''Taxa Innocentiana'' was a decree of Pope Innocent XI of 1 October 1678 that regulated the fees that episcopal chancery offices might demand or accept for various acts, instruments, and writings. According to the decree, bishops or their officials were proscribed from accepting anything, though voluntarily offered, for:
* Ordinations or anything connected therewith, e.g., dimissorial letters;
*Institutions to
benefices
A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...
; or
* Matrimonial dispensations.
In the last case, however, alms to be applied for religious uses could be demanded. The chancellor may exact a moderate charge, determined by Innocent XI, for expediting necessary documents, except those granting permission to offer
Mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...
, administer the sacraments, preach, etc. The ''Taxa Innocentiana'' was silent regarding contentious matters, e.g. the charge for copies of acts of ecclesiastical trials. Some maintained that Innocent xi's legislation was promulgated only for
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, but it evidenced the will of the Church and at least in substance was of universal application.
On 10 June 1896 the Sacred Congregation of the Council modified the prescriptions of Innocent XI, decreeing that while taxes or fees may be imposed according to justice and prudence in matters pertaining to
benefices
A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...
matrimony
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
; yet the sacraments themselves must be conferred without charge and pious customs connected therewith observed. In other matters not directly affecting the administration of the sacraments, e.g. dispensations from the
banns of marriage
The banns of marriage, commonly known simply as the "banns" or "bans" (from a Middle English word meaning "proclamation", rooted in Frankish and thence in Old French), are the public announcement in a Christian parish church, or in the town cou ...
, it is decreed that:
*Laudable customs must be followed and allowances made for various circumstances of time, place, and persons;
*The
indigent
Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little
are not to be taxed;
*In all cases, the amount demanded must be moderate, so that persons are not deterred thereby from receiving the sacraments;
*Regarding matrimony, the exaction is to be remitted if otherwise there would be danger of
concubinage
Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive.
Concubin ...
;
*Regarding benefices, the tax must be in proportion to the fruits or income of the benefice in question; and
*All such fees are to be determined not by individual bishops, but by provincial council or at least in a special meeting of the ordinaries of the province for this purpose.
The
approbation
Approbation may refer to:
* Approbation (Catholic canon law), an act in the Catholic Church by which a bishop or other legitimate superior grants to an ecclesiastic the actual exercise of his ministry
* The process of granting a medical license
...
of the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...
is required for the fees determined upon. Rome's sanction is given tentatively for 5 years to Italy and for 10 years to other nations.