www.newadvent.org Open in urlscan Pro
2400:52e0:1e00::1082:1  Public Scan

Form analysis
1 forms found in the DOM

../utility/search.htm

<form id="searchbox_000299817191393086628:ifmbhlr-8x0" action="../utility/search.htm">
  <!-- Hidden Inputs -->
  <input type="hidden" name="safe" value="active">
  <input type="hidden" name="cx" value="000299817191393086628:ifmbhlr-8x0">
  <input type="hidden" name="cof" value="FORID:9">
  <!-- Search Box -->
  <label for="searchQuery" id="searchQueryLabel">Search:</label>
  <input id="searchQuery" name="q" type="text" size="25" aria-labelledby="searchQueryLabel">
  <!-- Submit Button -->
  <label for="submitButton" id="submitButtonLabel" class="visually-hidden">Submit Search</label>
  <input id="submitButton" type="submit" name="sa" value="Search" aria-labelledby="submitButtonLabel">
</form>

Text Content

 

Search: Submit Search



 Home   Encyclopedia   Summa   Fathers   Bible   Library 

 A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z 


Home > Catholic Encyclopedia > A > Administrator (of Ecclesiastical Property)


ADMINISTRATOR (OF ECCLESIASTICAL PROPERTY)

Please help support the mission of New Advent and get the full contents of this
website as an instant download. Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church
Fathers, Summa, Bible and more — all for only $19.99...

One charged with the care of church property. Supreme administrative authority
in regard to all ecclesiastical temporalities resides in the Sovereign Pontiff,
in virtue of his primacy of jurisdiction. The pope's power in this connection is
solely administrative, as he cannot be said properly to be the owner of goods
belonging either to the universal Church or to particular churches. Pontifical
administrative authority is exercised principally through the Propaganda, the
Fabrica of St. Peter, the Camera Apostolica, the Cardinal Camerlengo, and finds
frequent recognition and expression in the decrees of councils held throughout
the world. In each diocese the administration of property belongs primarily to
the bishop, subject to the superior authority of the Holy See. From the very
beginning of the life of the Church, this power has been a part of the episcopal
office (can. 37, Can. Apost., Lib. II, cap. xxv, xxvii, xxxv. Const. Apost.). On
him all inferior administrators depend, unless they have secured an exemption by
law, as in the case of religious orders. Therefore, if an arrangement exists by
which the administration of certain diocesan or parish property is entrusted to
some members of the clergy or to laymen, the discipline of the Church,
nevertheless, maintains the bishop in supreme control with the right to direct
and modify, if need be, the action taken by subordinate administrators. One of
the important duties of a parish priest is the administration of the moneys and
goods belonging to his church. The Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, Tit. IX,
Cap. iii, gives detailed regulations concerning the manner in which a rector is
to acquit himself of this obligation. Among other things, it is required that he
shall keep an accurate record of receipts, expenditures, and debts; that he
shall prepare an inventory containing a list of all things belonging to the
church, of its income and financial obligations; that one copy of this inventory
shall be deposited in the archives of the parish and another in the diocesan
archives; that every year necessary changes shall be made in this inventory and
signified to the chancellor. The authority of the parish priest is circumscribed
by the general authority of the bishop and by special enactments which prevent
him from taking any important step without the express written permission of the
ordinary.



In many places laymen are called to a part in the care of church property,
sometimes in recognition of particular acts of generosity, more often because
their cooperation with the parish priest will be beneficial on account of their
experience in temporal matters. Although the origin of the modern fabrica, or
board of laymen, is placed by some in the fourteenth and by others in the
sixteenth century, the intervention of laymen really goes back to very early
times, since we find it referred to in councils of the seventh century. Lay
administrators remain completely subject to the bishop in the same manner as the
parish priest. The difficulties caused by the illegal pretensions of trustees in
the United States during the early part of the last century evoked from the Holy
See a reiteration of the doctrine of the Church regarding diocesan and parish
administration notably in a brief of Gregory XVI (12 August, 1841) wherein the
Pope declared anew that the right of such inferior administrators depends
entirely on the authority of the bishop, and that they can do only what the
bishop has empowered them to do. In some dioceses where the system of
administration by lay trustees is in vogue the regulations and discipline of the
Catholic Church are made a part of the bylaws of church corporations, a measure
which is of great advantage in case of a process before the secular courts. The
administration of property belonging to religious institutes under the
jurisdiction of the ordinary rests naturally with their superiors, but the
bishop may reserve to himself in the constitutions a large right of control and
supervision. In reference to institutes under the jurisdiction of the Holy See
the bishop's right is limited to signing the report sent to Rome every third
year by the superior. Religious orders are exempt from diocesan control in the
administration of their property, but are bound, when engaged in parochial work,
to present to the bishop a report of the amounts they have received for
parochial purposes, and of the use made of such contributions. The exclusive
rights of ecclesiastical authorities in the administration of church property
have been denied in practice by civil authorities, often with the result of
serious injustice and hardship to particular churches especially during the last
two centuries. Hence the care taken in various councils to admonish
administrators to secure the titles to church property in accordance with the
provisions of secular law, e.g. III Plen. Balt., no. 266.




SOURCES

ZECH, De jure rerum ecclesiasticarum; MEURER, Begriff und eigenth mer der
heiligen Sachen; II Concilium Plenarium Baltimorense, IV; 111 Concilium
Plenarium Baltimorense, IX.


ABOUT THIS PAGE

APA citation. Creagh, J. (1907). Administrator (of Ecclesiastical Property). In
The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01144a.htm

MLA citation. Creagh, John. "Administrator (of Ecclesiastical Property)." The
Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907.
<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01144a.htm>.



Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. March 1, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D.,
Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.

Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address
is webmaster at newadvent.org. Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I
greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical
errors and inappropriate ads.

Copyright © 2023 by New Advent LLC. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

CONTACT US | ADVERTISE WITH NEW ADVENT