Morals of the Church
Library › Wouters, Manual of Moral Theology › Volume II › Book III. On the Aids of the Christian Life, or on the Sacraments › Treatise V. On Penance › Dissertation II. On the Sacrament of Penance › Part II. On the Ministration of the Sacrament of Penance › Section I. On the Ministration of the Sacrament of Penance Generally › Chapter II. On the Right Use of the Power › Article II. On Things to Be Avoided in Confession › § III. On Solicitation to Shameful Things › Point IV. On the Obligation of the Confessor with Respect to a Penitent who Is Bound to Denounce

Section — Wouters, Manual of Moral Theology

Scholion I. On the Manner of Receiving a Denunciation, And, Once It Has Been Received, of Proceeding Further Against Those Denounced

426.

I. The denunciation must be made before the Bishop or his delegate, with the intervention of an ecclesiastical man who holds the part of notary. Other witnesses cannot be present, and the Bishop can dispense from the intervention of the notary for a reasonable cause.1 For the rest, the deputation of the delegate and of the notary, if the latter is used, must be made in writing.

II. If a confessor or another person is delegated to receive the denunciation without the intervention of a notary, a formula to be followed is handed to him by the Ordinary, or by the Holy Office.

III. Let the one who receives the denunciation see that the crime of false denunciation is reserved to the Supreme Pontiff, and let him signify to the denouncing person that no inquiry concerning consent furnished is to be instituted. For the rest, this order is regularly prescribed: first, the oath concerning speaking the truth, to be given by touching the Holy Gospels, is to be asked from the denouncing person; then he or she is questioned according to the formula handed down by the Ordinary or by the Holy Office, with the responses immediately put into writing not only as regards substance but also as regards words; then the entire instrument is to be read aloud to the denouncing person, with the faculty being given of adding, suppressing, correcting, and changing; finally the signature of the denouncing person is to be required, or, if he or she cannot write, the sign of the cross; and while the denouncing person is still present, there is to be added the signature of the one receiving it and, if one was used, of the notary. Lastly, an oath of preserving secrecy is to be demanded from the denouncing person, with excommunication reserved to the local Ordinary or to the Holy See being threatened if necessary.2

Note. "Sometimes for a grave reason it can be permitted that one or another of the prescribed forms, with the substance being preserved, be omitted, for example the touching of the Gospels. In more difficult cases it is also permitted that the denunciation, with the prior permission of the denouncing person, lest the sacramental seal seem to be violated, be received by the confessor in the confessional seat. Indeed, when a wholly grave and altogether extraordinary cause is urgent, the denunciation will also be able to be made through a report written by the denouncing person, provided however that it is afterward confirmed by oath and signed before the local Ordinary or his delegate and notary, if one is present."3

IV. Once the denunciation has been juridically received, whether by himself or through a delegate, the Ordinary under grave obligation must signify it to the promoter of justice, who is to declare whether the crime of solicitation is present or not. Once this has been done:

  1. If the Ordinary dissents from the promoter of justice, the latter must refer the matter to the Holy Office within ten days.

  2. If the Ordinary agrees with the promoter of justice, or if the promoter in any way does not have recourse to the Holy Office, let the procedure be as follows:

a) If the Ordinary judges that the crime of solicitation is lacking, let him place the acts in the secret archive or, considering the gravity of the matters denounced, use his own right, for instance by admonishing or punishing the denounced person, although he is not guilty of the crime of solicitation.

b) If the Ordinary judges that the crime is present, let him proceed to an inquiry (cf. can. 1939, § 1).

IV. Let the inquiry be made in the manner set forth in the Instructions of the Holy Office of February 20, 1867, n. 9, and July 20, 1890.

V. Once the inquiry has been completed:

  1. If it is established that the denunciation lacks all foundation, let this be reported in the acts, and let the documents of accusation be destroyed.

  2. If vague or uncertain indications are at hand, let the acts be placed in the secret archive until something else arises.

  3. If sufficiently grave indications are at hand, but not indications sufficient for an accusatory action, let the guilty person be admonished in a different manner according to the diversity of the case.

  4. If certain or at least probable indications are had for an accusatory action, the guilty person must be cited (cf. can. 1946); however, an oath concerning speaking the truth cannot be administered to him (cf. can. 1744).

VI. Once the guilty person has been cited and appears, the procedure must be as follows:

  1. If the guilty person confesses the crime, and his confession agrees at least substantially with the accusation, a definitive sentence can be pronounced. Nevertheless, the guilty person can either accept it or demand the regular development of the process.

  2. If he does not confess the crime, or if his confession does not agree even substantially with the accusation, let the acts of inquiry be handed over to the promoter of justice, who is to draw up the libellus of accusation (can. 1954 and 1955). In the meantime the guilty person can already be suspended from sacred ministry or from hearing confessions until the end of the trial. Then let him be questioned carefully, while avoiding manifestation of the denouncing persons or of the sacramental seal. After a suitable time has elapsed, in which the defender of the guilty person prepares and exhibits the defense, and the promoter of justice prepares and exhibits the libellus of accusation or his requisition of justice, let the judge pronounce the definitive sentence according to the acts and the proofs, that is: if he is certain of the crime, let him condemn the guilty person; if he is certain of innocence, let him absolve him; if he is doubtful, let him dismiss him.

  3. From the pronounced sentence both the guilty person and the promoter of justice can appeal to the Holy Office within ten days. The appeal is suspensive, while nevertheless the suspension of the guilty person perhaps issued before the definitive sentence remains firm. If appeal is made, let the acts, or an authentic copy of them, be transmitted to the Holy Office.4

VII. Certain things remain to be noted:

  1. The Ordinary is bound to manifest at once to the Holy Office the denunciation juridically received. In addition, if the one denounced lives in another territory, let him send to the Ordinary of that place an authentic copy of the denunciation with the inquiries and declarations of the guilty person.

  2. The Ordinary must signify the outcome of the juridically received cause to the Holy Office and, if the denounced person is a religious, to his Superior General.

  3. If a priest who has been condemned, or only admonished, transfers his residence into another territory, the Ordinary a quo is bound as soon as possible to admonish the Ordinary ad quem concerning the antecedents and juridical status of the denounced person.

  4. If the denounced person, suspended from hearing confessions but not from preaching, goes into another territory for preaching, the Superior of the denounced person, whether secular or religious, must admonish the Ordinary of the other territory that he cannot be used for hearing confessions.5

  5. Those who are assumed for treating or defending these causes, namely the judge, the promoter of justice, the defender of the guilty person, the notary, and so forth, are bound to the secrecy of the Holy Office: the Ordinary by force of office; the ministers by oath; others absent by a precept to be imposed on them; and indeed under penalty of excommunication latae sententiae, reserved to the Supreme Pontiff alone, even the Sacred Penitentiary being excluded.6

  6. If the things set forth are difficult to observe exactly, the Holy See sometimes permits that the matter be treated in an easier manner.7

  7. If the treatment of the matter carries with it grave difficulties, the matter, with the acts transmitted, can be referred to the Holy Office, which can hand down particular instructions.8

1 Instruction of the Holy Office, February 20, 1867.

2 Aertnys-Damen, Theologia Moralis, II, n. 426.

3 Aertnys-Damen, cited work, n. 427.

4 Aertnys-Damen, cited work, n. 428.

5 Aertnys-Damen, cited work, n. 429.

6 Aertnys-Damen, cited place, n. 15.

7 Cited Instruction, n. 16.

8 Cited Instruction.

The Manner of Receiving a Denunciation, And, Once It Has Been Received, of Proceeding Further Against Those Denounced