PART III :
SACRED PLACES AND TIMES
TITLE I:
SACRED PLACES (Cann. 1205 - 1243)
Can.
1205 Sacred places are those which are assigned to divine worship or to the
burial of the faithful by the dedication or blessing which the liturgical books
prescribe for this purpose.
Can.
1206 The dedication of a place belongs to the diocesan Bishop and to those
equivalent to him in law. For a dedication in their own territory they can
depute any Bishop or, in exceptional cases, a priest.
Can.
1207 Sacred places are blessed by the Ordinary, but the blessing of churches is
reserved to the diocesan Bishop. Both may, however, delegate another priest for
the purpose.
Can.
1208 A document is to be drawn up to record the dedication or blessing of a
church, or the blessing of a cemetery. One copy is to be kept in the diocesan
curia, the other in the archive of the church.
Can.
1209 The dedication or the blessing of a place is sufficiently established even
by a single unexceptionable witness, provided no one is harmed thereby.
Can.
1210 In a sacred place only those things are to be permitted which serve to
exercise or promote worship, piety and religion. Anything out of harmony with
the holiness of the place is forbidden. The Ordinary may however, for
individual cases, permit other uses, provided they are not contrary to the
sacred character of the place.
Can.
1211 Sacred places are desecrated by acts done in them which are gravely
injurious and give scandal to the faithful when, in the judgement of the local
Ordinary, these acts are so serious and so contrary to the sacred character of
the place that worship may not be held there until the harm is repaired by
means of the penitential rite which is prescribed in the liturgical books.
Can.
1212 Sacred places lose their dedication or blessing if they have been in great
measure destroyed, or if they have been permanently made over to secular usage,
whether by decree of the competent Ordinary or simply in fact.
Can.
1213 Ecclesiastical authority freely exercises its powers and functions in
sacred places.
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