and do not fear to divert them to other private uses, nor do they strive to render an account of the collections, disbursements, and deeds handled by them in the presence of the parish priests, as if they were the principal procurators, miserably defrauding the fabrics of such churches and their own souls. We judge this, in truth, to be dangerous. Wherefore, desiring to provide for the indemnity of the churches and the salvation of the subjects, we order by the present constitution that henceforth, for any church of our diocese, the Rector or parish priest, as principal, shall appoint two laymen—or as many as are necessary and appropriate—as procurators. These laymen shall exercise the duties of such procuratorship faithfully, without their own private gain, with the knowledge and consent of the parish priest, and shall promote the utility of the church, and they shall be bound to make an account of all individual things raised, collected, distributed, acted, and done by them in the presence of the rector himself or the parish priest, as principal procurator, before those who are deputed for this at the accustomed times, as they wish to answer for this at the final judgment. But those who are found rebellious to this statute may and ought to be excommunicated by their parish priests and pastors after a prior warning, for which we give free faculty to the same parish priests by the vigor of this present statute.

Concerning betrothals and marriages

Although Pope Innocent III sufficiently decreed in a general council that no priest should be present at clandestine marriages, prohibiting nonetheless that such clandestine marriages be contracted—which, as we relate with sorrow, the aforesaid clandestine marriages are frequently contracted, from which such great scandals and no small dangers to souls arise—inheriting the footsteps of our predecessors, we prohibit henceforward clandestine marriages from being contracted according to the constitution edited in the general council, which is held in the chapter "Finally" in the Decretals of Gregory IX, Book 4, Title 3, Chapter 3 on clandestine betrothals, written below, which we command to be read publicly in all parochial churches every year by the one having the care of souls. And lest the aforesaid constitution be unknown to anyone, we wish it also to be inserted here word for word. Whose tenor follows and is such:

"Since the inhibition of marital union in the last three degrees has been revoked, we wish it to be strictly observed in the others. Whence, inheriting the footsteps of our predecessors, we utterly inhibit clandestine marriages. Prohibiting also that any priest presume to be present at such. Wherefore, extending the special custom of certain places to others generally, we statute that when marriages are to be contracted, they shall be publicly announced in the churches by the priests, with a competent term defined so that within that time, he who wishes or is able may set forth a legitimate impediment. The priests themselves shall nonetheless investigate whether any impediment stands in the way. When, however, a probable conjecture appears against the union to be contracted, the contract shall be expressly interdicted until what ought to be done regarding it shall have been established by manifest documents. But if anyone presumes to enter into such clandestine or interdicted unions, even in a prohibited degree, even unknowingly, the offspring conceived from such a union shall be deemed entirely illegitimate, having no relief from the parents' ignorance, since those so contracting seem to be without knowledge or at least are affecters of ignorance. In the same way, the parents themselves shall be deemed illegitimate if both parents, knowing the legitimate impediment, have presumed to contract the union against every interdiction, even in the sight of the church. Indeed, if a parochial priest has contemned to prohibit such unions, or if any regular has presumed to be present at them, let him be suspended from office for three years, to be punished more gravely if the quality of the fault shall have demanded it. But let worthy penance also be enjoined upon those who have presumed to be coupled in such a way, even in a permitted degree. But if anyone for the purpose of impeding a legitimate