Reserved Cases

A term used for sins whose absolution is not within the power of every confessor

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).