POINTERS (PUNTATORI). — This is the name given to those who must be elected in each Chapter, whether cathedral or collegiate, to mark those canons who fail to attend choir when prescribed.
Each Chapter appoints one or more such officers according to its respective statutes. Those appointed take an oath to perform their duty faithfully, either before the Chapter or before its president. The bishop may appoint, on his own part, another pointer in addition to those named by the Chapter. Should no pointers have been appointed, or should they be absent from choir, the senior canon present shall act in their stead (CIC, can. 395 § 4).
The office of pointer is not perpetual; indeed, as it is an odious duty, it should be assigned by rotation and for a relatively short term (six months or a year). Any cleric of the Chapter may serve as pointer; some authors hold that even a non-canonical cleric may be appointed, but the sacristan or the penitentiary canon shall never be so designated. Those who, though physically present in choir, do not join in the prayers or common singing, or frequently absent themselves therefrom, shall also be noted. The reasons for temporary absences from choir must be communicated to the pointer, who in turn records them in the pointer’s register. This register is evidence in any judicial proceeding.