Approbation

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Approbation is an act by which abishop or other legitimate superior grants to an ecclesiastic the actual exercise of his ministry. The plenitude ofecclesiastical power given byChrist to HisApostles resides solely in thebishops. From thebishop, as the centre of theChristian community, depend the government and care ofsouls, namely, the dispensing ofdoctrine and of thesacraments. The helpers with whose aid thebishop exercises his pastoral ministry are theparishpriests, their vicars and co-workers. These possess the power by virtue of the episcopal delegation, transmitted by means of many acts differing one from the other. The permanent capability and the appointment to the service of theChurch in general are transmitted by means ofHoly orders. The actual appointment to the exercise of ministry in a determined sphere springs from the conferring of anecclesiastical office which, in accord with the spirit of theChurch, is recognized as a permanent charge, and hence should not be given except after a specialproof of fitness by him who is invested therewith. Even when apriest, byHoly orders and appointment to a charge, is made capable of the pastoral ministry and is assigned to it, the exercise of the transmitted power still depends upon the will and faithfulness of the mandatory; and at the same time other extensive variable circumstances, v. g. the actual situation of theChurch or the spirit of the times, may determine now an extension, now a restriction, and at times suspension or revocation of the delegated power. From this it follows that, besides orders and the appointment to a charge, a special act of delegation isnecessary for the actual exercise of the pastoral ministry. Hence the word approbation is appropriate to keep the co-workers of thebishop alert, to remind them of their dependence, to give thebishop greater facility to exercise his right of watchfulness, and to keep each one within the proper limits of hisjurisdiction. The absolute necessity of approbation, especially for administering theSacrament of Penance, was expressly decreed by theCouncil of Trent (Sess. XXIII, XV, De ref.), so that, except in the case of imminent death, theabsolution by apriest not approved would be invalid. This approbation for theSacrament of Penance is the judicial declaration of the legitimate superior that a certainpriest is fit to hear, and has the faculties to hear, the confession of his subjects. TheCouncil of Trent, quoted above, decrees: "Althoughpriests receive in theirordination the power of absolving fromsins, nevertheless the Holy Synod ordains that no one, even though he be a regular, is able to hear the confessions of seculars, not even ofpriests, and that he is not to be reputed fit thereunto, unless he either holds aparochialbenefice or is, by thebishops, after an examination if they shall think itnecessary, or in some other way, judged fit and has obtained their approbation, which shall be granted gratuitously — any privileges and custom whatsoever, though immemorial, to the contrary notwithstanding." This is the basis of the actual discipline everywhere. Francisco Suárez (De Pœn., disp. xxviii, sect. 3, tract. xxi) says that before theCouncil of Trent aparishpriest by law could validly and lawfully givejurisdiction to anypriest who had the proper qualifications of the natural anddivine law to hearconfessions, without approbation orjurisdiction from thebishop. TheCouncil of Trent withdrew this by its requirement of the approbation of thebishop. Aparishpriest has from his "parochialbenefice" the implied approbation of thebishop and ordinary power to hear the confessions of his own parishioners, even outside hisparish or diocese.

Bybishop is meant also hisvicar-general, or thevicar-capitular or administrator during the vacancy of a see, also any regularprelate having ordinaryjurisdiction over a certain territory. This approbation may be given orally or in writing, and may be given indirectly, as when, for instance,priests receive power to choose in their own diocese an approvedpriest of another diocese for their confessor. Thebishop may wrongfully but validly refuse his approbation, without which nopriest may hearconfessions. Approbation ceases at the time fixed, by revocation of thebishop, if attached to abenefice; by the loss of thebenefice; also by censure, if inflicted publicly; if the censure is inflicted privately, the exercise ofjurisdiction is unlawful but valid. Thepope may grant thisjurisdiction to those who have the essential requirements in any part of the world, and to whomsoever he thinks fit. Abishop may grant it likewise in his own diocese, and superiors of regulars to their subjects. By custom an approvedpriest absolves validly in any part of thediocese in which he is approved. An approved confessor may hear the confessions of those coming from another diocese who come ingood faith, and notfraudulently to escape the reservations of their own diocese. An approved confessor may absolve from the cases "reserved" in another diocese, but not from those reserved in his own diocese. A confessor'sjurisdiction may be restricted to various classes ofpersons, e.g. to children, or to men, without theright to hearwomen. A special approbation is required to hearnuns orwomen ofreligious communities, and this extends with modifications to all communities of recognized sisterhoods. A confessor approved for oneconvent is not presumed to be approved for all. A confessor having temporaryjurisdiction for "reserved cases" may continue to exercise it in any case begun before the lapse of the appointed time. Thepriest travelling on the high seas, if he be approved by his own ordinary, may validly hear the confessions of any of his companions during the whole journey, even if from time to time the vessel put into a port or ports outside thejurisdiction of said ordinary (S. C. Inq., 4 April, 1900).

Approbation given in a general way does not cease at the death of the giver. Approbation may be made revocable, and restricted to a place, time, andpersons, according to the judgment of abishop. By thedecree quoted of theCouncil of Trent, regulars must obtain the approbation of thebishops to hear the confessions of seculars, even ofpriests. This special clause was inserted to put an end to controversies that had arisen from privileges granted to the regulars. In 1215 theFourth Lateran Council had decreed that all the faithful of either sex who had reached the use of reason should confess to their own (parish)priest at least once a year. If any should wish to confess to anotherpriest, permission should be obtained from their ownpriest; otherwise, theabsolution should be void. Shortly after this council thepopes granted many privileges to the members of theFranciscan andDominican Orders offriars lately established, and exhorted thebishops to allow them to preach in public squares or churches and to hearconfessions in theirdioceses. Dissensions between thefriars and thesecular clergy brought fromBoniface VIII, in 1299, an edict requiring a request to thebishop that certain selectedfriars should receive permission to hearconfessions. If thebishops refused, he by his plenary power authorized thefriars to hearconfessions to the same extent as theparishpriests.Benedict XI, in 1304, increased this privilege, butClement V, in 1311, restricted the privileges to those granted byBoniface VIII. At times the dissensions and disputes in the various countries ofEurope between thebishops andsecular priests and thefriars became very heated. An interesting account of the extent of these controversies inEngland andIreland occurs in the "Catholic University Bulletin" (April, 1905, 195 sqq.), which gives the details of the arraignment of themendicant friars by the celebrated Fitz-Ralph,Archbishop ofArmagh, in 1357, beforeInnocent VI atAvignon. TheCouncil of Trent undertook to remedy these troubles by restricting the privileges of the regulars, mainly in those things connected with the care ofsouls and the administration of thesacraments, which it sought to replace directly under the control of thebishops. The privileges of themendicant friars had been extended to other orders; in particular, to theSociety of Jesus.

During the period of Queen Elizabeth'spersecution ofCatholics anarchpriest was appointed byRome with episcopal authority to govern thesecular priests who remained inEngland. Bydecree ofUrban VIII, 6 May, 1631, regulars, especiallyJesuits, were exempted from hisjurisdiction; they derived through their own superiors authority from the Pope to hearconfessions and to administer the othersacraments. Yet for elsewhereUrban VIII insisted upon the legislation of theCouncil of Trent, as is shown by hisBull of 12 Sept., 1628: "We recall, annul from all colleges, chapters, religioussocieties, even theSociety of Jesus, allindults to hearconfessions without examination by the ordinary." InEngland the claim was made that thearchpriest was not the ordinary in a canonical sense. This continued even after theHoly See, in 1623, had appointed asvicar Apostolic abishop who should have the authority of an ordinary. Finally, in 1688, fourvicars Apostolic were appointed. Bydecree ofInnocent XII (Constit. 80, 6 October, 1696) "all regulars, evenJesuits andBenedictines, were to be subject to the vicar in whose district they were, for approbation with regard to hearingconfessions, for thecure of souls and for allparochial offices." Somedoubts arose how farvicars Apostolic should be entitled to therights given tobishops by theCouncil of Trent.Benedict XIV, by hisBull "Apostolicum Ministerium" drawn up for theChurch inEngland (30 May, 1753), sought to put an end to these controversies by declaring that "the religious in accord with the regulations of theCouncil of Trent must submit themselves to the examination and receive the permission of the ordinary to hearconfessions of thelaity — all missionaries both secular and religious in the administration of the Sacraments andparochialduty to be subject to thejurisdiction, visitation, and correction of their respectivevicars Apostolic".

Not a fewtheologians of note still claim that confessors belonging to the regular orders havejurisdiction from thepope over the faithful generally in the tribunal of penance, the approbation of thebishop having been obtained. These seem to hold that the approbation is mainly the declaration of thebishop that apriest is fit to hearconfessions. However, it is well to note the definition and explanation of approbation given byBenedict XIV in thisBull: "Approbation embraces two acts of which the first is of theintellect and the second of the will. It belongs to theintellect to determine that the examinedpriest is, because of the proper andnecessaryknowledge, fitted for the office of hearingconfessions. It, however, belongs only to the will to give the free and full faculty to hearconfessions and to pass judgment upon him who is submitted to the approver. The first is done by the examiner on whose fidelity and honesty he relies who gives the faculty to hearconfessions within the district assigned to him. The second immediately proceeds from the superior himself to whom it belongs to grant the faculty" (§ 8). Regulars certainly derive theirjurisdiction over those of their own communities and permanent households through their own superiors, independently of thebishop. This privilege granted by theHoly See is probably founded on the principle that the superiors of regulars, having an office or charge with the care ofsouls annexed, should have ordinaryjurisdiction over their subjects. (See RELIGIOUS ORDERS.)

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