Facultades especiales para la dimisión del estado clerical (Congregación para el Clero de 30 de enero de 2009). Análisis y comentario.

The article presents commentary on a circular letter dated April 18th, 2009 from cardinal Claudio Hummes, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy of the Holy See, to all ordinaries of the Catholic Church, describing special powers granted to the congregation by the Pope to intervene in certain cases regarding the defrocking of priests. These powers include expulsion from the clergy by extrajudicial decree, waiver of celibacy, and application of "ex officio" procedures for the deprivation of clerical status, according to the article. The powers question both the mandatory application of the judicial process in imposing perpetual sanctions and the characterization of crimes punishable by expulsion, as stipulated in the Code of Canon Law, the article asserts.