Morals of the Church
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point — Wouters, Manual of Moral Theology

Point III. On the Delegation of Another Priest to Assist at Marriage

737.

I. Notion of delegation. Delegation, or the granting of permission validly to assist at marriage, is the act by which an authorizable witness of marriage, that is, a witness who can furnish legal authority to the act at which he is present, substitutes another for himself. But just as assistance furnished by the substituting person himself is not truly an act of jurisdiction, so also the granting of permission to assist does not involve the communication or delegation of true jurisdiction. Yet it is commonly called delegation, because it is done according to the norm of delegation, and almost the same principles as those of true delegation are applied to it.

II. Who can delegate? The pastor and the local Ordinary who can themselves validly assist at marriage are able to delegate (canon 1095, § 2). It is said:

  1. The pastor and the local Ordinary; who come under the name of pastor and local Ordinary, see n. 734. All those assigned there can delegate another.1

  2. Who can themselves validly assist at marriage. Hence they cannot delegate another before they have obtained canonical possession of the benefice or have entered the office; nor can they do this if by sentence they have been excommunicated, interdicted, or suspended from office, or declared such. Besides, the pastor and local Ordinary are able only to grant to another the faculty to assist within the boundaries of their territory, since outside the aforesaid boundaries they themselves do not validly assist.

III. To what extent can a delegate subdelegate? It is doubtful whether the rules of delegation assigned in canon 199 can be applied here, because the cited canon treats of delegation of jurisdiction properly so called, whereas here the discussion is about a bare ministry. But these things are certain:

  1. A vicar cooperator who has been delegated generally by the pastor or local Ordinary to assist at marriages can subdelegate another determined priest to assist at a determined marriage.2

  2. A priest delegated to assist at a determined marriage can receive from the pastor or local Ordinary delegating him permission to subdelegate another determined priest to assist at the same marriage.3

IV. The person to be delegated or subdelegated. Delegation or subdelegation must be made to a determined priest for a determined marriage. A vicar cooperator, however, can be delegated generally for the parish to which he is attached (canon 1096, § 1). It is said:

  1. To a priest, whether he is approved or is not approved for the care of souls, for preaching, or for hearing confessions.

  2. Determined. Hence permission granted to an entirely indeterminate priest would be invalid, for example if the pastor were to establish: "I make the faculty of assisting at marriage to one of my vicars," with no vicar determined individually. Nor would permission given to the spouses of choosing whichever priest they prefer be valid. Likewise a pastor would act invalidly who delegated, for example, one of the members of a community to be designated by the Superior,4 or made the faculty for the spouses to contract before Peter and Paul, according as they would choose one or the other. Designation can be made either by designation of office, for example: "I make the faculty of assisting at this or that marriage to the Rector of the succursal church in N."; or by designation of name. Moreover:

a) It is not required that the one to be delegated be known to the delegating person, provided he is determined in himself.

b) Nothing prevents several priests from being designated; the legislator only intends to exclude delegation of an indeterminate person. Thus a pastor can delegate, for example, all his vicars or even all priests now having care in the deanery. Yet it is difficult to determine how far these can be extended; therefore one must beware lest the marriage be exposed to danger of nullity.

  1. For a determined marriage. Hence permission given, for example, to assist at all marriages or at a certain category of marriages, or at those which perhaps will be contracted in this or that month, would be invalid. But delegation made for several determined marriages would be valid.

  2. A vicar cooperator, however, can be delegated generally for the parish to which he is attached, for example to assist at all marriages or at a certain category of marriages. Note, however, that he is not delegated by common law itself.5

V. Things to be observed in delegation or subdelegation. 1. In order that delegation or subdelegation be valid, there is required an act truly placed, free, expressed, and known and accepted by the one to be delegated or subdelegated, as we shall explain. It is said:

a) Truly placed. Therefore a presumed or interpretative granting does not suffice, nor mere tolerance, since tolerance as such does not involve an act of granting.

b) Free, that is, deliberately placed. Note, however, that fear does not stand in the way of freedom, nor under the new law is delegation extorted by grave fear invalid. It is indeed true that assistance furnished by a pastor or delegate from grave fear is deprived of value; but from that it does not follow that delegation made from grave fear is invalid. Error then only impairs the value of delegation when it is substantial, that is, when it concerns the person to be delegated or the persons about to marry; and even then it does not impede validity if the delegating person has the will of granting the permission in some way. Moreover, error is not substantial if it regards only the name and not the person himself. Besides, it is commonly noted that error concerning the quality of the person to be delegated or of one about to marry, likewise concerning the cause of the granting, stands in the way of validity in the case in which the quality or cause was intended as a condition without which there would be no delegation; but in that hypothesis it is rather the defect of the condition than error which impairs validity.

c) Expressed (canon 1096, § 1), whether orally or in writing or by other equivalent positive signs. Therefore tacitly given permission no longer suffices.

d) Known and accepted by the one to be delegated, as follows: knowledge and acceptance are not required if delegation or subdelegation is granted by statute or law; nor, more probably, if the delegate or subdelegate is subject to the delegating or subdelegating person. Otherwise the matter is more doubtful. Some deny that knowledge and acceptance are required, because, with canon 37 considered, a rescript is valid before its acceptance, unless something else is established; but a grant made by one who is not the Ordinary is not a rescript. Others affirm it, because delegation is like a donation, which must be accepted.

  1. In order that delegation or subdelegation be licit, the pastor or local Ordinary should not grant permission unless all things which the law establishes for proving freedom of status have been fulfilled (canon 1096, § 2). Yet do not apply this to the general delegation which is made to a vicar cooperator.6

VI. Things to be observed by the delegate and subdelegate. 1. In order that the delegate or subdelegate validly take part in the nuptials, he should proceed in the same manner as the pastor. Therefore he must not be excommunicated, interdicted, or suspended from office by sentence, or declared such; he must assist at the marriage within the boundaries of the territory of the delegating person; and constrained neither by force nor by grave fear he must request and receive the consent of the contracting parties. It is sufficiently clear that these things must be observed, although the law does not expressly apply them to the delegate.

  1. In order that he assist licitly, let him observe the things which the pastor or local Ordinary is bound to observe, insofar as they are committed to him.

Corollary. Although the faculty of assisting is not jurisdiction properly so called, nevertheless it is so akin to it that it is admitted in law that the things which have been said about supplied jurisdiction (vol. I, n. 103) are also to be applied to the aforesaid faculty.

1 Pontifical Commission, May 20, 1923, ad V (A.A.S. 1924, p. 114).

2 Pontifical Commission, December 28, 1927, ad IV (A.A.S. 1928, p. 61).

3 Pontifical Commission, December 28, 1927, ad IV (A.A.S. 1928, p. 61).

4 Cf. Sacred Congregation of the Discipline of the Sacraments, March 12, 1910, ad VI, b.

5 Cf. Sacred Congregation of the Sacraments, March 12, 1910, ad VI, b and c.

6 Cf. Sacred Congregation of the Sacraments, March 12, 1910, ad VI, c.

The Delegation of Another Priest to Assist at Marriage