INCERTI. – A term used to designate the fees owed for sacred functions, which are assigned to those holding public ecclesiastical offices, for example, parish priests.
These consist of stipends for sacred functions, even when performed by others, and fees for archival acts (iura stolae).
The amounts of both are fixed by legitimate custom or by tariffs prepared by bishops in provincial councils or episcopal conferences and approved by the Holy See (cc. 463 §1, 1507 §1).
A parish priest is strictly bound to render his ministry gratuitously to those unable to pay the due amount (c. 463 §2); indeed, he may not refuse to administer the sacraments nor deny funeral rites, even if the legitimate fee for burial does not exceed the financial means of those requesting it (c. 463 §4). In such circumstances, the duty to exercise his ministry does not cease in the face of a violation of the right to remuneration.
Finally, it is not lawful to demand fees higher than those prescribed. If a parish priest has done so, he is bound to return the excess to the rightful recipient; and if he fails to do so, he may be subject to a fine, while in cases of recidivism he may be suspended from office, and if gravely culpable, even removed from his ministry (cc. 463 §2, 2408).
For the ethical and juridical foundation of these revenues and the manner in which they are to be exacted, see STOLA.