Ecclesiastical crime
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An ecclesiastical crime is a crime (delictum) related to the clergy where the crime is against canon law vis-à-vis civil law.
The crime of simony is the ecclesiastical crime of paying for offices or positions in the hierarchy of a church. The crimes of schism[1] and heresy are also ecclesiastical crimes.
Older examples include "perjury", the breaking of a promissory oath (contractual promises made by oath or pledge of faith), and this was treated as an ecclesiastical crime[citation needed]. Some crimes have or have had both an ecclesiastical and a civil element to the crime; suicide[citation needed] and witches[2] are counted here.
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The term is also specifically used today for misappropriation of donation monies. In the International Bulletin of Missionary Research,[3] January 2009, David B. Barrett, Todd M. Johnson, Peter F Crossing, in a study titled, "Christian World Communions: Five Overviews of Global Christianity, AD 1800–2025", show that "ecclesiastical crime" is growing at 5.77% per annum and in mid-2009 is estimated to be US$27 billion on a total "giving to Christian causes" of $410 Billion. Unchecked this crime will be valued at $65 Billion by 2025.[4]
See also[edit]
- Ecclesiastical courts
- Ecclesiastical ordinances
- Ecclesiastical prison
- Canon law
- Sacrament of Penance
References[edit]
- ^ [1] Archived 2007-03-10 at the Wayback Machine The deep wound of schism in the archdiocese, Archbishop Raymond L. Burke - schism in context of the St. Stanislaus Kostka Church (Saint Louis)
- ^ [2] Malleus Maleficarum - discusses who tries witches: balancing "Heresy" and "temporal injuries"
- ^ International Bulletin of Missionary Research, Issue 33:1, January 2009
- ^ [3] Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine (PDF) Extract from International Bulletin of Missionary Research, Vol. 33, No. 1
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