PART I GENERAL NORMAL RULES Can. 1 -- Existing customs or laws at variance with this codex are herewith abolished. Customs disapproved by the Codex are considered corruptions of the law and cannot in the future be revived and obtain the force of law. Can. 2 -- The Law is not retroactive with the sole exception of judgments and censures effected before the institution of the Code or unless it specifically states that it concerns a past act or judgment. Can. 3 Those laws are to be considered invalidating which explicitly states or equivalently declare that an action is null and void or that a person is incapable of acting. Can. 4 There can be no future censure for acts committed prior to the enactment of this Code unless explicitly states as in Canon 5. Can. 5 Those under censure for delict prior to the enactment of this Code are forbidden to avail themselves of the saving clauses as contained herein since their status is by its nature perpetual. Can. 6 The Law of the Church as contained herein shall be the general law of the Clergy who are under the Jurisdiction of the Independent Old Catholic Church USA, a South Carolina non-profit religious institution. Can. 7 Ignorance of the General Law of the Church does not per se excuse from compliance with the law but may, at the discretion of the Courts Appointed be considered in extenuation only. Can. 8 Ignorance or error is not presumed when it concerns the law or its penalty, or one’s own action, or the notorious action of another, concerning the non-notorious action of another, ignorance is presumed until the contrary is proven. This rule shall apply when a transgressor is brought before the Ecclesiastical Tribunal for a violation of Canon Law. Can. 9 Laws are authoritatively interpreted by the Bishop Ordinary of each Diocese and by those to whom the power of interpreting has been committed. Authoritative interpretation of a law has the force of law itself. Can. 15 In order that a custom may obtain the force of law in the Church, it must have received the consent of the Bishop Ordinary of each diocese and the College of Bishops. Can. 16 No custom can abrogate or modify the Divine Law, either positive or natural. In order that a custom may have the power to change Canon Law, it must: (a). have persisted for a period not less than ten years. (b). be, by nature reasonable. (c). have the unanimous consent of the College of Bishops. Can. 17 Dispensation, which is the relaxation or modification of Law in a particular case, can be granted by the Bishop Ordinary, by his successor and by those whom they have delegated. Can. 18. From the General Laws of the Church, Auxiliary Bishops inferior to the Bishop Ordinary cannot dispense, not even in a particular case, unless the power has been conceded to them implicitly or explicitly or when recourse to the Bishop Ordinary is difficult and there is at the same time danger of causing great harm by the delay and the case is one in which it is reasonably presumed that the dispensation would be granted in the normal course of events. Can. 19 Pastors cannot dispense either from a General Law of the Church nor from special laws of the Bishop Ordinary or other Bishops. By custom introduced from time immemorial, pastors can only dispense their individual parishioners in special cases from fast and abstinence and permit them servile work on Sundays only. PART II CLERICS Can. 20 Those who have been assigned to the Divine Ministry are called Clerics. They are not of the same degree; there is a Sacred Hierarchy, by which one is subordinate to the other. The Hierarchy which is of Divine Institution by reason of Sacred Orders consists of Bishops, Priests and Deacons; by sacramental usage, Subdeacons, Minor clerics of the Lectorate and Acolyte, by reasons of Jurisdiction, it consists of the Bishop Ordinary and the subordinate Episcopate. Incardination in a Diocese Can. 23 Priests may not change parishes, exchange parishes or transfer themselves from one Mission to another without the express written permission of the Bishop Ordinary or Ordinaries where he wishes to go. Can. 24 §1.No priest in charge of a parish or no Vicar Forane may, of his own volition, receive, even temporarily, any priest not in possession of valid letters dimissorial or assign him to any work. This shall not be deemed to include priests on lawful canonical vacation in possession of a Celebret. §2.A priest may serve as locum tenens in the event of necessity, but always after the local Chancery Office has been duly notified. Can. 26 Since the past has shown that acephali and vagantes are a danger and a scandal to the Church, any cleric fostering or aiding and advising any cleric of this Church to solicit a transfer wherein there does not exist a valid assignment ready for him shall be subject to the penalties prescribed in these Canons for that offense. Can. 27 -- Clerics under censure are automatically excardinated by reason of judicial sentence and incardination is only refected at the expiration of the sentence of suspension or probation, whichever be the longest. During this period, they are to be deprived from all vote, both active and passive and are forbidden Faculties other than to say Mass in private. Can. 28 It is explicitly and expressly forbidden to allow any clergyman of any obedience other than that of the Old Catholic Communion of North America, Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox Churches within the Sanctuary at any time during Divine Services unless they are in the process of incardination or prior approval has been obtained from the Bishop Ordinary. Can. 29 Faculties and permission to say Mass are to be withheld in all cases where a visiting priest does not both display valid faculties, must have celebret enter his name and origin in a book to be provided for that purpose and kept in the sanctuary for the inspection of the Bishop Ordinary or his designate. Concerning the Rights and Privileges of Clerics Can. 30 All the Faithful owe the Clergy reverence according to their various ranks and offices and they become guilty of sacrilege if they do them personal harm. Can. 31 All cases against clerics, both Civil and Criminal must be brought into the Ecclesiastical Court. Can. 32 All Clerics and Religious, who enjoy the privilege of the Forum cannot be brought into, or sued in a Civil Court without the permission of the Bishop Ordinary. Such permission should not be refused if the suitor be a lay person and especially after his attempts to secure a settlement have failed. If Clerics have sued or been sued in Civil Court without the obtained permission, they may appear in Court in response to competent Civil Authority but they shall inform the Bishop Ordinary from whom the permission should have been obtained. Can. 33 There is no bar to the sacrament of Holy Orders for those men who are married. The married state is valid expression of the Christian life and ministry. Holy Order does not need to issue letters of dispensation. The Bishop Ordinary may grant a deacon, priest, or bishop the leave to contract marriage. Can. 36 Clerics are possessed of the Power in the sanctification of the Faithful by Sacred Rites and of Power of Jurisdiction to govern the Faithful for the fulfillment of the Supernatural Ends for which the Church was established. Can. 37 Clerics enjoy the privilege of Immunity from Military Service, which right is nominally respected in the United States. In time of grave national peril, clerics ought not to withhold their Sacred Ministrations even though they are not assigned Chaplaincies. Concerning the Obligations of Clerics Can. 38 The essential obligation of every Cleric constitutes the adherence to the Law of the Church, orthodoxy in the matter of Sacred Rites, the respect and obedience due their lawful superiors, the zealous guarding of Faith and Morality and the unceasing attention to their priestly office in caring for the immortal souls committed to his or her charge. Can. 39 The Bishop Ordinary of each diocese must take care that the clergy frequently go to Confession, make a daily meditation and visits the Blessed Sacrament, recite the Divine Office and Examen Conscientiae. Can. 41 All Clerics, but especially the priests, are under the solemn obligation and vow made at their ordination to obey and respect their Bishop Ordinary, in those dioceses whose sees are vacant, the Clergy are immediately subject to the Bishop Ordinary or the Diocesan Administrator delegated by the Presiding Bishop to exercise Jurisdiction. Can. 42 The Office imposed on clerics must be assiduously attended to as long as the Bishop judges that the needs of the Church require that particular service of the priest. Can. 43 The Clerics, after being Ordained Priests, must not neglect studies, but rather increase them, to the greater apologetic erudition of the Church and especially in the Sacred Sciences in which they should follow the sound doctrines handed down to us by the Fathers and universally received by the Undivided Church and they should avoid profane novelties of expression and that which is wrongfully called scientific or modern. Can. 44 All priests, even though they have a parochial charge, must undergo for three years after their ordination, an examination in the Sacred Sciences as outlined by the Bishop Ordinary. In the appointment to existing parishes or benefices, those ought to be preferred who excelled in the examinations. Can. 45 All clerics are bound to wear becoming clerical garb in accordance with the legitimate custom of places and in accordance with the instructions of the Ordinary. Clerics are not allowed to wear rings other than a simple wedding ring for married clergy or any ostentatious or eccentric articles of dress. Because of the condition in the United States which consists in the separation of Church and State, clerics will not wear the Religious habit as a matter of form off ecclesiastical property. Can. 46 The designated dress in public shall consist in the standard black suit and Clerical Collar. Can. 47 Clerics must abstain from all things unbecoming their state; they must not exercise unbecoming arts; nor medicine without an indult; nor play games of chance for money; nor carry weapons unless there be justified cause for fear; nor indulge in hunting with outcry and publicity; and under no circumstances, countenance or sponsor any benefit contiguous to Church property wherein alcoholic beverages are either dispensed, purveyed or sold. Can. 48 -- Alcoholic beverages should not be served as a matter of course in any rectory or Religious Institution, not for its intrinsic evil, but lest scandal touch the house and the person of the priest. This is not to be construed to include the common display of ordinary hospitality. Can. 49 Those occupations which are not unbecoming to the Clerical State, but which are foreign to it, the clergy must avoid. Can. 52 §1.The clergy must keep away from those performances, dances or shows which are unbecoming to the clergy and where it would be scandalous to see them attend. Despite the laudable custom of free admission granted by many of the operators of the establishments to members of the clergy, mere attendance is scandalous if the performance is such that the Church would be impugned by the attendance of the clerics. §2.Should there be a particularly worthwhile historical or educational event being displayed, shown or exhibited permission may be presumed, but for good taste, the cleric should never attend alone and never in company which would, of itself constitute scandal. There should always be a priest or cleric companion. Can. 53 Clerics shall not volunteer for Military Service without the permission of the Bishop Ordinary, Clerics must not take part in or help, aid or abet, any internal revolt or disturbance of public order, clerics in Minor Orders who volunteer for Military Service are ipso facto reduced to the lay estate without further process of Canon Law. Can. 54 Clerics who knowingly lend themselves to, join, participate in or otherwise render themselves culpable in any seditious, notorious organization, group, order, association, body or congregation, whose particular aims or intentions are proven or have been proven to be openly antagonistic to the Government of the United States or any local State or Civil Government are ipso facto suspended. Can. 55 All clerics entering the United States from a foreign country intending to permanently reside herein, after having been lawfully incardinated in accordance with those provisions of Canon Law, shall, within the period of 5 years, make formal Declaration of Intention to become United States Citizens and shall subsequently proceed in the manner prescribed by law. Can. 56 Clerics, even though they have no parish or benefice, are forbidden to be absent from their ecclesiastical domicile for a notable length of time without the express permission of the Ordinary. When such permission has been, in fact granted, reports of activities must be made at least every month during the period of lawful absence. Can. 57 Clerics are bound to fulfill their obligation imposed upon them by the Diocese in the matter of Cathedraticum and other assessments made upon them by Diocesan Vote. Poverty of a cleric will excuse him from this obligation upon affidavit to the Bishop Ordinary and formal written dispensation, but the cleric must make some contribution according to his means. Can. 58 Clerics assigned a parish or mission may not, of their own volition become inactive or inoperation. The clerics of the Church should ever, with unceasing diligence, labor for the good of the Church and the salvation of souls without regard for personal well-being. Clergy who are retired or are unable to work by reason of physical disability will be dispensed upon formal application to the Bishop Ordinary. Can. 59 Clerics are obliged by this Canon to be present at all clerical meetings called by the competent ecclesiastical authority designated to exercise jurisdiction over any particular area. Since the local Chapter of Deanery is the nucleus of combined effort and teamwork within the Church, the importance of constant intercommunication cannot be over-stressed. At those meetings, all matters pertaining to the welfare of that particular area and of the Church in General shall be discussed and appropriate action taken. Can. 60 It shall be the duty of the cleric appointed as secretary of the local Chapter, to forward, in duplicate a complete documentary transcript of the proceedings to the Chancery Office at the close of the meeting following its approval by signature of the responsible prelate or dean. Can. 61 It is the indispensable duty of all clerics to furnish prompt certified copies of all pertinent documents, Baptism and Death or Marriage Certificates, yearly Census reports and parish protocols to the Chancery for filing. Failure to keep adequate records may expose the clergy and laity to future inconvenience and possible disaster if those records be not readily available. Can. 62 The Archives of the Church shall consist of all documentary evidence of Census, Baptism, Confirmation, Ordination and Matrimonial matters; the transcripts of all ecclesiastical trials or disciplinary matters; the personnel records into of all clerics of the Church; documents of concordat or inter communion the duplicates of all balloted votes taken at diocesan meetings together with all historical and financial reports pertaining thereto and full and concise directions for the successor to the Bishop Ordinary should his untimely death occur. The Archives shall be contained a separate box, of a secure nature, locked by two keys, one to be held by the Bishop Ordinary and the other by his Vicar General. In this receptacle shall be kept all papers of a confidential nature. The Archives of the Church shall be made available to inspection and inventory by a committee appointed by the Bishop Ordinary during Diocesan Synod, wherein disposition may be made of outdated materials. These shall be destroyed by fire and a brief notation kept for the record. Can. 63 Due cautions shall be taken that no unauthorized person obtains any access to the Archives. Persons or Clerics removing any paper or document there from shall leave in its place a signed receipt, giving the date and purpose of removal and authority there for and his signature. He shall then become personally responsible for its safe return. Authority for such temporary removal shall be obtained from the Bishop Ordinary, or if, by reason of any inability to act, from the Vicar General. Can. 64 Ecclesiastical Offices cannot be obtained except by canonical appointment. By ecclesiastical or canonical appointment is understood the conferring of an office by the competent ecclesiastical authority, according to the Sacred Canons. Can. 65 Appointment to any office must be made in writing, duly attested by the Ordinary and Vicar General of the Diocese. Reduction of Clerics to the State of the Laity Can. 66 Though Sacred Ordination, once validly received cannot be invalidated, nevertheless a cleric in minor orders may be reduced to the state of the laity by rescript or sentence of the ecclesiastical court and finally by the penalty of degradation. Can. 67 A cleric in minor orders may be reduced to the state of the laity not only by the very fact of committing actions to which the law attaches loss of the clerical state, but also by his own free will under conditions wherein he requests the Ordinary to allow him to return to the lay estate; or the effect when he prudently judges that the cleric could not with due respect for the clerical state be promoted to Sacred Orders; or the cleric indulging in activity or delict which bring scandal and opprobrium on the Church, ipso facto relegating him to the lay estate without further process of Canon Law. The burden of proof shall be on the cleric. Can. 68 If a cleric in Minor Orders has for any reason returned to the State of the Laity, he can again be admitted to the Clergy with the permission of the Ordinary into whose Diocese he was incardinated by Orders. The Ordinary should, however, grant permission only if the cleric be blameless and worth of re-incardination and the cause for his reduction was not such that his moral character was affected. A period of probation should be designated and the cleric tested anew for his vocation. Can. 69 Clerics reduced to the Lay estate by delict or act of commission which is culpable under Canon Law is by this canon, perpetually impeded from ever again entering upon the clericate (the clerical order) with a view to future ordination but he may not be forbidden the sanctuary of a Religious House if he be penitent and desirous of expiating his delict. Can. 70 A cleric in Major Orders who has returned to the Lay Estate may not be readmitted to the Clericate except by Rescript from the Bishop Ordinary. This shall be deemed to include all cases not culpable under Canon Law. Can. 71 Clerics in Major Orders reduced to the State of the Laity by reason of judicial sentence are permanently enjoined from ever being Ordained further or exercising the Orders already received. The Impediment is, by its very nature perpetual. Dispensation may only be granted after a period of lengthy probation and the approval of the Bishop Ordinary. Can. 72 All clerics who have been legally reduced to the state of the laity or by permission granted for cause not affecting their moral character thereby lose all office, benefice, rights and privileges of the clericate and are forbidden to wear the cassock and other clerical apparel, they remain bound, however, by the Divine Office and in Major Orders. Minor clerics are not bound by the obligation to recite the office. THE HIERARCHY Can. 73 a -- The ecclesiastical Head of the collective Independent Catholic Church and all of its various dioceses and missions is the Presiding Bishop. The Presiding Bishop is chosen by the College of Bishops and will serve until death, eighty years of age, or voluntary resignation. The Presiding Bishop does NOT have ordinary jurisdiction over any particular diocese or church, but presides as convener of general church synods, meetings of the College of Bishops, and the Consecration of those selected to the episcopacy. Can. 73 b -- As Head of a Diocese, the Bishop Ordinary have the following rights of Jurisdiction over the particular geographical diocese they have been chosen for and is their right to the following:
THE BISHOPS Can. 74 The Bishops are successors to the Apostles and before a cleric is elevated to the Episcopate, proof must be furnished that the individual is worthy. Can. 75 The requisites for a candidate to the Episcopate are: He must have been ordained a priest for at least a reasonable time and must have exercised his sacerdotal orders within the Independent Catholic Church for the same length of time; he must be of good character, with piety and zeal for souls, prudent and otherwise qualified to perform the office of Bishop; he must be a Doctor or Licenciate in Theology or Canon Law in an institution of Learning approved by the Church or must submit to an examination in these Sacred Sciences. Can. 76 All those who are chosen, presented or designated for Consecration by persons who have the power to choose, or present or delegate must have the aforesaid qualifications. The College of Bishops shall have the right to pass judgment on the qualifications of any candidate for the Episcopate. Can. 77 The Bishop, unless he be an Auxiliary or Coadjutor shall have the Right and Duty to govern the Territory or Diocese assigned him. His jurisdiction shall extend to temporal as well as spiritual affairs and to this end he has legislative, judicial and coercive power which must be exercised in accordance with the laws of the Sacred Canons. Can. 78 Only those Bishops chosen by the Church at large and Consecrated by Episcopal Mandate and the College of Bishops may exercise the right of Jurisdiction. Can. 79 It is neither just or right that the Sacred Office of the Episcopate shall be obtained by independent consecration and the conditions as set forth in C. 78 shall, for all time, stand. Any cleric of this church, consecrated sub rosa by any Prelate of this or any other ecclesiastical jurisdiction is ipso facto permanently impeded from exercising the Episcopate or obtaining any office of authority or responsibility within the Church, is deprived of both active and passive voice and the Consecrating Prelate, is by his act of insubordination, ipso facto deprived of his office and is impeded from ever exercising his Episcopate within the church. The Impediment is perpetual. Can. 80 The Laws of the individual Bishops begin to bind immediately upon promulgation unless he provides otherwise. The method of promulgation is determined by the Bishops, the Canon on prescripts is valid herewith in the same sense. Can. 81 The Bishop must urge the observance of the Law and be an example to his clerics by his compliance and he cannot dispense from the General Law of the Church except as specifically and explicitly delegated by the Bishop Ordinary. Can. 82 Every Bishop shall make a monthly report of conditions within his diocese, such report to be published in the Acta Metropolitiani Sedis for the General Information of the Church at large where feasible. Can. 83 Such reports shall, in context follow the formulas as set forth by the Chancery Office of the Church in all respects. Can. 84 The Bishop must visit his entire Diocese at least once in every two years in person, or if legitimately dispensed by the College of Bishops, he may be delegated a Vicar Forane or other qualified prelate. CONCERNING COADJUTORS AND AUXILIARY BISHOPS Can. 85 The Coadjutor as a general rule, is given to a Bishop Ordinary with the right of succession, sometimes also to the See. The Bishop given as Coadjutor without the right of succession is called an Auxiliary Bishop. The Coadjutor Bishop with right of succession shall function in the role as Diocesan Vicar General by right. Can. 86 The rights of the Coadjutor given to the Bishop Ordinary are to be learned from the letters of appointment. Unless otherwise stated in the Apostolic Letters the Coadjutor given a Bishop who is quite incapacitated has all the rights and duties of the Bishop; in other cases he has only those rights delegated to him by the Ordinary of the Diocese. Can. 87 What the Coadjutor is able and willing to do, the Bishop Ordinary ought not to delegate to another. Can. 88 The Coadjutor has the duty to perform the Pontifical and other functions which the Bishop would have to perform himself as often as he is requested by the Bishop Ordinary and is able to attend to them. Can. 89 The Coadjutor with the Right of Succession becomes the Bishop Ordinary of the Diocese at the exact time the office becomes vacant or upon the decease of the Bishop Ordinary, provided he took legitimate possession of his office after Canonical appointment. Can. 90 The Office of the Auxiliary expires with the Office of the Bishop, unless it is stated otherwise in the Apostolic Letters or appointment. Can. 93 The Bishop Ordinary shall be designated as The Most Reverend Father and the Coadjutor Bishop shall be designated also as The Most Reverend Father in all written correspondence. CONCERNING CHURCH & DIOCESAN ORGANIZATION Can. 105 The legal title of the Church is "The Independent Catholic Church". Can. 106 The Church is constituted of the Bishops, the Clergy and Laity. The Presiding Bishop with the entire College of Bishops are the heads of the Church and all must render them the respect due the high position entrusted to them. Can. 107 The Sacred Consistorial Congregation shall be composed of the College of Bishops and such clergy as they shall appoint to assist them. Can. 108 The Sacred Consistorial Congregation shall have the authority and the power to govern the Church and enact intermediate laws pending the next convened General Church Synod. They shall act as the Ecclesiastical Court and all petitions for Rescripts, Dispensations, Offices, Benefices or Directions involving the Church shall be addressed to them. They shall contain the offices of the Penitentiary, Holy Office, Sacraments, Propaganda Fidei and Oriental Congregations existing in the Church today. Can. 109 In those cases referred to them by Canon Law for adjudication, they shall be the Court of Appeal. The Presiding Bishop is Ex Officio President of the congregation and constitutes the Court of Last Appeal. Can. 110 Upon his Consecration, a Bishop automatically is seated in the Consistory and is entitled to Active and Passive Voice in its deliberations. Can. 111 The Consistory shall keep record of and ratify all Document of Import affecting the Church for the Archives. They shall issue certified copies of any Documents of Import as needed and shall issue all of the Acts of the College of Bishops. Can. 112 In the months intervening between the regular Church Synods, it shall be the duty of the Consistory to administer the Church as a legislative and judicial body under the direction of the Presiding Bishop. Can. 115 The Diocesan Chancery Office shall be directed by the Bishop Ordinary and shall consist of such priest assistants as may be necessary to properly conduct the business of the Office. Can. 116 It shall be the duty of the Chancery Office to receive and process all Church correspondence relative to the Order and its lawful business, to receive and care for, all reports and certificates of Death, Marriage, Baptism and Ordination, Confirmation and any other papers necessary or expedient for the proper conduct of business within the Order’s Jurisdiction. Can. 117 The Chancery Office shall, at the earliest possible time after the Blessing of the Holy Oils, forward them, by Registered Mail or personal courier to the Priests of the Church. Can. 118 Any and all correspondence relative to Church Business shall be addressed to the Chancery Office and marked for attention to the concerned individual or Prelate. There shall be no deviation from this procedure. A self-addressed, stamped envelope shall be enclosed at all times for convenience in reply and large enough to accommodate the expected papers in return. Can. 119 Any of the Acts of the Bishop Ordinary, public documents or matter of import to the Church at large shall emanate and be published via the official publication of the Church and the Report of the Chancery Office issued monthly by the Chancellor. Can. 120 The Monthly Report of the Chancery shall contain such pertinent information for the clergy at large, thus eliminating unnecessary correspondence, as may be expedient or necessary for the transaction of Church Business. Can. 121 The Chancery Office shall issue an Ordo of Divine Services with the Proper of the time and a designation of the Oratio Imperata; a directory of the Church, giving all pertinent data of the approved clergy and religious, such directory to be circulated within the Church alone and not to be available to casual inquirers. Such of these directories as are distributed shall be kept up to date. Can. 122 Each adult parishioner of parishes under the jurisdiction of the Order shall contribute the sum of one dollar per year, such contribution to be placed in the Order Treasury as a standing fund for the Chancery Office and they shall be given in return, all duplication of Marriage, Baptism, Confirmation certificates without further fee and shall be entitled to obtain any necessary rescripts without benefit of further charge. Can. 124 A yearly Financial Report shall be made to the Clergy and laity, and shall emanate from the Chancery Office. It shall be certified by the Bishop Ordinary. Can. 127 The Bishop Ordinary should not delay the appointment of a pastor to a vacant parish for more than six months, unless peculiar circumstances of place and persons induce the Bishop Ordinary to delay the conferring of the pastorate. Can. 128 The Bishop Ordinary is bound in conscience to give the Parish to the cleric best qualified without favoritism. Can. 129 The function reserved to the Pastor unless the Law states otherwise are:
Can. 130 If the Pastor be obliged to leave the Parish because of some very urgent business and must be away for over a week he shall, as soon as possible inform the Bishop Ordinary by letter of the facts and shall state what priest he has left in charge. Can. 131 Also, in cases where the priest is away from the Church for less than a week, he must provide for the wants of the people, especially when particular circumstances of the parish demands attention. Can. 132 The Pastor must celebrate the Divine Offices, administer the Sacraments, become acquainted with the people and increase the fold, by conversion and example, admonish the erring, counsel the straying, assist the poor and sick and give especial care to the instruction of Children in the Catholic Faith. Can. 133 The Pastor must keep accurate, standing records of Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage, Deceased, Holy Orders and the Special Book of Mass Intentions and Visiting Clergy who may have said Mass in the Church. He should take care to have the census book as correct as possible and he shall keep these books with great care and according to the instructions of the Bishop. Can. 134 In the Baptismal Record should be inserted a notice regarding Confirmation and Marriage or Admission to Holy Orders or Solemn Profession. When issuing Baptismal Certificates, these facts should always be mentioned on the Certificates. Duplicates of all certificates shall be sent to the Chancery Office immediately upon entering in the Parish Records. Can. 135 The Pastor should have a parochial seal and a safe place for the above mentioned books and documents where he should also keep the parish files for reference at some future time or in case of his decease. CONCERNING THE OBLIGATIONS AND PRIVILEGES OF CLERICS Can. 169 All clerics are bound by the obligation to pursue the Sacred Sciences of Moral and Pastoral Theology, Canon Law, Liturgics and Sacred Scriptures for the period as designated by the Rector of the Seminary. Can. 170 The preliminary studies of Philosophy and the profane sciences should precede the Major Seminary. Can. 171 All Clerics and Religious shall recite some form of the Divine Office without exception every day, from the day of their incardination. Can. 172 Religious in a Community have the obligation to recite the Office in Choir and in all parishes where there are three priests or more, the Office shall customarily be recited in unison. CONCERNING THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY ORDERS Can. 181 Only Baptized men can receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders to the office of Deacon, Priest (Presbyter) or the Episcopacy. For the licit reception of the Sacrament, the candidate must have the qualifications as deemed necessary by the Bishop Ordinary, be of the highest moral and spiritual character and be not addicted to frivolous nature. Can. 185 The Canonical intervals shall be observed and no Bishop may dispense from them without the written permission of the Bishop Ordinary. Can. 186 In Order that a candidate may be licitly ordained, he must: 1. Have been Baptized and Confirmed. 2. Possess good moral character and reputation. 3. Be of the canonical age. 4. Possess the requisite knowledge. 5. Received the prior orders. 6. Have observed the proper intervals between orders. 7. Posses an absolute canonical title or benefice if it is a question of major orders. Can. 187 The Subdiaconate shall not be conferred before the 21st year, the Diaconate before the completed 22nd, and the Priesthood before the 24th year. Can. 188 The Orders must be given in proper succession and the omission of any is forbidden. Can. 189 The following are irregular ex defectu: Bodily defectives, epileptics, insane and possessed, persons notorious or infamous, those previously as candidates who apostatized. The impediment is perpetual, unless dispensed by authority of the Episcopal Protector & Minister Servant or Order of Bishops. Can. 190 Every candidate, before he is ordained must pass an examination for the Order to be conferred. The Episcopal Protector is the examiner, or he may designate the Orderical Examiners. Can. 192 In conferring Holy Orders, all the prescriptions of the Pontificale Romanum must be meticulously observed. If the use of a vernacular language is authorized by the Episcopal Protector & Minister Servant in individual cases, it must be an exact and full translation from the Latin Pontificale. No other rite for the conferring of Holy Orders shall be tolerated. Can. 193 There is to be no addition or subtraction with the exception of oaths to the Roman Pontiff. Can. 194 The Mass of Ordination must be said by the Bishop ordaining or consecrating. To this there can be no exception. Can. 195 All those ordained are obliged to receive Holy Communion during the Mass of their Ordination. Can. 196 All Ordinations and Consecrations shall be performed on the days prescribed by ecclesiastical custom. Can. 197 Whenever an Ordination is to be repeated for defect, or subconditionally, it may be done outside the regular times and in secret. Can. 198 Authentic certification of the Orders shall be given the Ordinands by the Ordinary and adequate record made in the archives of the Church. Can. 199 There will not, in the future and for all times, be any Ordination or Consecrations of any person not intending to exercise those orders in the Independent Catholic Church. Violation of this canon is punishable by excommunication of both the Ordaining Prelate and the Ordinand. Can. 201 Any person ordaining or consecrating without the approval of the Bishop Ordinary or the College of Bishops is ipso facto excommunicated and forever impeded from ever exercising his orders. CONCERNING THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM Can. 202 The Sacrament of Baptism is conferred following the Eastern and Western Rites according to the customary matter and form. Any person may baptize in danger of death. Can. 204 The ordinary minister of Baptism is the priest. The extra-ordinary minister is deacons or the laity. Deacons may baptize solemnly however, with permission of their superiors. CONCERNING THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION Can. 205 The Bishops are the ordinary ministers of Confirmation. Priests may be delegated to perform the Sacrament in case of grace necessity. Can. 206 The Sacrament should be administered yearly or at least every two years in all parishes and missions. The pastors should attend to the catechetical instruction of the candidates and have them prepared in due times. Can. 207 The Sacrament should be administered prior to the nuptial ceremonies if the partners have not received it before that time. Can. 208 Certification shall be made of all Confirmations and proper entry made in the archives of the Chancery and parish. CONCERNING THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY EUCHARIST Can. 209 The Sacrament of Holy Eucharist shall be given at the age of reason following adequate preparation. Pastors will attend to the instruction or it may be delegated to lay catechists with prior approval. Can. 211 The Sacrament of the Eucharist should be refused to notorious sinners until they repent, the immodestly dressed or those possessing sentences of interdict or suspension or excommunication. Can. 212 Children should receive adequate instruction through their pastor or designated Catechists in Catechism prior to the reception of the Sacrament. Can. 213 The Holy Eucharist should be received frequently in accordance with the most ancient of traditions for the spiritual wealth and grace it affords. Can. 214 The Sacrament of the Eucharist shall be administered in the manner of the Rite utilized, the laudable practice of giving the Species under both forms will be used. The reception of Communion by either Oriental Rite or Roman Rite laity in an opposite Rite is allowed and encouraged wherever necessary. PART THREE Can. 215 In the event of the Demise of the Bishop Ordinary and his Coadjutor concurrently, all Church property real or otherwise, all Church books and records will be administered by the Vicar General of Record of the Diocese until he fulfills the requirements of Canon 216. The Vicar General will retain his administrative authority until a new Bishop Ordinary has been chosen, consecrated and installed. Can. 216 The Vicar General of the Diocese where conditions exist as stated in Canon 215, shall convene a special Synod of the Bishops, Priests and Deacons within 30 days of the occasion of conditions in Canon 215. The purpose of the special Synod shall be only that to choose from among the ordained according to the requisites of Canon 75. Can. 217 Those clergy and Prelates found not in compliance with the requirements of Canons 215 and 216 will be suspended ipso facto. Can. 218 Canons dealing with the election of the Bishop Ordinary as stated in Canons 215 and 216 and 217 are of a permanent and irrevocable nature and no future Bishop Ordinary may suspend or change them. |
Code of Canon Law
The Independent Old Catholic Church USA - Member of the Old Catholic Communion of North America
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