CONCORSO. — This is one of the methods for selecting the most worthy candidate for a vacant office, consisting in the examination, in legal form, of all the qualifications of the applicants.
Already in the early centuries the practice of examinations and scrutinies for ordinations and for the filling of certain offices had become established in the Church, but the first norms concerning the form of c. were issued only with the Council of Trent (sess. XXIV, chap. 18 de ref.). Subsequently, in order to remedy the abuses arising from the interpretation of these norms, Pius V, by the constitution In conferendis of 1567, declared null and void all acts of conferral, provision, and institution contrary to the said norms, and laid down new ones. Innocent XI, by the decree of the Holy Office of 2 March 1679, condemned those who taught that the bishop was not obliged to choose the most worthy candidate, but only a worthy one. Since, however, abuses continued concerning the procedure and the possibilities of appeal, producing extremely long vacancies in offices to the detriment of souls, the Congregation of the Council, by decree of 10 January 1721, invited the bishops to follow the procedure prescribed by the Apostolic Dataria for c. within its competence. Subsequently, Benedict XIV, by the constitution Cum illud of 2 December 1742, regulated the entire matter anew and more fully, and established the obligatory observance of the new norms for all c.
The CIC did not intend to modify the preceding legislation, but established that no innovation should be introduced in the provision of parishes where the institution of c. had not fallen into disuse: the constitution Cum illud was included among the documents appended to the Codex. Canon 459 § 4 in fact stipulates: «In regionibus, in quibus paroeciarum provisio fit per concursum sive specialem ad normam Constitutionum Benedicti XIV, Cum illud 14 dec. 1742, sive generalem, haec forma retineatur, donec Sedes Apostolica aliud decreverit».
Therefore, until the Holy See provides otherwise, parishes must be filled according to the practice existing at the time the CIC entered into force, namely, on 19 May 1918. On 25 June 1932, the Commission for the Authentic Interpretation of the CIC held that the procedure of c., pursuant to canon 459 § 4, is not obligatory in the first provision of a newly erected parish. Moreover, according to canon 399 § 2, the theological and penitentiary prebends of the Chapter must be conferred by means of c. wherever this is legally required (v. CANONICO PENITENZIERE; CANONICO TEOLOGO).
The c. may be announced and conducted by the Bishop, or, if he is impeded, by the vicar general, or, in the event of a vacant see, by the capitular vicar, or by the prelate nullus who enjoys the privilege of celebrating the diocesan Synod or possesses a special apostolic indult.
All priests may be admitted to the c., even if they are not from the diocese, unless the law or a special privilege provides otherwise, whether with regard to membership in the diocese or to the possession of specified qualifications. Subject to a special statute, all and only perpetual parochial benefices endowed with canonical erection and actually vacant are subject to the prescriptions of the Council of Trent. An exception is made for benefices subject to local or mixed patronage, if c. is not required by the foundation deeds.
The candidates must be examined by the bishop or the vicar general, and by the examiners, who must number at least three and be chosen from among the six proposed each year by the bishop to the diocesan Synod and approved by it by majority vote (v. ESAMINATORI SINODALI).
The procedure of the c. must be that prescribed by the Council of Trent and by the constitution Cum illud of Benedict XIV, especially with regard to the public announcement, the number of examiners, the subject and methods of the examination, the examiners’ judgment, and the bishop’s selection. The c. is null only in consequence of failure to observe those requirements that are demanded ad validitatem. Within ten days, interested parties may appeal, without suspensive effect, against the bishop’s decision to the metropolitan, to the nearest bishop, or to the Holy See. In the latter case, a distinction must be made between an appeal concerning the examiners’ decision and one concerning the external procedure of the c.: in the first case, if it considers the judgment erroneous, the Congregation of the Council annuls the acts of the c. and orders a new one; in the second case, if justice has been observed in the conduct of the examiners and the bishop, and if there are legitimate grounds, the Congregation remedies the irregularities. The procedure may be general or special. The special c. is announced for individual parishes on the occasion of their becoming vacant (this form is in force in certain regions of Italy, Portugal, and South America). The general c., on the other hand, is announced once or twice a year in order to submit applicants to an examination of doctrine; then, when a parish becomes vacant, the examiners must examine the other qualifications of those who have successfully passed the examinations, in order to determine their suitability for the individual parish (this form is in force in certain dioceses of Germany and Austria).