Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 4.djvu/852

 DEVOLUTION

768

DEYMANN

themselves regarded as good beings would be called devil-worshippers by men of other nations. Such may be the case with the Daeva-worshippers in the Avesta. In the same way the Greeks and Romans may have worshipped their divinities, fondly believing them to be good. But the Christian Scriptures declare that all the gods of the Gentiles are demons.

This declaration, it may be added, was not the ut- terance of a rival race but the teaching of Holy Scrip- ture. For as the Fathers and theologians explain the matter, the fallen angels besides tempting and assail- ing men in other ways, have, by working on their fears or exciting their cupidity, brought them to give wor- ship to themselves under the guise of idols. If not in all cases, it would seem that much of the heathen idolatrous worship, especially in its worst and most degraded forms, was offered to the de\'ils. This may explain some of the manifestations in the old pagan oracles. And something of the same kind occurs in the demonic manifestations among the modern demon- olaters in India (cf. Alexander, Demonic Possession in the New Testament, p. 237). Nor has this been con- fined to heathen nations, for in connexion with magi- cal practices and occultism some forms of devil- worship appear in the heresy history of medieval Europe. Gorres, in his great work on Christian Mysticism, gives some curious and repulsive details of their obscene ceremonial. Of late years there seems to have been a recrudescence of this e-\al super- stition in certain countries of Europe. While there is some authentic evidence as to the existence of these evil practices, the truth is overlaid with a mass of leg- end, many charges of this kind are false or grossly exaggerated, and a number of innocent persons have been cruelly put to death on charges of witchcraft or devil-worship. It is well also to remember St. Au- gustine's words: "Non uno modo sacrificatur tradi- toribus angelis"; and possibly calumny and cruelty may be more dangerous forms of devil-worship than all the dark rites of African Medicine men or medieval magicians.

Gorres, Christl. Mystik. French Tr.; Alexander. Demo- nic Possession in the New Testament (Edinburgh, 1902).

W. H. ICent.

Devolution (Lat. devoluiio from devohcre), the right of an ecclesiastical superior to provide for a bene- fice, when the ordinary patron or collator has failed to do so, either through negligence or by the nomination of an improper candidate. There is no permanent loss of right in such a case, but only for the time being and for that particular instance. The right of devo- lution passes to the bishop of the diocese when the chapter or private individuals who have the right of patronage do not present a new and acceptable bene- ficiary within six months of the vacancy. When the bishop hunself is negligent, the right devolves upon the metropolitan. Where, however, the right of ap- pointing belongs to both the bishop and the chapter, if only one of the parties has been found wanting in the exercise of the right, the law declares that the power of nomination remains to the other. When there is a vacancy in an episcopal see, the metropolitan appoints a vicar capitular to rule the vacant diocese, if the cathedral chapter has failed to elect such an official within eight days. In case of negligence on the part of metropolitans or exempt bishops, the right devolves upon the pope of proWding for the benefices not con- ferred within the legal time or when the election was uncanonical. (Chapters having power to elect an archbishop, bishop, or abbot must do so within three months, or the appointment devolves upon the Roman pontiff. The same holds for the case where an election was not celebrated according to canonical prescrip- tions. Custom, however, allows a second election by the chapter when the first has been declared void. In countries where a concordat exists between the Holy See and the civil government, the right of devolution

is often either to be held in abeyance or certain restric- tions are placed upon it. In France no right of devo- lution was recognized by the State. In some ecclesi- astical provinces of Germany and of Holland and Bel- gium, it is expressly stipulated that in the event of an uncanonical election of an archbishop or bishop, the chapters are to be allowed to proceed to another elec- tion. In case the right of presentation to archiepis- copal and episcopal sees has been conceded to the civil government, the latter does not lose the right by the nomination of an unacceptable candidate, nor does the election devolve upon the pope when a bish- opric has not been filled within the canonical term of three months, unless such has been expressly stipu- lated in the concordat. When the pope, himself, does not exercise the right of devolution within the canoni- cal terra of months, the power of conferring the bene- fice returns to the ordinary patron. Canonists deduce this conclusion not from any explicit law, but from the common regulations governing the provisions for filling benefices and dignities. In practice this cus- tom is observed by the Holy See. Historically, the law of devolution does not seem to be more ancient than the Third Council of the Lateran (1179) for bene- fices, and the Fourth Council of the Lateran (1215) for elective prelacies. The object of the law is both to provide through higher authority a remedy for the correction of abuses or negligences on the part of in- feriors and also to punish them for the improper use of their powers.

Khemski. De Jure DevoluHonis (BerUn, 1S53); Laurentius, Institulioncs Jur. Ecd. (Freiburg, 1903); Wbrnz, Jus Decrc- talium (Rome, 1899), II.

William H. W. Panning.

Devoti, Giovanni, canonist, b. at Rome, 11 July, 1744; d. there IS Sept., 1820. At the age of twenty he occupied a chair of canon law at the Roman Uni- versity (Sapienza). After twenty-five years service in this position Pius VI appointed him Bishop of An- agni, which see he resigned in 1804, to become titular Archbishop of Carthage. As such he filled several im- portant positions at Rome. He also accompanied Pius VII during his exile in France. His works are: "De notissimis in jure legibus libri duo" (Rome, 17G0); "Juris canonici universi publici et privati libri quin- que", an unfinished work of which only three volumes appeared (Rome, lSO.3-1815; new edition, Rome, 1827), containing an introduction to canon law and a com mentary on the first and second book of the Decretals; " Institutionura canonicariun libri quatuor" (Rome, 1785; fourth ed., Rome, 1814). This last work is distinguished by its clearness and conciseness, and by its numerous historical notes, attributed, but without any reason, to Cardinal Castiglione, afterwards Pius VIII. In 1817, the King of Spain made obligatory the study of the " Institutiones" of Devoti at the Univer sity of Alcald; in 1836, the University of Louvain ac- cepted it as a classical manual of canon law. The work is now more useful for the history than for the practice of canon law.

Schulte. Geschichte der Qucllen und Litieratur des c ischen Rechts (Stuttgart, 18S0). Ill, 1. 52S; Hdrter, A'. dator Lilcrarius (1895), III, 677; WER.-JZ, Jus Dccrelalium (Rome, 1898), I, 401.

A. Van Hove

Devotion, Feast of. See Feast.

Dewi, Bishop op Menevia. See David, Saint. |^

Deymann, Clementine, b. at Klein-Stavem, Olden-^ tei burg, Germany, 24 June, 1844; d. at Phcenix, Arizona, U. S. A., 4 December, 1890. He came to America with his parents in 1803, studied at Teutopolis, Illi- nois, received the habit of St. Francis and the name Clementine at the same place, 8 December, 1867, fin- ished his theological studies, and was ordained priest at St. Louis, Missouri, 19 May, 1872. Father Clemen- tine was stationed as professor at the college of Teu-

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