THE CODE OF CANON LAW

Book VI : Sanctions In The Church

Part I : OFFENCES AND PUNISHMENTS IN GENERAL

TITLE I: THE PUNISHMENT OF OFFENCES

IN GENERAL

Can. 1311 The Church has its own inherent right to constrain with penal sanctions Christ’s faithful who commit offences.

Can. 1312 §1 The penal sanctions in the Church are:

1̊ medicinal penalties or censures, which are listed in cann. 1331-1333;

2̊ expiatory penalties, mentioned in Can. 1336;

§2 The law may determine other expiatory penalties which deprive a member of Christ’s faithful of some spiritual or temporal good, and are consistent with the Church’s supernatural purpose.

§3 Use is also made of penal remedies and penances: the former primarily to prevent offences, the latter rather to substitute for or to augment a penalty.

TITLE II: PENAL LAW AND PENAL PRECEPT

Can. 1313 §1 If a law is changed after an offence has been committed, the law more favourable to the offender is to be applied.

§2 If a later law removes a law, or at least a penalty, the penalty immediately lapses.

Can. 1314 A penalty is for the most part ferendae sententiae, that is, not binding upon the offender until it has been imposed. It is, however, latae sententiae, so that it is incurred automatically upon the commission of an offence, if a law or precept expressly lays this down.

Can. 1315 §1 Whoever has legislative power can also make penal laws. A legislator can, however, by laws of his own, reinforce with a fitting penalty a divine law or an ecclesiastical law of a higher authority, observing the limits of his competence in respect of territory or persons.

§2 A law can either itself determine the penalty or leave its determination to the prudent decision of a judge.

§3 A particular law can also add other penalties to those laid down for a certain offence in a universal law; this is not to be done, however, except for the gravest necessity. If a universal law threatens an undetermined penalty or a discretionary penalty, a particular law can establish in its place a determined or an obligatory penalty.

Can. 1316 Diocesan Bishops are to take care that as far as possible any penalties which are to be imposed by law are uniform within the same city or region.

Can. 1317 Penalties are to be established only in so far as they are really necessary for the better maintenance of ecclesiastical discipline. Dismissal from the clerical state, however, cannot be laid down by particular law.

Can. 1318 A legislator is not to threaten latae sententiae penalties, except perhaps for some outstanding and malicious offences which may be either more grave by reason of scandal or such that they cannot be effectively punished by ferendae sententiae penalties. He is not, however, to constitute censures, especially excommunication, except with the greatest moderation, and only for the more grave offences.

Can. 1319 §1 To the extent to which a legislator can impose precepts by virtue of the power of governance in the external forum, to that extent can he also by precept threaten a determined penalty, other than a perpetual expiatory penalty.

§2 A precept to which a penalty is attached is not to be issued unless the matter has been very carefully considered, and unless the provisions of Can. 1317 and 1318 concerning particular laws have been observed.

Can. 1320 In all matters in which they come under the authority of the local Ordinary, religious can be constrained by him with penalties.

TITLE III: THOSE WHO ARE LIABLE TO PENAL SANCTIONS

Can. 1321 §1 No one can be punished for the commission of an external violation of a law or precept unless it is gravely imputable by reason of malice or of culpability.

§2 A person who deliberately violated a law or precept is bound by the penalty prescribed in that law or precept. If, however, the violation was due to the omission of due diligence, the person is not punished unless the law or precept provides otherwise.

§3 Where there has been an external violation, imputability is presumed, unless it appears otherwise.

Can. 1322 Those who habitually lack the use of reason, even though they appeared sane when they violated a law or precept, are deemed incapable of committing an offence.

Can. 1323 No one is liable to a penalty who, when violating a law or precept:

1̊ has not completed the sixteenth year of age;

2̊ was, without fault, ignorant of violating the law or precept; inadvertence and error are equivalent to ignorance

3̊ acted under physical force, or under the impetus of a chanceoccurrence which the person could not foresee or if foreseen could not avoid;

4̊ acted under the compulsion of grave fear, even if only relative, or by reason of necessity or grave inconvenience, unless, however, the act is intrinsically evil or tends to be harmful to souls;

5̊ acted, within the limits of due moderation, in lawful self-defence or defence of another against an unjust aggressor;

6̊ lacked the use of reason, without prejudice to the provisions of cann. 1324, §1, n. 2 and 1325;

7̊ thought, through no personal fault, that some one of the circumstances existed which are mentioned in nn. 4 or 5.

Can. 1324 §1 The perpretrator of a violation is not exempted from penalty, but the penalty prescribed in the law or precept must be diminished, or a penance substituted in its place, if the offence was committed by:

1̊ one who had only an imperfect use of reason;

2̊ one who was lacking the use of reason because of culpable drunkenness or other mental disturbance of a similar kind;

3̊ one who acted in the heat of passion which, while serious, nevertheless did not precede or hinder all mental deliberation and consent of the will, provided that the passion itself had not been deliberately stimulated or nourished

4̊ a minor who has completed the sixteenth year of age;

5̊ one who was compelled by grave fear, even if only relative, or byreason of necessity or grave inconvenience, if the act is intrinsically evil or tends to be harmful to souls;

6̊ one who acted in lawful self-defence or defence of another against an unjust aggressor, but did not observe due moderation;

7̊ one who acted against another person who was gravely and unjustly provocative;

8̊ one who erroneously, but culpably, thought that some one of the circumstances existed which are mentioned in Can. 1323, nn. 4 or 5;

9̊ one who through no personal fault was unaware that a penalty was attached to the law or precept;

10̊ one who acted without full imputability, provided it remained grave.

§2 A judge can do the same if there is any other circumstance present which would reduce the gravity of the offence.

§3 In the circumstances mentioned in §1, the offender is not bound by a latae sententiae penalty.

Can. 1325 Ignorance which is crass or supine or affected can never be taken into account when applying the provisions of cann. 1323 and 1324. Likewise, drunkenness or other mental disturbances cannot be taken into account if these have been deliberately sought so as to commit the offence or to excuse it; nor can passion which has been deliberately stimulated or nourished.

Can. 1326 §1 A judge may inflict a more serious punishment than that prescribed in the law or precept when:

1̊ a person, after being condemned, or after the penalty has been declared, continues so to offend that obstinate ill-will may prudently be concluded from the circumstances;

2̊ a person who is established in some position of dignity, or who has abused a position of authority or an office, in order to commit a crime;

3̊ an offender who, after a penalty for a culpable offence was constituted, foresaw the event but nevertheless omitted to take the precautions to avoid it which any careful person would have taken.

§2 In the cases mentioned in 1, if the penalty constituted is latae sententiae, another penalty or a penance may be added.

Can. 1327 A particular law may, either as a general rule or for individual offences, determine excusing, attenuating or aggravating circumstances, over and above the cases mentioned in cann. 1323--1326. Likewise, circumstances may be determined in a precept which excuse from, attenuate or aggravate the penalty constituted in the precept.

Can. 1328 §1 One who in furtherance of an offence did something or failed to do something but then, involuntarily, did not complete the offence, is not bound by the penalty prescribed for the completed offence, unless the law or a precept provides otherwise.

§2 If the acts or the omissions of their nature lead to the carrying out of the offence, the person responsible may be subjected to a penance or to a penal remedy, unless he or she had spontaneously desisted from the offence which had been initiated. However, if scandal or other serious harm or danger has resulted, the perpetrator, even though spontaneously desisting, may be punished by a just penalty, but of a lesser kind than that determined for the completed crime.

Can. 1329 §1 Where a number of persons conspire together to commit an offence, and accomplices are not expressly mentioned in the law or precept, if ferendae sententiae penalties were constituted for the principal offender, then the others are subject to the same penalties or to other penalties of the same or a lesser gravity.

§2 In the case of a latae sententiae penalty attached to an offence, accomplices, even though not mentioned in the law or precept, incur the same penalty if, without their assistance, the crime would not have been committed, and if the penalty is of such a nature as to be able to affect them; otherwise, they can be punished with ferendae sententiae penalties.

Can. 1330 §1 An offence which consists in a declaration or in some other manifestation of doctrine or knowledge, is not to be regarded as effected if no one actually perceives the declaration or manifestation.

TITLE IV: PENALTIES AND OTHER PUNISHMENTS

Chapter I : CENSURES

Can. 1331 §1 An excommunicated person is forbidden:

1̊ to have any ministerial part in the celebration of the Sacrifice of the Eucharist or in any other ceremonies of public worship;

2̊ to celebrate the sacraments or sacramentals and to receive the sacraments ;

3̊ to exercise any ecclesiastical offices, ministries, functions or acts of governance.

§2 If the excommunication has been imposed or declared, the offender:

1̊ proposing to act in defiance of the provision of §1, n. 1 is to be removed, or else the liturgical action is to be suspended, unless there is a grave reason to the contrary

2̊ invalidly exercises any acts of governance which, in accordancewith §1, n.3, are unlawful;

3̊ is forbidden to benefit from privileges already granted;

4̊ cannot validly assume any dignity, office or other function in the Church

5̊ loses the title to the benefits of any dignity, office, function or pension held in the Church.

Can. 1332 One who is under interdict is obliged by the prohibition of Can. 1331 §1, nn. 1 and 2- if the interdict was imposed or declared, the provision of Can. 1331 §2, n. 1 is to be observed.

Can. 1333 §1 Suspension, which can affect only clerics, prohibits:

1̊ all or some of the acts of the power of order

2̊ all or some of the acts of the power of governance;

3̊ the exercise of all or some of the rights or functions attaching toan office.

§2 In a law or a precept it may be prescribed that, after a judgement which imposes or declares the penalty, a suspended person cannot validly perform acts of the power of governance.

§3 The prohibition never affects:

1̊ any offices or power of governance which are not within the control of the Superior who establishes the penalty;

2̊ a right of residence which the offender may have by virtue of office;

3̊ the right to administer goods which may belong to an office held by the person suspended, if the penalty is latae sententiae.

§4 A suspension prohibiting the receipt of benefits, stipends, pensions or other such things, carries with it the obligation of restitution of whatever has been unlawfully received, even though this was in good faith.

Can. 1334 §1 The extent of a suspension, within the limits laid down in the preceding canon, is defined either by the law or precept, or by the judgement or decree whereby the penalty is imposed.

§2 A law, but not a precept, can establish a latae sententiae suspension without an added determination or limitation; such a penalty has all the effects enumerated in Can. 1333 §1.

Can. 1335 If a censure prohibits the celebration of the sacraments or sacramentals or the exercise of a power of governance, the prohibition is suspended whenever this is necessary to provide for the faithful who are in danger of death. If a latae sententiae censure has not been declared, the prohibition is also suspended whenever one of the faithful requests a sacrament or sacramental or an act of the power of governance; for any just reason it is lawful to make such a request.

Chapter II : EXPIATORY PENALTIES

Can. 1336 §1 Expiatory penalties can affect the offender either forever or for a determinate or an indeterminate period. Apart from others which the law may perhaps establish, these penalties are as follows:

1̊ a prohibition against residence, or an order to reside, in a certain place or territory;

2̊ deprivation of power, office, function, right, privilege, faculty, favour, title or insignia, even of a merely honorary nature;

3̊ a prohibition on the exercise of those things enumerated in n. 2, or a prohibition on their exercise inside or outside a certain place; such a prohibition is never under pain of nullity;

4̊ a penal transfer to another office;

5̊ dismissal from the clerical state.

§2 Only those expiatory penalties may be latae sententiae which are enumerated in §1, n. 3.

Can. 1337 §1 A prohibition against residing in a certain place or territory can affect both clerics and religious. An order to reside in a certain place can affect secular clerics and, within the limits of their constitutions, religious.

§2 An order imposing residence in a certain place or territory must have the consent of the Ordinary of that place, unless there is question of a house set up for penance or rehabilitation of clerics, including extradiocesans.

Can. 1338 §1 The deprivations and prohibitions enumerated in Can. 1336 §1, nn. 2 and 3 never affect powers, offices, functions, rights, privileges, faculties, favours, titles or insignia, which are not within the control of the Superior who establishes the penalty.

§2 There can be no deprivation of the power of order, but only a prohibition against the exercise of it or of some of its acts; neither can there be a deprivation of academic degrees.

§3 The norm laid down for censures in Can. 1335 is to be observed in regard to the prohibitions mentioned in Can. 1336 §1, n. 3.

Chapter III : PENAL REMEDIES AND PENANCES

Can. 1339 §1 When someone is in a proximate occasion of committing an offence or when, after an investigation, there is a serious suspicion that an offence has been committed, the Ordinary either personally or through another can give that person warning.

§2 In the case of behaviour which gives rise to scandal or serious disturbance of public order, the Ordinary can also correct the person, in a way appropriate to the particular conditions of the person and of what has been done.

§3 The fact that there has been a warning or a correction must always be proven, at least from some document to be kept in the secret archive of the curia.

Can. 1340 §1 A penance, which is imposed in the external forum, is the performance of some work of religion or piety or charity.

§2 A public penance is never to be imposed for an occult transgression.

§3 According to his prudent judgement, the Ordinary may add penances to the penal remedy of warning or correction.

TITLE V: THE APPLICATION OF PENALTIES

Can. 1341 The Ordinary is to start a judicial or an administrative procedure for the imposition or the declaration of penalties only when he perceives that neither by fraternal correction or reproof, nor by any methods of pastoral care, can the scandal be sufficiently repaired, justice restored and the offender reformed.

Can. 1342 §1 Whenever there are just reasons against the use of a judicial procedure, a penalty can be imposed or declared by means of an extra-judicial decree; in every case, penal remedies and penances may be applied by a decree.

§2 Perpetual penalties cannot be imposed or declared by means of a decree; nor can penalties which the law or precept establishing them forbids to be applied by decree.

§3 What the law or decree says of a judge in regard to the imposition or declaration of a penalty in a trial, is to be applied also to a Superior who imposes or declares a penalty by an extra-judicial decree, unless it is otherwise clear, or unless there is question of provisions which concern only procedural matters.

Can. 1343 If a law or precept gives the judge the power to apply or not to apply a penalty, the judge may also, according to his own conscience and prudence, modify the penalty or in its place impose a penance.

Can. 1344 Even though the law may use obligatory words, the judge may, according to his own conscience and prudence:

1̊ defer the imposition of the penalty to a more opportune time, if it is foreseen that greater evils may arise from a too hasty punishment of the offender;

2̊ abstain from imposing the penalty or substitute a milder penalty or a penance, if the offender has repented and repaired the scandal, or if the offender has been or foreseeably will be sufficiently punished by the civil authority;

3̊ may suspend the obligation of observing an expiatory penalty, if the person is a first-offender after a hitherto blameless life, and there is no urgent need to repair scandal; this is, however, to be done in such a way that if the person again commits an offence within a time laid down by the judge, then that person must pay the penalty for both offences, unless in the meanwhile the time for prescription of a penal action in respect of the former offence has expired.

Can. 1345 Whenever the offender had only an imperfect use of reason, or committed the offence out of fear or necessity or in the heat of passion or with a mind disturbed by drunkenness or a similar cause, the judge can refrain from inflicting any punishment if he considers that the person’s reform may be better accomplished in some other way.

Can. 1346 Whenever the offender has committed a number of offences and the sum of penalties which should be imposed seems excessive, it is left to the prudent decision of the judge to moderate the penalties in an equitable fashion.

Can. 1347 §1 A censure cannot validly be imposed unless the offender has beforehand received at least one warning to purge the contempt, and has been allowed suitable time to do so.

§2 The offender is said to have purged the contempt if he or she has truly repented of the offence and has made, or at least seriously promised to make, reparation for the damage and scandal.

Can. 1348 When the person has been found not guilty of an accusation, or where no penalty has been imposed, the Ordinary may provide for the person’s welfare or for the common good by opportune warnings or other solicitous means, and even, if the case calls for it, by the use of penal remedies.

Can. 1349 If a penalty is indeterminate, and if the law does not provide otherwise, the judge is not to impose graver penalties, especially censures, unless the seriousness of the case really demands it. He may not impose penalties which are perpetual.

Can. 1350 §1 In imposing penalties on a cleric, except in the case of dismissal from the clerical state, care must always be taken that he does not lack what is necessary for his worthy support.

§2 If a person is truly in need because he has been dismissed from the clerical state, the Ordinary is to provide in the best way possible.

Can. 1351 A penalty binds an offender everywhere, even when the one who established or imposed it has ceased from office, unless it is otherwise expressly provided.

Can. 1352 §1 If a penalty prohibits the reception of the sacraments or sacramentals, the prohibition is suspended for as long as the offender is in danger of death.

§2 The obligation of observing a latae sententiae penalty which has not been declared, and is not notorious in the place where the offender actually is, is suspended either in whole or in part to the extent that the offender cannot observe it without the danger of grave scandal or loss of good name.

Can. 1352 An appeal or a recourse against judgements of a court or against decrees which impose or declare any penalty, has a suspensive effect.

TITLE VI: THE CESSATION OF PENALTIES

Can. 1354 §1 Besides those who are enumerated in cann. 1355--56, all who can dispense from a law which is supported by a penalty, can also remit the penalty itself.

§2 Moreover, a law or precept which establishes a penalty can also grant to others the power of remitting the penalty.

§3 If the Apostolic See has reserved the remission of a penalty to itself or to others, the reservation is to be strictly interpreted.

Can. 1355 §1 Provided it is not reserved to the Apostolic See, a penalty which is established by law and has been imposed or declared, can be remitted by the following:

1̊ the Ordinary who initiated the judicial proceedings to impose or declare the penalty, or who by a decree, either personally or through another, imposed or declared it;

2̊ the Ordinary of the place where the offender actually is, after consulting the Ordinary mentioned in n. 1, unless because of extraordinary circumstances this is impossible.

§2 Provided it is not reserved to the Apostolic See, a latae sententiae penalty established by law but not yet declared, can be remitted by the Ordinary in respect of his subjects and of those actually in his territory or of those who committed the offence in his territory. Moreover, any Bishop can do this, but only in the course of sacramental confession.

Can. 1356 §1 A ferendae or a latae sententiae penalty established in a precept not issued by the Apostolic See, can be remitted by the following:

1̊ the Ordinary of the place where the offender actually is;

2̊ if the penalty has been imposed or declared, the Ordinary who initiated the judicial proceedings to impose or declare the penalty, or who by a decree, either personally or through another, imposed or declared it.

§2 Before the remission is granted, the author of the precept is to be consulted, unless because of extraordinary circumstance this is impossible.

Can. 1357 §1 Without prejudice to the provisions of cann. 508 and 976, a confessor can in the internal sacramental forum remit a latae sententiae censure of excommunication or interdict which has not been declared, if it is difficult for the penitent to remain in a state of grave sin for the time necessary for the competent Superior to provide.

§2 In granting the remission, the confessor is to impose upon the penitent, under pain of again incurring the censure, the obligation to have recourse within one month to the competent Superior or to a priest having the requisite faculty, and to abide by his instructions. In the meantime, the confessor is to impose an appropriate penance and, to the extent demanded, to require reparation of scandal and damage. The recourse, however, may be made even through the confessor, without mention of a name.

§3 The same duty of recourse, when they have recovered, binds those who in accordance with Can. 976 have had remitted an imposed or declared censure or one reserved to the Holy See.

Can. 1358 §1 The remission of a censure cannot be granted except to an offender whose contempt has been purged in accordance with Can. 1347 §2. However, once the contempt has been purged, the remission cannot be refused.

§2 The one who remits a censure can make provision in accordance with Can. 1348, and can also impose a penance.

Can. 1359 If one is bound by a number of penalties, a remission is valid only for those penalties expressed in it. A general remission, however, removes all penalties, except those which in the petition have been concealed in bad faith.

Can. 1360 The remission of a penalty extorted by grave fear is invalid

Can. 1361 §1 A remission can be granted even to a person who is not present, or conditionally.

§2 A remission in the external forum is to be granted in writing, unless a grave reason suggests otherwise.

§3 Care is to be taken that the petition for remission or the remission itself is not made public, except insofar as this would either be useful for the protection of the good name of the offender, or be necessary to repair scandal.

Can. 1362 §1 A criminal action is extinguished by prescription after three years, except for:

1̊ offences reserved to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith;

2̊ an action arising from any of the offences mentioned in cann. 1394, 1395, 1397, 1398, which is extinguished after five years;

3̊ offences not punished by the universal law, where a particular law has prescribed a different period of prescription.

§2 Prescription runs from the day the offence was committed or, if the offence was enduring or habitual, from the day it ceased.

Can. 1363 §1 An action to execute a penalty is extinguished by prescription if the judge’s decree of execution mentioned in Can. 1651 was not notified to the offender within the periods mentioned in Can. 1362; these periods are to be reckoned from the day the condemnatory judgement became an adjudged matter.

§2 The same applies, with the necessary adjustments, if the penalty was imposed by an extra-judicial decree.

Part II : PENALTIES FOR PARTICULAR OFFENCES

TITLE I: OFFENCES AGAINST RELIGION AND THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH

Can. 1364 §1 An apostate from the faith, a heretic or a schismatic incurs a latae sententiae excommunication, without prejudice to the provision of Can. 194 §1, n. 2; a cleric, moreover, may be punished with the penalties mentioned in Can. 1336 §1, nn. 1, 2 and 3.

§2 If a longstanding contempt or the gravity of scandal calls for it, other penalties may be added, not excluding dismissal from the clerical state.

Can. 1365 One who is guilty of prohibited participation in religious rites is to be punished with a just penalty.

Can. 1366 Parents, and those taking the place of parents, who hand over their children to be baptised or brought up in a non-catholic religion, are to be punished with a censure or other just penalty.

Can. 1367 One who throws away the consecrated species or, for a sacrilegious purpose, takes them away or keeps them, incurs a latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See; a cleric, moreover, may be punished with some other penalty, not excluding dismissal from the clerical state.

Can. 1368 A person who, in asserting or promising something before an ecclesiastical authority, commits perjury, is to be punished with a just penalty.

Can. 1369 A person is to be punished with a just penalty, who, at a public event or assembly, or in a published writing, or by otherwise using the means of social communication, utters blasphemy, or gravely harms public morals, or rails at or excites hatred of or contempt for religion or the Church.

TITLE II : OFFENCES AGAINST CHURCH AUTHORITIES AND THE FREEDOM OF THE CHURCH

Can. 1370 §1 A person who uses physical force against the Roman Pontiff incurs a latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See; if the offender is a cleric, another penalty, not excluding dismissal from the clerical state, may be added according to the gravity of the crime.

§2 One who does this against a Bishop incurs a latae sententiae interdict and, if a cleric, he incurs also a latae sententiae suspension.

§3 A person who uses physical force against a cleric or religious out of contempt for the faith, or the Church, or ecclesiastical authority or the ministry, is to be punished with a just penalty.

Can. 1371 The following are to be punished with a just penalty:

1̊ a person who, apart from the case mentioned in Can. 1364 §1, teaches a doctrine condemned by the Roman Pontiff, or by an Ecumenical Council, or obstinately rejects the teaching mentioned in Can. 752 and, when warned by the Apostolic See or by the Ordinary, does not retract;

2̊ a person who in any other way does not obey the lawful command or prohibition of the Apostolic See or the Ordinary or Superior and, after being warned, persists in disobedience.

Can. 1372 A person who appeals from an act of the Roman Pontiff to an Ecumenical Council or to the College of Bishops, is to be punished with a censure.

Can. 1373 A person who publicly incites his or her subjects to hatred or animosity against the Apostolic See or the Ordinary because of some act of ecclesiastical authority or ministry, or who provokes the subjects to disobedience against them, is to be punished by interdict or other just penalties.

Can. 1374 A person who joins an association which plots against the Church is to be punished with a just penalty- one who promotes or takes office in such an association is to be punished with an interdict.

Can. 1375 Those who hinder the freedom of the ministry or of an election or of the exercise of ecclesiastical power, or the lawful use of sacred or other ecclesiastical goods, or who intimidate either an elector or one who is elected or one who exercises ecclesiastical power or ministry, may be punished with a just penalty.

Can. 1376 A person who profanes a sacred object, moveable or immovable, is to be punished with a just penalty.

Can. 1377 A person who without the prescribed permission alienates ecclesiastical goods, is to be punished with a just penalty.

TITLE III : USURPATION OF ECCLESIASTICAL OFFICES AND OFFENCES COMMITTED IN THEIR EXERCISE

Can. 1378 §1 A priest who acts against the prescription of Can. 977 incurs a latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See.

§2 The following incur a latae sententiae interdict or, if a cleric, a latae sententiae suspension:

1̊ a person who, not being an ordained priest, attempts to celebrate Mass

2̊ a person who, apart from the case mentioned in §1, though unable to give valid sacramental absolution, attempts to do so, or hears a sacramental confession.

§3 In the cases mentioned in §2, other penalties, not excluding excommunication, can be added, according to the gravity of the offence.

Can. 1379 A person who, apart from the cases mentioned in Can. 1378, pretends to administer a sacrament, is to be punished with a just penalty.

Can. 1380 A person who through simony celebrates or receives a sacrament, is to be punished with an interdict or suspension.

Can. 1381 §1 Anyone who usurps an ecclesiastical office is to be punished with a just penalty.

§2 The unlawful retention of an ecclesiastical office after being deprived of it, or ceasing from it, is equivalent to usurpation.

Can. 1382 Both the Bishop who, without a pontifical mandate, consecrates a person a Bishop, and the one who receives the consecration from him, incur a latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See.

Can. 1383 A Bishop who, contrary to the provision of Can. 1015, ordained someone else’s subject without the lawful dimissorial letters, is prohibited from conferring orders for one year. The person who received the order is ipso facto suspended from the order received.

Can. 1384 A person who, apart from the cases mentioned in cann. 1378-1383, unlawfully exercises the office of a priest or another sacred ministry, may be punished with a just penalty.

Can. 1385 A person who unlawfully traffics in Mass offerings is to be punished with a censure or other just penalty.

Can. 1386 A person who gives or promises something so that some one who exercises an office in the Church would unlawfully act or fail to act, is to be punished with a just penalty; likewise, the person who accepts such gifts or promises.

Can. 1387 A priest who in confession, or on the occasion or under the pretext of confession, solicits a penitent to commit a sin against the sixth commandment of the Decalogue, is to be punished, according to the gravity of the offence, with suspension, prohibitions and deprivations; in the more serious cases he is to be dismissed from the clerical state.

Can. 1388 §1 A confessor who directly violates the sacramental seal, incurs a latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See; he who does so only indirectly is to be punished according to the gravity of the offence.

§2 Interpreters and the others mentioned in can. 983 §2, who violate the secret, are to be punished with a just penalty, not excluding excommunication.

Can. 1389 §1 A person who abuses ecclesiastical power or an office, is to be punished according to the gravity of the act or the omission, not excluding by deprivation of the office, unless a penalty for that abuse is already established by law or precept.

§2 A person who, through culpable negligence, unlawfully and with harm to another, performs or omits an act of ecclesiastical power or ministry or office, is to be punished with a just penalty.

TITLE IV: THE OFFENCE OF FALSEHOOD

Can. 1390 §1 A person who falsely denounces a confessor of the offence mentioned in can. 1387 to an ecclesiastical Superior, incurs a latae sententiae interdict and, if a cleric, he incurs also a suspension.

§2 A person who calumniously denounces an offence to an ecclesiastical Superior, or otherwise injures the good name of another, can be punished with a just penalty, not excluding a censure.

§3 The calumniator can also be compelled to make appropriate amends.

Can. 1391 The following can be punished with a just penalty, according to the gravity of the offence:

1̊ a person who composes a false public ecclesiastical document, or who changes or conceals a genuine one, or who uses a false or altered one

2̊ a person who in an ecclesiastical matter uses some other false oraltered document;

3̊ a person who, in a public ecclesiastical document, asserts something false.

TITLE V : OFFENCES AGAINST SPECIAL OBLIGATIONS

Can. 1392 Clerics or religious who engage in trading or business contrary to the provisions of the canons, are to be punished according to the gravity of the offence.

Can. 1393 A person who violates obligations imposed by a penalty, can be punished with a just penalty.

Can. 1394 §1 Without prejudice to the provisions of can. 194, §1, n. 3, a cleric who attempts marriage, even if only civilly, incurs a latae sententiae suspension. If, after warning, he has not reformed and continues to give scandal, he can be progressively punished by deprivations, or even by dismissal from the clerical state.

§2 Without prejudice to the provisions of can. 694, a religious in perpetual vows who is not a cleric but who attempts marriage, even if only civilly, incurs a latae sententiae interdict.

Can. 1395 §1 Apart from the case mentioned in can. 1394, a cleric living in concubinage, and a cleric who continues in some other external sin against the sixth commandment of the Decalogue which causes scandal, is to be punished with suspension. To this, other penalties can progressively be added if after a warning he persists in the offence, until eventually he can be dismissed from the clerical state.

§2 A cleric who has offended in other ways against the sixth commandment of the Decalogue, if the crime was committed by force, or by threats, or in public, or with a minor under the age of sixteen years, is to be punished with just penalties, not excluding dismissal from the clerical state if the case so warrants.

Can. 1396 A person who gravely violates the obligation of residence to which he is bound by reason of an ecclesiastical office, is to be punished with a just penalty, not excluding, after a warning, deprivation of the office.

TITLE VI : OFFENCES AGAINST HUMAN LIFE AND LIBERTY

Can. 1397 One who commits murder, or who by force or by fraud abducts, imprisons, mutilates or gravely wounds a person, is to be punished, according to the gravity of the offence, with the deprivations and prohibitions mentioned in can. 1336. In the case of the murder of one of those persons mentioned in can. 1370, the offender is punished with the penalties there prescribed.

Can. 1398 A person who actually procures an abortion incurs a latae sententiae excommunication.

TITLE VII: GENERAL NORM

Can. 1399 Besides the cases prescribed in this or in other laws, the external violation of divine or canon law can be punished, and with a just penalty, only when the special gravity of the violation requires it and necessity demands that scandals be prevented or repaired.

Can. 1649 §1 The Bishop who is responsible for governing the tribunal is to establish norms concerning:

1̊ declarations that parties are liable for the payment or reimbursement of judicial expenses;

2̊ the honorariums for advocates, experts and interpreters, and the expenses of witnesses;

3̊ the granting of free legal aid and the reduction of expenses;

4̊ the payment of damages owed by a person who not merely lost the case, but was rash in having recourse to litigation;

5̊ the money to be deposited, or the guarantee to be given, for the payment of expenses and the compensation of damages.

§2 No distinct appeal exists from a pronouncement concerning expenses, honorariums and damages. The parties can, however, have recourse within ten days to the same judge, who can change the sum involved.

TITLE XI: THE EXECUTION OF THE JUDGEMENT

Can. 1650 §1 A judgement which becomes adjudged matter can be executed, without prejudice to the provision of can. 1647.

§2 The judge who delivered the judgement and, if there has been an appeal, the appeal judge, can either ex officio or at the request of a party order the provisional execution of a judgement which has not yet become an adjudged matter, adding if need be appropriate guarantees when it is a matter of provisions or payments concerning necessary support. They can also do so for some other just and urgent reason.

§3 If the judgement mentioned in §2 is challenged, the judge who must deal with the challenge can suspend the execution or subject it to a guarantee, if he sees that the challenge is probably well founded and that irreparable harm could result from execution.

Can. 1651 Execution cannot take place before there is issued the judge’s executing decree directing that the judgement be executed. Depending on the nature of the case, this decree is to be either included in the judgement itself or issued separately.

Can. 1652 If the execution of the judgement requires a prior statement of reasons, this is to be treated as an incidental question, to be decided by the judge who gave the judgement which is to be executed.

Can. 1653 §1 Unless particular law provides otherwise, the Bishop of the diocese in which the first instance judgement was given must, either personally or through another, execute the judgement.

§2 If he refuses or neglects to do so, the execution of the judgement, at the request of an interested party or ex officio, belongs to the authority to which the appeal tribunal is subject in accordance with can. 1439 §3.

§3 Between religious, the execution of the judgement is the responsibility of the Superior who gave the judgement which is to be executed, or who delegated the judge.

Can. 1654 §1 The executor must execute the judgement according to the obvious sense of the words, unless in the judgement itself something is left to his discretion.

§2 He can deal with exceptions concerning the manner and the force of the execution, but not with the merits of the case. If he has ascertained from some other source that the judgement is null or manifestly unjust according to cann. 1620, 1622 and 1645, he is to refrain from executing the judgement, and is instead to refer the matter to the tribunal which delivered the judgement and to notify the parties.

Can. 1655 §1 In real actions, whenever it is decided that a thing belongs to the plaintiff, it is to be handed over to the plaintiff as soon as the matter has become an adjudged matter.

§2 In personal actions, when a guilty person is condemned to hand over a movable possession or to pay money, or to give or do something, the judge in the judgement itself, or the executor according to his discretion and prudence, is to assign a time limit for the fulfilment of the obligation. This time-limit is to be not less than fifteen days nor more than six months.

SECTION II: THE ORAL CONTENTIOUS PROCESS

Can. 1656 §1 The oral contentious process dealt with in this section can be used in all cases which are not excluded by law, unless a party requests an ordinary contentious process.

§2 If the oral process is used in cases other than those permitted by the law, the judicial acts are null.

Can. 1657 An oral contentious process in first instance is made before a sole judge, in accordance with can. 1424.

Can. 1658 §1 In addition to the matters enumerated in can. 1504, the petition which introduces the suit must:

1̊ set forth briefly, fully and clearly the facts on which the plaintiff’s pleas are based;

2̊ indicate the evidence by which the plaintiff intends to demonstrate the facts and which cannot be brought forward with the petition; this is to be done in such a way that the evidence can immediately be gathered by the judge.

§2 Documents which support the plea must be added to the petition, at least in authentic copy.

Can. 1659 §1 If an attempt at mediation in accordance with can. 1446 §2 has proven fruitless, the judge, if he deems that the petition has some foundation, is within three days to add a decree at the foot of the petition. In this decree he is to order that a copy of the plea be notified to the respondent, with the right to send a written reply to the tribunal office within fifteen days.

§2 This notification has the effects of a judicial summons that are as mentioned in can. 1512.

Can. 1660 If the exceptions raised by the respondent so require, the judge is to assign the plaintiff a time-limit for a reply, so that from the material advanced by each he can clearly discern the object of the controversy.

Can. 1661 §1 When the time-limits mentioned in cann. 1659 and 1660 have expired, the judge, after examining the acts, is to determine the point at issue. He is then to summon all who must be present to a hearing, which is to be held within thirty days; for the parties, he is to add the formulation of the point at issue.

§2 In the summons the parties are to be informed that, to support their assertions, they can submit a short written statement to the tribunal at least three days before the hearing.

Can. 1662 In the hearing, the questions mentioned in cann. 1459--1464 are considered first.

Can. 1663 §1 The evidence is assembled during the hearing, without prejudice to the provision of can. 1418.

§2 A party and his or her advocate can assist at the examination of the other parties, of the witnesses and of the experts.

Can. 1664 The replies of the parties, witnesses and experts, and the pleas and exceptions of the advocates, are to be written down by the notary in summary fashion, restricting the record to those things which bear on the substance of the controversy. This record is to be signed by the persons testifying.

Can. 1665 The judge can admit evidence which is not alleged or sought in the plea or the reply, but only in accordance with can. 1452. After the hearing of even one witness, however, the judge can admit new evidence only in accordance with can. 1600.

Can. 1666 If all the evidence cannot be collected during the hearing, a further hearing is to be set.

Can. 1667 When the evidence has been collected, an oral discussion is to take place at the same hearing.

Can. 1668 §1 At the conclusion of the hearing, the judge can decide the case forthwith, unless it emerges from the discussion that something needs to be added to the instruction of the case, or that there is something which prevents a judgement being correctly delivered. The dispositive part of the judgement is to be read immediately in the presence of the parties.

§2 Because of the difficulty of the matter, or for some other just reason the decision of the tribunal can be deferred for up to five canonical days.

§3 The full text of the judgement, including the reasons for it, is to be notified to the parties as soon as possible, normally within fifteen days.

Can. 1669 If the appeal tribunal discerns that a lower tribunal has used the oral contentious procedure in cases which are excluded by law, it is to declare the judgement invalid and refer the case back to the tribunal which delivered the judgement.

Can. 1670 In all other matters concerning procedure, the provisions of the canons on ordinary contentious trials are to be followed. In order to expedite matters, however, while safeguarding justice, the tribunal can, by a decree and for stated reasons, derogate from procedural norms which are not prescribed for validity.

Part III : CERTAIN SPECIAL PROCESSES

TITLE I: MATRIMONIAL PROCESSES

Chapter I : CASES CONCERNING THE DECLARATION OF NULLITY OF MARRIAGE

Article 1: The Competent Forum

Can. 1671 Matrimonial cases of the baptised belong by their own right to the ecclesiastical judge.

Can. 1672 Cases concerning the merely civil effects of marriage pertain to the civil courts, unless particular law lays down that, if such cases are raised as incidental and accessory matters, they may be heard and decided by an ecclesiastical judge.

Can. 1673 The following tribunals are competent in cases concerning the nullity of marriage which are not reserved to the Apostolic See:

1̊ the tribunal of the place where the marriage was celebrated;

2̊ the tribunal of the place where the respondent has a domicile or quasi-domicile;

3̊ the tribunal of the place where the plaintiff has a domicile, provided that both parties live within the territory of the same Episcopal Conference, and that the judicial Vicar of the domicile of the respondent, after consultation with the respondent, gives consent;

4̊ the tribunal of the place in which in fact most of the evidence is to be collected, provided that consent is given by the judicial Vicar of the domicile of the respondent, who must first ask the respondent whether he or she has any objection to raise.

Article 2: The Right to Challenge the Validity of Marriage

Can. 1674 The following are able to challenge the validity of a marriage:

1̊ the spouses themselves;

2̊ the promotor of justice, when the nullity of the marriage has already been made public, and the marriage cannot be validated or it is not expedient to do so.

Can. 1675 §1 A marriage which was not challenged while both parties were alive, cannot be challenged after the death of either or both, unless the question of validity is a necessary preliminary to the resolution of another controversy in either the canonical or the civil forum.

§2 If a spouse should die during the course of a case, can. 1518 is to be observed.

Article 3: The Duties of the Judges

Can. 1676 Before he accepts a case and whenever there appears to be hope of success, the judge is to use pastoral means to persuade the spouses that, if it is possible, they should perhaps validate their marriage and resume their conjugal life.

Can. 1677 §1 When the petition has been accepted, the presiding judge or the ‘ponens’ is to proceed to the notification of the decree of summons, in accordance with can. 1508.

§2 If, within fifteen days of the notification, neither party has requested a session to contest the suit, then within the following ten days the presiding judge or ‘ponens’ is, by a decree, to decide ex officio the formulation of the doubt or doubts and to notify the parties accordingly.

§3 The formulation of the doubt is not only to ask whether the nullity of the particular marriage is proven, but also to determine the ground or grounds upon which the validity of the marriage is being challenged.

§4 If the parties have not objected to this decree within ten days of being notified, the presiding judge or ‘ponens’ is, by a new decree, to arrange for the hearing of the case.

Article 4: Proofs

Can. 1678 §1 The defender of the bond, the advocates of the parties and, if engaged in the process, the promotor of justice, have the right:

1̊ to be present at the examination of the parties, the witnesses and the experts, without prejudice to can. 1559;

2̊ to see the judicial acts, even if they are not yet published, and to inspect documents produced by the parties.

§2 The parties themselves cannot be present at the sessions mentioned in §1, n. 1.

Can. 1679 Unless the evidence brought forward is otherwise complete, in order to weigh the depositions of the parties in accordance with can. 1536, the judge is, if possible, to hear witnesses to the credibility of the parties, as well as to gather other indications and supportive elements.

Can. 1680 In cases concerning impotence or defect of consent by reason of mental illness, the judge is to use the services of one or more experts, unless from the circumstances this would obviously serve no purpose. In other cases, the provision of can. 1574 is to be observed.

Article 5: The Judgement and the Appeal

Can. 1681 Whenever in the course of the hearing of a case a doubt of a high degree of probability arises that the marriage has not been consummated, the tribunal can, with the consent of the parties, suspend the nullity case and complete the instruction of a case for a dispensation from a non-consummated marriage; eventually it can forward the acts to the Apostolic See, together with a petition, from either or both of the parties for a dispensation, and with the Opinions of the tribunal and of the Bishop.

Can. 1682 §1 The judgement which has first declared the nullity of a marriage, together with the appeals, if there are any, and the judicial acts, are to be sent ex officio to the appeal tribunal within twenty days of the publication of the judgement.

§2 If the judgement given in first instance was in favour of the nullity of the marriage, the appeal tribunal, after weighing the observations of the defender of the bond and, if there are any, of the parties, is by its decree either to ratify the decision at once, or to admit the case to ordinary examination in the new instance.

Can. 1683 If a new ground of nullity of marriage is advanced in the appeal grade, the tribunal can admit it and give judgement on it as at first instance.

Can. 1684 §1 After the judgement which first declared the nullity of the marriage has been confirmed on appeal either by decree or by another judgement, those whose marriage has been declared invalid may contract a new marriage as soon as the decree or the second judgement has been notified to them, unless there is a prohibition appended to the judgement or decree itself, or imposed by the local Ordinary.

§2 The provisions of can. 1644 are to be observed even if the judgement which declared the nullity of the marriage is confirmed not by a second judgement, but by a decree.

Can. 1685 As soon as the sentence is executed, the judicial Vicar must notify the Ordinary of the place where the marriage was celebrated. This Ordinary must ensure that a record of the decree of nullity of the marriage, and of any prohibition imposed, is as soon as possible entered in the registers of marriage and baptism.

Article 6: The Documentary Process

Can. 1686 A marriage can be declared invalid on the basis of a document which proves with certainty the existence of a diriment impediment a defect of lawful form or the lack of a valid proxy mandate; the document must not be open to any contradiction or exception. It must be equally certain that no dispensation has been given. When a petition in accordance with can. 1677 has been received alleging such invalidity, the judicial Vicar, or a judge designated by him, can omit the formalities of the ordinary procedure and, having summoned the parties, and with the intervention of the defender of the bond, declare the nullity of the marriage by a judgement.

Can. 1687 §1 If the defender of the bond prudently judges that the defects mentioned in can. 1686, or the lack of dispensation, are not certain, he must appeal to the judge of second instance. The acts must be sent to the appeal judge and he is to be informed in writing that it is a documentary process.

§2 A party who considers him or herself injured retains the right of appeal.

Can. 1688 The judge of second instance, with the intervention of the defender of the bond and after consulting the parties, is to decide in the same way as in can. 1686 whether the judgement is to be ratified, or whether the case should rather proceed according to the ordinary course of law, in which event he is to send the case back to the tribunal of first instance.

Article 7: General Norms

Can. 1689 In the judgement the parties are to be reminded of the moral, and also the civil, obligations by which they may be bound, both towards one another and in regard to the support and upbringing of their children.

Can. 1690 Cases for the declaration of nullity of marriage cannot be dealt with by the oral contentious process.

Can. 1691 In other matters concerning the conduct of the process, the canons concerning judicial powers in general and concerning the ordinary contentious process are to be applied, unless the nature of the case demands otherwise; the special norms concerning cases dealing with the status of persons and cases pertaining to the public good are also to be observed.

Chapter II : CASES CONCERNING THE SEPARATION OF SPOUSES

Can. 1692 §1 Unless lawfully provided otherwise in particular places, the personal separation of baptised spouses can be decided by a decree of the diocesan Bishop, or by the judgement of a judge in accordance with the following canons.

§2 Where the ecclesiastical decision does not produce civil effects, or if it is foreseen that there will be a civil judgement not contrary to the divine law, the Bishop of the diocese in which the spouses are living can, in the light of their particular circumstances, give them permission to approach the civil courts.

§3 If the case is also concerned with the merely civil effects of marriage, the judge is to endeavour, without prejudice to the provision of §2, to have the case brought before the civil court from the very beginning.

Can. 1693 §1 The oral contentious process is to be used, unless either party or the promotor of justice requests the ordinary contentious process.

§2 If the ordinary contentious process is used and there is an appeal, the tribunal of second instance is to proceed in accordance with can. 1682 §2, observing what has to be observed.

Can. 1694 In matters concerning the competence of the tribunal, the provisions of can. 1673 are to be observed.

Can. 1695 Before he accepts the case, and whenever there appears to be hope of success, the judge is to use pastoral means to induce the parties to be reconciled and to resume their conjugal life.

Can. 1696 Cases of separation of spouses also concern the public good; the promotor of justice must, therefore, always intervene, in accordance with can. 1433.

Chapter III : THE PROCESS FOR THE DISPENSATION FROM A RATIFIED AND NON-CONSUMMATED MARRIAGE

Can. 1697 The parties alone, or indeed one of them even if the other is unwilling, have the right to seek the favour of a dispensation from a ratified and non-consummated marriage.

Can. 1698 §1 Only the Apostolic See gives judgement on the fact of the non-consummation of a marriage and on the existence of a just reason for granting the dispensation.

§2 The dispensation, however, is given by the Roman Pontiff alone.

Can. 1699 §1 The diocesan Bishop of the place of domicile or quasidomicile of the petitioner is competent to accept the petition seeking the dispensation. If the request is well founded, he must arrange for the instruction of the process.

§2 If, however, the proposed case has special difficulties of a juridical or moral order, the diocesan Bishop is to consult the Apostolic See.

§3 Recourse to the Apostolic See is available against the decree of a Bishop who rejects the petition.

Can. 1700 §1 Without prejudice to the provisions of can. 1681, the Bishop is to assign the instruction of these processes, in a stable manner or case by case, to his own tribunal or to that of another diocese, or to a suitable priest.

§2 If, however, a judicial plea has been introduced to declare the nullity of the same marriage, the instruction of the process is to be assigned to the same tribunal.

Can. 1701 §1 In these processes the defender of the bond must always intervene.

§2 An advocate is not admitted, but the Bishop can, because of the difficulty of a case, allow the petitioner or respondent to have the assistance of an expert in the law.

Can. 1702 In the instruction of the process both parties are to be heard. As far as possible, and provided they can be reconciled with the nature of these processes, the canons concerning the collection of evidence in the ordinary contentious process and in cases of nullity of marriage are to be followed.

Can. 1703 §1 There is no publication of the acts, but if the judge sees that, because of the evidence tendered, a serious obstacle stands in the way of the plea of the petitioner or the exception of the respondent, he can prudently make it known to the party concerned.

§2 To the party requesting it the judge can show a document which has been presented or evidence which has been received, and he can set a time for the production of arguments.

Can. 1704 §1 When the instruction is completed, the judge instructor is to give all the acts, together with a suitable report, to the Bishop. The Bishop is to express his Opinion on the merits of the case in relation to the alleged fact of non-consummation, the adequacy of the reason for dispensation, and the opportuneness of the favour.

§2 If the instruction of the process has been entrusted to another tribunal in accordance with Can. 1700, the observations in favour of the bond of marriage are to be prepared in that same tribunal. The Opinion spoken of in §1 is, however, the province of the Bishop who gave the commission and the judge instructor is to give him, together with the acts, a suitable report on the case.

Can. 1705 §1 The Bishop is to transmit all the acts to the Apostolic See together with his Opinion and the observations of the defender of the bond.

§2 If, in the judgement of the Apostolic See, a supplementary instruction is required, this will be notified to the Bishop, with a statement of the items on which the acts are to be supplemented.

§3 If, however, the answer of the Apostolic See is that the non-consummation is not proven from the evidence produced, then the expert in law mentioned in Can. 1701 §2 can inspect the acts of the case, though not the Opinion of the Bishop, in the tribunal office, in order to decide whether anything further of importance can be brought forward to justify another submission of the petition.

Can. 1706 The rescript of dispensation is sent by the Apostolic See to the Bishop. He is to notify the parties of the rescript, and also as soon as possible direct the parish priests of the place where the marriage was contracted and of the place where baptism was received, to make a note of the granting of the dispensation in the registers of marriage and baptism.

Chapter IV : THE PROCESS IN THE CASE OF THE PRESUMED DEATH OF A SPOUSE

Can. 1707 §1 Whenever the death of a spouse cannot be proven by an authentic ecclesiastical or civil document, the other spouse is not regarded as free from the bond of marriage until the diocesan Bishop has issued a declaration that death is presumed.

§2 The diocesan Bishop can give the declaration mentioned in §1 only if, after making suitable investigations, he has reached moral certainty concerning the death of the spouse from the depositions of witnesses, from hearsay and from other indications. The mere absence of the spouse, no matter for how long a period, is not sufficient.

§3 In uncertain and involved cases, the Bishop is to consult the Apostolic See.

TITLE II: CASES FOR THE DECLARATION OF NULLITY OF SACRED ORDINATION

Can. 1708 The right to impugn the validity of sacred ordination is held by the cleric himself, or by the Ordinary to whom the cleric is subject, or by the Ordinary in whose diocese he was ordained.

Can. 1709 §1 The petition must be sent to the competent Congregation, which will decide whether the case is to be determined by the Congregation of the Roman Curia, or by a tribunal designated by it.

§2 Once the petition has been sent, the cleric is by the law itself forbidden to exercise orders.

Can. 1710 If the Congregation remits the case to a tribunal, the canons concerning trials in general and the ordinary contentious trial are to be observed, unless the nature of the matter requires otherwise and without prejudice to the provisions of this title.

Can. 1711 In these cases the defender of the bond has the same rights and is bound by the same duties as the defender of the bond of marriage.

Can. 1712 After a second judgement confirming the nullity of the sacred ordination, the cleric loses all rights proper to the clerical state and is freed from all its obligations.

TITLE III: WAYS OF AVOIDING TRIALS

Can. 1713 In order to avoid judicial disputes, agreement or reconciliation can profitably be adopted, or the controversy can be submitted to the judgement of one or more arbiters.

Can. 1714 The norms for agreements, for mutual promises to abide by an arbiter’s award, and for arbitral judgements are to be selected by the parties. If the parties have not chosen any, they are to use the law established by the Episcopal Conference, if such exists, or the civil law in force in the place where the pact is made.

Can. 1715 §1 Agreements and mutual promises to abide by an arbiter’s award cannot validly be employed in matters which pertain to the public good, and in other matters in which the parties are not free to make such arrangements.

§2 Whenever the matter concerned demands it, in questions concerning temporal ecclesiastical goods the formalities established by the law for the alienation of ecclesiastical goods are to be observed.

Can. 1716 §1 If the civil law does not recognise the force of an arbitral judgement unless it is confirmed by a judge, an arbitral judgement in an ecclesiastical controversy has no force in the canonical forum unless it is confirmed by an ecclesiastical judge of the place in which it was given.

§2 If, however, the civil law admits of a challenge to an arbitral judgement before a civil judge, the same challenge may be brought in the canonical forum before an ecclesiastical judge who is competent to judge the controversy at first instance.

Part IV : THE PENAL PROCESS

Chapter I : THE PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION

Can. 1717 §1 Whenever the Ordinary receives information, which has at least the semblance of truth, about an offence, he is to enquire carefully, either personally or through some suitable person, about the facts and circumstances, and about the imputability of the offence, unless this enquiry would appear to be entirely superfluous.

§2 Care is to be taken that this investigation does not call into question anyone’s good name.

§3 The one who performs this investigation has the same powers and obligations as an auditor in a process. If, later, a judicial process is initiated, this person may not take part in it as a judge.

Can. 1718 §1 When the facts have been assembled, the Ordinary is to decide:

1̊ whether a process to impose or declare a penalty can be initiated;

2̊ whether this would be expedient, bearing in mind Can. 1341;

3̊ whether a judicial process is to be used or, unless the law forbids it, whether the matter is to proceed by means of an extra-judicial decree.

§2 The Ordinary is to revoke or change the decree mentioned in §1 whenever new facts indicate to him that a different decision should be made.

§3 In making the decrees referred to in §§1 and 2, the Ordinary, if he considers it prudent, is to consult two judges or other legal experts.

§4 Before making a decision in accordance with §1, the Ordinary is to consider whether, to avoid useless trials, it would be expedient, with the parties’ consent, for himself or the investigator to make a decision, according to what is good and equitable, about the question of harm.

Can. 1719 The acts of the investigation, the decrees of the Ordinary by which the investigation was opened and closed, and all those matters which preceded the investigation, are to be kept in the secret curial archive, unless they are necessary for the penal process.

Chapter II : THE COURSE OF THE PROCESS

Can. 1720 If the Ordinary believes that the matter should proceed by way of an extra-judicial decree:

1̊ he is to notify the accused of the allegation and the evidence, and give an opportunity for defence, unless the accused, having been lawfully summoned, has failed to appear;

2̊ together with two assessors, he is accurately to weigh all the evidence and arguments;

3̊ if the offence is certainly proven and the time for criminal action has not elapsed, he is to issue a decree in accordance with cann. 1342-1350, outlining at least in summary form the reasons in law and in fact.

Can. 1721 §1 If the Ordinary decrees that a judicial penal process is to be initiated, he is to pass the acts of the investigation to the promotor of justice, who is to present to the judge a petition of accusation in accordance with cann. 1502 and 1504.

§2 Before a higher tribunal, the promotor of justice constituted for that tribunal adopts the role of plaintiff.

Can. 1722 At any stage of the process, in order to prevent scandal, protect the freedom of the witnesses and safeguard the course of justice, the Ordinary can, after consulting the promotor of justice and summoning the accused person to appear, prohibit the accused from the exercise of the sacred ministry or of some ecclesiastical office and position, or impose or forbid residence in a certain place or territory, or even prohibit public participation in the blessed Eucharist. If, however, the reason ceases, all these restrictions are to be revoked; they cease by virtue of the law itself as soon as the penal process ceases.

Can. 1723 §1 When the judge summons the accused, he must invite the latter to engage an advocate, in accordance with Can. 1481 §1, but within the time laid down by the judge.

§2 If the accused does not do this, the judge himself is to appoint an advocate before the joinder of the issue, and this advocate will remain in office for as long as the accused has not engaged an advocate.

Can. 1724 §1 At the direction or with the consent of the Ordinary who decided that the process should be initiated, the promotor of justice in any grade of the trial can resign from the case.

§2 For validity, this resignation must be accepted by the accused person, unless he or she has been declared absent from the trial.

Can. 1725 In the argumentation of the case, whether done in writing or orally, the accused person or the advocate or procurator of the accused, always has the right to write or speak last.

Can. 1726 If in any grade or at any stage of a penal trial, it becomes quite evident that the offence has not been committed by the accused, the judge must declare this in a judgement and acquit the accused, even if it is at the same time clear that the period for criminal proceedings has elapsed.

Can. 1727 §1 The offender can appeal, even if discharged in the judgement only because the penalty was facultative, or because the judge used the power mentioned in cann. 1344 and 1345.

§2 The promotor of justice can appeal whenever he considers that the reparation of scandal or the restitution of justice has not been sufficiently provided for.

Can. 1728 §1 Without prejudice to the canons of this title, and unless the nature of the case requires otherwise, in a penal trial the judge is to observe the canons concerning judicial procedures in general, those concerning the ordinary contentious process, and the special norms about cases which concern the public good.

§2 The accused person is not bound to admit to an offence, nor may the oath be administered to the accused.

Chapter III : THE ACTION TO COMPENSATE FOR HARM

Can. 1729 §1 In accordance with Can. 1596, a party who has suffered harm from an offence can bring a contentious action for making good the harm in the actual penal case itself.

§2 The intervention of the harmed party mentioned in §1 is no longer admitted if the intervention was not made in the first instance of the penal trial.

§3 An appeal in a case concerning harm is made in accordance with cann. 1628--1640, even if an appeal cannot be made in the penal case itself. If, however, there is an appeal on both headings, there is to be only one trial, even though the appeals are made by different persons, without prejudice to the provision of Can. 1734[].

Can. 1730 §1 To avoid excessive delays in a penal trial, the judge can postpone the trial concerning harm until he has given a definitive judgement in the penal trial.

§2 When the judge does this he must, after giving judgement in the penal trial, hear the case concerning harm, even though the penal trial is still pending because of a proposed challenge to it, or even though the accused has been acquitted, when the reason for the acquittal does not take away the obligation to make good the harm.

Can. 1731 A judgement given in a penal trial, even though it has become an adjudged matter, in no way creates a right for a party who has suffered harm, unless this party has intervened in accordance with can. 1733 []

Part V : THE MANNER OF PROCEDURE IN ADMINISTRATIVE RECOURSE AND IN THE REMOVAL OR TRANSFER OF PARISH PRIESTS

Section I : Recourse Against Administrative Decrees

Can. 1732 Whatever is laid down in the canons of this section concerning decrees, is also to be applied to all singular administrative acts given in the external forum outside a judicial trial, except for those given by the Roman Pontiff himself or by an Ecumenical Council.

Can. 1733 §1 When a person believes that he or she has been injured by a decree, it is greatly to be desired that contention between that person and the author of the decree be avoided, and that care be taken to reach an equitable solution by mutual consultation, possibly using the assistance of serious-minded persons to mediate and study the matter. In this way, the controversy may by some suitable method be avoided or brought to an end.

§2 The Episcopal Conference can prescribe that in each diocese there be established a permanent office or council which would have the duty, in accordance with the norms laid down by the Conference, of seeking and suggesting equitable solutions. Even if the Conference has not demanded this, the Bishop may establish such an office or council.

§3 The office or council mentioned in §2 is to be diligent in its work principally when the revocation of a decree is sought in accordance with Can. 1734 and the time-limit for recourse has not elapsed. If recourse is proposed against a decree, the Superior who would have to decide the recourse is to encourage both the person having recourse and the author of the decree to seek this type of solution, whenever the prospect of a satisfactory outcome is discerned.

Can. 1734 §1 Before having recourse, the person must seek in writing from its author the revocation or amendment of the decree. Once this petition has been lodged, it is by that very fact understood that the suspension of the execution of the decree is also being sought.

§2 The petition must be made within the peremptory time-limit of ten canonical days from the time the decree was lawfully notified.

§3 The norms in §§1 and 2 do not apply:

1̊ in having recourse to the Bishop against decrees given by authorities who are subject to him;

2̊ in having recourse against the decree by which a hierarchical recourse is decided, unless the decision was given by the Bishop himself ;

3̊ in having recourse in accordance with cann. 57 and 1735.

Can. 1735 If, within thirty days from the time the petition mentioned in Can. 1734 reaches the author of the decree, the latter communicates a new decree by which either the earlier decree is amended or it is determined that the petition is to be rejected, the period within which to have recourse begins from the notification of the new decree. If, however, the author of the decree makes no decision within thirty days, the time-limit begins to run from the thirtieth day.

Can. 1736 §1 In those matters in which hierarchical recourse suspends the execution of a decree, even the petition mentioned in Can. 1734 has the same effect.

§2 In other cases, unless within ten days of receiving the petition mentioned in Can. 1734 the author of the decree has decreed its suspension, an interim suspension can be sought from the author’s hierarchical Superior. This Superior can decree the suspension only for serious reasons and must always take care that the salvation of souls suffers no harm.

§3 If the execution of the decree is suspended in accordance with §2 and recourse is subsequently proposed, the person who must decide the recourse is to determine, in accordance with Can. 1737 §3, whether the suspension is to be confirmed or revoked.

§4 If no recourse is proposed against the decree within the time-limit established, an interim suspension of execution in accordance with §§1 and 2 automatically lapses.

Can. 1737 §1 A person who contends that he or she has been injured by a decree, can for any just motive have recourse to the hierarchical Superior of the one who issued the decree. The recourse can be proposed before the author of the decree, who must immediately forward it to the competent hierarchical Superior.

§2 The recourse is to be proposed within the peremptory time-limit of fifteen canonical days. In the cases mentioned in Can. 1734 §3, the timelimit begins to run from the day the decree was notified; in other cases, it runs in accordance with Can. 1735.

§3 Even in those cases in which recourse does not by law suspend the execution of the decree, or in which the suspension is decreed in accordance with Can. 1736 §2, the Superior can for a serious reason order that the execution be suspended, but is to take care that the salvation of souls suffers no harm.

Can. 1738 The person having recourse always has the right to the services of an advocate or procurator, but is to avoid futile delays. Indeed, an advocate is to be appointed ex officio if the person does not have one and the Superior considers it necessary. The Superior, however, can always order that the one having recourse appear in person to answer questions.

Can. 1739 In so far as the case demands, it is lawful for the Superior who must decide the recourse, not only to confirm the decree or declare that it is invalid, but also to rescind or revoke it or, if it seems to the Superior to be more expedient, to amend it, to substitute for it, or to obrogate it.

Section II: The Procedure for the Removal or Transfer of Parish Priests

Chapter I : THE PROCEDURE FOR THE REMOVAL OF PARISH PRIESTS

Can. 1740 When the ministry of any parish priest has for some reason become harmful or at least ineffective, even though this occurs without any serious fault on his part, he can be removed from the parish by the diocesan Bishop.

Can. 1741 The reasons for which a parish priest can lawfully be removed from his parish are principally:

1̊ a manner of acting which causes grave harm or disturbance to ecclesiastical communion;

2̊ ineptitude or permanent illness of mind or body, which makes the parish priest unequal to the task of fulfilling his duties satisfactorily;

3̊ the loss of the parish priest’s good name among upright and serious-minded parishioners, or aversion to him, when it can be foreseen that these factors will not quickly come to an end

4̊ grave neglect or violation of parochial duties, which persistsafter a warning;

5̊ bad administration of temporal goods with grave harm to the Church, when no other remedy can be found to eliminate this harm.

Can. 1742 §1 If an investigation shows that there exists a reason mentioned in Can. 1740, the Bishop is to discuss the matter with two parish priests from a group stably chosen for this purpose by the council of priests, at the proposal of the Bishop. If he then believes that he should proceed with the removal, the Bishop must, for validity, indicate to the parish priest the reason and the arguments, and persuade him in a fatherly manner to resign his parish within fifteen days.

§2 For parish priests who are members of a religious institute or a society of apostolic life, the provision of Can. 682 §2 is to be observed.

Can. 1743 The resignation of the parish priest can be given not only purely and simply, but even upon a condition, provided the condition is one which the Bishop can lawfully accept and does in fact accept.

Can. 1744 §1 If the parish priest has not replied within the days prescribed, the Bishop is to renew his invitation and extend the canonical time within which a reply is to be made.

§2 If it is clear to the Bishop that the parish priest has received this second invitation but has not replied, even though not prevented from doing so by any impediment, or if the parish priest refuses to resign and gives no reasons for this, the Bishop is to issue a decree of removal.

Can. 1745 If, however, the parish priest opposes the case put forward and the reasons given in it, but advances arguments which seem to the Bishop to be insufficient, to act validly the Bishop must:

1̊ invite him to inspect the acts of the case and put together his objections in a written answer, indeed to produce contrary evidence if he has any;

2̊ after this, complete the instruction of the case, if this is necessary, and weigh the matter with the same parish priests mentioned in Can. 1742 §1, unless, because of some impossibility on their part, others are to be designated;

3̊ finally, decide whether or not the parish priest is to be removed, and without delay issue the appropriate decree.

Can. 1746 When the parish priest has been removed, the Bishop is to ensure that he is either assigned to another office, if he is suitable for one, or is given a pension in so far as the case requires this and the circumstances permit.

Can. 1747 §1 A parish priest who has been removed must abstain from exercising the function of a parish priest, leave the parochial house free as soon as possible, and hand over everything pertaining to the parish to the person to whom the Bishop has entrusted it.

§2 If, however, it is a question of a sick man who cannot be transferred elsewhere from the parochial house without inconvenience, the Bishop is to leave to him the use, even the exclusive use, of the parochial house for as long as this necessity lasts.

§3 While recourse against a decree of removal is pending, the Bishop cannot appoint a new parish priest, but is to make provision in the meantime by way of a parochial administrator.

Chapter II : THE PROCEDURE FOR THE TRANSFER OF PARISH PRIESTS

Can. 1748 The good of souls or the necessity or advantage of the

Church may demand that a parish priest be transferred from his own parish, which he governs satisfactorily, to another parish or another office. In these circumstances, the Bishop is to propose the transfer to him in writing and persuade him to consent, for the love of God and of souls.

Can. 1749 If the parish priest proposes not to acquiesce in the Bishop’s advice and persuasion, he is to give his reasons in writing.

Can. 1750 Despite the reasons put forward, the Bishop may judge that he should not withdraw from his proposal. In this case, together with two parish priests chosen in accordance with Can. 1742 §1, he is to weigh the reasons which favour and those which oppose the transfer. If the Bishop still considers that the transfer should proceed, he is again to renew his fatherly exhortation to the parish priest.

Can. 1751 §1 If, when these things have been done, the parish priest still refuses and the Bishop still believes that a transfer ought to take place, the Bishop is to issue a decree of transfer stating that, when a prescribed time has elapsed, the parish shall be vacant.

§2 When this time has elapsed without result, he is to declare the parish vacant.

Can. 1752 In cases of transfer, the provisions of Can. 1747 are to be applied, always observing canonical equity and keeping in mind the salvation of souls, which in the Church must always be the supreme law.