(c) According to a still stricter view, no public assignment to worship is necessary, whether the consecration be personal or non-personal, and hence even the violation of a vow to fast would be sacrilegious. The argument is that anything set apart for God’s honor, either publicly or privately, becomes sacred to Him.
2310. Is Sacrilege a Special Sin?—(a) As regards its matter or subject sacrilege may be called, though improperly, a general sin, in the sense that many different classes of sins may be sacrilegious (e.g., murder is sacrilegious when a sacred person is killed, lust is sacrilegious when a person vowed to God is violated; theft is sacrilegious when objects consecrated to divine worship are stolen, etc.).
(b) As regards its form or essence, and hence properly speaking, sacrilege is a special sin, because there is a peculiar deformity contained in the very nature of sacrilege that is not in other sins, namely, the disrespect shown to God through contempt for things that are sacred to Him. Moreover, there may be a sin of sacrilege that is separate from other sins, such as murder, lust, and theft, for example, when the right of asylum is violated.
2311. The Species of Sacrilege.—(a) Personal sacrilege is committed when the sacredness of a person is violated. This happens in the first place when bodily or real harm (e.g., gravely sinful striking, citing before a secular tribunal, subjecting to civil duties or burdens, such as military service) is done to a cleric; and in the second place when a grave sin of unchastity is committed by or with a person dedicated to God by a vow (at least by a public vow) of chastity. Sacrilege committed through bodily or real harm is treated by canonists under the questions of the privileges of canon (Canon 119), forum (Canon 120), immunity (Canon 121). Sacrilegious impurity committed with a person vowed to chastity and sacrilegious impurity committed by a person vowed to chastity are grave sins of lust, even though they be only of thought or desire.
(b) Local sacrilege is committed when the sacredness of a place is injured. A place is considered sacred or religious when it possesses sanctity as being consecrated or blessed for divine worship or for burial of the faithful, namely, churches, public or semi-public oratories, and consecrated cemeteries. Injury is done to the holiness of the place by desecration or profanation. Desecration is the performance in a sacred place of a notorious act of irreverence which so spiritually contaminates it that the divine offices may not be lawfully celebrated therein until the rite of reconciliation has been performed. Canon 1172 enumerates four causes of desecration: the crime of homicide; the injurious and serious shedding of human blood; impious or sordid uses (e.g., if a church were turned into a brothel or gambling den, a dump, or cattle stable), and burial of an infidel or person excommunicated by condemnatory or declaratory sentence. Profanation of a sacred place is a disregard for the religious respect or immunity due to it which in some way materially contaminates it (e.g., if a church is not kept nice and clean; if markets and fairs are held in its precincts; if it is used for shows, plays, moving pictures, banquets, court proceedings; if the right of asylum is violated; if the church is broken into, seriously defaced, burned). These matters are treated more fully in commentaries on Canons 1172 sqq.
(c) Real sacrilege is committed when the sacredness of an object is violated. An object is sacred when it contains the Author of holiness or confers holiness (viz., the Eucharist and the other Sacraments), when it is naturally related to the Sacraments or sacred persons (e.g., the sacred vessels, images and relics of the Saints), when it is set aside for the uses of worship (e.g., holy water and other sacramentals, candles for the altar) or the maintenance of the Church or its ministers (viz., movables and immovables of a parish, money left for the support of the clergy, seminarians, etc.). Injury is done to the holiness of an object by unworthy treatment or by unjust damage or conversion. Examples of unworthy treatment are the following: the invalid or sinful administration or reception of a Sacrament, parodies of Sacred Scripture, scandalous manner of enacting sacred rites or saying prayers, use of sacred chalices or other sacred vessels or of blessed articles for profane purposes, use of unblessed holy articles for sordid or ignoble purposes, handling of chalices, etc., by those who have no right to touch sacred vessels (Canon 1306). Examples of unjust damage or conversion are: contemptuous breaking or burning of relics, oils, pictures used for worship; theft of moneys or goods belonging to the Church.
2312. Special Cases Regarding Local Sacrilege.—Local sacrilege is not committed by every sin, even though grave, that is done in a holy place, for the character of this sacrilege is that it be such an injury to the sacredness of the place as to make what should be hallowed seem horrible, or contemptible, or common. Hence, there is no sacrilege in detractions, lies, perjuries, blasphemies, or in most internal sins, when committed in a church or cemetery. But there are two kinds of sins which are sacrilegious profanations of holy places, namely, theft and impurity.
(a) Theft in a holy place is certainly sacrilegious when the thing taken is sacred (e.g., a chalice, money in the votive stands). It is probably not sacrilegious when the thing taken is not sacred (e.g., the pocketbook of a person kneeling in the church), and if the thing taken was not left in the custody of the place. This matter, however, is disputed.
(b) Impurity, if external and perfect (_voluntaria effusio seminis_), is sacrilegious, though under the Code it does not seem to be a desecration. The same is probably true of external but imperfect sins (such as touches, looks, words, gestures). Internal acts of impurity are not sacrilegious, unless they include a desire to sin externally in a holy place.
2313. Cases Wherein There Is No Sacrilege.—In the following cases no sacrilege is committed:
(a) when the thing violated is not sacred. There is no personal sacrilege in an act of unchastity committed by a person privately vowed to chastity (common opinon). While some authors teach that personal sacrilege is committed by the violation of poverty and obedience (see Merkelbach, _Summa Theologiae Moralis_ II, n.804, 4), it seems better to hold the opposite opinion and restrict personal sacrilege to violations of chastity by persons with religious vows or admitted to the religious state. There is no local sacrilege in the profane use of a place devoted to works of piety but not specially set apart for them by Church authority (such as a private oratory, or a hospital conducted by the laity), nor in the burial of infidels in an unblessed graveyard. There is no real sacrilege in profane use of things which are not set apart exclusively for sacred use (e.g., to use the candelabra and candles of the altar to read by in one’s room), or which have not been made sacred (e.g., to steal money promised but not delivered to the Church or the personal belongings of a cleric);
(b) when the thing injured is sacred, but the action or omission is not opposed to the attribute in which it is holy, or to a law made to ensure respect for it. Thus, a person who has the vow of chastity does not commit sacrilege if he becomes intoxicated or uses profane language, for he was not consecrated against those sins; a sacred place is not sacrilegiously violated by an act not opposed to its holiness or the respect demanded for it by the law (e.g., organ recitals or awards for Christian Doctrine in church, sale of candles in the vestibule, physical violence against a disturber of divine service). Sacrilege is not done in reverently destroying an old and tattered vestment, in respectfully handling agnus deis, relics, unused palls, and other objects that may be touched by all.
2314. Sacredness as Aggravating Circumstance of Sin.—But a sin that is not sacrilegious is often made worse by reason of the sacredness of some thing with which the sin is connected. (a) Thus, the sin is aggravated by such circumstances as person and place. In this way it is worse for a person vowed to God to blaspheme or lie than for one who has no vow; it is worse to carry on frivolous or calumnious conversations in church than on the street. (b) The sin receives the additional malice of sacrilege if the sinner expressly intends the circumstance of time, place, etc., in order to show contempt. Thus, it is not sacrilege to get drunk on a Sunday or holyday, unless one wishes by the sin to show dishonor to the sacred time; it is not sacrilege to conduct oneself with levity in church, unless one wishes by the levity to show contempt for the place.
2315. The Malice of Sacrilege.—(a) The moral malice of sacrilege is that of irreligiousness (see 2299). The three kinds of sacrilege (personal, local and real) are commonly regarded as three distinct species of sin; for, just as injuries done to a man’s person, to his immovable property, and to his movable goods are looked upon in law as different kinds of offenses, so are injuries offered to the ministers of God, the house of God, and the objects used in the service of God unequal in the dishonor which they give to God before the public. More probably there are no sub-species of these three classes of sacrilege. Hence, in so far as the disrespect to God is concerned, there seems no essential difference between the sin of violating and that of striking a consecrated virgin.
(b) The theological malice of sacrilege is mortal from the nature of the sin. Just as it is gravely insulting to a man to treat his representatives or his home or chattels with contempt, likewise disrespect for the things of God is disrespect for God Himself. The seriousness of sacrilege is seen from the punishments visited on Core, Dathan and Abiron (Num., xvi), on the sons of Heli (I Kings, ii. 17, iv. 11), on King Balthasar (Dan., v. 2 sqq.), and on the sellers in the temple (John, ii. 14). Sacrilege may be venial, however, on account of the imperfection of the act (e.g., when one strikes a priest without reflecting that he is a clergyman) or the smallness of the matter (e.g., to quote Scripture in a decent joke, to use altar linen that is only slightly soiled or torn, to touch the chalice without permission, to steal a few pennies from a church).
2316. Conditions that Govern Gravity of Sacrilege.—To decide in a concrete case whether a sacrilege is gravely or lightly sinful, one should consider the internal state of mind of the offender and the external character of the offense. (a) Thus, if the purpose is directly and formally to dishonor God, the sin is grave, but, if there is some other purpose, it may be light. (b) If the thing dishonored is more closely related to God, or if the act of dishonor is in public estimation more insulting, the sin is more serious. Unworthy treatment of the Eucharist is the worst of sacrileges; ill-usage of a sacred person is worse than disrespect for a sacred place; treading the Sacred Species under foot is more contemptuous than an unworthy Communion, etc.
2317. Simony.—Simony derives its name from Simon Magus, the first person in New Testament times, as far as we know, who committed this crime. For it is written of Simon (Acts, viii. 18 sqq.) that he attempted to buy from St. Peter the power of imposition of hands. But the sin was not unknown in the Old Testament, as we see from the examples of Baalam (Numb., xxii. 7), Giezi (IV Kings, v. 20 sqq.), and Jason (II Mach., iv. 7 sqq.).
2318. Definition of Simony.—Simony is defined as “the studied will to buy or sell for a temporal price or consideration something that is spiritual either intrinsically or extrinsically.”
(a) Simony is in the will, for it is an act of injustice pretending to have or to receive the right of dominion over spiritual things that belong to God alone, and injustice is a vice of the will. Hence, simony is not an internal sin of the intellect; for, though one who practises simony externally makes to some extent a profession of belief in the heresy that man is the owner of spirituals and gives grounds for the suspicion that he holds that the sale of spirituals is lawful, yet he may know well that the things of God are priceless and still wish to give or receive a price for them. Again, simony is not to be identified with the external act of bargaining for spirituals; for, though the law punishes only external or completed simony, the guilt and malice of the sin is present even when one has the desire to traffic in spiritual things, but makes no overtures or compact.
(b) Simony is a studied will; that is, it is an act of free and deliberate choice selecting some form of internal or external simony as a desirable means. Hence, it is not sufficient for the sin of simony that there be an internal wish not fully voluntary on account of inculpable ignorance or imperfect consent; nor, on the other hand, is it necessary for incurring the guilt of simony that there be a mutual pact, but it suffices that one party alone have the will to make the pact or to obligate another party to simony.
(c) It is a wish to buy or sell, that is, to give or receive a temporal thing in exchange for a spiritual thing. There is question here, then, not only of the contract of sale, but of any other form of onerous contract, such as hire, rent, loan, exchange, _do ut des_, _facio ut facias_, etc. To be simoniacal, however, a contract need not be fulfilled or explicitly manifested; it suffices that it be unfulfilled or tacitly made, if the sinful intent can be gathered from the circumstances of the case. Hence, from the present part of the definition it follows that there is no simony in a gratuitous contract (e.g., when one gives a gift to another hoping and expecting that the later from gratitude will give in return something spiritual which it is lawful to bestow from gratitude; when a poor person offers to make a novena for benefactors who give him an alms). It is simony, however, to make an onerous contract under the guise of a gratuitous contract, for example: “I give you this money as a pure gift on condition that you will not be ungrateful but will give me this spiritual favor as a pure gift.”
(d) The price or consideration in simony is some thing, action or forbearance which in some way is of advantage to the recipient. Simony in the strictest sense is committed when a temporal thing is offered for a spiritual thing (e.g., money paid for a Sacrament); simony in the wide sense is committed when, contrary to the law on simony, things like in character are exchanged (2323 a). Thus, if the Church forbids Mass to be exchanged for Mass, or benefice for benefice, or the office of sacristan for that of sexton, transgressors are guilty of the second form of simony.
(e) The matter of simony is something intrinsically or extrinsically spiritual. In general, the spiritual is that which proceeds from God or tends to Him as the Author or End of eternal salvation (viz., the destiny, law, means, works, etc., proposed to us in Christian revelation and religion). Among these things those are intrinsically spiritual that pertain to the supernatural order on account of some inherent character of their own (e.g., grace, Sacraments, Mass, miracles) or some intimate union with things spiritual (e.g., benefices attached to spiritual offices, consecration to be given a chalice); those are extrinsically spiritual that are in themselves temporal, but in church law are treated as spiritual for the sake of reverence to the intrinsically spiritual (e.g., chrism in regard to the material itself of the oil and other ingredients). If the matter of a contract is neither intrinsically nor extrinsically spiritual, there is no simony in buying or selling it (e.g., devotional books, household furnishings of a rectory, personal effects of a cleric).
2319. Temporal Price in Simony.—The temporal price in simony is some temporal good or advantage. St. Gregory the Great distinguishes three kinds of simoniacal prices as follows:
(a) the price from the hand (_munus a manu_) is either money or things that have a money value, such as movable or immovable property, corporeal or incorporeal rights. It would be simony to give a benefice in exchange for a sum of money, for a loan, for real estate;
(b) the price from the tongue (_munus a lingua_) is any kind of patronage, such as praise, recommendation, protection, defense, opposition to competitors, etc. It would be simony to confer a benefice in exchange for the influence in one’s favor which the recipient of the benefice would exercise with some powerful person, for his vote in an election, etc.;
(c) the price in service (_munus ab obsequio_) is any kind of temporal labor or assistance given for another’s benefit, such as the management of his business or the instruction of his children. It would be simony to grant a benefice in exchange for work done as secretary, treasurer, or advisor.
2320. The Spiritual Thing in Simony.—The thing inherently spiritual in simony is also of three kinds. (a) That which is spiritual from its nature is a thing that is supernatural in itself, such as sanctifying grace, the Gifts of the Holy Ghost, and the power of orders or of jurisdiction. (b) That which is supernatural from its cause is a thing produced by a supernatural agency or power, such as health obtained through miracle. (c) That which is supernatural from its effect is a thing having the virtue of producing supernatural results, _ex opere operato_, or _ex opere operantis_, or as an occasion (e.g., Sacraments, prayers, sermons).
2321. Temporal Thing United with Spiritual.—In the two following ways things are made spiritual in reference to simony through intimate union with spirituals: (a) by necessary connection, when a temporal thing is so annexed with a spiritual thing that it cannot exist without it. This includes the things annexed consequently, and perhaps also those annexed concomitantly and intrinsically (see 2322); (b) by contractual connection, when a spiritual and a temporal are the partial objects of a contract, as when in the sale of a consecrated chalice the price is raised on account of the consecration.
2322. Temporal Thing Annexed to Spiritual.—In three ways a temporal thing is annexed to a spiritual thing.
(a) The temporal thing is annexed antecedently if it precedes the spiritual thing as its prepared or appointed or presupposed matter or subject. Thus, all things that receive a consecration or blessing (e.g., chalices, rosaries) or a property to which a right of patronage is attached are of this kind. Relics are properly of this category, but, since they have usually no material value, it is customary to include them amongst spirituals.
(b) The temporal thing is annexed concomitantly if it is simultaneous with the spiritual thing as being the action or labor that produces it. If the union is essential and inseparable, the temporal thing is said to be annexed intrinsically (e.g., the work performed in saying Mass, preaching, making a sick call); if the union is not essential, the temporal thing is said to be annexed extrinsically (e.g., the special work performed in saying Mass, if it has to be sung, or said in a distant church, or at a determined hour).
(c) The temporal thing is annexed consequently when it presupposes the spiritual thing as the cause on which it depends. Thus, the revenues of a parish are a temporal thing, but they follow on the pastoral office which is a spiritual thing.
2323. The Various Kinds of Simony.—(a) In reference to its matter or the law violated, simony is either against natural and divine law or against positive ecclesiastical law. Simony against divine law consists in the exchange for temporalities of things that are spiritual or intimately annexed to the spiritual (see 2321), such as Sacraments, indulgences, or jurisdiction. Simony against church law consists in an exchange that has the appearance of simony against divine law, or that easily leads to simony against the divine law, and is consequently forbidden by the Church in order to safeguard religious respect for sacred things, as when one violates the law by taking money for holy oils. In the former kind of simony, things of different orders (spirituals and temporals) are exchanged one for the other; in the latter kind of simony, things of the same sort (spirituals for spirituals, temporals for temporals, etc.) are exchanged where the law forbids (Canon 727).
(b) In reference to its manner, or the way in which it is committed, simony is internal or external. Internal simony is the will, without the external agreement, to exchange spirituals for temporals; it is purely mental if nothing external is done by reason of the internal will; it is not purely mental if something external is done by reason of the internal will (e.g., if the person who desires to commit simony makes a money present to another in the hope that the latter will feel morally bound to give something spiritual in return, or if one gives something spiritual looking for a substantial gift of money as compensation). External simony is an outward pact freely entered into between two parties to exchange spirituals for temporals. It is called purely conventional, if neither party has as yet performed his part of the agreement; it is semi-real or mixed, if one of the parties has executed his part; it is real if both parties have performed, at least in part, what they agreed to. A simoniacal compact is explicit, if expressed by clear words or signs (e.g., “I will pay $100 for your vote”); it is tacit, if circumstances indicate the evil intention (e.g., very unusual presents given before an election).
2324. Confidential Simony.—Simony committed in reference to benefices is called confidential because the contract is illegal, giving no judicial protection, and there is only the confidence or reliance on another’s word to give assurance that the agreement will be kept. Canonists discuss at length the following contracts in which it is committed:
(a) the contract _per accessum_ grants a benefice with the agreement that the grantee will later resign, so that access to it may be had by the grantor or a third party at present incapable;
(b) the contract _per ingressum_ resigns a benefice not yet taken possession of with the understanding that the person who now enters into possession will leave the place open for his predecessor if he himself resigns or is promoted;
(e) the contract _per regressum_ resigns a benefice already possessed with the understanding that it may be recovered by the person now resigning or by a third party;
(d) the contract _per reservationem partis_ obtains a benefice for another with the stipulation that he will pay a certain percentage of its revenues to the person who obtains it for him or to a third party (see Canon 1441).
2325. Simony Against Divine Law.—Simony against divine law is committed in reference to spiritual things when a temporal price is formally or virtually given or received for them.
(a) Thus, the temporal thing is formally set up as the price, when it is regarded or treated as the end of the spiritual thing or action itself (_finis operis_), one of the things exchanged being used as the measure of value of the other. This happens when a person wills to buy or sell a spiritual thing, either because he thinks that its value may be expressed in terms of money or other temporal thing, or because he judges that he should treat it as though money were its equivalent, as when one fulfills a spiritual office and excludes every other motive than that of lucre (Denzinger, n. 1196).
(b) The temporal thing is virtually set up as the price, when it is intended as the sole proximate end of the agent himself (_finis operantis_), though there is no explicit thought about values or prices or comparisons. This happens when one gives a temporal thing and has no other immediate personal purpose in this act than the acquisition of a spiritual thing, or performs a pretendedly gratuitous service, intending thereby to obligate the beneficiary to the grant of some spiritual benefit, or bestows a “gratuitous” temporal favor as compensation for a spiritual benefit or vice versa (Denzinger, n. 1195). This is simony, for he who explicitly intends only an exchange, implicitly intends a price; and if it were not simony, then simony would be almost entirely an entity of the mind, since it is a very simple matter to will that the temporal thing exchanged shall be not the price, but only the motive of the contract or gratuitous compensation.
2326. The temporal thing is not made the virtual price of the spiritual thing, if there is a lawful proximate motive (i.e., one recognized by the Canons or legitimate custom) for giving the temporal thing and the desire of receiving the spiritual thing is only the remote reason or occasion of the act. For in such a case the temporal thing is given for a lawful purpose and is not the price of a spiritual thing.
Examples: (a) If the recipient of the temporal thing has a right to it, there is no simony. Thus, the ministers of the altar have a right to their support (see 2186), and it is not simoniacal, when asking spiritual things from them (e.g., the application of Mass to one’s intention, the performance of Sacraments and sacred functions), to offer a stipend or fee; (b) if the bestower of the temporal thing gives it freely out of pure friendship, liberality, charity, gratitude or good will, so that it is an absolute gift, there is no simony, even though he hopes or expects that he will receive something spiritual as a mark of appreciation. But “a charitable or friendly gift” may easily be palliated simony; that is, there may be a pretense of liberality to conceal the real purpose of purchasing spirituals with temporals.
2327. Rules of Alexander III for Determining Simony.—Alexander III gave several rules for determining whether a gift is made from liberality or with simoniacal intent.
(a) The following are marks of simoniacal intent: the quality of the giver (e.g., that he is poor, or in great need, or not customarily generous), the quantity of the gift (e.g., that it corresponds with the value of a vacant benefice, that it is surprisingly large), the time of the gift (e.g., that it is made when the donee is not in any special need, or when he is about to confer an office, or after hints have been made). If a gift is bestowed in connection with a spiritual thing received, the presumption is for simoniacal intent, unless there was a sincere and reasonable motive for the gift.
(b) The following, on the contrary, are marks of a liberal intent: the quality of the giver (e.g., that he is wealthy, noted for kindness and compassion, or liberal to all, or is a relative of the donee); the quantity of the gift (e.g., that it is small or normal in size), the time of the gift (e.g., if it is made when necessity, festal occasion, or the like calls for it).
2328. Simony against Divine Law in Reference to Things Annexed to Spirituals.—(a) It is simony against divine law to buy or sell things annexed to spirituals consequently (e.g., the revenues of a benefice) or concomitantly and intrinsically (e.g., the ordinary labor and fatigue connected with preaching, saying Mass); for in the former case the temporal grows out of a spiritual and is morally one with it, while in the latter case the temporal has no value except in so far as it is joined with the spiritual.
(b) It is not simony against divine law to buy or sell things annexed to spirituals antecedently (e.g., blessed candles, sacred vestments), if the price is not raised on account of the spiritual thing, or things annexed concomitantly and extrinsically (e.g., the extraordinary labor and fatigue caused by saying Mass in a distant place or at a late hour); for in both cases the temporal has its own proper value and is not considered as inseparable from the spiritual. There is simony against divine law, however, if the price is raised on account of the spiritual part (e.g., if something is added for the blessing given a candle), and simony against church law if the transaction is forbidden as simoniacal (e.g., deductions and payments made in the act of preferment to a benefice are contrary to Canon 1441).
2329. Conditions Necessary for Simony against Ecclesiastical Law.—(a) There must be an exchange through some kind of onerous contract, but it suffices that the understanding be tacit and non-executed, as was explained above (see 2323).
(b) There must be a law of the Church which, from a motive of respect for sacred things, forbids the exchange.
(c) The simoniacal exchange is made, whether a temporal annexed to a spiritual is given for another temporal annexed to a spiritual (e.g., benefice for benefice), or a spiritual for a spiritual, or a temporal for a temporal. Canonists enumerate the following as examples of simony of ecclesiastical law: gifts made in connection with a competitive examination for a parochial benefice, with ordination or grant of certain testimonial letters (Canon 545), with erection of confraternities; sale of blessed oil or chrism, or of the right of patronage (Canon 1470); remuneration for collection of stipends or for expenses of Mass (Canons 840, 1303).
2330. Certain and Uncertain Simony.—(a) Cases in which simony is certain are the administration of Sacraments or sacramentals to the unworthy for the sake of the fee or favors, the sale of indulgences, taxes or charges made contrary to law (e.g., for a Mass of bination). Other examples are given in 2323 sqq. The Church demands that certain ministrations (e.g., Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Orders) be gratis, but there may be local customs or conditions that justify exceptions. Some moralists teach that there is no simony when a stipend is exacted for an obligatory ministry, if the simoniacal motive is absent.
(b) Cases in which simony is controverted are those in which a tax or stipend in excess of what is just or lawful is exacted (e.g., a Mass stipend higher than custom permits). Some claim there is simony, because the excess must be for the spiritual thing; others hold that there is no simony, but only an unjust increase in the stipend allowed for support; others say that there is no simony in the internal forum if the intent is not simoniacal, but that there is simony in the external forum on account of the presumption of simoniacal intent.
2331. Doubtful Cases of Simony.—In some gifts and payments the presence or absence of simony depends on the object for which they are given.
(a) Thus, when they are given for omission of a spiritual act, there is simony if the omission includes the exercise of spiritual power (e.g., to omit absolution is to retain sins or censures); there is no simony if the omission is the mere exercise of free will (e.g., to omit Mass, confession).
(b) When they are given for omission of opposition or annoyance, so that one may be able to obtain some office or benefice, there is simony if the temporal thing is thereby given for the benefice itself or for the way to it (i.e., if one has no strict right to the spiritual thing, or if the opposition is just), as when the candidate for a benefice pays a competitor to withdraw, or pays an accuser to keep silence; there is no simony if the temporal thing is given for freedom from unjust vexation (i.e., if one has a strict right to the spiritual thing and the opposition is clearly unjust, as when one who has acquired a right to an office pays an enemy to desist from placing impediments). The payment made by Jacob to Esau for the birthright, to which Jacob was entitled by divine disposition, may be regarded as having had for its end, not the paternal blessing and other spiritual rights of the first-born, but immunity from persecution by Esau.
(e) When they are given for instruction, there is simony if the instruction has for its direct purpose the spiritual benefit of the disciple (e.g., catechetical instructions, sermons, spiritual direction); there is no simony if the instruction has for its direct purpose the improvement of the mind or the utility or advantage which the disciple will derive from it (e.g., instruction in theology, preparation for examinations).
(d) When they are given for admission to religious life, there is simony if the money is paid for the religious state itself, the vows, or other spirituals; there is no simony if the money is paid for the temporal support of the religious institute, that it may be able to meet its expenses.
2332. Cases in Which a Transaction Is Not Simoniacal, but Lawful.—(a) There is no simony when a temporal is given on the occasion of but not for a spiritual. This happens when there is a just title for bestowal of the temporal, such as right of support (e.g., pastors’ salaries, Mass stipends, fees), extrinsic values in a work or object (e.g., the special labor in saying Mass under certain conditions, and, according to some, the special affection one has for a relic, the _lucrum cessans_ on account of some function performed).
(b) There is no simony when something of value is given in exchange, but not for a spiritual, nor in contravention of an anti-simony law. This happens whether like be exchanged for like (e.g., Mass for Mass), or a temporal for a thing associated with a spiritual as the latter’s subject (e.g., money for a rosary or cemetery plot which has been blessed). In the former case there is no prohibition; in the latter, the temporalities have their own distinct values which may be paid for, if the price is not raised on account of the spiritual (see Canons 730, 1539).
2333. Cases in Which a Transaction Is Not Simoniacal, but Is Sinful.—(a) Sins against God.—One who performs functions of religion primarily and principally, as far as his personal motive (_finis operantis_) is concerned, for the salary, stipend or fee, is not guilty of simony, since he does not regard the temporal even virtually as the price of the spiritual. But he does sin by indevotion, and the sin may even be mortal (e.g., a canon goes to choir chiefly because this yields him a living). Offenses committed in the matter of Mass stipends are not called simony in the Code, but the penal law classes them with offenses against religion, as may be seen from Canon 2324. Nepotism, favoritism in giving offices, and political and dishonest maneuvers to obtain church dignities are not in themselves simoniacal; but they are an unworthy and scandalous treatment of sacred things.
(b) Sins against Others.—It is not simony but injustice to deny the Sacraments to parishioners who do not contribute, to overcharge in lawful fees, and also, according to some, to take money for the omission of a spiritual act owed in justice (e.g., for refusal to hear the confession of a parishioner), or to demand money as the stipend for the performance of such a spiritual act (e.g., for hearing a confession). It is disobedience to take money in ways forbidden (e.g., to take Mass stipends in the confessional, to earn money by gambling or trading forbidden in the Canons). Again, it is not strictly simony to put up as the stakes in a game a spiritual thing (e.g., the recitation of the Rosary) against a temporal thing (e.g., ten dollars), for there is no intention to value the spiritual thing by the temporal; but such a practice is scandalous. Greed about getting or keeping money pertains to avarice, not necessarily to simony.
2334. Cases in Which a Transaction Is Not Simoniacal, but Virtuous.—(a) Some acts done in God’s honor (e.g., to purchase a spiritual object, such as a sacred vessel or relic, from a person who would misuse it), when the purchaser intends the prevention of profanation. It is certainly not irreverence to a sacred thing to use means necessary to rescue it from such irreverence.
(b) Some acts done for the good of others (e.g., to give prizes to children who frequent the Sacraments or Sunday school, dowries to young girls that they may be able to enter religion, free education to worthy young men as an inducement to embrace the ecclesiastical state). In all these cases there is no purchase of a spiritual thing, because the temporal is a pure gift, and the spiritual is received, not by the giver of the temporal, but by another. There is no simony in the fees imposed for dispensations or in the alms sometimes prescribed for indulgences; for the temporal is not a price paid for the spiritual, but in the one case either a penance or a charge for expenses, and in the other a spiritual good work and duty prescribed as a condition for a spiritual benefit.
(e) Some acts done for the spiritual good of self (e.g., if one were in danger of death and could be baptized only by a person Who demanded money for the service, it would not be simony to pay the money, since the price would be offered, not for the Sacrament, but for the removal of an unjust annoyance).
2335. Theological Malice of the Sin of Simony.—(a) Simony against the divine law is a mortal sin from its nature and in every instance. No matter how small the spiritual thing that is sold, it is priceless, and a grave injury is done by putting a price on it. Simony is a serious injury to God, since it usurps His place as the only Lord of spiritual things (I Cor., iv, 1), to the spiritual things themselves, since it estimates their worth by vile material gain (Prov., iii. 15; Acts, viii. 20), and to the recipients, who should receive the gifts of God freely (Matt, x, 8). Hence, St. Peter denounced Simon Magus as deserving of perdition (Acts, viii. 20), and in law simony is spoken of as the worst of pests, a cancer, leprosy, a scourge.
(b) Simony against ecclesiastical law is a mortal sin from its nature, since it is forbidden as a protection to religion and under grave sin; but in particular cases it may be only a venial sin, since the church laws do not bind under grave sin, when the matter or the danger is not serious, as was said in 382.
2336. Moral Malice of the Sin of Simony.—(a) Simony is reducible to real sacrilege (see 2311 c). It is treated separately for the sake of convenience, on account of the large number of questions that pertain to it, and also because there is reason to consider it as a distinct species of sin (2308 c). Hence, the moral malice of simony is that of irreligiousness.
(b) Simony of divine law and simony of ecclesiastical law, according to the more common and likely opinion, are alike in moral malice. For although the mere prohibition of the Church does not make a non-sacred thing sacred, it does make the non-sacred thing unsaleable precisely because related to things that are sacred. In other words, the motive of the law is the protection of sacred things against the appearance or danger of simony, and the motive of the law is the factor that determines the moral character of precepts and prohibitions of human law. Thus, to miss Mass on Sunday is a sin against religion, because the Church commands in virtue of religion that Mass be heard on Sunday; to eat meat on Friday is a sin against temperance, because the Church forbids the use of meat on Friday in virtue of temperance. Hence, it is not merely disobedience, but simony, to violate a law which forbids a certain contract because of its nearness to the sale of spirituals for temporals. Moreover, he who willfully exposes himself to the immediate danger of some sin wills the malice of that sin.
2337. Invalidity and Penalties of Simoniacal Contracts.—(a) Every simoniacal contract is invalid and of no force either in the external or in the internal forum, because it sells what is unsaleable under divine or ecclesiastical law. If the contract has to do with benefices, offices or dignities (e.g., “You vote as I wish and I will give you such and such favors,” “You obtain for me such a dignity and I will pay you well”), the appointment to them is rendered null and void, even though the simoniacal act be done by a third party without the knowledge of the beneficiary, unless it be done by that third party to injure the beneficiary or against his protest (Canon 729). Invalidity is also produced in case of simoniacal resignations (Canon 185), commissions (Canon 1441), presentations (Canon 1465, Sec. 2), and prescription does not operate for one who holds a benefice obtained through simony (Canon 1446).
(b) Certain simoniacal contracts subject the guilty parties to special punishments. Thus, the penalty for simony in appointments, elections or promotions to office and dignities is excommunication _latae sententiae_ reserved simply to the Holy See, and deprivation forever of all right of nominating, voting, presenting, and suspension (Canon 2392); the penalty for simony in elevation to Orders or in use of other sacraments is suspicion of heresy and suspension reserved to the Holy See (Canon 2371).
2338. When the Canonical Penalties for Simony Do Not Apply.—(a) Purely mental simony is not subject to ecclesiastical penalties, since the Church does not pronounce on internal acts. But this does not take away the serious guilt in the sight of God. (b) External simony is subject to ecclesiastical penalties, but canonists dispute about the meaning of certain Canons, for example, whether only real simony falls under the punishments _latae sententiae_, whether the penalties of Canons 729 and 2392 apply only to simony of divine law, or to simony of ecclesiastical law as well.
2339. Influence of Simony on Spiritual Effects.—(a) On Effects of the Power of Orders.—Sacraments administered simoniacally are valid, for the law nullifies only the contract made about the Sacrament, not the Sacrament itself. It seems also that in the case of sacramentals (such as simple blessings imposed on articles) the blessing is not lost by sale of the article, provided the price is asked only for the object and not for the blessing. A blessed or consecrated object loses its blessing or consecration when it is put up for public sale (Canon 1305).
(b) On Effects of the Power of Jurisdiction.—Acts of jurisdiction are valid in spite of simony, unless there is special provision to the contrary. Indulgences are lost _ipso facto_, if anything temporal is taken for the indulgenced object (Canon 924). Religious profession, it seems, is valid, even though simoniacal.
2340. Restitution of the Temporal Price Received for a Spiritual Thing.—(a) If the simoniacal contract is semi-real (that is, if the spiritual consideration has not been received), the price must be restored; for we have then the case of an immoral and unexecuted contract (see 1878 d). (b) If the simoniacal contract is real (that is, if the spiritual consideration has been received), the price should be given back; for the case then is one of commutative justice, a temporal price being taken for a thing (e.g., a blessing) that has no temporal price, or for a service that one was bound to give gratis (e.g., parochial sermon by the pastor). But if a service was not obligatory, it is held by some that there is no certain duty of restitution, if the spiritual thing cannot be restored (e.g., when one received a stipend for a Mass of bination or demanded an excessive fee for a sacred function).
2341. Restitution of the Temporal Price Received for Temporal Things Annexed to Spirituals.—Restitution is obligatory as follows: (a) when commutative justice is violated, as when one charges for a blessed candle or rosary in excess of its market value or just price, or when by fear or force one compels another to exchange a chalice for a ciborium; (b) when law or judicial sentence imposes restitution as a penalty for an offense, as when for money one has resigned one’s benefice in favor of another person.
2342. Circumstances of Restitution for Simony.—(a) The Time for Restitution.—If simony is against natural law, restitution is due before sentence; if against ecclesiastical law only, restitution is due only after sentence.
(b) The Person to Whom Restitution Is to Be Made.—Satisfaction should be given to the owner, or injured party (e.g., to the person who was charged for a blessing), or, if this is impossible, to the poor or pious causes. The revenues derived from a benefice simoniacally obtained should be restored to the church to which the benefice belongs, unless this is advantageous to the guilty parties, or probably to charity, or religion, or the successor in the benefice.
(c) Excuses from Restitution.—Impossibility, condonation or the permission of the Church, express or presumed, excuses from the duty of restitution.
2343. Restitution of Spiritual Thing Simoniacally Received.—The spiritual thing simoniacally received must be restored even before the sentence of the judge (Canon 729, Sec.1). (a) Thus, if it is a benefice, office or dignity that was obtained or conferred through simony, it must be resigned; nor may the guilty party keep the fruits, unless he was in good faith and permission is given. (b) If the spiritual thing is something other than a benefice, it should likewise be given up, provided it is of a kind that can be restored (e.g., it is impossible to restore a Sacrament received or a consecration given to a church) and restitution will not cause irreverence (e.g., it would be irreverent to restore blessed objects or relics to the seller if he meant to profane them).