CHAPTER VI
THE PONTIFICAL COLLEGE OF PRIESTS
AT THE SERVICE OF ITALIAN MIGRANTS
51. We
recognize and approve the Pontifical College of priests, established to provide
missionaries for Italians migrating abroad.
52. a) We
wish this College to remain dependent on the Consistorial Congregation,
without, however, interfering with the jurisdiction of the Cardinal Vicar of
Rome.
b) It is up to the Consistorial Congregation itself:
1. To direct the College and watch over it, both with respect to the
maintenance of discipline and to its finances and to the administration of its
material resources.
2. To make rules for it.
3. To appoint the Rector and other officials.
53. The
special function of this College is to prepare young Italian priests of the
secular clergy so that they may provide Italian migrants in foreign lands.
Since this function is the same as that of the Pious Society of the
Missionaries of St. Charles, we permit the Rector and the other governing
officials and professors to be chosen from priests of the same Pious Society,
to which we freely entrust this College. The requirements of the preceding
number are still to be observed.
54. We
also direct that, in the future, no priest be entrusted with the spiritual care
of migrants until he has been properly prepared for an adequate period of time
in the College mentioned above, and is thus recognized as suitable for such
duties by his qualities of mind and heart, his doctrine, his knowledge of
languages, his sound health and other requirements.
55.
Especially in those dioceses from which the majority of migrants are leaving,
let the bishops be mindful that they should do what is most useful to the cause
of religion and most pleasing to us, namely, that they voluntarily send to the
Pontifical College those young priests who are outstanding for virtue and zeal
for souls and who wish to devote themselves entirely to the welfare of migrants.
58.
Finally, in other regions and countries outside Italy to which migration is now
taking place there may be a lack of adequate spiritual assistance for the
Catholic migrants already there. In such areas the Ordinaries can, without doubt,
provide this assistance if they follow care-fully the methods used for Italian
migrants, as fully publicized in the Acts of the Roman Pontiffs, and hereby
approved by us, with necessary modifications for the place and circumstances.
Therefore,
having seriously considered the importance of this whole matter, and being
impelled by the examples of Our Predecessors, and having given careful
attention to the views of Adeodato G. Cardinal Piazza, Bishop of Sabina and
Poggio Mirteto and Secretary of the Consistorial Congregation, we, hereby, do
establish and prescribe all which is contained therein.
We now
decree that what we hereby establish shall not be subject to attack for any
reason whatsoever, even though it be enacted without the consent of those who have
or claim to have the right to express their opinion on this matter, or even if
they were not consulted or their opinion was not accepted. Furthermore, we
declare that what we, hereby, have stated shall possess and retain its force,
its validity, and its effectiveness until such time as it shall have obtained
its full results. Finally, we publicly state that all those who are expected or
will be expected to benefit by it should do so by careful observance.
We reject
as null and void every contrary measure, regardless of who impudently proposes
to do so, whether knowingly or through ignorance, and irrespective of what his
authority may be.
This
Constitution shall remain valid, notwithstanding anything to the contrary,
including any other Apostolic Constitutions or dispositions of the Roman
Pontiffs, our predecessors, as mentioned above or other Acts, however worthy of
special mention or calling for canonical derogation.
No one,
therefore, shall modify this text which expresses what we, hereby, establish, ordain,
reject, direct, unite, admonish, forbid, command, and desire, nor shall anyone
rashly oppose it. But if someone presume to do so, he should know that he will
incur the wrath of the omnipotent God, and of His apostles Peter and Paul.
Given at
Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, on August 1, the feast of St. Peter in Chains, in
1952, the 14th year of our Pontificate.
Pius P. P. XII
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