Code_of_Canon_Law

§2 The purposes indicated in §1 are understood to be those which concern works of piety, of the
apostolate or of charity, whether spiritual or temporal.
§3 The competent ecclesiastical authority is not to confer juridical personality except on those
aggregates of persons or of things which aim at a genuinely useful purpose and which, all things
considered, have the means which are foreseen to be sufficient to achieve the purpose in view.
Can. 115 §1 Juridical persons in the Church are either aggregates of persons or aggregates of
things.
§2 An aggregate of persons, which must be made up of at least three persons, is collegial if the
members decide its conduct by participating together in making its decisions, whether by equal
right or not, in accordance with the law and the statutes; otherwise, it is non-collegial.
§3 An aggregate of things, or an autonomous foundation, consists of goods or things, whether
spiritual or material, and is directed, in accordance with the law and the statutes, by one or more
physical persons or by a college.
Can. 116 §1 Public juridical persons are aggregates of persons or of things which are established
by the competent ecclesiastical authority so that, within the limits allotted to them in the name of
the Church, and in accordance with the provisions of law, they might fulfil the specific task
entrusted to them for the public good. Other juridical persons are private.
§2 Public juridical persons are given this personality either by the law itself or by a special
decree of the competent authority expressly granting it. Private juridical persons are given this
personality only by a special decree of the competent authority expressly granting it.
Can. 117 No aggregate of persons or of things seeking juridical personality can acquire it unless
its statutes are approved by the competent authority.
Can. 118 Those persons represent, and act in the name of, a public juridical person whose
competence to do so is acknowledged by universal or particular law, or by their own statutes;
those persons represent a private juridical person who are given this competence by their
statutes.
Can. 119 In regard to collegial acts, unless the law or the statutes provide otherwise:
1° in regard to elections, provided a majority of those who must be summoned are present, what
is decided by an absolute majority of those present has the force of law. If there have been two
inconclusive scrutinies, a vote is to be taken between the two candidates with the greatest
number of votes or, if there are more than two, between the two senior by age. After a third
inconclusive scrutiny, that person is deemed elected who is senior by age;