Chapter VI. Benefices

MENTION has several times been made already of benefices, and in this place moral theologians usually treat of the special obligations in conscience of beneficed clergy. - An ecclesiastical benefice is a juridical entity founded or erected in perpetuity by competent ecclesiastical authority, and it consists of a sacred office and the right to receive the income from the dowry annexed to the office (Can. 1409).

The dowry of a benefice consists either of property whose ownership belongs to the juridical entity itself, or of certain and due payments made by some family or moral person, or of certain and voluntary offerings of the faithful, which belong to the rector of the benefice, or stole fees, as they are called, within the amounts fixed by the diocesan tax or lawful custom, or of choral distributions with the exception of a third part of them, if the whole income of the benefice consists of choral distributions (Can. 1410).

When he has lawfully taken possession of his benefice, every beneficiary enjoys all the rights both temporal and spiritual which are annexed to the benefice (Can. 1472).

Although the beneficiary may have other property besides what is derived from his benefice, he can freely use and enjoy the fruits of his benefice which are necessary for his decent support; but he is bound by the obligation of spending what remains over on the poor or on pious causes, but a Cardinal can dispose even by will of all the fruits of his benefice (Can. 1473).

If a cleric violates this precept and disposes of what remains over in other ways, he sins against obedience but probably not against justice, so that there is no obligation to restore what has been disposed of against ecclesiastical law.

The beneficiary is bound faithfully to fulfil the special duties annexed to his benefice, and, moreover, daily to recite the canonical Hours (Can. 1475, sec. 1).

If, without any legitimate excuse, he has failed to satisfy his obligation of reciting the canonical Hours, in proportion to his omission he does not make the fruits of the benefice his and must hand them over to the church fabric or to the diocesan seminary, or must give them to the poor (Can. 1475, sec. 2).

The beneficiary, as the guardian of his benefice, ought to administer the property belonging to his benefice according to law (Can. 1476, sec. 1).

If he is negligent or in any other way in fault, he ought to make good the damage done to the benefice, and he should be compelled to make compensation for it by the local Ordinary, and if he be a parish priest he can be removed from his parish in accordance with Canon 2147 ff.

The Code of Canon Law and the canonists should be referred to for fuller treatment of this matter.