§ 4. On the Jurisdiction of Religious and over Religious

Ecclesiastical law establishes special provisions: 1. concerning confessors from the religious clergy; 2. concerning penitents who live in the religious state.

415. 1. Confessors from the religious clergy for secular penitents. Religious are understood here to mean not only those who have solemn vows, but also all religious who enjoy the privilege of exemption from episcopal jurisdiction. Religious confessors of this kind receive jurisdiction to hear the confessions both of secular persons and of religious from the local Ordinary, and not immediately from the Holy See, as many authors formerly taught. But religious priests should not ordinarily use it without at least the presumed permission of their superior.³⁰⁷ If, however, they give absolution even against the will of the superior, they nevertheless absolve validly, and even licitly if there was a legitimate cause.

In an exempt clerical religious institute, its own religious superior also confers delegated jurisdiction for hearing the confessions of subjects, that is, of the professed and of residents, and this not only upon priests of his own religious institute, but also upon other priests.³⁰⁸

Religious superiors who have the power of hearing confessions can, with those things which must be observed by law being observed, hear the confessions of subjects who ask this of them spontaneously and of their own motion; but without a grave cause they should not do this habitually. The master of novices and his associate, and the superior of a seminary or college, should not hear the sacramental confessions of their pupils dwelling with them in the same house, unless in particular cases the pupils spontaneously ask this for a grave and urgent cause.³⁰⁹

³⁰⁷ Code of Canon Law, c. 874, § 1.

³⁰⁸ Ibid., c. 875, § 1.

³⁰⁹ Ibid., c. 518, § 2; c. 891.

416. 2. Penitents from the religious state. For the sake of clarity, we distinguish the provisions enacted: a) concerning the confessions of religious men; b) concerning the confessions of religious women.

a) Concerning the confessions of religious men, the old law³¹⁰ established that all religious men had to confess either to their own superior or to confessors legitimately delegated by him. A confession otherwise made was not only illicit but also invalid. Superiors could reserve certain cases to themselves; nevertheless, they had to commit to at least some confessors the faculty of absolving even from these reserved cases; but if they denied this faculty, then any confessor could licitly and validly absolve from the reserved cases. Religious traveling had to confess to a companion legitimately designated, unless greater liberty was granted by particular law. The new law establishes that jurisdiction for hearing the confessions of religious is conferred either by the local Ordinary or by the religious superior in exempt clerical religious institutes. This religious superior can grant this jurisdiction even to priests of the secular clergy or of another religious institute, who can then hear the confessions not only of the professed and novices, but also of all who dwell in the religious house day and night, for example, for the purpose of service.³¹¹

The ancient constitutions which command or counsel that the confession of religious be made at fixed times to determined confessors have not indeed been abrogated, but it is granted³¹² that any religious, even a novice,³¹³ can validly and licitly, for the peace of his conscience, confess to any confessor approved by the local Ordinary, that is, by the bishop and his vicar, the abbot nullius, and so forth. Such a confessor can absolve a religious in the internal forum even from sins and censures reserved within the religious institute. But concerning absolution in the external forum, the old discipline remains intact.

In lay religious institutes of men, for example, among the Brothers of Charity, individual religious can indeed validly and licitly, when a just cause exists, confess to any confessor approved by the local Ordinary; but an ordinary and an extraordinary confessor are to be appointed for their houses in a manner similar to that for communities of religious women, with this difference, however, that these religious men, with the exception of novices, are not bound to approach the extraordinary confessor.

³¹⁰ Clement VIII, May 26, 1593; Urban VIII, September 21, 1624; and several decisions of the Roman Congregations.

³¹¹ Code of Canon Law, c. 514, § 1; c. 874; c. 875.

³¹² Sacred Congregation of Religious, August 5, 1913 (Acta Ap. Sed. V, 431); Code of Canon Law, c. 519.

³¹³ Sacred Congregation of Religious, May 3, 1914 (Acta Ap. Sed. VI, 232).

417. b) Concerning the confessions of religious women, whether with solemn or simple vows, or even without vows, the old law has likewise been abolished. The principal provisions of the new law³¹⁴ are the following:

1. Only one ordinary confessor is ordinarily to be appointed for each religious community, unless, because of the great number of religious women or another just cause, it is necessary that another or several confessors be given. Therefore no one can hear the confessions of a religious community unless he has special jurisdiction granted by the local Ordinary for this religious community. Cardinals, however, have a privilege. According to certain authors, there is no obligation to name an ordinary confessor if there are not six sisters in a religious community.³¹⁵ But sisters for whom no ordinary confessor has been determined can confess freely, like the secular faithful. The ordinary confessor must have the following conditions:

a) He must be at least forty years of age, unless the Ordinary for a reasonable cause dispenses from this condition of age; he must be eminent in integrity of morals and prudence.³¹⁶

b) He must ordinarily be appointed for no longer than a three-year term. The bishop, or Ordinary, can dispense from this condition for a second or even a third three-year term if there is a scarcity of suitable priests, or if the greater part of the religious women request this by secret votes. When the three-year term, or by dispensation the second and third three-year terms, of the ordinary confessor has ended, the same confessor cannot be appointed to the same office in the same community except after one year. An extraordinary confessor, however, can immediately be chosen as ordinary, but not vice versa.³¹⁷

c) He must be from either the secular or regular clergy, provided, however, that he has no power in the external forum over the same religious women. Therefore bishops, vicars general, regular superiors, and so forth, are excluded from the office of confessor, whether ordinary or extraordinary, for their subjects.³¹⁸

2. Several times a year, at least four times, an extraordinary confessor is to be given to each religious community, whom all the religious women must approach, at least to receive a blessing if they do not wish to confess to him. The office of extraordinary confessor is not limited as to time. He must be endowed with the same qualities as the ordinary confessor.³¹⁹

3. Besides the ordinary and extraordinary confessor, several supplementary confessors are to be appointed by the local Ordinary for each religious house, whom the religious women can easily summon in particular cases for the purpose of making a confession.³²⁰

4. On an occasional confessor. For the tranquility of their conscience, religious women can make their confession in any church or oratory, even a semi-public one,³²¹ or in another place legitimately designated for the confessions of women, but not in another place, and not even validly,³²² to any confessor approved for women. The superior can neither prohibit this nor inquire concerning it, not even indirectly; nor are the religious women bound to report anything to the superior concerning the confession made.³²³

5. Even a special confessor, who is not included among those enumerated above, is to be readily granted by the Ordinary if and for as long as some religious woman requests this for the peace of her soul and greater progress in the way of God.³²⁴ Indeed, religious women who are gravely ill can, even without the permission of the Ordinary and of the superior, summon for the purpose of confession any priest approved for hearing the confessions of women. Nothing prevents an ordinary confessor who has not yet completed a year from the cessation of his office³²⁵ from being granted as a special confessor or director of conscience.

6. The appointment of the ordinary or extraordinary confessor pertains to the bishop of the place. But if a religious community is subject to the jurisdiction of a regular superior, then it is his office to present confessors, while it pertains to the bishop of the place to grant the power of hearing confessions to the confessors presented.³²⁶

7. Let absolutely all confessors refrain from involving themselves in the internal or external government of the community.³²⁷

8. The local Ordinary can for a grave cause remove any confessor of religious women; nor is he bound to communicate the cause of removal to anyone, except to the Holy See if required by it. He must, however, notify the regular superior of the removal if the nuns are subject to regulars.³²⁸

³¹⁴ Sacred Congregation of Religious, February 3, 1913 (Acta Ap. Sed. V, 62 ff.): "This Decree must be observed by all religious families of women with either solemn or simple vows, by Oblates and other pious communities which are bound by no vows, even if they are only diocesan institutes. It also binds communities which are under the jurisdiction of a regular prelate; if he does not take care for the faithful observance of this decree, the bishop or Ordinary of that place is himself to do so as a delegate of the Apostolic See." Code of Canon Law, c. 520 ff. and c. 675.

³¹⁵ Sacred Congregation of Religious, July 3, 1916, ad III (Linzer Theol. Quartalschr. 1916, p. 398); cf., however, our Man. iur. can.⁶, q. 190.

³¹⁶ Code of Canon Law, c. 524, § 1.

³¹⁷ Ibid., § 2.

³¹⁸ Ibid., § 1.

³¹⁹ Ibid., c. 521.

³²⁰ Ibid., § 2.

³²¹ Cf. Sacred Congregation of Religious, July 3, 1916, ad I.

³²² Pontifical Commission, November 24, 1920, and December 28, 1927 (Acta Ap. Sed. XII, 575; XX, 61), and February 12, 1935 (Acta Ap. Sed. XXVII, 99).

³²³ Code of Canon Law, c. 522.

³²⁴ Cf. Sacred Congregation of Religious, April 22, 1917 (Acta Ap. Sed. IX, 277), and Code of Canon Law, c. 520, § 2.

³²⁵ Cf. above, 1 b.

³²⁶ Code of Canon Law, c. 525.

³²⁷ Ibid., c. 524, § 3.

³²⁸ Ibid., c. 527.