ECCLESIASTICAL LETTERS. — These are public documents by virtue of their purpose and the authority from which they emanate, intended to attest to a decree issued by the Ordinary or to some other instruction or constitution. They have various denominations, the principal ones being:
I. **LETTERS OF AGGREGATION**: these contain the formula of aggregation of a confraternity or pious union to an archconfraternity or primary union. The formula must be drawn up in accordance with the provisions of the statutes and in perpetuity (can. 723, 4°). If the statutes do not contain a specific formula, for validity it is sufficient at least to specify which association is being aggregated, to which primary association the aggregation is made, and by whom it is carried out. In current legislation it is not required that the norms given by Clement VIII (Constitution *Quaecumque*, 7 Dec. 1604) be observed, nor that the ancient formula of aggregation be followed (*S. C. Indicis Decreta authentica*, p. 468).
Letters of aggregation must be issued entirely free of charge, and no tribute may be accepted, even if offered; in case of transgression the aggregation is null. Only necessary expenses are excepted (can. 723, 5), in the computation of which not only the value of the material used but also its artistic worth must be included. From the *Statutum aureum* of Paul V (*S. Congr. of the Index*, 6 March 1608) the fee was fixed, before the CIC, at 30 lire or francs. Today it could reach as much as 2000 lire. Offerings made voluntarily after the act of aggregation do not invalidate the aggregation itself, nor do they if made, independently of the aggregation, for the purposes of the archconfraternity.
II. **COMMENDATORY LETTERS**: these are authentic letters signed by the Ordinary, attesting that the priest bearer has not incurred any crime, irregularity, censure, or other penalty or impediment and may therefore be admitted to the celebration of the Holy Mass. The possession of such a document grants the priest the right to celebrate, except in the case that after its concession he has committed some grave fault that is morally certain and public.
Commendatory letters may be granted absolutely or with some condition. The competent authorities are the bishop, the vicar general, the capitular vicar, the apostolic administrator, the apostolic prefect; for religious, the major superior and, in urgent cases, also the local superior; for Orientals, the S. Congr. for the Eastern Church; for officials of the S. Congregations, their respective major officials. The bishop may require that foreign priests not be admitted to the celebration of Mass unless the commendatory letters have been authenticated by the Curia; religious are also bound to observe this provision, except in the case of a religious of their own order (can. 804, 3). Such a norm might give rise to complaints and inconvenience, and therefore Ordinaries do not require it except when the priest remains in the place for more than two or three days. These letters have no juridical value for preaching and sacramental jurisdiction.
III. **LETTERS OF ERECTION**: these are documents by which the erection of a new association of the faithful is approved. They must be granted free of charge, a condition that has no irritative effect (can. 686, 5); only necessary expenses may be required. Those competent to grant them are the Supreme Pontiff, the local Ordinary, and all those to whom this faculty has been granted by apostolic privilege. For the vicar general a special mandate is required, while the capitular vicar is incompetent. Those who have the privilege of erection must, for validity, request in writing the consent of the local Ordinary (can. 686, 2, 3, 4).
IV. **LETTERS OF EXPECTANCY**: these were those by which an office not yet vacant was granted. Such concessions, widely diffused in the Middle Ages, were prohibited by Boniface VIII (*c. 3 de concessione praebendae et Ecclesiae non vacantis*, III, 7 in VI°), reserving dispensation solely to the Holy See. Nevertheless, abuses were not entirely eradicated. The same Supreme Pontiffs, because of the sad conditions of the Holy See and necessity, were forced to grant letters of expectancy. The Council of Trent (*c. 19 Sess. XXIV de ref.*) abrogated, with certain reservations (*c. 7 Sess. XXV de ref.*), these concessions; however, abuses persisted until the French Revolution. Today they are entirely abolished (can. 150, 1).
V. **PASTORAL LETTERS**: these are documents that bishops address to all the faithful of the diocese to instruct them in revealed truths. In the first centuries of the Church they were also called "synodical letters"; since 1740 they have received this specific name, almost to indicate one of the most eminent offices of the bishop, which is to instruct the people. Generally they treat matters of faith and morals that have particular relevance to the problems of the diocese; often they also contain instructions on liturgy for the proper conduct of sacred rites. It is an ancient custom to issue Pastoral Letters during Lent, because in that period the life of the faithful, purified by austerity of conduct, is ever more consolidated in the truths of faith and in the exercise of virtue. The CIC contains no mention of such letters: it is a customary norm that leaves to the bishop’s discretion their necessity and content. In Rome the Cardinal Vicar issues only instructions, which are called "notifications." Parish priests are bound to read Pastoral Letters to the people on the days determined by the Ordinary himself.
VI. **LETTERS ROGATORY**: these are those by which various ecclesiastical tribunals mutually assist one another in the administration of justice. They are distinguished as remissorial if sent to a tribunal of the same grade, imperative if issued by a higher tribunal, and supplicatory if from a lower tribunal. The norm established in the CIC is of the broadest application and applies to all tribunals: its foundation lies in the legal provision that obliges all tribunals to assist one another (can. 1570, 2); if there is a particular convention, this mutual assistance may also take place between ecclesiastical and civil tribunals (cf. Austrian Concordat, art. 7, 5). The object of these letters may be all procedural acts, the enumeration made by the CIC being merely illustrative. The requesting judge, after summarily describing the case and indicating the purpose of his request, enumerates the procedural acts required, notifying the name and domicile of the persons to be examined, the interrogatories prepared by the promoter of justice, the defender of the bond, or the parties, and attaching the necessary instructions. The tribunal, upon receiving the letter, takes care of its execution, after examining the legitimacy of the request. In the execution of individual acts the norms of common law and those of the particular law of the tribunal in which the acts are executed must be observed; the acts are drawn up according to the law of that tribunal, a norm that also applies to expenses. If the requesting tribunal has granted free legal assistance, it is fitting that the requested tribunal also grant II.
Giuseppe Damizia
VII. **LETTERS TESTIMONIAL**: these are attestations issued by the competent ecclesiastical authority regarding the honesty of aspirants to the religious state and of those to be ordained.
L. testimoniali for religious aspirants
These may be postulants or novices of Congregations and religious Orders where the postulancy is not required beforehand. Can. 544 § 1 requires for them letters testimonial (I. testimoniali) of Baptism and Confirmation received; § 2 further stipulates that male aspirants must present letters testimonial from the Ordinary of their origin and from every other place where they have remained for more than a morally continuous year after completing their fourteenth year. § 3 requires letters testimonial from the rector of the seminary or college, who must first consult the local Ordinary when the aspirant has previously been in any seminary or college; instead, letters testimonial from the major superior of the religious institute are required if the candidate has already been an aspirant in another religious institute.
However, § 4 admits that for aspirants who are already clerics, the attestation of ordination and letters testimonial from the Ordinaries of the dioceses in which such clerics have remained for more than a morally continuous year after ordination suffice, except as provided in § 3. § 5 notes that if a religious, by apostolic indult, passes to another religious institute, the attestation of the previous superior is sufficient. § 6 leaves to superiors the right to demand other attestations in addition to those indicated above, if they deem it necessary or opportune. § 7 concerns only female aspirants and ordains that they cannot be received without prior diligent inquiries regarding their character and morals, in observance of § 3.
The letters testimonial must be given to religious superiors (not to the aspirants) free of charge, within three months of the request, sealed, and, if they pertain to seminarians in colleges or aspirants of another religious institute, under oath. However, if, for grave reasons, the person required to give the letters testimonial judges that they cannot respond within three months, they are bound to state the reason to the Holy See. If the person required to give the letters testimonial responds that they do not know the aspirant sufficiently, the religious superior shall supplement this with another diligent inquiry; if they do not respond at all, the requesting superior must inform the Holy See (can. 545 § 1–3).
After diligent inquiry, even regarding secret information, while it is being gathered, the person required to give the letters testimonial is bound, by grave obligation of conscience, to attest to the truthfulness of the matters asserted regarding birth, morals, intellect, life, reputation, condition, studies completed, any censures, irregularities, canonical impediments, and family status. If the aspirant is a former student dismissed from a seminary, college, postulancy, or novitiate of some Congregation or religious Order, the reason for such dismissal must be indicated. All those who receive such information are bound to secrecy regarding the information received and the persons who provided it (can. 545 § 4, 546).
The CIC further sanctions that superiors who admit a candidate to the novitiate without the letters testimonial required by can. 544 shall be punished according to the gravity of the fault, not excluding deprivation of office (can. 2411).
L. testimoniali for those to be ordained
These are attestations from the local Ordinary, who certifies that the ordinand has contracted no impediment or irregularity. They must be issued by the local Ordinary (including the vicar general) of the place where the ordinand has remained after puberty for six months, or, if a soldier, for three months. It should be noted that they must be granted by the same Ordinary specifically to permit the reception of Orders (thus, letters testimonial given for another purpose, e.g., examinations to be taken, do not suffice for ordination). The ordaining bishop may, for reasons whose evaluation is left to his prudence, request letters testimonial for a shorter period or even for a time prior to puberty.
If the local Ordinary does not know, or cannot sufficiently know, the ordinand either personally or through others, or if the ordinand has wandered through so many dioceses that it is very difficult to obtain all the letters testimonial, the Ordinary may secure assurance by means of the supplementary oath imposed on the ordinand. If, after receiving the letters testimonial but before ordination, the ordinand remains in the same territory, new letters testimonial from the local Ordinary are required. A non-exempt religious must present, together with the letters testimonial from the local Ordinary, letters testimonial from his own major superior, while an exempt religious need only present letters testimonial from his own religious superior, attesting to the ordinand’s membership and profession in his religious family, studies completed, and other matters required in the letters testimonial from the local Ordinary (can. 993–95).
A bishop who ordains his own subject, who has resided elsewhere for a sufficient time to contract canonical impediments, without having obtained the letters testimonial or the supplementary oath, incurs immediately a suspension from conferring Orders for one year, reserved to the Holy See (can. 2373).