Dispensation

[camkutz]

I’ve heard many times about people getting dispensation for some reason or another of some kind of obligation such as Friday abstinence, or Mass on a Sunday or a Holy Day.

What does it actually involve? You just ask the priest for a dispensation and he says “yeah, that’s cool” and that’s it or?

 

[Don_Ruggero]

I’ve heard many times about people getting dispensation for some reason or another of some kind of obligation such as Friday abstinence, or Mass on a Sunday or a Holy Day.

What does it actually involve? You just ask the priest for a dispensation and he says “yeah, that’s cool” and that’s it or?

What is actually involved depends upon the nature of the dispensation and the level to which one need have recourse.

There are dispensations I grant orally…such as the Friday abstinence, the fasts in Lent, or the Sunday obligation. Usually, before granting the dispensation, I will propose first a commutation. Other times, I will choose simply to go straight to dispensation. It varies upon the situation.

I have never formulated quite the way you have. If oral, I will either say, typically, in the active voice “I grant the dispensation” or in the passive voice “The dispensation is granted.” From time to time, I will be asked to put it in writing.

In issues regarding marriage or ordination, a decree would be issued by competent ecclesiastical authority for inclusion with the paperwork kept on file, as proof that the dispensation had been sought by appropriate petition and that it had been duly obtained.

As one proceeds up the ladder, if recourse is needed to the Holy See for example, the decree is typically more elaborate.

 

[BusterMartin]

What is actually involved depends upon the nature of the dispensation and the level to which one need have recourse.

There are dispensations I grant orally…such as the Friday abstinence, the fasts in Lent, or the Sunday obligation. Usually, before granting the dispensation, I will propose first a commutation. Other times, I will choose simply to go straight to dispensation. It varies upon the situation.

I have never formulated quite the way you have. If oral, I will either say, typically, in the active voice “I grant the dispensation” or in the passive voice “The dispensation is granted.” From time to time, I will be asked to put it in writing.

In issues regarding marriage or ordination, a decree would be issued by competent ecclesiastical authority for inclusion with the paperwork kept on file, as proof that the dispensation had been sought by appropriate petition and that it had been duly obtained.

As one proceeds up the ladder, if recourse is needed to the Holy See for example, the decree is typically more elaborate.

So, would it be safe to say that we should just check with our priest first? I imagine he would know if it should be escalated or in writing, right?

 

[Don_Ruggero]

So, would it be safe to say that we should just check with our priest first? I imagine he would know if it should be escalated or in writing, right?

If you are in need of a dispensation, you should consult your confessor or your parish priest.

If the law has not given them the prerogative of granting the dispensation, they will know to whom application need be made.