Conservator (religion)

Last updated March 21, 2019

A conservator (from Latin : conservator , lit. 'a keeper, preserver, defender'),^[1] was a judge delegated by the pope to defend certain privileged classes of persons – as universities, Catholic religious orders, chapters, the poor – from manifest or notorious injury or violence, without recourse to a judicial process. Conservators were appointed as early as the 13th century.^[2]

Literal translation, direct translation, or word-for-word translation is the rendering of text from one language to another one word at a time with or without conveying the sense of the original whole.

A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and, typically, in an open court. The judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers of the case, assesses the credibility and arguments of the parties, and then issues a ruling on the matter at hand based on his or her interpretation of the law and his or her own personal judgment. In some jurisdictions, the judge's powers may be shared with a jury. In inquisitorial systems of criminal investigation, a judge might also be an examining magistrate.

The pope, also known as the supreme pontiff, is the Bishop of Rome and ex officio leader of the worldwide Catholic Church. Since 1929, the pope has also been head of state of Vatican City, a city-state enclaved within Rome, Italy. The current pope is Francis, who was elected on 13 March 2013, succeeding Benedict XVI.

History

Pope Innocent IV presupposed their existence in the decree from which we first learn their power.^[3] Owing to abuses and complaints the Council of Trent limited their jurisdiction,^[2] but new controversies, often recurring, caused popes Clement VIII, Gregory XV, and Innocent X to define their privileges more precisely.^[2]

Pope Innocent IV, born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was pope of the Catholic Church from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254.

The Council of Trent, held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described as the embodiment of the Counter-Reformation.

Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a legal body to administer justice within a defined field of responsibility, e.g., Michigan tax law. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels; e.g. the court has jurisdiction to apply federal law.

Troubles continued to arise, especially concerning the conservators of religious orders. Pope Clement XIII decreed that in missionary countries such officials should no longer be chosen, but that all controversies should be referred to the Holy See.^[2] From that time forth conservators fell into practical desuetude.^[2]

Pope Clement XIII, born Carlo della Torre di Rezzonico, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 July 1758 to his death in 1769. He was installed on 16 July 1758.

The Holy See, also called the See of Rome, is the apostolic episcopal see of the bishop of Rome, known as the Pope, ex cathedra the universal ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the worldwide Catholic Church, and a sovereign entity of international law. Founded in the 1st century by Saints Peter and Paul, by virtue of Petrine and Papal primacy according to Catholic tradition, it is the focal point of full communion for Catholic bishops and Catholics around the world organised in polities of the Latin Church, the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, and their dioceses and religious institutes.

In law, desuetude is a doctrine that causes statutes, similar legislation, or legal principles to lapse and become unenforceable by a long habit of non-enforcement or lapse of time. It is what happens to laws that are not repealed when they become obsolete. It is the legal doctrine that long and continued non-use of a law renders it invalid, at least in the sense that courts will no longer tolerate punishing its transgressors.

According to law, these officials were to be chosen from among the prelates or dignitaries of cathedral and collegiate churches; later from the synodal judges. When a conservator had been chosen by regular clergy he could not be removed for five years without cause. He had no jurisdiction in cases that required juridical examination. While he took cognizance of all complaints against regular clergy, he had no authority to receive those of the regular clergy against others unless they were notorious. In the latter case the conservator decided the question summarily. He could punish with ecclesiastical penalties even high church dignitaries who interfered with his duties. His power was limited, however, to the one diocese in which be had been elected, nor could the same conservator have power in several dioceses.^[2]

A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.

A cathedral is a Christian church which contains the cathedra of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. The equivalent word in German for such a church is Dom ; see also Duomo in Italian, Dom(kerk) in Dutch, and cognates in many other European languages. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations with an episcopal hierarchy, such as the Catholic, Anglican, Orthodox, and some Lutheran and Methodist churches. Church buildings embodying the functions of a cathedral first appeared in Italy, Gaul, Spain and North Africa in the 4th century, but cathedrals did not become universal within the Western Catholic Church until the 12th century, by which time they had developed architectural forms, institutional structures and legal identities distinct from parish churches, monastic churches and episcopal residences.

In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a dean or provost. In its governance and religious observance a collegiate church is similar to a cathedral, although a collegiate church is not the seat of a bishop and has no diocesan responsibilities. Collegiate churches were often supported by extensive lands held by the church, or by tithe income from appropriated benefices. They commonly provide distinct spaces for congregational worship and for the choir offices of their clerical community.

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References

↑ The dictionary definition of conservator at Wiktionary
1 2 3 4 5 6 Fanning 1908.
↑ Liber Septimus , VI 1.14.15 "De officio et potestate iudicis delegati", cited in Fanning (1908).

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Fanning, William H. W. (1908). "Conservator". In Herbermann, Charles. Catholic Encyclopedia . 4. New York: Robert Appleton.

The public domain consists of all the creative works to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable.

The Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church, also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia and the Original Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States and designed to serve the Roman Catholic Church. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and the last three volumes appeared in 1912, followed by a master index volume in 1914 and later supplementary volumes. It was designed "to give its readers full and authoritative information on the entire cycle of Catholic interests, action and doctrine".

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[1] The dictionary definition of conservator at Wiktionary

[FOOTNOTEFanning1908-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Fanning 1908.

[3] Liber Septimus , VI 1.14.15 "De officio et potestate iudicis delegati", cited in Fanning (1908).