Bienes eclesiásticos / Church property (DCH)
 

No. 2024-11

English Abstract: Church property has accompanied the Catholic Church from its origins, according to the practices of the early Christians and the understanding of the Fathers of the Church, theologians, jurists, and rulers throughout the history of Christianity – despite opposing views which held that the Church should be poor. The institution’s patrimony was regulated by multiple juridical norms based, first and foremost, on Roman law, but later in accordance with the development of the ius canonicum, universal law, and the laws of the Indies (derecho indiano). In the specific setting of the New World, the ecclesiastical patrimony was understood as being distinct from that of the clergy; the clear intention was that the latter would, at some point, be incorporated into Church property, beginning with episcopal properties followed, necessarily, by those of the regular clergy. Thus, casuistically, property became to be entrusted to the care of the prelate, together with the properties that, by law, belonged to him. The article analyzes religious foundations regulated by the patronage norms of derecho indiano, as well as tithes, first fruits, and the holdings of monasteries. It examines the concept of the general inalienability of Church property, except in those cases where the law itself admitted exceptions, under certain conditions and solemnities had to be fulfilled. Likewise, legal acts that contravened the prohibition of alienation of Church property could be declared null and void, and certain types of economic sanctions, and even criminal penalties, could be imposed to infractors.