Circular Letter No. 3200 — Clarification on Procedures for Proving the Status and Extent of Powers of Bishops and Parish Priests of the Catholic Church in Legal Transactions with Financial Institutions

CIRCULAR LETTER NO. 003200

Clarifies the procedure to be adopted for proving the status and extent of powers of bishops and parish priests of the Catholic Church, or their representatives, attorneys, or agents, to appear in legal transactions entered into with financial institutions and other institutions authorized to operate by the Central Bank of Brazil.

In view of the provisions of Article 5 of Decree 119-A, of January 7, 1890, which recognizes legal personality to all churches and religious confessions, and considering doubts raised by financial institutions and other institutions authorized to operate by the Central Bank of Brazil regarding the need to require the presentation of constitutive acts of dioceses or parishes, duly registered and accompanied by statutes, we clarify that, without prejudice to the presentation of documents proving other facts or legal acts provided for in legal and regulatory norms, the celebration of legal transactions of interest to the Catholic Church requires the demonstration of the following facts:

I - existence of the diocese, by delivering a copy of the pontifical document of constitution, translated into Portuguese;

II - status and extent of the bishop's powers, by delivering a copy of the parts of the Code of Canon Law that deal with the matter, in addition to the apostolic document of appointment, with translation into Portuguese, and a copy of the minutes of canonical possession;

III - existence of the parish, by delivering a copy of the act of creation issued by the competent religious authority;

IV - status and extent of the parish priest's powers, by delivering a copy of the parts of the Code of Canon Law that deal with the matter, in addition to the act of appointment and the act of possession, it being admitted that notification of his dismissal for just cause by the competent religious authority may serve as such;

V - status and extent of powers granted to representatives, attorneys, or agents, if the above-mentioned measures are not personally adopted by the bishop or the parish priest; and

VI - registration in the National Registry of Legal Entities (CNPJ) of the Catholic Church in its civil form, in which case it is designated as the diocesan see or archdiocesan see.

2. Alternatively to the presentation of copies of the canonical documents referred to in item 1, it is admitted, for the same purposes, that the bishop or the parish priest present a single documentary instrument, transcribed in the competent Titles and Documents Registry office, for conservation, in accordance with Article 127, caput and item VII, of Law 6.015, of December 31, 1973, whose content faithfully reproduces the terms of the pontifical act of constitution of the diocese or the episcopal provision creating the parish, accompanied by references to the respective acts of appointment and canonical possession, with reference to Decree 119-A, of 1890, and the relevant provisions of the Code of Canon Law.

Brasília, August 3, 2005.

Department of Norms of the Financial System

Amaro Luiz de Oliveira Gomes
Head