En la administración y gestión de los bienes temporales necesarios para cumplir la misión de la Iglesia, la autonomía de gestión de cada ente confluye en la misión general mediante la vigilancia por parte de la autoridad. El equilibrio entre ambas características puede encontrarse en la que denominamos “autonomía vigilada”. En este trabajo se examinan algunas manifestaciones de la autonomía y de la vigilancia y se muestra cómo su conjunción es necesaria para alcanzar la finalidad que justifica el uso de recursos materiales en la Iglesia.
This article proposes a framework for interpreting ecclesial governing authority (potestas regiminis) through the lens of soft law. In post-conciliar canon law, challenges persist in reconciling tis power with sacra potestas, particularly given the voluntary nature of ecclesial membership and the intersection of legal authority with moral-religious motivation. Drawing on analytical tools from the common law tradition, the study situates canon law within a broader comparative context, highlighting its hybrid nature, where binding norms coexist with persuasive, morally grounded guidance. The analysis demonstrates that ecclesial authority functions as a process of communal legitimation, shaping behavior through accountability, consensus, and moral suasion. Its efficacy relies on institutional credibility and voluntary adherence rather than coercive codification. From a soft law perspective, potestas regiminis emerges as a dynamic, pastoral, and dialogical syystem rooted in canonical equity and shared conviction, offering a significant contribution to contemporary canonical scholarship.
This article examines the jurisprudential doctrine of the Apostolic Signatura in administrative matters, through a commentary on three decisions –issued between 2001 and 2004– relating to the same controversy. The analysis highlights their doctrinal and formative significance in a context where jurisprudence is as an essential source of canonical administrative law. Taking the case of a priest removed from offices involving the care of souls (cura animarum), the study addresses key issues regarding priestly ministry, pastoral suitability, and the protection of the rights of the clergy. The article highlights significant contributions to legal and procedural technique, such as the interpretation of singular administrative acts, respect for the right of defense, the requirement of reasoned statement og grounds (motivation), and prudence in the handling of hierarchical recourses. Finally, these decisions are situated within their regulatory context, emphasizing their value in shaping ecclesiastical administrative activity inspired by criteria of justice and good governance.
La capellanía de Misas solía clasificarse en dos grandes grupos: eclesiásticas o colativas y laicales o profanas. Esta tipología, conocida como summa divisio, permitía, entre otras cuestiones, deslindar los cuerpos normativos y la regulación que, en general, resultaba aplicable. Considerando tales puntos, el trabajo que aquí se presenta procura reconstruir, al menos parcialmente, la fundamentación que parece sostener la mencionada clasificación. Empleando un método histórico-dogmático se explicitarán, las fuentes canónicas (Decretum Pars II, C.8 q.1 c.7, Clem. 3.8.2) que, según el humanista francés Petrus Gregorius Tholosanus, permiten incluir a la variante colativa dentro de los beneficios eclesiásticos. Asimismo, se presentará la conexión que la doctrina, fundada en una interpretación de Jean de Faure a las Institutas (2.1.8), establece entre la capellanía laical y el legado pío para, finalmente, mostrar la recepción de esta última noción en el art. 1291 del Código Civil chileno.
