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. Some crimes have or have had both an ecclesiastical and a civil element to the crime; suicide and witches[2] are counted here.

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

References

  1. ↑ 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"
  3. ↑ International Bulletin of Missionary Research, Issue 33:1, January 2009
  4. ↑ Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine (PDF) Extract from International Bulletin of Missionary Research, Vol. 33, No. 1


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