“Sacramental formulas” are those linguistic expressions that constitute the form of the sacraments of the Catholic Church –e.g. “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”, in the sacrament of baptism, or “Take and eat…”, in the sacrament of the Eucharist–[i]; without these formulas, no sacrament can produce its proper effects –e.g. baptismal character, regenerative grace, transubstantiation etc.–.
Moving from the sacramental to the juridical/canonical field, we find that, prima facie, the use of a specific formula is not required for the existence or validity of juridical acts. On the contrary: the author of the respective act can use any words that express in a clear, sufficient and socially recognizable manner, both the juridical reality he intends to dispose of, and the meaning of the decision he proposes to adopt.
Thus, for example, if a Diocesan Bishop intends to sell a certain terrain in the diocese, it is essential that, on the one hand, the terrain involved is specified, indicating its boundaries, area, nomenclature or address etc., and on the other hand, the agreed price is punctually stated, so that no doubts are raised about the object of the sale and purchase act in question. For this purpose, the buying and selling parties must use those words that are suitable to designate the juridical-economic realities at disposal: land, lot, plot, property, estate, money, cash, currency, dollars, euros etc.[ii].
In a similar sense, if the purpose is to resign from a certain ecclesiastical office, charge or position, both the action itself –resignation– and the position on which it falls –e.g. Diocesan Bishop, Roman Pontiff, Parish Priest etc.– must be clearly expressed. Multiple terms would be appropriate for this end: resign, abdicate, renounce, position of..., office of..., bishopric of the diocese of..., Papacy, Pontificate etc.
Concerning precisely the juridical act of resignation from the ecclesiastical office or position of Roman Pontiff, canon 332 § 2 of the Code of Canon Law (CDC) establishes the following: “If the Roman Pontiff resigns from his charge, it is required for validity that the resignation be free and formally manifested, but not that it be accepted by anyone” (“Si contingat ut Romanus Pontifex muneri suo renuntiet, ad validitatem requiritur ut renuntiatio libere fiat et rite manifestetur, non vero ut a quopiam acceptetur”).
The fact that this norm refers to the object of the resignation under the term “muneri” (“charge/position/office”) does not mean that it constitutes a “sacramental formula” on whose literal use the existence or validity of the act depends. However, it is logically necessary that the interested party use a suitable term to express the reality that he intends to renounce, whether it is the word munus –charge, position– or its synonym officium (ecclesiasticum) –(ecclesiastical) office–, together with the additions petrine, papal, pontifical etc., or the words Papacy, Pontificate etc. Obviously, if the resignee used words with a different meaning than that designated by munus (or its synonyms), in no way could the act be classified as a “resignation from the Papacy”.
Evidently, the proper use of language transcends sacramental formulas and juridical formalism. What we are dealing with is an elementary semantic requirement, and above all, the necessary determination of the object of juridical acts as a sine qua non requirement for their existence and correct typification[ii].
Notes
[i] The sacramental matter, for its part, is constituted either by the corporeal substances used (remote matter) –e.g. water–, or by the sensitive actions displayed (proximate matter) –v.gr. corporal ablution–.
[ii] Note that, if these realities were not correctly indicated, the juridical act would assume a typical configuration different from the sale and purchase initially proposed –which would occur, for example, if no price were set–, or, it would be juridically non-existent –think of the hypothesis in which the thing to be transferred is described in a confusing or insufficient manner–.
[iii] A juridical act is essentially a decision, and as such requires: (a) a subject; (b) who grants his consent; (c) that this consent is made externally or socially recognizable through a form; and (d) a clear object, that is, that the specific content of the decision adopted, as well as the objective reality on which this decision falls, are precisely indicated. Read, on this matter, canon 124 § 1 CDC: “For a juridical act to be valid it is required that it have been performed by a capable person and that the elements that essentially constitute that act, as well as the formalities and requirements imposed by law for the validity of the act, concur”.
