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

Scholion. On Prescription for Ecclesiastical Goods

811.

I. The Church recognizes prescription as a mode of acquiring ecclesiastical goods and of liberating oneself from a debt arising either from a disposition of ecclesiastical authority or from a contract entered concerning an ecclesiastical good (can. 1508). Nevertheless:

  1. The following are not subject to prescription: 1° those things which are of divine law, whether natural or positive; 2° those things which can be obtained by apostolic privilege alone; 3° spiritual rights of which laymen are not capable, if it is a question of prescription for the advantage of laymen; 4° the certain and indubitable boundaries of ecclesiastical provinces, dioceses, parishes, apostolic vicariates, apostolic prefectures, abbeys or prelatures nullius; 5° alms and burdens of Masses; 6° an ecclesiastical benefice without title; 7° the right of visitation and obedience, so that subjects could be visited by no Prelate and would now be subject to no Prelate; 8° payment of the cathedraticum (can. 1509).

  2. Sacred things which are in the ownership of an ecclesiastical moral person cannot be prescribed either by a private person or by a non-ecclesiastical moral person, but only by an ecclesiastical moral person. But sacred things which are in the ownership either of private persons or of a non-ecclesiastical moral person can also be acquired by private persons and by non-ecclesiastical moral persons, who nevertheless cannot apply them to profane uses; but if they have lost consecration or blessing, they can be freely acquired even for profane uses, though not sordid ones (can. 1510).

II. For acquisitive prescription there are required: possession, established time, and good faith; for liberative prescription: established time and good faith.

  1. Possession - which it suffices to note - is the detention or enjoyment of a thing which someone has in his power by himself or through another as if it were his own (n. 775).

  2. Established time. a) Immovable things, precious movable things, rights, and actions, whether personal or real, which pertain to the Apostolic See, are prescribed by a span of one hundred years; those which pertain to another ecclesiastical moral person, by a span of thirty years (can. 1511).1 If a cleric who possesses a benefice has proved that he has been peacefully in possession of the same benefice for an entire three-year period in good faith, even perhaps with an invalid title, provided simony is absent, he obtains the benefice by legitimate prescription (can. 1446).

b) Other things are prescribed in the time determined by the civil legislator for a thing of this kind (can. 1508).

Note 1. Concerning the prescription of actions, consult canons 1702-1705, 2240.

Note 2. Interruption and suspension of prescription have place according to the norm of civil law (n. 808).

  1. Good faith. No prescription has force unless it rests upon good faith, not only at the beginning of possession, but throughout the whole time of possession required for prescription (can. 1512).

1 Concerning possession begun, but not yet completed when the Code had been issued, cf. Ius Pontificium, 1924, p. 23.

Property Rights of the ChurchPrescriptionAcquisitive Prescription