Canon Law on the Bench

Extract

The records of the Ecclesiastical Court, some of which have recently been available for inspection, and to which special notice has been drawn of late by the very interesting paper read before the Royal Historical Society by Mr. Fincham, are full of interest for students of Catholic history.

These records consist of Books of Acts (including ‘Corrections’ ), Assignations, Books of Depositions, and ‘Libels, Allegations, and Sentences,’ and range from the year 1467 down to 1817. The Book of Acts was a record of the summons of offenders to Court, the charge or ‘libel’ brought against them, the ‘sworn personal answers’ of the accused and of the witnesses for or against them, and the ‘depositions’ on either side.

The Allegations were the replies of the accused to the ‘libel’ ; and the ‘assignation’ was the name given to the result of secret examination of witnesses in a series of ‘Interlocutary Orders.’

The matters dealt with by the Ecclesiastical Court would come under the two heads of Criminal and Civil cases, and of ‘Correction and Instances.’ The latter had to do with matrimonial cases and with questions arising out of wills, and were, in 1857, absorbed into the High Court of Probate, Divorce and Admiralty. The former were concerned with such things as ‘Recusancy,’ i.e. refusal to attend the Parish Church and to receive the Protestant Communion, usury, witchcraft, heresy, keeping of houses of ill-fame, brawling in Church,, defamation of character, and all offences against morals.