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Apostolic Penitentiary

 The Apostolic Penitentiary, formerly called the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Penitentiary, is a dicastery of the Roman Curia and is one of the three ordinary tribunals of the Apostolic See. The Apostolic Penitentiary is chiefly a tribunal of mercy, responsible for issues relating to the forgiveness of sins in the Catholic Church.


The Apostllic Penitentiary has jurisdiction only over matters in the internal forum (an act of governance made without publicity). Its work falls mainly into these categories:
  • the absolution of excommunication latae sententiae (a latae sententiae penalty is a penalty that is inflicted ipso facto, automatically, by force of the law itself, at the very moment the law is contravened), reserved to the Holy See
  • the dispensation of sacramental impediments reserved to the Holy See
  • the issuance and governance of indulgences
The head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, the Major Penitentiary, is one of the few Vatican officials who retain their positions sede vacante. If the Major Penitentiary is a cardinal elector he is one of only three persons in the conclave allowed to communicate with those outside the conclave, so that he can continue to fulfill his duties (the other two are the Cardinal Vicar for the Diocese of Rome and the Vicar General for the Vatican City State). The Major Penitentiary is a titular archbishop and normally created as Cardinal. Since September 21, 2013, the Major Penitentiary is Cardinal Mauro Piacenza. The second-highest ranking official in the Apostolic Penitentiary, called the Regent, is Msgr. Krzysztof Jósef Nykiel.

During the Middle Ages, the Apostolic Penitentiary had two major functions. The officium minus related to the spiritual care of Christians, and the ability to listen to confessions and absolve sins of grave nature, whose absolving was reserved to the Pope. The officium minus related to the power to grant grace to those petitioned the Pope in relation to: (1) absolution for breaking the regulations of canon law; (2) dispensations to act against Church regulations; (3) licenses not to observe ecclesiastical norns regarding the exercise of the faith; and (4) official declarations. The Penitentiary developed around the 12th century, with its powers gradually increasing and being expanded by subsequent popes.

Normally, confession of sins are handled at the local level by priests and their bishops and are not heard by the tribunal. The work of the Apostolic Penitentiary involves sin, such as difiling the Eucharist, which are reserved to the Holy See. In late 2006, then Major Penitentiary Cardinal Stafford said this offense is occuring with more and more frequency, by ordinary faithful who receive Communion and then spit it out or otherwise desecrate it. 

The Apostolic Penitentiary also specifies the actions for which indulgences are granted, prescribing the requirements therefore.

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