Catholic priests in public office

Short description: Catholic priests holding government positions

Part of a series on the
Canon law of the
Catholic Church

Ius vigens (current law)

* 1983 Code of Canon Law
* Omnium in mentem
* Magnum principium
* Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches
* Ad tuendam fidem
* Ex corde Ecclesiae
* Indulgentiarum Doctrina
* Pastor bonus
* Pontificalis Domus
* Veritatis gaudium
* Custom
* Matrimonial nullity trial reforms of Pope Francis
* Documents of the Second Vatican Council
* Christus Dominus
* Lumen gentium
* Optatam totius
* Orientalium ecclesiarum
* Presbyterorum ordinis
* Sacrosanctum concilium
* Precepts of the Church

Legal history

Jus antiquum (c. 33-1140)

* Ancient Church Orders
* Didache
* The Apostolic Constitutions
* Canons of the Apostles
* Collections of ancient canons
* Collectiones canonum Dionysianae
* Collectio canonum quadripartita
* Collectio canonum Quesnelliana
* Collectio canonum Wigorniensis
* Decretum Gelasianum
* Symmachian forgeries
* Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals
* Donation of Constantine
* Gregorian Reform
* Lay investiture controversy
* Dictatus papae
* Libertas ecclesiae
* Plenitudo potestatis

Jus novum (c. 1140-1563)

* Corpus Juris Canonici
* Decretum Gratiani
* Decretist
* Canon Episcopi
* Margaritae
* Jus commune
* Decretals of Gregory IX
* Decretalist
* Regulæ Juris
* Extravagantes
* Liber Septimus

Jus novissimum (c. 1563-1918)

* Council of Trent
* Benedictus Deus (Pius IV)
* Tametsi
* Apostolicae Sedis moderationi

Jus codicis (1918-present)

* 1917 Code of Canon Law
* Ecclesiae Sanctae
* 1983 Code of Canon Law

Other

* Contractum trinius
* Papal judge-delegate
* Right of option

Oriental law

* Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches
* Eastern Canonical Reforms of Pius XII
* Nomocanon
* Archeparchy
* Eparchy
* Exarchate
* Ordinariate for Eastern Catholic faithful
* Protosyncellus
* Territory dependent on the Patriarch

Liturgical law

Latin Church

* General Roman Calendar
* Ranking of liturgical days in the Roman Rite
* General Instruction of the Roman Missal
* Code of Rubrics
* Magnum principium
* Liturgiam authenticam
* Mysterii Paschalis
* Sacrosanctum concilium
* Tra le sollecitudini
* Musicam sacram
* Summorum Pontificum
* Quattuor abhinc annos
* Ecclesia Dei
* Red Mass
* Holy Day of Obligation

Sacramental law

* Communicatio in sacris
* Ex opere operato
* Omnium in mentem
* Valid but illicit

Sacraments

* Holy Orders
* Impediment (canon law)
* Abstemius
* Defect of birth
* Obligation of celibacy
* Nullity of Sacred Ordination
* Apostolicae curae
* Dimissorial letters
* Episcopal Co-Consecrators
* Approbation
* Confession
* Penitential canons
* Paenitentiale Theodori
* Seal of the Confessional
* Internal forum
* Note on the importance of the internal forum and the inviolability of the Sacramental Seal
* Apostolic Penitentiary
* Canon penitentiary
* Complicit absolution
* Sacramentum Poenitentiae
* Eucharist
* Eucharistic discipline
* Canon 915
* Celebret
* Mass stipend

Sacramentals

* Indulgence
* Indulgentiarum doctrina

Sacred places

* Altars
* Major basilica
* Minor basilica
* Oratory (chapel)

Sacred times

* Feast days
* Fast days and abstinence
* Paenitemini
* Holy day of obligation

Matrimonial law

* Canonical form (Latin Church)
* Tametsi
* Ne Temere
* Banns of Marriage
* Declaration of Nullity
* Dignitas connubii
* Matrimonial Nullity Trial Reforms of Pope Francis
* Vetitum
* Defender of the Bond
* Impediments to Marriage
* Affinity
* Bigamy
* Clandestinity
* Impediment of crime
* Disparity of Cult
* Ligamen
* Public propriety
* Matrimonial Dispensation
* Ratum sed non consummatum
* Sanatio in radice
* Natural marriage
* Pauline privilege
* Petrine privilege

Supreme authority, particular
churches, & canonical structures

Supreme authority of the Church

* Roman Pontiff
* College of Bishops

Supra-diocesan/eparchal structures

* College of Cardinals

* Conference of bishops
* Synod of Bishops

Particular churches

* Churches sui juris
* Latin Church
* Eastern Catholic Churches
* Local particular churches
* Appointment of bishops
* Abbacy nullius
* Apostolic vicariate
* Apostolic vicar
* Apostolic administration
* Apostolic administrator
* Diocese/Archdiocese
* Aeque principaliter
* Cathedraticum
* In persona episcopi
* Diocesan Curia
* Moderator of the Curia
* Chancery
* Deanery
* Vicar forane
* Archeparchy
* Eparchy
* Eparchal curia
* Territory dependent on the Patriarch
* Military ordinariate
* Mission sui juris
* Personal ordinariate
* Anglicanorum Coetibus

Juridic persons

* Parish
* Team of priests in solidum
* Collegiate church
* Register
* Lay trusteeism
* Roman Curia
* Dicastery
* Congregation
* Pontifical council
* Personal Prelature
* Types of membership of Opus Dei
* Association of the Christian faithful
* Vicar general
* Quinquennial visit ad limina

Jurisprudence

* Canonical coronation
* Canonically crowned images
* Computation of time
* Custom
* Delegata potestas non potest delegari
* Derogation
* Dispensation
* Taxa Innocentiana
* Faculty
* Indult
* Impediment
* Interpretation
* Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts
* Jurisdiction
* Peritus
* Obreption & subreption
* Obrogation
* Promulgation
* Resignation of the Roman Pontiff
* Sede vacante
* Simony
* Vacatio legis
* Valid but illicit
* Visitation
* Apostolic visitor

Philosophy, theology, and fundamental theory of canon law

* Theology
* Ecclesiology
* Treatise on Law
* Determinatio

Temporal goods (property)

* Benefice
* Cathedraticum
* Contract law
* Mass stipend
* Stole fee
* Temporalities

Law of persons

* Person (canon law)
* Formal act of defection from the Catholic Church
* Canonical age
* Emancipation
* Exemption

Clerics

* Secular clergy
* Regular clergy
* Obligation of celibacy
* Clerics and public office
* Incardination and excardination
* Laicization (dispensation)
* Canonical faculties

Office

* Canonical provision
* Canonical election

Juridic and physical persons

* Jus patronatus

Associations of the faithful

Consecrated life

Canonical documents

* Acta Apostolicae Sedis
* Acta Sanctae Sedis
* Censor librorum
* Imprimatur
* Imprimi potest
* Notary (canon law)
* Protonotary apostolic
* Apostolic constitution
* Canon
* Concordat
* Decree
* Decretal
* Encyclical
* Motu proprio
* Ordinance
* Papal brief
* Papal bull
* Penitential
* Positive law
* Rescript
* Parish register
* Ecclesiastical Latin

Penal law

* Canon 1324
* Canon 1398
* Censure (canon law)
* De delictis gravioribus
* Complicit absolution
* Crimen sollicitationis
* Excommunication
* List of excommunicable offences in the Catholic Church
* List of people excommunicated by the Catholic Church
* List of excommunicated cardinals
* Interdict
* Internal forum
* Laicization (penal)
* Latae sententiae
* Lifetime of prayer and penance
* Canonical admonitions
* Ecclesiastical prison

Procedural law

Pars statica (tribunals & ministers/parties)

* Tribunals
* Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura
* Tribunal of the Roman Rota
* Apostolic Penitentiary
* Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
* Ministers of Justice
* Judicial Vicar/Officialis
* Auditor
* Parties
* Defender of the Bond
* Procurator

Pars dynamica (trial procedure)

* Dignitas connubii (matrimonial causes)
* Appeal as from an abuse
* Presumption
* Penal procedure
* Vos estis lux mundi

Canonization

* Congregation for the Causes of Saints
* Maiorem hac dilectionem
* Advocatus Diaboli
* Oblatio vitae
* Positio
* Beatification and canonization process in 1914

Election of the Roman Pontiff

* Current law
* Universi Dominici gregis
* Papal renunciation
* Reforms of Pope Benedict XVI
* Historical
* Cum proxime
* Jus exclusivae
* Papal appointment
* Aeterni Patris Filius
* Romano Pontifici eligendo
* Ingravescentem aetatem
* Ubi periculum
* Quia propter

Legal practice and scholarship

* List of legal abbreviations

Academic degrees

* Licentiate of Canon Law
* Doctor of Canon Law
* Doctor of both laws

Journals and Professional Societies

* Canon Law Society of America
* The Jurist

Faculties of canon law

* School of Canon Law

Canonists

* Medieval
* Gratian
* Hostiensis
* Jean Lemoine
* Raymond of Penyafort
* Rufinus
* Johannes Teutonicus
* Geoffrey of Trani
* Burchard of Worms
* Brocard
* Modern & Contemporary
* Eugenio Corecco
* John D. Faris
* Pietro Gasparri
* Ladislas Orsy
* Edward N. Peters

Law of consecrated life

* Solemn vow
* Exclaustration
* Manifestation of Conscience
* Canonical erection of a house of religious
* Pontifical right
* Diocesan right
* Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life

Institute of consecrated life

* Religious institute
* Congregation
* Order
* Monasticism
* Canons regular
* Mendicant orders
* Clerics regular
* Secular institute
* Cum Sanctissimus
* Primo Feliciter
* Provida Mater Ecclesia

Society of apostolic life

* Decretum laudis

* v
* t
* e

A number of Catholic priests have served in civil office.[1] The Catholic Church discourages this practice.

## Contents

* 1 In canon law
* 2 Law in particular countries
* 2.1 Andorra
* 2.2 Bolivia
* 2.3 Costa Rica
* 2.4 El Salvador
* 2.5 Honduras
* 2.6 Mexico
* 2.7 Myanmar
* 2.8 Nicaragua
* 2.9 Paraguay
* 2.10 Venezuela
* 3 Examples by country
* 3.1 Austria
* 3.2 Canada
* 3.3 Czech Republic
* 3.4 Dominican Republic
* 3.5 France
* 3.6 Germany
* 3.7 Libya
* 3.8 Nicaragua
* 3.9 Paraguay
* 3.10 Poland
* 3.11 Slovakia and Czechoslovakia
* 3.12 Solomon Islands
* 3.13 United Kingdom
* 3.14 United States
* 4 List of priests who have held public office
* 5 See also
* 6 References

## In canon law

Canon 285 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law, which governs the Latin Church, is a provision of Roman Catholic canon law that prohibits members of the Catholic clergy from doing things that are "unbecoming" or "foreign to the clerical state". In addition, it prohibits diocesan priests and bishops from serving in "public offices which entail a participation in the exercise of civil power".[2]

## Law in particular countries

### Andorra

The Bishop of Urgell is a ruling co-prince of Andorra; the bishop's ex officio role as a monarch has existed since 1278. The bishop additionally sends a personal representative to rule as a viceroy in their stead.

### Bolivia

The Constitution of Bolivia prohibits clergy from serving as president.[3]

### Costa Rica

The Constitution of Costa Rica prohibits clergy from serving as president.[3]

### El Salvador

The Constitution of El Salvador prohibits clergy from serving as president.[3]

### Honduras

The Constitution of Honduras prohibits clergy from serving as president.[3]

### Mexico

The Constitution of Mexico prohibits clergy from serving as president.[3]

### Myanmar

Article 121, section i of the Constitution of Myanmar prohibits a member of a religious order from serving as president.[3][4]

### Nicaragua

The Constitution of Nicaragua prohibits clergy from serving as president.[3]

### Paraguay

Article 235 of the Constitution of Paraguay prohibits any minister of any religion from serving as the president.

### Venezuela

The Constitution of Venezuela prohibits clergy from serving as president.[3]

## Examples by country

### Austria

Ignaz Seipel, a priest, theologian and academic, served as the Foreign Minister of Austria from 1926 to 1929 and in 1930, and served as Chancellor of Austria from 1922 to 1924 and 1926 to 1929.

Theodor Innitzer, who would become a cardinal and Archbishop of Vienna, served as the Austrian Minister of Social Affairs from 1929 to 1930.

### Canada

Three Catholic priests have been elected to the House of Commons of Canada.

Andrew Hogan was the first Catholic priest to serve as a Canadian Member of Parliament. First elected to represent the electoral district of Cape Breton—East Richmond, Nova Scotia, in the 1974 federal election, he was re-elected in 1979 but defeated in 1980. Hogan was a member of the New Democratic Party.

Robert Ogle was elected to the House of Commons in 1979 in the electoral district of Saskatoon East, Saskatchewan. Ogle was re-elected in 1980. He chose not to seek re-election in 1984 as a result of the new ban by the Holy See on clergy in public office. Like Hogan, Ogle was a member of the New Democratic Party.

Raymond Gravel was elected in a 2006 by-election in the electoral district of Repentigny, Quebec. He had received a dispensation from his diocesan bishop to enter politics. Gravel did not seek re-election in the 2008 federal election after Holy See authorities ordered him to choose between politics and the priesthood following controversy over his opposition to anti-abortion Bill C-484 and his support for the Order of Canada nomination of abortion rights activist Henry Morgentaler. Although he chose to leave politics, Gravel maintained that he remained, in accordance with Catholic doctrine, opposed to abortion.[5] Gravel was a member of the nationalist Bloc Québécois.

### Czech Republic

Daniel Herman is a laicized Roman Catholic priest who was Minister of Culture, representing the Christian Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People's Party (KDU-ČSL).

### Dominican Republic

Fernando Arturo de Meriño, a priest who would later become an archbishop, served as President of the Dominican Republic from 1880 to 1882.

### France

Barthélemy Boganda, a priest from Ubangi-Shari (today the Central African Republic), was elected to the French National Assembly in 1946, serving until 1958. He left the priesthood in 1950 and married, and from 1958 to 1959 served as the first Prime Minister of the Central African Republic.

### Germany

Beda Weber was a German Benedictine priest who served as a member of the Frankfurt Parliament in 1849.

Ludwig Kaas was a priest of the Weimar Republic. In 1919 he was elected to the Weimar National Assembly and in 1920 was elected to the Reichstag, where he served until 1933.

### Libya

For a brief period in 2011 during the Libyan Civil War, the Nicaraguan priest Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann served as the Libyan ambassador to the United Nations .

### Nicaragua

In the 1970s and 80s, the President of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, appointed three priests to his cabinet: Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fernando Cardenal as Minister of Education, and his brother, Ernesto Cardenal, as Minister of Culture.

### Paraguay

In 2005, Fernando Lugo, the Bishop of San Pedro, requested laicization to run for office but it was denied. In 2008, he was elected President of Paraguay, in spite of Article 235 of the Constitution prohibiting any minister of any religion from serving as president. After his election he was laicized. In 2012, he was impeached for unrelated reasons.

### Poland

Hugo Kołłątaj was a Polish noble and Catholic priest who in 1786 received the office of the Referendary of Lithuania. He co-authored the Constitution of May 3, 1791 and held a variety of posts before falling out of political favor in 1802 as a result of his radical views.

Stanisław Staszic was a philosopher and political activist who served in the government of Congress Poland.

### Slovakia and Czechoslovakia

Andrej Hlinka served in the Parliament of Czechoslovakia from 1920 to 1938 and was leader of the Slovak People's Party from 1913 until his death.

From 1939 to 1945, the priest Jozef Tiso was President of the First Slovak Republic, a satellite state of Nazi Germany. Following World War II, he was convicted and hanged for treason that subsumed also war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

### Solomon Islands

Augustine Geve was a Catholic priest who served as a member of the National Parliament from 2001 to 2002 and was Minister of Youth, Women and Sports from 2001 to 2002. He was assassinated on 20 August 2002.

### United Kingdom

David Cairns, a laicised Catholic priest, was elected to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom between 2001 and 2011, following the House of Commons (Removal of Clergy Disqualification) Act 2001 which removed the ban on clergymen being elected as an MP.[6] Former Archbishops of Westminster Basil Hume and Cormac Murphy-O'Connor were individually offered life peerages and a seat in the House of Lords but both declined the offer.[7][8]

### United States

Possibly the earliest known instance of a Catholic priest serving in public office in the United States was Gabriel Richard. Born in France, he founded the University of Michigan and served as a delegate from Michigan Territory from 1823 to 1825.

Two priests, Robert Drinan and Robert John Cornell, have served in the United States Congress. In 1980, when Pope John Paul II decreed that priests not serve in elected office,[9] Representative Drinan withdrew from his re-election campaign, and Cornell withdrew from his bid to re-gain the seat he had lost in the 1978 Congressional election. In 1983, the prohibition on serving in governmental office was codified as section 3 of canon 285 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law.

## List of priests who have held public office

Listed below are the names of the priests, and the countries they served in parentheses.

* Fernando Arturo de Meriño (Dominican Republic)
* Barthélemy Boganda (France, Central African Republic)
* Ernesto Cardenal (Nicaragua)
* Fernando Cardenal (Nicaragua)
* Robert John Cornell (US)
* Robert Drinan (US)
* Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann (Nicaragua, Libya)
* Augustine Geve (Solomon Islands)
* Raymond Gravel (Canada)
* Andrej Hlinka (Czechoslovakia)
* Andrew Hogan (Canada)
* Theodor Innitzer (Austria)
* Ludwig Kaas (Germany)
* Hugo Kołłątaj (Poland)
* Fernando Lugo (Paraguay)
* Robert Ogle (Canada)
* Gabriel Richard (US)
* Ignaz Seipel (Austria)
* Stanisław Staszic (Poland)
* Jozef Tiso (Slovakia)
* Beda Weber (Germany)
* Fulbert Youlou (France, Republic of the Congo)
* Jean-Bertrand Aristide (Haiti)
* Jean-Baptiste Nguyễn Văn Riễn (Vietnam)
* Moses Oshio Adasu (Nigeria)
* Ignazio Panzavecchia (British Malta)
* Enrico Dandria (British Malta)

## See also

* Separation of church and state

## References

1. ↑ Kevin Schmiesing. "John A. Ryan, Virgil Michel, and the problem of clerical politics". VLex.com. http://law-journals-books.vlex.com/vid/ryan-virgil-michel-problem-clerical-54616553.
2. ↑ "THE OBLIGATIONS AND RIGHTS OF CLERICS". Code of Canon Law - IntraText. Libreria Editrice Vaticana. https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_PY.HTM.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 "In 30 countries, heads of state must belong to a certain religion". 2014-07-22. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/07/22/in-30-countries-heads-of-state-must-belong-to-a-certain-religion/.
4. ↑ "Constitute". https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Myanmar_2008.
5. ↑ "Priest MP leaves politics after pressure from Vatican". 3 September 2008. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/priest-mp-leaves-politics-after-pressure-from-vatican-1.730234#articlecomments.
6. ↑ Percival, Jenny (2008-09-16). "Profile: David Cairns" (in en-GB). The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2008/sep/16/labourleadership.labour1.
7. ↑ Davis, Francis (23 April 2009). "The cardinal must not become a peer". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2009/apr/23/cormac-lord-peerage-cardinal.
8. ↑ "Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor turns down peerage following Catholic row". 6 December 2009. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/6736484/Cardinal-Cormac-Murphy-OConnor-turns-down-peerage-following-Catholic-row.html.
9. ↑ Martin, Douglas (12 May 2009). "Robert J. Cornell, Priest Who Served as Congressman, Is Dead at 89". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/us/politics/12cornell.html.

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