What a benefice is and its dowry

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).

— "An ecclesiastical benefice is a juridic entity constituted or erected in perpetuity by competent ecclesiastical authority, consisting of a sacred office and the right of perceiving revenues from the endowment annexed to the office." Thus c. 1409.

A juridic entity is the same as a moral person, or a subject of law, which is such not on account of its physical nature, but on account of law, natural or positive, which recognizes or effects its moral unity.

Competent ecclesiastical authority is the Supreme Pontiff for dioceses and quasi-dioceses and dignities of a chapter; for canonries, at least if emoluments are annexed, parishes and quasi-parishes, it is also the Ordinary of the place (cc. 393, 394). The Cardinal himself, in his own title or diaconia, unless it is a church of an exempt clerical religion, can erect a benefice not having care of souls (c. 1414).

The constitution or erection must be perpetual; but now it is not required that it be conferred upon someone in perpetuity: objective, not subjective, perpetuity is necessary.

What a sacred office is, cf. n. 51.

The endowment of a benefice, by today's law (c. 1410), can consist not only in goods possessed by the juridic entity, but also in prestations of the faithful, whether owed or voluntary, provided they are certain as taxed and pertain to the rector of the benefice: thus stole fees, but not Mass stipends, which can be acquired by every celebrant. The choral distributions themselves, if all revenues of the benefice consist in these distributions, can constitute the endowment of a canon, with the third part of them excepted, however, since that third part, from c. 395, is reserved for daily distributions among those present.

By the right of perceiving revenues the definition of a benefice is now completed. Before the Code, it had been customary for it to be defined by the same right, with the word "perpetual" added. And the office was called the foundation of the benefice. Cf. d'Annibale, Summula, III, 18 and note 5.

— Ecclesiastical benefices are distinguished as: consistorial, which have been accustomed to be conferred in consistory, thus episcopates, and non-consistorial; secular or religious, according as they belong only to secular clerics or only to religious clerics, benefices erected outside churches or houses of religious being presumed secular in doubt; double or residential, or simple or non-residential, according as they have annexed or do not have annexed the obligation of residing; with care of souls or without care of souls, according as they have or do not have care of souls joined to them; manual, temporary or removable, or perpetual or irremovable, according as they are conferred revocably or in perpetuity (c. 1411).

— Besides the erection of a benefice, the canons also foresee various unions, divisions, dismemberments, conversions, suppressions of benefices and translations of sees, concerning which canonists are to be consulted. Cf. cc. 1419-1430 and Epitome I. C., II, p. 408 or n. 747 ff.

I. QUESTION I. What is an ecclesiastical benefice? ANSWER. It is a perpetual right of perceiving fruits from the goods of the Church on account of some spiritual office, constituted by the authority of the Church. It is called a right, because the fruits are owed to the beneficiary out of justice as the wage of his labour. Perpetual, because it is not extinguished by the death of the beneficiary, but the benefice falls vacant. From the goods of the Church signifies that the goods whence the fruits proceed are the Church's, because at the beginning the faithful delivered their goods to the Church for the sustentation of the ministers. On account of some spiritual office, namely of administering the sacraments, of celebrating the sacred rites, of singing in choir, of preaching, and so forth. By the authority, and so forth, declares that a benefice ought to be constituted by the authority of a bishop or of the Supreme Pontiff. Hence authors require six conditions for a benefice: 1. That it be founded by the bishop's authority; 2. That it be annexed to a spiritual thing; 3. That it ought to be conferred upon a cleric; 4. That an ecclesiastical person alone can confer it; 5. That it be perpetual; 6. That the collator cannot confer it upon himself.

II. QUESTION II. Of how many kinds is a benefice? ANSWER. Several are the kinds of benefices. The greater are the papacy, the episcopate, abbacies; the lesser are very many others. Besides, one benefice is regular, another secular. The former ought to be conferred upon the professed of a Religion alone, as an abbacy, a priorate, and certain parishes; the latter upon clerics alone loosed from monastic vows.

III. A benefice is further divided into double and simple. The former has jurisdiction over the clergy and people and the administration of ecclesiastical things. Of this kind are the papacy, archbishoprics, a secular abbacy, a plebanate, and all benefices with the care of souls, or to which the government of souls and jurisdiction is annexed. The latter has no jurisdiction, administration, or pre-eminence, but only there is annexed to it the debt of pouring forth prayers, of serving the altar, and of exercising other ecclesiastical ministries, such as are canonries, chaplaincies, and so forth. Praestimonia, which are benefices instituted out of the proceeds of the Church, to be conferred upon youths for the sake of studies, have conjoined the burden of paying definite prayers.

IV. Again, one benefice is elective, another collative, another mixed. The elective is conferred by several, through an election to be confirmed by the Superior. The collative is conferred by the Superior. The mixed: a patron designating, the bishop institutes and confers.

V. A patrimony, under whose title clerics receive sacred Orders, has not the character of a benefice. Dignities and other offices, although jurisdiction be annexed to them, are not properly benefices, as a generalate, provincialate, priorate, guardianship, and so forth, because they lack a perpetual right of perceiving fruits; and the same is to be said of the Vicar general of a bishop. The perpetual vicars of parish priests nevertheless are beneficiaries, otherwise temporary ones.

VI. Chaplaincies which are instituted by the authority of laymen lack the character of a benefice. But those which are erected and instituted with the bishop's consent properly obtain the character of a benefice. If anyone, the bishop's faculty going before, should institute a chaplaincy, and should decree that as often as it falls vacant a chaplain be elected who shall celebrate so many Masses in the week, one cannot be elected who is not a priest, or at least to be promoted to the priesthood within a year. Wherefore false to me is the opinion of those who teach that anyone having fourteen years can be elected. No less false to me is the other opinion of very many who deny that a priest must necessarily be elected, if the founder of the chaplaincy say: Let a priest be preferred, let a priest be elected. Common sense itself dictates that a priest is to be elected.