INCERTI. - A term commonly used to designate those payments intended to procure a dignified sustenance for those who are placed in charge of public ecclesiastical offices, for example, parish priests.
They consist of stipends for sacred functions, even when these are performed by others, and of fees for acts of the archive (iura stolae).
The amount of both is fixed by legitimate custom or by the tariff prepared by the bishops in provincial council or episcopal conference and approved by the Holy See (cann. 463 § 1, 1507 § 1).
The parish priest is strictly bound to exercise his ministry free of charge for those who are unable to pay what is due (can. 463 § 2); indeed, he cannot refuse to administer the Sacraments, nor deny a funeral, even if the legitimate emolument is refused him, provided it does not exceed the economic capacity of those who request it (can. 463 § 4). In this circumstance the duty to exercise his ministry does not cease in the face of the violation of a right to payment.
Finally, it is not lawful to demand fees higher than those established. If he has done so, the parish priest is bound to restore the excess to whom it belongs, and should he omit the restitution, a fine may be imposed on him, while, in case of relapse, he can be suspended from his office and, if gravely culpable, can even be removed from his ministry (can. 463 § 2408).
On the ethical-juridical foundation of these revenues and the manner in which they must be demanded, v. STOLA.