I'm not registered officially in any parish church, but according to Canon Law, (for canonical purposes) would that be the closest church to my domicile or home? Let's say I go regularly to some church far away, but I have a church right next door to my home. So accordingly, that church next door is my canonical parish, correct?

Not necessarily. If it's officially an ethnic parish, it's not regional.

In any case, boundaries are not enforced and not important in the US.

Ok, now I'm confused.

I'm in Canada btw. (oh, and if the mods notice that my ip says I'm in US, that's because I'm using a VPN).

I spoke with a Canon Lawyer about getting dispensed from private vows (just to ease my conscience). He said locate the church nearest your home; for canonical purposes that would be considered my parish (even though I'm not registered there, or anywhere for that matter), talk to the pastor, get dispensation from there.

And the church I have in mind is an ethnic parish. So now I'm confused and don't know what to do. Can any priest dispense from private vows?

Yes.No.

Hmmmm ... looking at the CIC, it does say "Ordinary or pastor."

BTW, I strongly discourage making private vows.

I spoke with a canon lawyer and he said he is absolutely sure as can be that I should go to the nearest Catholic Church in my home (my domicile), and that would be considered my parish canonically speaking, and ask the pastor there.

I have a Catholic Church directly a block from where I live. I'm not sure if that ethnic thing would make it different - as in non territorial, though. The church next to me caters to the Polish community.

And yeah, I will be very careful about the vow thing. I did this when I was a stupid teenager.

Is it possible that the parish is not actually an ethnic parish and that it is a regional parish for a region that just so happens to contain a lot of Polish people?

It can be tricky. The best thing to do is send some emails. We have two parishes here on the same street a few miles apart. I'm pretty sure that one is territorial or canonical or whatever and the other is not. I can't remember which is which but I think the one that has a lot of priests from an order in residence is not.

I would go with what the canon lawyer told you. In church law the parish in whose territory you reside is something. I don't want to be too specific as I don't know what I'm talking about.

ETA: I think I found a parish boundaries map on the diocese website once years ago.

Well according to a document put out by my Archdiocese, there are two types of parishes: territorial and personal. The latter caters to needs of a particular ethnic community. We have 44(!) of them. The one near my house is probably personal, since Polish people from a distance actually go there. And the other nearest one caters to the Portuguese community. I think I'll just ask the pastor.

Or I can just go to the Cathedral and ask the pastor there if he can talk to a bishop and get faculties..

But as Father noted, I think any priest can absolve you of a personal vow. The only time that requires more canonical form is if it were a public vow.

He changed his answer to a no (see his post).

Here's the relevant canon:



From what my canon law acquaintance told me, traveler has a very specific meaning under the law. It means someone outside the diocese I think who is visiting. And pastor here refers to the one nearest my residence. So that let's say if I wanted to get married at another parish further away; in order for it to be licit they would actually have to contact that parish pastor nearest my residence for permission. So he would be the one with the authority under canon 1196.

Anyway, this is a learning experience. I had no idea all these rules existed.

Neither did I.

Every Catholic I know goes where they want. I go to the most conservative parish in my city; I won't go to Mass to listen to banjos and bongos. Nor to a parish whose pastor clearly had no time for me, and said so, when I was considering conversion. I'll drive a long way for a solemn Mass. And I do.

Most I know have changed parishes a time or two. Without any issue by anyone anywhere.

Just to clarify: you're allowed to go to any parish you want. You can even register at any parish within your area. But for the purposes of canon law (according to my canon law acquaintance) your canonical parish is the one nearest your home. You're not required to even attend that parish ever. But for all intended purposes, under the law that would be your canonical parish, or at least that's how I understood him. So let's say you want to get married at another parish further from your home. In order for it to be licit, they would have to contact the parish nearest your house for permission (even though you've never attended there).

Father, or someone else out there, if you guys know more on this or could consult someone, that would be great.

Edit: this explains it a bit

Marriage Law varies from diocese to diocese. I can do a marriage for anyone who lives in this diocese, no matter what parish.

Where boundaries are enforced, your canonical parish the the one in whose boundaries you live, not necessarily the one closest to your home.

Another question might be whether you're certain you actually made a private vow or whether you merely made a promise.

That's what I was wondering. The closest to my home is a personal parish (I don't think it's territorial). I'm not sure which is the territorial parish near me or what I would fall under.

Any idea what I should do? I think I'll just make an appointment with the priest and ask about all this.

And no, I hate going into my mind about the vagueness and degrees of uncertainties. I just want to get dispensed (formally or conditionally of any vows that I may have made) for my peace of mind.

Oh I wasn't recommending that you not get dispensed if even only for peace of mind.