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Bible Encyclopedias
Reserved Cases
The Catholic Encyclopedia
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A term used for sins whose absolution is not within the power of every confessor, but is reserved to himself by the superior of the confessor, or only specially granted to some other confessor by that superior. To reserve a case is then to refuse jurisdiction for the absolution of a certain sin. Christ gave power to the rulers of His Church to make such reservations: "Whose sins you shall retain they are retained" (John 20:23). The reservation of sins presupposes jurisdiction, and therefore the pope alone can make reservation for the whole Church; bishops can do the same for their diocese only, and certain regular prelates for their religious subjects. That a sin be reserved it must be mortal, external, and consummated. If a sin be reserved in one diocese, and a penitent, without the intention of evading the law, confess to a priest in another diocese where the sin is not reserved, the latter may absolve the reserved sin. Cases are reserved either
- merely on account of the sin itself, that is without censure, or
- on account of the censure attached to it.
If a penitent be in danger of death, any
priest can absolve him, both from reserved censures and reserved
sins. In case of reserved censures, if he recover, he must later present himself to the one having special power for reserved censures, unless the case was simply reserved to the
pope. As to reserved
sins, he need not, as a general rule, present himself again after convalescence. In a case of urgent
necessity, when it is not possible to have recourse to the proper superior, an ordinary
priest may absolve a penitent, directly from unreserved
sins and indirectly from episcopal reserved cases, but the penitent must afterwards apply to the
person having power to absolve from the reservation. If there were also
papal reservations, either simple or special, the
absolution is direct, but in case of special reservations to the
pope a relation must be made to the
Holy See that its mandates on the subject may be obtained.
Ignorance of a censure prevents its being incurred, but
moralists dispute whether
ignorance of a reservation, with or without censure, excuses from its incurrence. If it be a case with censure reserved to the
pope, all agree that
ignorance does excuse from it; if reserved to a
bishop, it is controverted. Some
moralists hold that
ignorance excuses from all reservations, whether with or without censure. It is
certain, however, that a
bishop has authority to declare that
ignorance of a reservation does not prevent its incurrence in his
diocese.
Sources
SMITH, Elements of Ecclesiastical Law, I (New York, 1895); TAUNTON, The Law of the Church (London, 1906); LEHMKUHL, Theologia Moralis (Freiburg, 1910); SLATER, Manual or Moral Theology (New York, 1909).
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Bibliography Information
Obstat, Nihil. Lafort, Remy, Censor. Entry for 'Reserved Cases'. The Catholic Encyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/​encyclopedias/​eng/​tce/​r/reserved-cases.html. Robert Appleton Company. New York. 1914.