The Validity of Confessions and Marriages
in the chapels of the Society of St. Pius X

A CANONICAL STUDY

by Rev. Ramón Anglés

4. EXTRAORDINARY JURISDICTION IN DANGER OF DEATH

4.1. THE CANONS IN ENGLISH

4.1.1. CONCERNING CONFESSIONS

* In danger of death, all priests, although not approved for confessions, can validly and licitly absolve any penitent from any sins and censures, though reserved and notorious, even if an approved priest is present. (Canon 882)

* Even though he lacks the faculty to hear confessions, any priest validly and licitly absolves from any kind of censures and sins any penitent who is in danger of death, even if an approved priest is present. (New Code Canon 976)

4.1.2. CONCERNING MARRIAGE

* If the pastor or the local Ordinary or a priest delegated by either, who should according to Canons 1095, 1096 assist at the marriage, cannot be had, or the parties cannot go to him without great inconvenience:

#1. In danger of death, marriage will be validly and licitly contracted in the presence of only two witnesses.

#2. ...if there is at hand another priest who can be present, he should be called and he should assist at the marriage together with the witnesses. (Canon 1098)

* #1. If the presence of or access to a person who is competent to assist at marriage in accord with the norm of law is impossible without serious inconvenience, persons intending to enter a true marriage can validly and licitly contract it before witnesses alone:

                1. In danger of death;

#2. ...if another priest or deacon who can be present is readily available, he must be called upon and must be present at the celebration of the marriage, along with the witnesses. (New Code Canon 1116)

4.1.3. CONCERNING CONFIRMATION

* The law itself gives the faculty to administer confirmation:
#3. to those who are in danger of death, the parish priest, or even any priest. (New Code Canon 883)

4.2. NOTIONS

Is it necessary to explain what is DANGER OF DEATH? Yes, because there may be some misunderstandings in the matter.

The Church in her legislation is always faithful to the axiom Sacramenta propter homines, and she extremes her zeal so that nobody dies without confession, for lack of faculties in a priest. This is why her legislation disposes that when one of the faithful is in danger of death, ALL PRIESTS (including excommunicated, suspended, interdicted, non approved, irregulars, heretics, schismatics, reduced to the lay state, even degraded from their priestly office) can absolve VALIDLY and almost always LICITLY from any sin and censure, even though an approved confessor may also be present.

According to this ancient and important norm, which we can already see explicitly in the Council of Trent, sess. 14 ch. 7 (Denz.-Sch.1688), it is sufficient that a cleric has validly received the sacred order of priesthood for him to obtain in this particular case full powers of jurisdiction, delegated by the Roman Pontiff through the law; and the concomitance of the two elements ORDER+JURISDICTION makes a minister capable of absolving.

On the subject’s part it is required to be in DANGER OF DEATH. Danger of death is not here to be understood as "danger of spiritual death," as some erroneously affirm. The law refers to a danger of physical death, the separation of body and soul. The reference to "spiritual death by sin" is in this matter totally gratuitous and misleading. "Danger of death" does not mean either that the person should be in his agony, which is no longer called periculum mortis but articulum mortis. It is enough for him to be in a true danger, in which one can reasonably assume that death may follow soon, or even that he may lose permanently the use of his reason, becoming incapacitated to make his confession.

The cause of this danger of death can be INTRINSICAL (illness, old age, etc.) and also EXTRINSIC (war, grave surgery, imminent disaster, etc.). In case of doubt concerning the estimation of the motive, the priest can nevertheless validly absolve on the grounds of supplied jurisdiction in case of positive and probable doubt, as we already saw in the precedent article commenting Canon 209.

Please note that the danger of death has canonical consequences not only for confessions. The New Code allows ANY PRIEST to administer the Sacrament of Confirmation to any faithful in DANGER of death (see above, New Code Canon 883), and both legislations permit the extraordinary form of marriage in case of danger of death of at least one of the parties (see Canon 1098, New Code Canon 1116). We will study the special conditions for this particular case in the next article.

We find both confirmation and clarification of this doctrine in the texts of canonists and in the decrees of the Sacred Penitentiary:

* Gomez, De Censuris in Genere, 1955, Cann. 2241-2251: Periculum mortis significat illud discrimen vitae in quo quis constitui potest, ita tamen ut superesse vel occumbere, est vere graviterque probabile. Adest proinde PRUDENS TIMOR de morte imminenti, quin requiratur ut sit certa quia tunc persona dicitur versari in articulo mortis. Huiusmodi autem periculum provenire potest ex causa intrinseca, v.g. ex morbo, vulnere inflicto, vel ex causa extrinseca, v.g. ex bello, terremotu, incendio, navigatione periculosa, operatione chirurgica, etc.

* Van Kol, op. cit., # 663: Periculum mortis habetur in omnibus casibus, in quibus rationabiliter timetur alterutrum saltem nupturientem moriturum esse vel sensibus destitutum iri, antequam testis qualificatus adesse vel adiri poterit. In hisce circumstantiis matrimonium valide coram solis duobus testibus celebratur, etiamsi iudicium de periculo mortis forte erroneum sit. Non refert quaenam sit causa timoris: morbus, incisio chirurgica, exsecutio poenae capitis, pugna, incursio aeria, inundatio, tempestas, etc.

* Regatillo and Zalba, op. cit., #930: Periculum ex quavis causa, ut morbo, proelio, sufficit ut alterutri immineat. Moraliter aestimandum; error in aestimatione periculi valori nuptiarum non officit, nisi fuerit omnino imprudenter iudicatum aut prorsus fucatum. NULLA CAUSA requiritur ad matrimonium sic contrahendum, sicut requiritur as impedimentorum dispensationem (c.1043).

* Sacred Penitentiary, 18 March 1912 and 29 May 1915, Acta Apostolicae Sedis 7-282, in Bouscaren 1, p. 411: Every soldier who is in a state of warlike assembly, or "mobilization" as it is called, can ipso facto be considered as in danger of death, so that he can be absolved by any priest he meets.

4.3. APPLICATION TO OUR CASE

The practical application of the Canons indicated in 4.1. is obvious:

* when one of the faithful is in danger of death, even though another approved priest may be present, any priest will absolve him validly and licitly from all censures and sins;

* in danger of death, any priest can administer Confirmation, using the chrism previously blessed by the Bishop;

* in the same danger, and as long as the conditions required by the law are fulfilled (see next article for further explanation), any priest can bless a marriage.

Our priests will find many opportunities in the performance of their apostolate to confess people in danger of death (especially the old and the sick). In cases of baptism of emergency because of danger of death for the child, they will do well in using the extraordinary faculty allowing a simple priest to administer Confirmation, which after all is a necessary Sacrament necessitate praecepti.