Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 4.djvu/87

 CLOISTER

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CLOISTER

ent writer is of the opinion that the common estima- tion (which may vary in different countries) defines it. It consists in leaving the cloister without a good and serious motive, at a late hour, when people would be surprised to meet a rehgious outside liis monasterj-. Canonical legislation carefully provides that religious, when not employed in the functions of the sacred niinistrj'. shall reside in monasteries. The Council of Trent had already forbidden them to leave the mon- asterv- without permission under pretext of meeting their superiors. If they are sent to foUov.- a univer- sity course, they must reside in a religious house. The bishop can and must punish the violators of this law of residence (Sess. XXIV, De Reg. et Mon., c. iv). Certain decrees of reform, primarily intended for Italy alone, but probably extended by usage, specially for- bid religious to go to Rome without permission of the superior general.

Obstacle to the Entrance of Outsiders. — Women are strictly forbidden to enter the encloistered portions of a house of male religious. In his " Apostohcae Sedis" (1S69), sec. 2, n. 7, Pius IX renewed the sentence of excommunication against \-iolators of this law. This excommunication is absolutely reser\-ed to the Holy See; it affects the women who enter as well as the superior or religious who admits them. The penalty always supposes, of course, a serious sin on the offend- er's part, but the moralists are verj' severe in their appreciation of cases. The fact of having just fuU.y crossed the bovmdarj- suffices, according to them, for the commission of a serious sin and incurs the penalty. Such severity is comprehensible when a continuous material barrier separates the cloistered and non- cloistered parts of the monasterj-; still, the present writer is rather inclined to exonerate that person from a grievous sin who should just step over the boundarj- and ret ire immediately. Where t here is no such bar- rier, somewhat more latitude may be allowed. The law makes exceptions for queens and women of hke rank, as, for e.xample, the wife of the president of a republic; such persons may also be accompanied by a suitable retinue. Exception is also sometimes made for notable benefactresses, who must, however, pre- viously obtain a pontifical indult. It should be noted that young girls under twelve do not incur this ex- communication, but the rehgious who should admit them would incur the penalty. It is not certain that young girls under seven come under the law; hence the religious who should admit them would not com- mit a grave fault or incur the excommunication.

(b) Female. — Material Clausura. — Those parts of the convent to which the nuns have access are all within the cloister, the choir not excepted. Here the law recognizes no neutral territory. If the convent church be public, the nuns cannot go into those parts accessible to the jieople. Further, the building should be so constructed that neither the sisters can look out- side their enclosure, nor their neighbours see into the court-yards or gardens at the disposal of the sisters. Before establishing a women's convent with cloister, it is the desire of the Holy See — if it be not a condi- tion of validity — that the beneplacitum Apostolicum should be obtained; this is a certain obligation for countries, like the United States, which are subject to the Constitution of Leo XIII "Romanes Pon- tifices", 8 May, 1881. (See also the Letter of 7 Dec, 1901. of the Congregation of Propaganda.)

Formal Clausura. — Obstacle to Egress.^Under no pretext may the sisters go outside their cloister with- out a legitimate cau.se approved of by the bishop. Such is the legi.slation of the Council of Trent (Sess. XXV. De. Reg. et .Mon., c. v.). St. Pius V, restrict- ing still more this law, recognized only three legiti- mate cau.scs: fire, leprosy, and contagious malady. Without keeping rigorously to this enumeration, we may say that an analogous necessity is always re- quired in order that the bishop may accord the per-

mission. The nuns who transgress this law incur an excommunication reserved absolutely to the Holy See ("Apost. Sedis", sec. 2, n. 6).

Obstacle to the FreeEntrance of Outsiders. — The law is much more severe for female than for male houses ; in fact, even women are rigorously excluded from the cloistered parts. The penalty for those who enter and for those who admit or introduce them is the same — an excommunication absolutely reserved to the Holy See ("Apost. Sed.", sec. 2, n. 6). The pen- alty affects all those, and only those, who have reached the age of reason. Hence, in spite of the general terms of the law, it seems probable that the sister who should introduce a child under seven would not incur the ecclesiastical censure. Tliis re- gime, however, admits of e.xcei>tions; corporal or spiritual needs demand the physician's or the confes- sor's presence, the garden must be cultivated, the building kept in repair. Hence general [lermissions are given to doctors, confessors, workmen, and others. The confessor of the nuns has this permission in virtue of his office, so also the bishop who must make the canonical visitation, and the regular superior. If the convent be under the jurisdiction of regulars, out- siders who need to enter the cloister probably require only one permission, that of the regular superior, ex- cept where custom requires also the permission of the bishop or of his delegate (St. Alph., "Theol. mor.", VII, 224). Benedict XIV, Lehmkuhl, and Piat, bas- ing their view on the jurisprudence of the Congrega- tion of the Council, hold that the bishop's permission is always required. This permission, whether coming from the bishop or from the regular superior, should be in writing, according to the wording of the law; but an oral permission is sufficient to avoid the cen- sure (St. Alph., "Theol. mor.", VII, 223). We may follow the opinion of St. Alphonsus (loc. cit.), who maintains that when one has an evident reason for entering within the cloister, he avoids both the cen- sure and the sin, even though he have only an oral permission. It should be observed that girl-boarders are subject to this legislation. Hence the solemnly professed nuns who wish to occupy themselves with the education of the young must be pro\4ded with a pontifical indult.

However, cloistered nuns are not absolutely for- bidden all intercourse with the outside world. They may of course receive letters; they may also receive visitors in the convent parlour, provided that they remain behind the grating, or grille, erected there. For such \isits a reasonable cause and a permission from the bishop is usually needed. This permission, however, is not required in the case of those who, by virtue of their office, are obliged to have relations with a convent, viz. the ecclesiastical sujierior, the confessor (for spiritual affairs), the canonical visitor, etc. Except in .\dvent and Lent, relatives and cliildren are admitted once a week. The conditions for a visit by a male religious are very severe ; accord- ing to some authors he can only receive permission if he is a blood relation of the first or second degree, and then only four times a year. Further, although an irregular \Tsit on the part of a lay person or secular priest does not constitute a grave fault, any visit without leave is a mortal sin for the religious. Such is the severity of the prohibition contained in the decree of the Congregation of the Council, dated 7 June, 1669. However, the conditions commonly re- quired for a mortal sin must be present. For that reason some eminent theologians do not think there is a mortal sin if the conversation docs not last for a quarter of an hour (C. d'Annibale, Summula theol., III, n. 228). It should be noted, at the same time, that certain usages have mitigated the rigour of the fa>vs here mentioned. In Spain, for instance, the permis- sion of the diocesan authority is never asked for mak- ing such visits. And of course the law itself affects