First Section: General Norms:

Second Section: On Government Itself:

Third Section: On Elections:

Fourth Section: On Economic Administration:

Chapters:

23. on the principles of administration; §537
24. on administrative procedure; §550
25. on administration in particular. §576

II.   The primary source of all these goods is the diligent work of the brethren and moderation in their use and in expenditures even though we accept the donations of benefactors with a grateful spirit.

II.   These goods shall be applied to the needs of one's own province, or, after consulting the Master of the Order, shall be offered to the Order or to a more needy province.

Art. II -- On the Subject (or Agent)
of Administration

II.   In the same manner, their administration can be entrusted to designated officials whether of a convent, or of a province, or of the Order, who shall be considered as delegated administrators.

III.   Within the limits of the statute of administration of a province or of the Order, superiors can appoint an individual brother to complete a particular project.

II.   In the same way, if an appointed administrator shall have contracted debts and obligations, that moral person shall answer for them in whose name the transaction took place.

III.   If a brother shall have contracted debts and obligations without any permission of a superior, he himself must answer for them, but not the Order or a province or a convent.

Art. III -- On the Object of Administration,
or on the Right to Goods

1. whatever the brothers assigned there acquire by their work and industry, either in respect to the individual or to the convent as well as their personal compensations of any kind whatsoever, saving nn. 174 and 200,V;

2. gifts made in favor of the convent;

3. all the goods legitimately acquired in the course of time, whether they are immovable, or movable, or capital, and their income.

1. the income of the work of the prior provincial;

2. gifts made in favor of the province;

3. gifts made for the education of candidates, novices, and students, as well as for the support of the missions or for other projects which depend on the direction of the province;

4. the income from projects and institutes whose expenses the province has assumed;

5. the income from the work of brethren assigned or working outside their own province, in accord with n.600;

6. inherited goods of any kind whatsoever of the sons of the province as well as free legacies, that is, which are left to the brethren without any intention of the benefactor manifested previously in writing or before witnesses, saving n.200;

7. immovable, movable, or capital goods acquired by a province in the course of time, and their income;

8. taxes imposed on the convents by the provincial chapters.

1. immovable, movable, and capital goods, both of the Order and of institutes immediately subject to the Master of the Order, and their income;

2. the income of the work of the brethren in those institutes and of those working in the general curia, as well as gifts made to them without any special condition, saving n.600;

3. taxes imposed on provinces by a general chapter;

4. taxes on convents or institutes immediately subject to the Master of the Order, imposed by him with his council;

5. all other income coming in favor of the Order.

II.   Therefore, the legal representative of the civil person which acts in behalf of a convent, or a province, or of the Order, or of any institution belonging to them can take only those actions which a competent superior or administrator can take according to our law, and he is obliged strictly to execute them not according to his own judgment but according to the direction of the competent official.

III.   The same holds true for other administrators and for each associate who by voting or in any other way shares in administration. For all these, juridical precautions shall be taken lest any harm should arise from the death of a brother or from any other cause.

IV.   If he is a layman, the rights and obligations of a legal representative shall be determined in a special contract.

II.   Administrators appointed for a particular project shall hand over all the records to the proper syndic once it has been completed.

II.   The bank shall be chosen by the administrator himself with the consent of the superior.

III.   Moneys deposited in banks can be withdrawn only by checks signed at least by the superior and the administrator, together or separately, according to the statute of administration.

II.   Every year, the superior of a house, the conventual prior, the vicar provincial, and the regional prior shall send to the prior provincial an accurate and complete report prepared by the syndic in which a budget for the following year is included, made after consultation with the conventual chapter if the provincial chapter shall have determined this and approved by council of the convent or the vicariate; copies of this budget shall be kept in the files of each syndic. (O-282)

II.   In a similar fashion a regional prior and a vicar provincial shall send their prior provincial an accurate report of the economic status approved by their respective council in the same way as is stated in paragraph I.   (C-194; B-287)

II.   Furthermore, each year, a prior provincial, prior vice-provincial, and a vicar general should send the Master of the Order a response to the questionnaire concerning major economic matters prepared by the syndic of the Order and approved by the master of the Order. (C-200; B-288)

II.   Furthermore, when a project has been completed, a delegated administrator shall make a report to the delegating superior with his council.

II.   The Master of the Order with his council can impose taxes on the convents under his immediate jurisdiction.

II.   They shall be imposed according to the income of each convent or province while maintaining equity and proportion.

II.   Concerning the expenses of a general chapter, the following must be kept in mind:

1. personal expenses, such as pertain to travel and lodging, shall be borne by each province;

2. general expenses for a chapter shall be paid proportionately by the general curia and by each province according to the manner established in the chapter itself;

3. six months before the convocation of a general chapter, the syndic of the Order and the syndic of the convent where the chapter is to be held shall prepare a budget of the chapter expenses to be submitted to the Master of the Order with his council. Afterwards, it shall be sent to each province for consultation.

Art. I -- On Mutual Collaboration between Convents,
a Province, and the Order

II.   It will be the duty of the economic council not only to examine all the reports to be submitted to the provincial chapter or even to the provincial council but also to offer help to the provincial council with its consultative vote when treating economic matters of major importance such as the budget, taxes, and long-range plans.

III.   The norms by which the council for economic matters is governed shall be incorporated in the statute of administration.

II.   The council of the province shall give general rules concerning investments and their unavoidable fluctuations so that the syndic of the province, in collaboration with the economic council and after consulting independent experts, can transact business at an opportune time.

II.   Projects of this kind are not only buildings to be constructed or restored or works to be inaugurated which require a great amount of money only once but also those undertakings for which annual subsidies must be assigned.

II.   In planning for the needs of a province or of a particular convent, the rights of convents over their temporal goods, not excluding the transfer or alienation of goods, can be restricted but always after consulting the chapter of the convent concerned.

II.   Buildings must be constructed in the manner in which they have been approved by the provincial council, and no one is permitted to deviate on his own authority from the plan as it has been approved.

Art. V -- On Mass Stipends

Art. VI -- On Pious Foundations
and Restricted Gifts

II.   Furthermore, every acceptance of a burdensome obligation requires the consent of the provincial council, and those which impose a prolonged obligation shall not be accepted easily.

II.   In petitions for obtaining consent to contract debts or obligations, all other debts and obligations with which the contracting party is burdened to that date without any exception must be declared; otherwise the permission obtained is invalid.

III.   Contracts for debts or obligations to be incurred shall be submitted to the examination of the economic council.

II.   Contracts for renting generally cannot be made without the previous consultation of the economic council. Furthermore, a superior cannot make a rental contract without the consent of his council.

II.   In these contracts, however, the prior provincial with his council can give consent up to the highest amount defined by the Holy See for each region (see Can. 638,3). Otherwise, recourse to the Master of the Order is required.

Art. XII -- On the Administration of
the Goods of Externs

II.   If an obligation of presenting a report is attached to this administration, then permission should be granted by the prior provincial with greater reluctance and strictly for the time required.