The Church is the people of God, called together as the mystical body of Christ. Although it is a spiritual community, it often needs to intervene in financial matters to provide the spiritual services required by its members. Temporal goods are essential for missionary works, the celebration of sacraments, and various other ministries. Therefore, the Church has the innate right to acquire, possess, administer, and alienate temporal goods (CCEO c. 1007). The bishop of an eparchy has the responsibility to exercise vigilance over the administration of all ecclesiastical goods within the eparchy, except those which are removed from his power of governance. He must also supervise the material wealth of all juridical persons under his jurisdiction (c. 1022 §1). To ensure that the financial affairs of an eparchy are handled with accountability and transparency, Canon Law provides for two complementary structures: (1) the Eparchial Procurator, and (2) the Finance Council.

The Eparchial Bishop appoints the Eparchial Procurator. After consulting the College of Eparchial Consultors and the Finance Council, the bishop may appoint any Christian faithful who is expert and honest in financial matters as the Procurator (c. 262 §1). Here, expertise refers more to practical knowledge and the ability to make timely and appropriate decisions based on circumstances rather than academic qualifications. The term of appointment is three years, but it can be extended. The Procurator cannot be removed before the end of the term unless there are serious reasons, and even then, the bishop must consult the College of Eparchial Consultors and the Finance Council (c. 262 §2, Particular Law Art. 13).

The Eparchial Bishop is responsible for providing clear guidelines regarding the duties and rights of the Procurator and his relationship with the Finance Council. According to these guidelines, the Procurator is responsible for overseeing all ecclesiastical properties in the Eparchy, provide for their preservation, safety and increase, to supply for the negligence of local administrators and to administer the goods that lack an administrator designated by the law. In addition to presenting annual accounts, the Procurator must also submit reports whenever requested by the bishop (c. 262 §3-4).

The Eparchial Finance Council is formed by the bishop after consulting the College of Eparchial Consultors. While CCEO does not specify particular qualifications for council members, it recommends including persons who are expert, if possible, also in civil law (c. 263 §1). However, those who are related to the eparchial bishop up to the fourth degree inclusive of consanguinity or affinity are excluded from membership in the Finance Council (c. 263 §3). The bishop is required to consult the Finance Council on important financial matters of the Eparchy (c. 263 §4). In situations where the Finance Council’s consent is not explicitly required, it functions merely as a consultative body. The Finance Council is responsible for approving the annual accounts and preparing the budget for the following year. The bishop always serves as the president of the Finance Council, and the Procurator is a member of the council (c. 263_)

Rev. Dr. Mathew Souriamkuzhi