Statutes of the Brotherhood of Clérigos
Chapter I
General Provisions
Article 1º (Nature)
1. According to Canon Law, the Brotherhood of Clérigos, which resulted from the merger of three Brotherhoods – “There were three Brotherhoods to which the Secular Clérigos paid their reverent respects. The first was that of Our Lady in the Sacred Temple of the Holy House of Mercy, erected in 1642 when they ordained Statutes. The second of the Glorious St Peter ad vincula, erected in the Church of Our Lady of Grace outside the walls of this City in 1655, in which the respective Statutes were also reformed. And the third of the Blessed St Philip Nery, erected in the Church of Santo António da Porta de Carros, in 1666.” – according to the statutes of 1815, with its headquarters in its own church and building since 1757, in this city and diocese of Porto, is a public, collegial and perpetual canonical juridical person of the Catholic Church, subject in Canon Law to rights and obligations consistent with its nature (canon 113, § 2), constituted by a universality of persons or clerical association of priests (canon 302). to fulfil, in the name of the Catholic Church, the office indicated in these Statutes, in order to promote the ecclesial public good (canon 116, §1). canonically erected by decree of the Bishop of Porto and under his high direction (canons 301, §1, 305, §1, 312, §1, n.º3 and 315), which is governed by these Statutes, by the General Norms for Associations of the Faithful and by Canon Law.
2. According to the Concordat Law, the Brotherhood is a canonical legal person recognised by the Portuguese State as having civil legal personality, which is governed by Canon Law and Portuguese Law, applied by the respective authorities, and has the same civil capacity that Portuguese Law attributes to legal persons governed by public law, as it is of an identical nature (article 11, no. 1 of the 2004 Concordat).
3. Under Portuguese law, a Brotherhood is a religious legal entity.
Article 2º (Head Office)
The Brotherhood has its headquarters at Igreja dos Clérigos, Rua de S. Filipe Nery. 4050-546 Porto.
Article 3º (Purposes)
1. The purposes of this Brotherhood are as follows:
a) To promote the spiritual union of the diocesan clerics of Porto among themselves, with the bond of fraternity and prayer, and to foster mutual co-operation in the common work – the building up of the Body of Christ (canon 275, §1);
b) Encouraging the pursuit of holiness in the exercise of ministry, through an adequate and suitably approved plan of life and through fraternal help, and favouring union with the Bishop himself (canon 278, §2);
c) Practising fraternal charity, providing valuable spiritual aid during life and suffrage after death, and materially assisting priests in sickness and disability, endeavouring to create the necessary works for this purpose, in collaboration with other priestly spiritual and mutual aid associations;
d) To promote public worship in its church, especially by developing devotion to its illustrious Patron Saints and the Aggregation to the Blessed Sacrament. Therefore, the festivities of the Patron Saints: Our Lady of the Assumption, St Philip of Nery and St Peter ad Vincula; and, whenever possible, Monthly Adoration, the Sacred Lausperene and the Feast of the Blessed Sacrament are considered obligatory;
e) To pray for the living brothers and pray for the souls of the deceased brothers, in harmony with what is established in these Statutes;
f) To administer the “Church Factory” and the Brotherhood’s headquarters, its dependencies, heritage assets, its historical archive, vestments, implements and movable property, with a view to their genuine conservation, maintenance and security, in collaboration and in harmony with the official State bodies that protect historical monuments and artistic values;
g) Pastorally welcoming the many tourists who visit the Church and the Tower, providing them with the appropriate artistic and religious information, as a privileged opportunity for evangelisation, and taking care of the good order and respect they should maintain in a sacred place, suspending visits during acts of worship;
h) To carry out other activities, if resources and economy allow, such as meetings of piety, spiritual and pastoral formation for the clergy, evangelisation for the laity and charity for the needy;
i) To collaborate institutionally with other associations of spirituality or assistance for Clérigos, namely with the Priestly Fraternity of Porto, and with their unions, federations or confederations, namely by providing facilities and co-operating in training and assistance activities.
2. The diocesan Bishop of Porto can assign the Brotherhood other purposes that are truly useful and in keeping with the Church’s mission (canon 114, 1 and 3).
3. The Brotherhood is not for profit, but exclusively for religious purposes.
Article 4º (Patrimonial and Financial System)
In everything that concerns the administration of temporal goods, their disposal, pious wills, pious foundations, budgets, accounts, books and archives, the provisions relating to Associations of the Faithful apply and, subsidiarily, with the necessary adaptations, the rules and principles of the Accounting Standardisation System.
Chapter II
Brotherhood government
Article 5º (Management)
1. The following bodies form part of the management bodies of the Brotherhood:a) General Assembly;b) Board of Directors or Administrative Board;c) Economic Affairs Council.2 The term of office of the management bodies is three years, and they remain in office until they are replaced.
Article 6º (General Assembly)
1. The General Assembly is made up of the legally associated brothers.
2. The provisions of the General Rules for Faithful Associations apply to everything concerning the sessions, the convening of the General Assembly and its operation.
3. The General Assembly is responsible for deliberating on all matters not reserved to the higher ecclesiastical authority and not included in the legal or statutory attributions of other bodies, and necessarily:
a) Define the fundamental lines of action of the Brotherhood;
b) Elect the members of the Board of the General Assembly, the Board of Directors and the Economic Affairs Council;
c) Approve the admission of new brothers, on the proposal of the Board of Directors or the Administrative Board;
d) Appreciate and vote annually on the budget and action programme for the following financial year, as well as the management accounts report;
e) To decide on the acquisition for consideration, disposal in any way of real estate and any other assets of the stable equity fund, and on acts of extraordinary administration;
f) To approve the annual fee and the annual membership fee, and to decide on the amendment of the Statutes;
g) Decide on the extinction, merger or demerger of the Brotherhood;
h) Approve membership of unions, federations or confederations;
i) To dismiss or decide on the dismissal of members of the Board of Directors and the Economic Affairs Council.
Article 7º (Management)
1. The Diocesan Bishop of Porto will always be the honorary President of the Brotherhood, without assuming any responsibilities in that capacity.
2. The Board of Directors is elected by the General Meeting and is made up of a president (or judge), a vice-president, a secretary, a treasurer and a member.
3. When serious reasons require it, the Bishop of Porto can appoint a commissioner who, in his name, temporarily directs the Brotherhood (canon 318, §1), assuming all the powers of the managing bodies.
4. With regard to functioning, provision, election, confirmation and dismissal, the provisions of the General Norms for Associations of the Faithful apply.
5. It is the responsibility of the Board of Directors to manage the Brotherhood:
a) Propose the admission of Brothers, in accordance with the Statutes;
b) Ensuring that the rights and duties of the Brothers are realised;
c) Administering the Brotherhood’s assets;
d) Draw up the annual management accounts report and submit it to the Economic Affairs Council for an opinion, as well as the budget and action programme for the following year;
e) Ensuring the organisation and operation of the services, and may even make the relevant internal regulations;
f) Organising the staff and controlling and managing the respective employees;
g) Ensuring compliance with the Law, the Statutes and the decisions of the bodies of the Brotherhood;
h) Ensuring that the books are kept in accordance with the law and the articles of association;
i) Acquire the implements, furniture, vestments and other objects necessary for worship, if any, and for the services of the Brotherhood, conserving and restoring the existing ones;
j) To invest the Brotherhood’s capital safely and profitably;
k) With the prior written permission of the Bishop of Porto, to propose and contest legal actions necessary for the defence of the Brotherhood’s rights (canon 1288);
l) Accept inheritances, legacies and donations, under the terms of the General Rules.
Article 8º (Economic Affairs Council)
1. The Economic Affairs Council is elected by the General Assembly and consists of a chairman and two advisors.
2. This Council is responsible for:
a) Supervising the Brotherhood’s assets;
b) To ensure that Canon Law and the Laws are respected, particularly with regard to the acquisition, administration and disposal of temporal goods;
c) Supervising the bookkeeping and documents of the Brotherhood, whenever it deems it appropriate;
d) Attend, or be represented by one of its members, the meetings of the General Assembly and the Board of Directors, whenever it seems appropriate, and give any opinions requested or deemed appropriate;
e) Giving a written opinion on the report, accounts and budgets;
f) To give its opinion on all matters submitted to it by the General Assembly or the Board of Directors;
g) Assisting the Board of Directors in the governance of the Brotherhood, if requested.
Article 9º (Removal)
For just cause, members of the managing bodies can be removed by the Bishop of Porto, after a prior hearing.
Article 10º (Elections)
1. One month before the date set for the election, the Board of Directors or the Administrative Board shall have the electoral roll posted in alphabetical order in the lobby of the Brotherhood’s headquarters.
2. Elections to the governing bodies are held at the Brotherhood’s headquarters every three years by secret ballot, with a plurality of votes cast by the Brothers who take part in the election.
3. The General Electoral Meeting is called at least thirty days in advance.
4. Proposed lists for the election of managing bodies must be submitted to the Chairman of the General Meeting no later than 15 days before the date set for the election.
5. Once the lists have been accepted, they must be immediately posted at the Brotherhood’s headquarters and, at that time, the electoral roll will be handed over to the respective representative.
6. Complaints must be made within a maximum of three days of the decision of the Chairman of the General Meeting or its publication, and will be decided by him within a maximum of forty-eight hours, with the respective decision being communicated in writing to the representative of each list.
7. Complaints may be appealed to the Bishop of Porto, with suspensive effect, if they concern the exclusion or omission of voters or eligible candidates from the electoral roll or lists.
8. Any irregularities in the electoral process may be protested by the list’s representative or by the delegates present, or submitted in writing at the same time. In the absence of a protest, the irregularity is deemed to have been remedied.
9. At the end of the electoral process, the chairman of the election shall proclaim those elected, and the respective minutes shall be drawn up and signed by the chairman and the secretary.
10. Within eight days of the proclamation of those elected, the judge will send the Bishop of Porto a certified copy of the minutes of the election and the request for confirmation of those elected (article 22, paragraphs 2, 4 and 5 of the General Norms).
11. Within the same time limit, a hierarchical appeal can be lodged with the Bishop of Porto against decisions on complaints or protests concerning any irregularity that occurred during the voting process and in the partial or general tabulations concerning the election.
12. The Decree of Confirmation will be served by the Judge on each elected member, and the letter, duly authenticated with the white seal or stamp, will serve as the diploma for the respective inauguration.
13. The new management bodies shall take office, whenever possible, on the first working day of the three-year period for which they were elected, which shall be conferred by the Chairman of the General Meeting or his deputy.
14. The minutes of the swearing-in will be recorded in the appropriate book.
15. The outgoing management bodies will remain in office until those elected take office.
16. The provisions of canons 146 to 156 and 164 to 179 of the Code of Canon Law apply to the election, and the General Assembly may approve an electoral regulation that simplifies the electoral process described in the previous paragraphs, under the terms of article 31 of the General Norms.
17. The following may not be elected: debtors of the Brotherhood, employees of the Brotherhood, those who are in litigation or have a conflict of interest with the Brotherhood, those who have previously been removed from office, those who are civilly insolvent and those who no longer fulfil the conditions for admission as a Brother.
Article 11º (Ecclesiastical Guardianship)
The Brotherhood is subject to the ecclesiastical tutelage of the Bishop of Porto in the following terms:
1. It is subject to canonical erection by the ecclesiastical authority (canon 312 and article 19 of the General Norms);
2. Its statutes and any revisions or alterations to them require the approval of the ecclesiastical authority, after approval by a two-thirds vote of the brothers present at the General Assembly (canon 314 and articles 4 and 28(2) of the General Norms);
3. It governs itself freely, under the high direction or superior direction of the ecclesiastical authority, to whose supervision it is submitted, and may be visited by it (canons 305 §1, 315 and 319 §1, and article 7 of the General Norms);
4. A hierarchical appeal can be lodged with the ecclesiastical authority against decisions taken by the Board of Directors or the General Assembly (canons 1732 to 1739), which includes collegial electoral acts (canon 119, 1);
5. It is up to the ecclesiastical authority to confirm those elected (canons 179 and 317 and article 22(5) of the General Norms);
6. The ecclesiastical authority can, with just cause, remove the leaders of the Brotherhood, after a prior hearing (Canon 318, § 2);
7. The ecclesiastical authority can appoint a commissioner or a provisional management commission to run the Brotherhood for serious reasons and in special circumstances (canon 318, §1, and article 23 of the General Norms);
8. The Brotherhood administers its ecclesiastical goods autonomously, but must render accounts of its administration to the ecclesiastical authority every year, after the General Assembly has approved them (canons 319 and 1257. §1, and articles 42, no. 4, and 50 of the General Norms);
9. The Brotherhood receives the canonical mission to pursue its ends in the name of the Catholic Church, carrying out acts in the form of a decree that are vested with delegated ecclesiastical authority (canons 313 and 19 of the General Norms);
10. The Brotherhood can be suppressed by the ecclesiastical authority, officially or at the proposal of the General Assembly (canon 320 and article 46 of the General Norms);
11. Acts of extraordinary administration can only be validly carried out after a licence has been given by the ecclesiastical authority (canons 1290 to 1298 and articles 28(2) and 47 of the General Norms).
12. Membership of unions, federations or confederations requires approval from the ecclesiastical authority (article 28.2 of the General Norms).
13. The Bishop of Porto has the right to convene and preside over all sessions of the governing bodies, by himself or through a delegate.
14. The Bishop of Porto may grant dispensations from the other canonical obligations provided for in the laws of the Catholic Church for public associations of the faithful, under the terms of Canon 87 of the Code of Canon Law.
Chapter III
Members
Article 12º (Brother categories)
1. The Brotherhood will have two categories of brothers: permanent and auxiliary.
Priests in the legitimate use of their canonical faculties may be admitted as effective. Brothers elevated to the episcopate may remain in this capacity.
Deacons and laypeople of both sexes who have reached the age of majority and who, in view of their moral probity and dedication to the works of Catholic worship, are willing to assist the Brotherhood, both in the development of worship and in material assistance works, may be admitted as auxiliaries.
§ Solely. Only full brothers are eligible to vote for the Brotherhood’s governing bodies.
2. Among the Brothers, those who, in the judgement of the Board and subject to the approval of the General Assembly, become such by virtue of outstanding aid or services rendered to this Brotherhood, shall be considered as meritorious.
3. The Brothers’ insignia is a medal, with the image of Our Lady of the Assumption on one side and the pontifical arms on the other with the inscription “Brotherhood of Our Lady of the Assumption, St Peter ad vincula and St Philip Nery, of the Poor Clérigos of Porto, 1642-2012”, linked to a white and yellow ribbon.
Article 13º (Conditions for Membership)
1. All priests of the Diocese of Portucalense, in the exercise of their ministry, have the right to apply for membership of the Brotherhood, provided they are not prevented by Canon Law or these Statutes.
2. Admission as an Auxiliary Brother requires a presentation by a Full Brother.
3. Anyone who has rejected the Catholic Faith, abandoned ecclesiastical communion, or incurred excommunication or suspension applied or declared cannot be validly admitted to the Brotherhood (canon 316, §1).
4. The decision not to admit any priest as a member of the Brotherhood can be appealed to the Bishop of Porto, within fifteen working days of notification or knowledge of the decision, on the grounds of any just reason (Canon 1737).
Article 14º (Brothers dismissed)
1. Brothers who, after having been legitimately admitted, no longer fulfil the requirements of the previous article, will be dismissed by the Board of Directors or the Administrative Board, after an admonition and prior hearing.
2. Brothers who once again fulfil the conditions for admission will be readmitted.
3. Brothers who, without just cause, do not agree to fulfil the offices to which they have been elected shall be dismissed.
4. Any decision to dismiss a brother may be appealed to the Bishop of Porto on the basis of any just reason. It must be lodged within fifteen working days of notification or knowledge of the decision to dismiss (canons 316, §2 and 1737).
Article 15º (Rights of Full Brothers)
Each Brother has the following rights:
a) To participate in the suffrages established by the Board of Directors or the Administrative Board;
b) To be remembered in a monthly Mass celebrated on Sundays, for the living and deceased Brothers, as well as in the prayers of all the Brothers, namely in times of greatest need, and the Anniversary Mass of the deceased Brothers each year, on a day to be designated;
c) To be visited in sickness, promoting the reception of the sacraments and material aid, according to the Brotherhood’s possibilities;
d) To be signalled on the Clérigos carillon on the day of their death;
e) To promote the objectives of the Brotherhood and participate in its governing bodies, under the terms of the Law and these Statutes;
f) To elect and, until the age of 75, to be elected to the offices for which he is qualified by law and by these Statutes;
g) To vote in the governing bodies in which they participate;
h) To receive the Insignia, the Statutes and the list of Brothers, as well as to be informed of any illness or death.
Article 16º (Duties of Effective Brothers)
Each Effective Brother has the following duties:
a) Contribute to the realisation of the objectives of the Brotherhood;
b) To raise the credit and prosperity of the Brotherhood;
c) Accept the offices to which he is elected;
d) Participate in assemblies and meetings legitimately convened;
e) To pray for deceased brothers;
f) Participate in funerals and the annual suffrage for deceased brothers.
Articles 17.º(Rights and Duties of Auxiliary Brothers)
Each Auxiliary Brother has the following rights:
a) To the signs on the Carillon of the Clérigos on the day of his death;
b) To promote the objectives of the Brotherhood;
c) To receive the Insignia, the Statutes and the list of Brothers, as well as to be informed of any illness or death;
Each Auxiliary Brother has the following Duties:
a) Contribute to the realisation of the Brotherhood’s objectives;
b) Pay the entrance fee proposed by the Board of Directors and approved by the General Assembly;
c) Pay the membership fees approved by the General Assembly, within the established deadlines;
d) Attend assemblies and meetings legitimately convened;
e) To pray weekly for deceased brothers;
f) Participate in funerals and the annual suffrage for deceased brothers.
Chapter IV
Final Provisions
Article 18º (Way of Acting)
1. With regard to procedures and acts and the way it acts, the Brotherhood will take into consideration Canon Law, the rules proper to Associations of the Faithful, what is established in these Statutes and the guidelines and decisions of the Bishop of Porto.
2. The Brotherhood’s acts of government will obey the principles of legality and canonical justice, hierarchical obedience and respect for competences, communion and collaboration, respect for the ecclesial public good, protection of the rights and interests of the faithful, equality and proportionality, impartiality, good faith, debureaucratisation and efficiency, always acting in the name of the Catholic Church and for the salvation of souls.
Article 19º (Council for Culture)
There will be a Council for Culture, made up of Full and Auxiliary Brothers, as well as citizens who have rendered relevant services to the Brotherhood or have co-operated in any way in the pursuit of the Brotherhood’s aims. This Council, to be established and appointed by the Board of Directors, is responsible for giving an opinion on cooperation with the civil authorities on the Brotherhood’s assets that form part of the Portuguese cultural heritage and on the Brotherhood’s programme of cultural activities.
Article 20º (Legal Representative)
The Brotherhood is represented in and out of court by the President of the Board of Directors, who acts in the name of the Brotherhood and not in his own name (Canon 118).
Article 21º (Statutory Limitation)
All acts and contracts concluded in the name of the Brotherhood with third parties in good or bad faith are null and void, provided that the licence required by Canon Law for the performance of that act or for the conclusion of that contract has not been previously obtained (Article 11(2) of the 2004 Concordat).
Article 22º (Entry into Force and Repeal)
These Statutes, approved at the Extraordinary General Assembly chaired by His Excellency António Maria Bessa Taipa, Auxiliary Bishop of Porto, in his capacity as Chairman of the General Assembly, held on 15 April 2013 in the Auditorium of the Episcopal Palace of Porto, come into force on the first day of the month following their approval by His Excellency Manuel José Macário do Nascimento Clemente, Bishop of Porto. Manuel José Macário do Nascimento Clemente, Bishop of Porto, on which date the previous ones, approved on 23 March 2007, are revoked.