PARISH PORTION. – The parish or canonical portion (formerly called by the 1917 Code the “fourth funerary portion”) is a sum to be deducted from the emolument offered on the occasion of funeral rites and remitted to the parish priest of the deceased by the church in which the funeral rite is celebrated. While, in fact, the faithful are permitted to choose the church in which they wish to celebrate the funeral rites, at the same time they are obliged to pay a certain sum to the parish priest, so that this right may not prejudice the parish (1917 Code, can. 1236 § 1).
Canonical sources recall from the early Middle Ages the existence of the right to the fourth funerary portion (c. 1-4, 8-10 X, III, 28; c. 2, III, 12 in VI; c. 2, III, 7 in Clem.): from these it is deduced, however, that the parish portion was not limited to a quarter; but, according to local customs, it could also be a third or a half, and even extend to all the offerings made on the occasion of the funeral, except in cases expressly sanctioned by law (c. 20, X, III, 26). A quarter of the funeral portion was due to the bishop, a right that was abolished in modern legislation (c. 14, 15, X, III, 263; c. 16, X, I, 31). The 1917 Code speaks only of the parish portion and formulates the following principles regarding II. While particular rights remain in force, when the funeral of a faithful person is not celebrated in his own parish church, the parish priest of that church is owed the parish portion, except in the case where the funeral was celebrated in the parish of death because of difficulty in transporting the body to the proper parish church. If the deceased had more than one proper parish priest, the parish portion must be divided equally among them. This last norm is taken almost verbatim from a decretal of Boniface VIII (c. 2, III, 12 in VI), and therefore its interpretation must be made according to ancient law; to this norm, at least partially, the 1917 Code derogates (cf. can. 1216, 2; 1218).
Some religious orders have the privilege of exemption from payment of the parish portion; a privilege that suffered some restriction at the Council of Trent and, for Italy and the adjacent islands, was almost abolished by Benedict XIII. Canon 1236 evidently speaks of legitimate funerals according to the law in force, since in the case of illegitimate funerals all emoluments must be returned. If the faithful person dies in a place from which it is difficult to transport the body to his own parish, and the relatives transport it at their own expense, the parish portion must not be paid to the parish priest of the territory in which the death occurred; if the body is transported to an exempt church, neither the proper parish priest nor the one in whose territory the death occurred has a right to the parish portion: the exception of can. 1236 is absolute. The parish portion must be deducted from all and only the emoluments that have been established for the funeral and burial: candles offered by associations to the church and the alms for the requiem Mass celebrated on the seventh day or the thirtieth day or the anniversary day are therefore excluded (Benedict XIII, const. Romanus Pontifex, 28 Apr. 1725). However, if for any reason the solemn funeral office (solemn Mass and absolution at the tomb) is not celebrated immediately but within a month from the day of burial, the parish portion must also be deducted from this profit, even if on the day of burial there were minor offices (can. 1237, 1, 2). If the first funeral office is held after the entire month has elapsed, the parish portion cannot be claimed and the rite may be celebrated in any church.
The amount of the parish portion is not determined by common law, but by diocesan statutes. If the parish church and the church in which the funeral is celebrated belong to different dioceses, the parish portion must be determined according to the tariff of the diocese in which the funeral rite is performed (can. 1237, 3). It is forbidden to establish a different parish portion for churches of seculars and for those of religious.