regulated by their own statutes, but not by the following canons unless (nisi) express provision is made to the contrary.

In the following canons the term Church signifies not only the universal Church or the apostolic See, but also any public juridic person within the Church unless (nisi) it is otherwise apparent from the context of what is written or from the nature of the matter.

The Church can acquire temporal goods by every just means of natural or positive law permitted to others.

The Church has an innate right to require from the Christian faithful whatever is necessary for the ends proper to it.

§ 1.

The Christian faithful may freely give temporal goods to the Church.

§ 2.

The diocesan bishop is bound to admonish the faithful concerning the obligation mentioned in can. 222, § 1 and to urge its observance in an appropriate manner.

The faithful are to contribute to the support of the Church by collections and according to the norms laid down by the conference of bishops.

The diocesan bishop has the right to impose a moderate tax on public juridic persons subject to his authority; this tax, which should be proportionate to their income, is for diocesan needs and may be imposed only after hearing the diocesan finance council and the presbyteral council; he can impose an extraordinary and moderate tax on other physical and juridic persons only in cases of grave necessity and under the same conditions with due regard for particular laws and customs attributing even more significant rights to him.

Unless (nisi) the law has provided otherwise, it is the responsibility of a meeting of the bishops of a province:

(1) to fix the amounts of the tax for acts of executive power granting a favor or for the execution of rescripts of the Apostolic See, to be approved by the Apostolic See;

(2) to set a limit on the offerings given on the occasion of administering the sacraments and sacramentals.

§ 1.

With due regard for the right of religious mendicants private persons whether physical or juridic are forbidden to raise funds for any pious or ecclesiastical institution or purpose without the written permission of their own ordinary and that of the local ordinary.

§ 2.

The conference of bishops can determine norms on fund-raising, which must be observed by everyone including those who are called and really are mendicants by their foundation.

The local ordinary may prescribe the taking up of a special collection for specific parochial, diocesan, national or universal projects in all the churches and oratories which are, in fact, habitually open to the Christian faithful, including those belonging to religious institutes; this collection is to be diligently transmitted afterwards to the diocesan curia.

§ 1.

Unless (nisi) the contrary is established, the offerings given to the superiors or administrators of any ecclesiastical juridic person, even to a private one, are presumed to be given to that juridic person.

§ 2.

The offerings mentioned in § 1 may not be refused without (nisi) a just cause and, in matters of greater importance, without the permission of the ordinary if it is a question of a public juridic person; with due regard for the prescription of can. 1295, the permission of the same ordinary is required to accept those gifts to which are attached a condition or a modal obligation.

§ 3.

The offerings given by the faithful for a definite purpose can be applied only for the same purpose.

Prescription as a means of acquiring property and freeing oneself from an obligation is admitted by the Church in regard to temporal goods according to the norm of cann. 197-199.

If sacred objects are privately owned, they may be acquired even by private persons by means of prescription; but it is not lawful to employ them for profane uses unless (nisi) they have lost their dedication or blessing; if, however, they belong to a public ecclesiastical juridic person, they can be acquired only by another public ecclesiastical juridic person.

Immovable properties, precious movable objects, and the personal or real rights and claims which belong to the Apostolic See are subject to a prescription period of one hundred years; those which belong to another public ecclesiastical juridic person are subject to a prescription period of thirty years.

In view of their bond of unity and charity and in accord with the resources of their dioceses, bishops are to assist in procuring those means whereby the Apostolic See can properly provide for its service of the universal Church according to the conditions of the times.

In regions where benefices in the strict sense still exist, it is the responsibility of the conference of bishops to supervise the management of such benefices through appropriate norms which are agreeable to and approved by the Apostolic See; this is to be accomplished in such a way that the income from and to the extent that it is possible even the original endowment of these benefices are gradually bestowed upon the institute mentioned in can. 1274, § 1.

By virtue of his primacy in governance the Roman Pontiff is the supreme administrator and steward of all ecclesiastical goods.

§ 1.

Unless (nisi) other provisions have been made for the support of the clergy, each diocese is to have a special institute which collects goods and offerings and whose purpose is to provide, according to the norm of can. 281, for the support of the clergy who offer their services for the benefit of the diocese.

§ 2.

The conference of bishops is to see to it that an institute exists which sufficiently provides for the social security of the clergy wherever social insurance has not yet been suitably arranged for the benefit of the clergy.

§ 3.

Insofar as it is necessary, each diocese is to establish a common fund through which the bishops can satisfy obligations toward other persons who serve the Church and meet the various needs of the diocese and through which the richer dioceses can also aid poorer ones.

§ 4.

In accord with different local circumstances, the purposes mentioned in § § 2 and 3 may be more appropriately obtained through a federation of such diocesan institutes, through some cooperative venture or even through some suitable association established for various dioceses or even for the entire territory of a conference of bishops.

§ 5.

If it is possible, these institutes are to be so established that they are also recognized as effective under the civil law.

An aggregate of goods which come from different diocese is administered according to the norms appropriately agreed upon by the bishops concerned.

§ 1.

It is the responsibility of the ordinary to supervise carefully the administration of all the goods which belong to the public juridic persons subject to him with due regard for legitimate titles attributing even more significant rights to the same ordinary.

§ 2.

Ordinaries are to see to the organization of the entire administration of ecclesiastical goods by issuing special instructions within the limits of universal and particular law with due regard for rights, legitimate customs and circumstances.

The diocesan bishop must hear the finance council and the college of consultors in order to perform the more important acts of administration in light of the economic situation of the diocese; he needs the consent of this council and that of the college of consultors in order to perform acts of extraordinary administration besides cases specifically mentioned in universal law or in the charter of a foundation. It is for the conference of bishops to define what is meant by acts of extraordinary administration.

In addition to the functions mentioned in can. 494, § § 3 and 4, the diocesan bishop can assign to the finance officer the duties mentioned in cann. 1276, § 1 and 1279, § 2.

§ 1.

The administration of ecclesiastical goods is the responsibility of the individual who immediately governs the person to whom the goods belong unless (nisi) particular law, statutes or lawful custom provide otherwise and with due regard for the right of the ordinary to intervene in case of negligence by an administrator.

§ 2.

As regards the administration of the goods of a public juridic person which does not have its own administrators in virtue of law or the charter of the foundation or its own statutes, the ordinary to whom such a person is subject is to appoint suitable persons as administrators for three year terms, and they may be reappointed by the ordinary.

Each juridic person is to have its own finance council or at least two advisors, who according to the norm of its statutes assist the administrator in carrying out his or her function.

§ 1.

With due regard for the prescriptions of their statutes, administrators invalidly posit acts which go beyond the limits and procedures of ordinary administration unless (nisi) they first obtain written authority from the ordinary.

§ 2.

The acts which go beyond the limits and procedures of ordinary administration are to be defined in the statutes; if, however, the statutes do not mention such acts, it is within the competence of the diocesan bishop to determine such acts for persons subject to him after he has heard the finance council.

§ 3.

Unless (nisi) and to the extent that it is to its own advantage, a juridic person is not held to answer for acts invalidly posited by its administrators. A juridic person, however, is responsible for acts illegitimately but validly posited by its administrators with due regard for the right to sue or to have recourse against administrators who have damaged it.

All clerics or lay persons who through a legitimate title take part in the administration of ecclesiastical goods are bound to fulfill their duties in the name of the Church and in accord with the norm of law.

Before administrators take office:

(1) they must take an oath before the ordinary or his delegate that they will be efficient and faithful administrators;

(2) they are to prepare, sign and subsequently renew an accurate and detailed inventory of immovable goods, movable goods, either precious or of significant cultural value, or other goods along with a description and appraisal of them;

(3) one copy of this inventory is to be kept in the archives of the administration; the other, in the curial archives; any change whatever which the patrimony may undergo is to be noted on each copy.

§ 1.

All administrators are bound to fulfill their office with the diligence of a good householder.

§ 2.

For this reason they must:

(1) take care that none of the goods entrusted to their care is in any way lost or damaged and take out insurance policies for this purpose, insofar as such is necessary;

(2) take care that the ownership of ecclesiastical goods is safeguarded through civilly valid methods;

(3) observe the prescriptions of both canon and civil law or those imposed by the founder, donor or legitimate authority; they must especially be on guard lest the Church be harmed through the non-observance of civil laws;

(4) accurately collect the revenues and income of goods when they are legally due, safeguard them once collected and apply them according to the intention of the founder or according to legitimate norms;

(5) pay the interest on a loan or mortgage when it is due and take care that the capital debt itself is repaid in due time;

(6) with the consent of the ordinary invest the money which is left over after expenses and which can be profitably allocated for the goals of the juridic person;

(7) keep well ordered books of receipts and expenditures;

(8) draw up a report on their administration at the end of each year;

(9) duly arrange and keep in a suitable and safe archive the documents and deeds upon which are based the rights of the Church or the institution to its goods; deposit authentic copies of them in the archive of the curia when it can be done conveniently.

§ 3.

It is strongly recommended that administrators prepare annual budgets of receipts and expenditures; however, it is left to particular law to issue regulations concerning such budgets and to determine more precisely how they are to be presented.

Within the limits of ordinary administration only, it is permissible for administrators to make donations for purposes of piety or Christian charity from movable goods which do not pertain to the stable patrimony.

Administrators of goods:

(1) are to observe meticulously the civil laws pertaining to labor and social policy according to Church principles in the employment of workers;

(2) are to pay employees a just and decent wage so that they may provide appropriately for their needs and those of their family.

§ 1.

Both clerical and lay administrators of any ecclesiastical goods whatsoever which have not been legitimately exempted from the governing power of the diocesan bishop are bound by their office to present the local ordinary with an annual report, which in turn he is to present to the finance council for its consideration; any contrary custom is reprobated.

§ 2.

Administrators are to render an account to the faithful concerning the goods offered by the faithful to the Church, according to norms to be determined by particular law.

Administrators are neither to initiate nor to contest a lawsuit on behalf of a public juridic person in civil court unless (nisi) they obtain the written permission of their own ordinary.

Even if they are not bound to administration by the title of an ecclesiastical office, administrators cannot relinquish their responsibilities on their own initiative; if, however, the Church is harmed by such an arbitrary abandonment of duty they are bound to restitution.

Whatever general and specific regulations on contracts and payments are determined in civil law for a given territory are to be observed in canon law with the same effects in a matter which is subject to the governing power of the Church, unless (nisi) the civil regulations are contrary to divine law or canon law makes some other provision, with due regard for the prescription of can. 1547.

The permission of the competent authority according to the norm of law is required in order validly to alienate the goods which through lawful designation constitute the stable patrimony of a public juridic person and whose value exceeds the sum determined in law.

§ 1.

With due regard for the prescription of can. 638, § 3, when the value of the goods whose alienation is proposed is within the range of the minimum and maximum amounts which are to be determined by the conference of bishops for its region, the competent authority is determined in the group's own statutes when it is a question of juridic persons who are not subject to the diocesan bishop; otherwise, the competent authority is the diocesan bishop with the consent of the finance council, the college of consultors and the parties concerned.

§ 2.

The permission of the Holy See is also required for valid alienation when it is a case of goods whose value exceeds the maximum amount, goods donated to the Church through a vow or goods which are especially valuable due to their artistic or historical value.

§ 3.

If the object to be alienated is divisible, the parts which have previously been alienated must be mentioned in seeking the permission for alienation; otherwise the permission is invalid.

§ 4.

The persons who must take part in alienating goods through their advice or consent are not to give their advice or consent unless (nisi) they have first been thoroughly informed concerning the economic situation of the juridic person whose goods are proposed for alienation and concerning previous alienations.

§ 1.

To alienate goods whose value exceeds the minimum amount which has been determined, also required are:

(1) a just cause such as urgent necessity, evident usefulness, piety, charity or some other serious pastoral reason;

(2) a written estimate from experts concerning the value of the object to be alienated.

§ 2.

Other safeguards prescribed by legitimate authority are also to be observed to prevent harm to the Church.

§ 1.

Ordinarily an object must not be alienated for a price which is less than that indicated in the estimate.

§ 2.

The money realized from the alienation is either to be invested carefully for the advantage of the Church or wisely expended in accord with the purposes of the alienation.

The requirements mentioned in cann. 1291-1294, with which the statutes of juridic persons are to be in conformity, must be observed not only in an alienation but also in any transaction through which the patrimonial condition of a juridic person can be worsened.

Whenever ecclesiastical goods have been alienated without the required canonical formalities but the alienation is civilly valid, it is the responsibility of the competent authority, after a thorough consideration of the situation, to decide whether and what type of action, that is, a personal or real action, is to be initiated to vindicate the rights of the Church as well as by whom and against whom such an action is to be initiated.

After considering local circumstances, it is the responsibility of the conference of bishops to establish norms concerning the leasing of church goods, especially the permission to be obtained from competent ecclesiastical authority.

Unless (nisi) it is an object of little importance, ecclesiastical goods are not to be sold or leased out to their own administrators or to their relatives up to the fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity without the special written permission of the competent authority.

§ 1.

Those who in virtue of natural and canon law are free to dispose of their own goods can leave goods for pious causes through an act which becomes effective during life or at death.

§ 2.

If it is possible, the formalities of civil law are to be observed in the dispositions made for the good of the Church on the occasion of death; if such formalities have been neglected, the heirs must be advised of the obligation by which they are bound to fulfill the will of the testator.

The legitimately accepted wills of the faithful who give or leave their resources to pious causes, whether through an act which becomes effective during life or at death, are to be fulfilled with the greatest diligence even as regards the manner of the administration and distribution of the goods, with due regard for the prescription of can. 1301, § 3.

§ 1.

The ordinary is the executor of all pious wills whether they be made during life or on the occasion of death.

§ 2.

In virtue of this right the ordinary can and must exercise vigilance, even through visitation, so that pious wills are fulfilled; other executors must render him an account concerning the performance of their duty.

§ 3.

Stipulations added to last wills and contrary to this right of the ordinary are to be considered non-existent.

§ 1.

A person who accepts the role of trustee for goods bequeathed for pious causes either through an act made during life or through a last will and testament must inform the ordinary of this trust and also indicate all such goods, whether immovable or movable, along with the obligations attached to them; if, however, the donor expressly and completely prohibits this, the person is not to accept the trust.

§ 2.

The ordinary must demand that the goods held in trust be safeguarded and must exercise vigilance on behalf of the execution of the pious will in accord with the norm of can. 1301.

§ 3.

When goods committed in trust to some member of a religious institute or a society of apostolic life have been designated for the assistance of a place or diocese or their inhabitants or pious causes, the ordinary mentioned in § § 1 and 2 is the local ordinary; otherwise, it is the major superior in a clerical institute of pontifical right and in a clerical society of apostolic life of pontifical right or the proper ordinary of a member in other religious institutes.

§ 1.

In the law under the title of pious foundations are included:

(1) autonomous pious foundations, that is, aggregates of things destined for all the purposes mention in can. 114, § 2 and erected as a juridic person by competent ecclesiastical authority;

(2) non- autonomous pious foundations, that is, temporal goods given in some manner to a public juridic person with the obligation for a long time, to be determined by particular law, to arrange from the annual income for the celebration of Masses or other specified ecclesiastical functions or otherwise to pursue the purposes mentioned in can. 114, § 2. § 2. If the goods of a non-autonomous pious foundation are entrusted to a juridic person subject to a diocesan bishop, they are to be remanded to the institute mentioned in can. 1274, § 1 when the specified period of time is completed unless (nisi) another intention of the founder was expressly manifest; otherwise they belong to the juridic person itself.

§ 1.

In order for a foundation to be validly accepted by a juridic person the written permission of the ordinary is required; and he is not to grant that permission until he legitimately determines that the juridic person can fulfill the new obligation as well as those already accepted; he should most specially take care that the income entirely corresponds to the attached obligations in accord with the customs of the place or region.

§ 2.

Further conditions for constituting and accepting foundations are to be defined in particular law.

Money and movable goods assigned to an endowment are immediately to be deposited in a safe place to be approved by the ordinary so that the money or the value of the movable goods will be safeguarded; as soon as possible, these goods are to be invested cautiously and profitably for the benefit of the foundation with express and specific mention made of the burdens attached to the endowment; this investment is to be made in accord with the prudent judgment of the ordinary who is to consult the interested parties as well as his finance council on this matter.

§ 1.

Foundations, even if made orally, are to be put into writing.

§ 2.

A copy of the terms of the foundation is to be securely filed in the curial archive and another copy is to be securely filed in the archive of the juridic person to whom the foundation pertains.

§ 1.

With due regard for the prescriptions of cann. 1300-1302 and can. 1287, a list of obligations arising from pious foundations is to be drawn up and retained in an obvious place lest the obligations to be fulfilled be neglected.

§ 2.

Besides the book referred to in can. 958, § 1, another book is to be kept by the pastor (parochus) or rector in which the individual obligations, their fulfillment and the offerings are noted.

§ 1.

The reduction of Mass obligations, to be done only for a just and necessary reason, is reserved to the Apostolic See with due regard for the following prescriptions.

§ 2.

If it is expressly provided for in the articles of the foundation, the ordinary is empowered to reduce Mass obligations because of diminished income.

§ 3.

The diocesan bishop has the power, when income diminishes, of reducing Masses from independent legacies or foundations of any kind to conform to the level of the offering legitimately established in the diocese for as long as the reason for this reduction continues, provided (dummodo) that there is no one who is bound by the obligation of increasing the offering and can be successfully induced to do so.

§ 4.

The same authority has the power of reducing the obligations or legacies for Masses which bind ecclesiastical institutes if the income proves insufficient to pursue successfully the proper goal of the ecclesiastical institute.

§ 5.

These same powers mentioned in §§ 3 and 4 are also enjoyed by the supreme moderator of clerical institutes of pontifical right.

The same authorities mentioned in can. 1308 also enjoy the power of transferring for a suitable reason Mass obligations to days, churches or altars different from those determined in the foundation.

§ 1.

The ordinary, only for a just and necessary reason, may reduce, moderate or commute the wills of the faithful for pious causes provided such power has been expressly granted him by the founder.

§ 2.

If, through no fault of the administrator, the fulfillment of the obligations becomes impossible due to diminished income or some other reason, the ordinary can diminish them equitably after consulting the interested parties and his finance council, with due regard for the will of the founder as much as possible; this is not true for Mass obligations, whose reduction is governed by the prescriptions of can. 1308.

§ 3.

In other cases recourse is to be made to the Apostolic See.