Simony

Simony.—Simony derives its name from Simon Magus, the first person in New Testament times, as far as we know, who committed this crime. For it is written of Simon (Acts, viii. 18 sqq.) that he attempted to buy from St. Peter the power of imposition of hands. But the sin was not unknown in the Old Testament, as we see from the examples of Baalam (Numb., xxii. 7), Giezi (IV Kings, v. 20 sqq.), and Jason (II Mach., iv. 7 sqq.).

Definition of Simony.—Simony is defined as “the studied will to buy or sell for a temporal price or consideration something that is spiritual either intrinsically or extrinsically.”

(a) Simony is in the will, for it is an act of injustice pretending to have or to receive the right of dominion over spiritual things that belong to God alone, and injustice is a vice of the will. Hence, simony is not an internal sin of the intellect; for, though one who practises simony externally makes to some extent a profession of belief in the heresy that man is the owner of spirituals and gives grounds for the suspicion that he holds that the sale of spirituals is lawful, yet he may know well that the things of God are priceless and still wish to give or receive a price for them. Again, simony is not to be identified with the external act of bargaining for spirituals; for, though the law punishes only external or completed simony, the guilt and malice of the sin is present even when one has the desire to traffic in spiritual things, but makes no overtures or compact.

(b) Simony is a studied will; that is, it is an act of free and deliberate choice selecting some form of internal or external simony as a desirable means. Hence, it is not sufficient for the sin of simony that there be an internal wish not fully voluntary on account of inculpable ignorance or imperfect consent; nor, on the other hand, is it necessary for incurring the guilt of simony that there be a mutual pact, but it suffices that one party alone have the will to make the pact or to obligate another party to simony.

(c) It is a wish to buy or sell, that is, to give or receive a temporal thing in exchange for a spiritual thing. There is question here, then, not only of the contract of sale, but of any other form of onerous contract, such as hire, rent, loan, exchange, do ut des, facio ut facias, etc. To be simoniacal, however, a contract need not be fulfilled or explicitly manifested; it suffices that it be unfulfilled or tacitly made, if the sinful intent can be gathered from the circumstances of the case. Hence, from the present part of the definition it follows that there is no simony in a gratuitous contract (e.g., when one gives a gift to another hoping and expecting that the later from gratitude will give in return something spiritual which it is lawful to bestow from gratitude; when a poor person offers to make a novena for benefactors who give him an alms). It is simony, however, to make an onerous contract under the guise of a gratuitous contract, for example: “I give you this money as a pure gift on condition that you will not be ungrateful but will give me this spiritual favor as a pure gift.”

(d) The price or consideration in simony is some thing, action or forbearance which in some way is of advantage to the recipient. Simony in the strictest sense is committed when a temporal thing is offered for a spiritual thing (e.g., money paid for a Sacrament); simony in the wide sense is committed when, contrary to the law on simony, things like in character are exchanged (2323 a). Thus, if the Church forbids Mass to be exchanged for Mass, or benefice for benefice, or the office of sacristan for that of sexton, transgressors are guilty of the second form of simony.

(e) The matter of simony is something intrinsically or extrinsically spiritual. In general, the spiritual is that which proceeds from God or tends to Him as the Author or End of eternal salvation (viz., the destiny, law, means, works, etc., proposed to us in Christian revelation and religion). Among these things those are intrinsically spiritual that pertain to the supernatural order on account of some inherent character of their own (e.g., grace, Sacraments, Mass, miracles) or some intimate union with things spiritual (e.g., benefices attached to spiritual offices, consecration to be given a chalice); those are extrinsically spiritual that are in themselves temporal, but in church law are treated as spiritual for the sake of reverence to the intrinsically spiritual (e.g., chrism in regard to the material itself of the oil and other ingredients). If the matter of a contract is neither intrinsically nor extrinsically spiritual, there is no simony in buying or selling it (e.g., devotional books, household furnishings of a rectory, personal effects of a cleric).

Temporal Price in Simony.—The temporal price in simony is some temporal good or advantage. St. Gregory the Great distinguishes three kinds of simoniacal prices as follows:

(a) the price from the hand (munus a manu) is either money or things that have a money value, such as movable or immovable property, corporeal or incorporeal rights. It would be simony to give a benefice in exchange for a sum of money, for a loan, for real estate;

(b) the price from the tongue (munus a lingua) is any kind of patronage, such as praise, recommendation, protection, defense, opposition to competitors, etc. It would be simony to confer a benefice in exchange for the influence in one’s favor which the recipient of the benefice would exercise with some powerful person, for his vote in an election, etc.;

(c) the price in service (munus ab obsequio) is any kind of temporal labor or assistance given for another’s benefit, such as the management of his business or the instruction of his children. It would be simony to grant a benefice in exchange for work done as secretary, treasurer, or advisor.

The Spiritual Thing in Simony.—The thing inherently spiritual in simony is also of three kinds. (a) That which is spiritual from its nature is a thing that is supernatural in itself, such as sanctifying grace, the Gifts of the Holy Ghost, and the power of orders or of jurisdiction. (b) That which is supernatural from its cause is a thing produced by a supernatural agency or power, such as health obtained through miracle. (c) That which is supernatural from its effect is a thing having the virtue of producing supernatural results, ex opere operato, or ex opere operantis, or as an occasion (e.g., Sacraments, prayers, sermons).

Temporal Thing United with Spiritual.—In the two following ways things are made spiritual in reference to simony through intimate union with spirituals: (a) by necessary connection, when a temporal thing is so annexed with a spiritual thing that it cannot exist without it. This includes the things annexed consequently, and perhaps also those annexed concomitantly and intrinsically (see 2322); (b) by contractual connection, when a spiritual and a temporal are the partial objects of a contract, as when in the sale of a consecrated chalice the price is raised on account of the consecration.

Temporal Thing Annexed to Spiritual.—In three ways a temporal thing is annexed to a spiritual thing.

(a) The temporal thing is annexed antecedently if it precedes the spiritual thing as its prepared or appointed or presupposed matter or subject. Thus, all things that receive a consecration or blessing (e.g., chalices, rosaries) or a property to which a right of patronage is attached are of this kind. Relics are properly of this category, but, since they have usually no material value, it is customary to include them amongst spirituals.

(b) The temporal thing is annexed concomitantly if it is simultaneous with the spiritual thing as being the action or labor that produces it. If the union is essential and inseparable, the temporal thing is said to be annexed intrinsically (e.g., the work performed in saying Mass, preaching, making a sick call); if the union is not essential, the temporal thing is said to be annexed extrinsically (e.g., the special work performed in saying Mass, if it has to be sung, or said in a distant church, or at a determined hour).

(c) The temporal thing is annexed consequently when it presupposes the spiritual thing as the cause on which it depends. Thus, the revenues of a parish are a temporal thing, but they follow on the pastoral office which is a spiritual thing.

The Various Kinds of Simony.—(a) In reference to its matter or the law violated, simony is either against natural and divine law or against positive ecclesiastical law. Simony against divine law consists in the exchange for temporalities of things that are spiritual or intimately annexed to the spiritual (see 2321), such as Sacraments, indulgences, or jurisdiction. Simony against church law consists in an exchange that has the appearance of simony against divine law, or that easily leads to simony against the divine law, and is consequently forbidden by the Church in order to safeguard religious respect for sacred things, as when one violates the law by taking money for holy oils. In the former kind of simony, things of different orders (spirituals and temporals) are exchanged one for the other; in the latter kind of simony, things of the same sort (spirituals for spirituals, temporals for temporals, etc.) are exchanged where the law forbids (Canon 727).

(b) In reference to its manner, or the way in which it is committed, simony is internal or external. Internal simony is the will, without the external agreement, to exchange spirituals for temporals; it is purely mental if nothing external is done by reason of the internal will; it is not purely mental if something external is done by reason of the internal will (e.g., if the person who desires to commit simony makes a money present to another in the hope that the latter will feel morally bound to give something spiritual in return, or if one gives something spiritual looking for a substantial gift of money as compensation). External simony is an outward pact freely entered into between two parties to exchange spirituals for temporals. It is called purely conventional, if neither party has as yet performed his part of the agreement; it is semi-real or mixed, if one of the parties has executed his part; it is real if both parties have performed, at least in part, what they agreed to. A simoniacal compact is explicit, if expressed by clear words or signs (e.g., “I will pay $100 for your vote”); it is tacit, if circumstances indicate the evil intention (e.g., very unusual presents given before an election).

Confidential Simony.—Simony committed in reference to benefices is called confidential because the contract is illegal, giving no judicial protection, and there is only the confidence or reliance on another’s word to give assurance that the agreement will be kept. Canonists discuss at length the following contracts in which it is committed:

(a) the contract per accessum grants a benefice with the agreement that the grantee will later resign, so that access to it may be had by the grantor or a third party at present incapable;

(b) the contract per ingressum resigns a benefice not yet taken possession of with the understanding that the person who now enters into possession will leave the place open for his predecessor if he himself resigns or is promoted;

(e) the contract per regressum resigns a benefice already possessed with the understanding that it may be recovered by the person now resigning or by a third party;

(d) the contract per reservationem partis obtains a benefice for another with the stipulation that he will pay a certain percentage of its revenues to the person who obtains it for him or to a third party (see Canon 1441).

Simony Against Divine Law.—Simony against divine law is committed in reference to spiritual things when a temporal price is formally or virtually given or received for them.

(a) Thus, the temporal thing is formally set up as the price, when it is regarded or treated as the end of the spiritual thing or action itself (finis operis), one of the things exchanged being used as the measure of value of the other. This happens when a person wills to buy or sell a spiritual thing, either because he thinks that its value may be expressed in terms of money or other temporal thing, or because he judges that he should treat it as though money were its equivalent, as when one fulfills a spiritual office and excludes every other motive than that of lucre (Denzinger, n. 1196).

(b) The temporal thing is virtually set up as the price, when it is intended as the sole proximate end of the agent himself (finis operantis), though there is no explicit thought about values or prices or comparisons. This happens when one gives a temporal thing and has no other immediate personal purpose in this act than the acquisition of a spiritual thing, or performs a pretendedly gratuitous service, intending thereby to obligate the beneficiary to the grant of some spiritual benefit, or bestows a “gratuitous” temporal favor as compensation for a spiritual benefit or vice versa (Denzinger, n. 1195). This is simony, for he who explicitly intends only an exchange, implicitly intends a price; and if it were not simony, then simony would be almost entirely an entity of the mind, since it is a very simple matter to will that the temporal thing exchanged shall be not the price, but only the motive of the contract or gratuitous compensation.

The temporal thing is not made the virtual price of the spiritual thing, if there is a lawful proximate motive (i.e., one recognized by the Canons or legitimate custom) for giving the temporal thing and the desire of receiving the spiritual thing is only the remote reason or occasion of the act. For in such a case the temporal thing is given for a lawful purpose and is not the price of a spiritual thing.

Examples: (a) If the recipient of the temporal thing has a right to it, there is no simony. Thus, the ministers of the altar have a right to their support (see 2186), and it is not simoniacal, when asking spiritual things from them (e.g., the application of Mass to one’s intention, the performance of Sacraments and sacred functions), to offer a stipend or fee; (b) if the bestower of the temporal thing gives it freely out of pure friendship, liberality, charity, gratitude or good will, so that it is an absolute gift, there is no simony, even though he hopes or expects that he will receive something spiritual as a mark of appreciation. But “a charitable or friendly gift” may easily be palliated simony; that is, there may be a pretense of liberality to conceal the real purpose of purchasing spirituals with temporals.

Rules of Alexander III for Determining Simony.—Alexander III gave several rules for determining whether a gift is made from liberality or with simoniacal intent.

(a) The following are marks of simoniacal intent: the quality of the giver (e.g., that he is poor, or in great need, or not customarily generous), the quantity of the gift (e.g., that it corresponds with the value of a vacant benefice, that it is surprisingly large), the time of the gift (e.g., that it is made when the donee is not in any special need, or when he is about to confer an office, or after hints have been made). If a gift is bestowed in connection with a spiritual thing received, the presumption is for simoniacal intent, unless there was a sincere and reasonable motive for the gift.

(b) The following, on the contrary, are marks of a liberal intent: the quality of the giver (e.g., that he is wealthy, noted for kindness and compassion, or liberal to all, or is a relative of the donee); the quantity of the gift (e.g., that it is small or normal in size), the time of the gift (e.g., if it is made when necessity, festal occasion, or the like calls for it).

Simony against Divine Law in Reference to Things Annexed to Spirituals.—(a) It is simony against divine law to buy or sell things annexed to spirituals consequently (e.g., the revenues of a benefice) or concomitantly and intrinsically (e.g., the ordinary labor and fatigue connected with preaching, saying Mass); for in the former case the temporal grows out of a spiritual and is morally one with it, while in the latter case the temporal has no value except in so far as it is joined with the spiritual.

(b) It is not simony against divine law to buy or sell things annexed to spirituals antecedently (e.g., blessed candles, sacred vestments), if the price is not raised on account of the spiritual thing, or things annexed concomitantly and extrinsically (e.g., the extraordinary labor and fatigue caused by saying Mass in a distant place or at a late hour); for in both cases the temporal has its own proper value and is not considered as inseparable from the spiritual. There is simony against divine law, however, if the price is raised on account of the spiritual part (e.g., if something is added for the blessing given a candle), and simony against church law if the transaction is forbidden as simoniacal (e.g., deductions and payments made in the act of preferment to a benefice are contrary to Canon 1441).

Conditions Necessary for Simony against Ecclesiastical Law.—(a) There must be an exchange through some kind of onerous contract, but it suffices that the understanding be tacit and non-executed, as was explained above (see 2323).

(b) There must be a law of the Church which, from a motive of respect for sacred things, forbids the exchange.

(c) The simoniacal exchange is made, whether a temporal annexed to a spiritual is given for another temporal annexed to a spiritual (e.g., benefice for benefice), or a spiritual for a spiritual, or a temporal for a temporal. Canonists enumerate the following as examples of simony of ecclesiastical law: gifts made in connection with a competitive examination for a parochial benefice, with ordination or grant of certain testimonial letters (Canon 545), with erection of confraternities; sale of blessed oil or chrism, or of the right of patronage (Canon 1470); remuneration for collection of stipends or for expenses of Mass (Canons 840, 1303).

Certain and Uncertain Simony.—(a) Cases in which simony is certain are the administration of Sacraments or sacramentals to the unworthy for the sake of the fee or favors, the sale of indulgences, taxes or charges made contrary to law (e.g., for a Mass of bination). Other examples are given in 2323 sqq. The Church demands that certain ministrations (e.g., Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Orders) be gratis, but there may be local customs or conditions that justify exceptions. Some moralists teach that there is no simony when a stipend is exacted for an obligatory ministry, if the simoniacal motive is absent.

(b) Cases in which simony is controverted are those in which a tax or stipend in excess of what is just or lawful is exacted (e.g., a Mass stipend higher than custom permits). Some claim there is simony, because the excess must be for the spiritual thing; others hold that there is no simony, but only an unjust increase in the stipend allowed for support; others say that there is no simony in the internal forum if the intent is not simoniacal, but that there is simony in the external forum on account of the presumption of simoniacal intent.

Doubtful Cases of Simony.—In some gifts and payments the presence or absence of simony depends on the object for which they are given.

(a) Thus, when they are given for omission of a spiritual act, there is simony if the omission includes the exercise of spiritual power (e.g., to omit absolution is to retain sins or censures); there is no simony if the omission is the mere exercise of free will (e.g., to omit Mass, confession).

(b) When they are given for omission of opposition or annoyance, so that one may be able to obtain some office or benefice, there is simony if the temporal thing is thereby given for the benefice itself or for the way to it (i.e., if one has no strict right to the spiritual thing, or if the opposition is just), as when the candidate for a benefice pays a competitor to withdraw, or pays an accuser to keep silence; there is no simony if the temporal thing is given for freedom from unjust vexation (i.e., if one has a strict right to the spiritual thing and the opposition is clearly unjust, as when one who has acquired a right to an office pays an enemy to desist from placing impediments). The payment made by Jacob to Esau for the birthright, to which Jacob was entitled by divine disposition, may be regarded as having had for its end, not the paternal blessing and other spiritual rights of the first-born, but immunity from persecution by Esau.

(e) When they are given for instruction, there is simony if the instruction has for its direct purpose the spiritual benefit of the disciple (e.g., catechetical instructions, sermons, spiritual direction); there is no simony if the instruction has for its direct purpose the improvement of the mind or the utility or advantage which the disciple will derive from it (e.g., instruction in theology, preparation for examinations).

(d) When they are given for admission to religious life, there is simony if the money is paid for the religious state itself, the vows, or other spirituals; there is no simony if the money is paid for the temporal support of the religious institute, that it may be able to meet its expenses.

Cases in Which a Transaction Is Not Simoniacal, but Lawful.—(a) There is no simony when a temporal is given on the occasion of but not for a spiritual. This happens when there is a just title for bestowal of the temporal, such as right of support (e.g., pastors’ salaries, Mass stipends, fees), extrinsic values in a work or object (e.g., the special labor in saying Mass under certain conditions, and, according to some, the special affection one has for a relic, the lucrum cessans on account of some function performed).

(b) There is no simony when something of value is given in exchange, but not for a spiritual, nor in contravention of an anti-simony law. This happens whether like be exchanged for like (e.g., Mass for Mass), or a temporal for a thing associated with a spiritual as the latter’s subject (e.g., money for a rosary or cemetery plot which has been blessed). In the former case there is no prohibition; in the latter, the temporalities have their own distinct values which may be paid for, if the price is not raised on account of the spiritual (see Canons 730, 1539).

Cases in Which a Transaction Is Not Simoniacal, but Is Sinful.—(a) Sins against God.—One who performs functions of religion primarily and principally, as far as his personal motive (finis operantis) is concerned, for the salary, stipend or fee, is not guilty of simony, since he does not regard the temporal even virtually as the price of the spiritual. But he does sin by indevotion, and the sin may even be mortal (e.g., a canon goes to choir chiefly because this yields him a living). Offenses committed in the matter of Mass stipends are not called simony in the Code, but the penal law classes them with offenses against religion, as may be seen from Canon 2324. Nepotism, favoritism in giving offices, and political and dishonest maneuvers to obtain church dignities are not in themselves simoniacal; but they are an unworthy and scandalous treatment of sacred things.

(b) Sins against Others.—It is not simony but injustice to deny the Sacraments to parishioners who do not contribute, to overcharge in lawful fees, and also, according to some, to take money for the omission of a spiritual act owed in justice (e.g., for refusal to hear the confession of a parishioner), or to demand money as the stipend for the performance of such a spiritual act (e.g., for hearing a confession). It is disobedience to take money in ways forbidden (e.g., to take Mass stipends in the confessional, to earn money by gambling or trading forbidden in the Canons). Again, it is not strictly simony to put up as the stakes in a game a spiritual thing (e.g., the recitation of the Rosary) against a temporal thing (e.g., ten dollars), for there is no intention to value the spiritual thing by the temporal; but such a practice is scandalous. Greed about getting or keeping money pertains to avarice, not necessarily to simony.

Cases in Which a Transaction Is Not Simoniacal, but Virtuous.—(a) Some acts done in God’s honor (e.g., to purchase a spiritual object, such as a sacred vessel or relic, from a person who would misuse it), when the purchaser intends the prevention of profanation. It is certainly not irreverence to a sacred thing to use means necessary to rescue it from such irreverence.

(b) Some acts done for the good of others (e.g., to give prizes to children who frequent the Sacraments or Sunday school, dowries to young girls that they may be able to enter religion, free education to worthy young men as an inducement to embrace the ecclesiastical state). In all these cases there is no purchase of a spiritual thing, because the temporal is a pure gift, and the spiritual is received, not by the giver of the temporal, but by another. There is no simony in the fees imposed for dispensations or in the alms sometimes prescribed for indulgences; for the temporal is not a price paid for the spiritual, but in the one case either a penance or a charge for expenses, and in the other a spiritual good work and duty prescribed as a condition for a spiritual benefit.

(e) Some acts done for the spiritual good of self (e.g., if one were in danger of death and could be baptized only by a person Who demanded money for the service, it would not be simony to pay the money, since the price would be offered, not for the Sacrament, but for the removal of an unjust annoyance).