TCJ:
Is that position supported in canon law? I did not see anything about one’s parish being determined by where he registers. In fact, if I am reading things right, in most cases it is expressly determined by his place of domicile.
Here is a short excerpt.
Can. 515 §1 A parish is a certain community of Christ’s faithful stably established within a particular
Church, whose pastoral care, under the authority of the diocesan Bishop, is entrusted to a parish priest as its proper pastor.
Can. 518 As a general rule, a parish is to be territorial, that is, it is to embrace all Christ’s faithful of a given territory. Where it is useful however, personal parishes are to be established, determined by reason of the rite, language or nationality of the faithful of a certain territory, or on some other basis.
Note that a parish is to be “territorial,” which expressly means “to embrace all Christ’s faithful of a given territory.” I think it is also important to note that priestly obligations extend only to people within his parish (which is territorial).
528 §1 The parish priest has the obligation of ensuring that the word of God is proclaimed in its entirety to those living in the parish. He is therefore to see to it that the lay members of Christ’s faithful are instructed in the truths of faith, especially by means of the homily on Sundays and holydays of obligation and by catechetical formation. He is to foster works which promote the spirit of the Gospel, including its relevance to social justice. He is to have a special care for the catholic education of children and young people. With the collaboration of the faithful, he is to make every effort to bring the gospel message to those also who have given up religious practice or who do not profess the true faith.
By leaving one’s territory to participate in another parish, one is making it impossible or difficult for a priest to fulfil his duty toward that person.
I have heard that more conservative priests tend to be sticklers for this.
