A Testament and Legacy for Pious Causes

Wills and legacies left for pious causes: what counts as such a cause, and what binds the heir.

The works themselves ask 10 questions under this heading — see them together with their answers.

Also asked about as…

bequest to charity · leaving money for masses · leaving money to the church in a will · pious bequests (ed.)

In the index as Testament · Pious cause · Testator · Children · Disposable part · Form · Legal reservation · Legitimate portion · Reduction · Sentence · Wills · Brothers, sisters · Donation · Exempting causes · Fulfillment · Heir · Illegitimate children · Intestate · Legacies · Legacy · Spurious child · Testamentary heirs · Unformed

In the manuals

Read the manuals side by side → — each work's whole treatment in its own column

Manual of Moral Theology (Manuale Theologiae Moralis)

Ludovicus Wouters, C.SS.R.

Vol. I, Bk. II, Tr. II, Diss. I, Pt. VII, Sect. I, Ch. I, Art. II, § III, Point V, Scholion I. On a Testament and Legacy for Pious Causes, n. 826 — Under the name of a pious cause come: 1° every thing which by its nature is ordered to a supernatural end, such as Masses and processions. To these, from the sense of the Church, are reduced the poor and miserable person… Read in context →

Compendium of Moral Theology of Fr. John Peter Gury, S.J., with the Notes of Antonio Ballerini, S.J.

Jean-Pierre Gury, S.J.; notes by Antonio Ballerini, S.J. — 4 passages

Vol. I, Treatise On Contracts, Second Part. On Contracts …, Sect. I, Ch. II, Art. II, § II, Point I, Division, and Form of Testaments, n. 818 (4 passages — hover a number to read it)

Summa Theologiae Moralis

Benedict Henry Merkelbach, O.P. — 23 passages

Vol. II, Special Moral Theology: On…, Treatise: On the Cardinal …, Third Part: Concerning Com…, Sect. C, Ch. II, Question Four: On Principles Common to Donation and Testament, nn. 501, 502 & 503 (23 passages — hover a number to read it)

Compendium of Moral Theology

Aloysius Sabetti, S.J., and Timothy Barrett, S.J.

Vol. I, Tr. IX, Pt. II, Sect. I, Ch. II, Art. II, § I, Division, and Form of Testaments, n. 511 — Question. Are testaments valid, whether for profane causes or for pious causes, if they lack legal forms? Resp. If it is a question of profane causes, it is sharply disputed, and a threefold probable opinion is had: the … Read in context →

Christian Theology, Dogmatic and Moral, in Compendium

Daniele Concina, O.P.

Diss. V, Chapter VI — On testaments, n. V — V. QUESTION III. What solemnities does a testament for pious causes demand? ANSWER. Testaments which destine an inheritance to the poor, to churches, monasteries, hospitals, maidens, or widows are called for pious causes… Read in context →

Palladium Theologicum, Tome V: On the Virtues

Gaudentius Bontempi of Brescia, O.F.M. Cap. — 13 passages

Tr. II, Disputation XII: On Legacies, Question IV: What a pious, or privileged, legacy is, nn. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 & 13 (13 passages — hover a number to read it)

Cases of Conscience for English-Speaking Countries, Volume I

Thomas Slater, S.J. — 13 passages

Slater, Cases I, Contracts, Case 5. A Legacy to the Parish Schools, nn. ¶1, ¶2, ¶3, ¶4, ¶5, ¶6, ¶7, ¶8, ¶9, ¶10, ¶11, ¶12 & ¶13 (13 passages — hover a number to read it)

Treated under the broader heading Wills — Noldin, Summa of Moral Theology · Slater, Manual of Moral Theology · McHugh–Callan, Moral Theology · Bucceroni, Institutions of Moral Theology · Bucceroni, Cases of Conscience · Tanquerey · Vermeersch, Theologia Moralis · Prümmer, Manuale Theologiae Moralis · Marc, Institutiones Morales · Konings, Theologia Moralis · The Casuist · Decretals of Gregory IX · Liber Sextus — these works do not divide the matter as finely as we do here, so their treatment stands one heading up (ed.)