Chapter — 1917 Code of Canon Law
Chapter I: Of Proofs in General
Superseded as law in 1983 — read why this Code still matters. Each canon links to its 1983 counterpart.
In these causes proofs must be entirely full; nor are any others to be admitted, except those which are drawn from witnesses and from documents.
In his causis probationes debent esse omnino plenae; nec aliae sunt admittendae, nisi quae ex testibus et ex documentis eruantur.
§ 1. To prove that cult was never offered to a Servant of God, at least four witnesses are necessary.
§ 2. To prove the fame of virtues, martyrdom, and miracles, at least eight witnesses are required, who can be singular with the singularity, as they say, of support; moreover at least two witnesses are to be called from office.
§ 3. To prove virtues or martyrdom, eyewitnesses and co-witnesses are required; historical monuments can furnish only support.
§ 4. If in the apostolic process there are witnesses from hearing from those seeing, and in the informative process eyewitnesses, all these can be joined in the line of proof.
§ 5. But if in the informative process there are eyewitnesses and in the apostolic process witnesses only from hearing of hearing, these have the force of support, more or less grave according to the prudent estimation of the judges; and then only can one proceed to further matters, that is, to the disputation of miracles, when from the conjunction of all these witnesses there is such proof as would make faith and authority for a prudent man about to judge concerning a grave matter.
§ 6. Nevertheless, in ancient causes proceeding by the way of non-cult, in which eyewitnesses or witnesses from hearing from those seeing are lacking, and in causes proceeding by the way of an excepted case, virtues and martyrdom can be proved through witnesses from hearing and from public fame, which constitutes an annulated, as they say, tradition from hearing, and through contemporaneous documents or monuments recognized as authentic.
§ 7. Finally, miracles must always be proved through eyewitnesses and co-witnesses.
§ 1. Ad probandum nunquam Servo Dei cultum fuisse praestitum, quatuor saltem testes sunt necessarii.
§ 2. Ad probandam famam virtutum, martyrii ac miraculorum, octo saltem testes requiruntur, qui singulares esse possunt singularitate, ut aiunt, adminiculativa; praeterea duo saltem testes ex officio vocandi sunt.
§ 3. Ad probandas virtutes vel martyrium, requiruntur testes de visu et contestes: historica monumenta adminiculum tantum praestare possunt.
§ 4. Si habeantur in processu apostolico testes ex auditu a videntibus et in informativo testes de visu, possunt ii omnes coniungi in linea probationis.
§ 5. Si vero adsint in informativo testes de visu et in apostolico testes tantummodo ex auditu auditus, hi habent vim adminiculi, magis vel minus gravis pro prudenti iudicum aestimatione; et tunc tantum ad ulteriora, idest ad miraculorum disceptationem, procedi potest, cum ex horum omnium testium coniunctione talis habeatur probatio quae viro prudenti de re gravi iudicaturo fidem factura sit et auctoritatem.
§ 6. In causis tamen antiquis per viam non cultus procedentibus, in quibus deficiunt oculati testes vel ex auditu a videntibus, et in causis procedentibus per viam casus excepti, virtutes et martyrium probari poterunt per testes ex auditu atque ex publica fama, quae annulatam, uti aiunt, traditionem ex auditu constituat, et per documenta coaeva vel monumenta uti authentica recognita.
§ 7. Denique miracula semper probanda sunt per testes de visu et contestes.
Immemorial cult is proved through authentic monuments, which precede by a space of one hundred years the Urbanian constitution promulgated in the year 1634, or were published while that century endured, provided that they report facts which happened at least one hundred years before, together with the never-interrupted tradition of the people.
Cultus immemorabilis probatur per authentica monumenta, quae constitutioni Urbanianae, an. 1634 promulgatae, centum annorum spatio antecedant vel illo saeculo perdurante sint edita, dummodo facta referant quae saltem centum ante annos contigerint una cum populi traditione nunquam interrupta.
Cult of very long time permitted by the Apostolic See is proved through contemporaneous documents.
Longissimi temporis cultus a Sede Apostolica permissus per documenta coaeva probatur.