Folia Canonica 5. (2002)
STUDIES - Jobe Abbass: Alienating Ecclesiastical Goods in the Eastern Catholic Churches
128 JOBE ABBASS which is intended to be used to meet operating expenses or otherwise disposed of within a reasonably short period of time.7 8 2. Alienation and Other Transactions Subject to the Same Norms Regarding the notion of alienation, canonists have tended to give it both a strict and wider meaning. Commenting on the Latin norms governing alienation, F. Morrisey states: It would seem that the generally accepted meaning of the term today is “conveyance”, or transfer of property, at least when alienation is considered in the strict sense of the term. The difficulty arises not from the understanding of transfer or conveyance, but rather because of the prescription of c. 1295s which gives a broader meaning to the term since it applies the norms of the law to those transactions whereby the patrimonial condition of the juridical person could be jeopardized.9 In the interests of canonical precision, Kennedy has obj ected to the wider definition being given alienation since CIC canon 1295 transactions, such as mortgages, loans and easements, do not actually constitute a transfer of property ownership. He acknowledges that the basis for such a distinction existed by reason of canon 1533 of the 1917 Code,10 which spoke of both alienation “properly so-called” {proprie dicta) and other transactions which could worsen the condition of the moral person. However, since this distinction no longer appears in CIC canon 1295, Kennedy argues that to continue to speak of alienation “in the broad sense” is canonically imprecise and can lead to errors.11 If this argument regarding the correct meaning of alienation can be made with reference to CIC canon 1295, then it is all the more applicable in relation to the parallel CCEO canon 104212 and the precise definition to be given alienation in 7 KENNEDY, Temporal Goods (nt. 4), 1495. 8 CIC c. 1295 states: “The requirements of cann. 1291-1294, to which the statutes of juridic persons must also conform, must be observed not only in alienation but also in any transaction which can worsen the patrimonial condition of a juridic person.” 9F. Morrisey, The Alienation of Temporal Goods in Contemporary Practice, in Studia canonica 29 (1995) 294. For a similar interpretation with reference to the Latin Code, see: De Paolis, Beni temporali (nt. 1), 189 and L. CHIAPPETTA, II codice di diritto canonio — commento giuridico pastorale, Rome 1996, vol. II, 558. I0Canon 1533 of the 1917 Latin Code, the predecessor to CIC c. 1295, stated: “The canonical formalities according to cann. 1530-1532 are required not only in alienation properly so-called {proprie dicta) but also in any transaction that can worsen the condition of the Church.” "See Kennedy, Temporal Goods (nt. 4), 1494. '2CCEO c. 1042 states: “Canons 1035-1041 must be observed not only in alienation but also in any transaction which can worsen the patrimonial condition of a juridic person.”
