Code_of_Canon_Law

Can. 184 §1 An ecclesiastical office is lost on the expiry of a predetermined time; on reaching
the age limit defined by law; by resignation; by transfer; by removal; by deprivation.
§2 An ecclesiastical office is not lost on the expiry, in whatever way, of the authority of the one
by whom it was conferred, unless the law provides otherwise.
§3 The loss of an office, once it has taken effect, is to be notified as soon as possible to those
who have any right in regard to the provision of the office.
Can. 185 The title ‘emeritus’ may be conferred on one who loses office by reason of age, or of
resignation which has been accepted.
Can. 186 Loss of office by reason of the expiry of a predetermined time or of reaching the age
limit, has effect only from the moment that this is communicated in writing by the competent
authority.
ARTICLE 1: RESIGNATION
Can. 187 Anyone who is capable of personal responsibility can resign from an ecclesiastical
office for a just reason.
Can. 188 A resignation which is made as a result of grave fear unjustly inflicted, or of deceit, or
of substantial error, or of simony, is invalid by virtue of the law itself.
Can. 189 §1 For a resignation to be valid, whether it requires acceptance or not, it must be made
to the authority which is competent to provide for the office in question, and it must be made
either in writing, or orally before two witnesses.
§2 The authority is not to accept a resignation which is not based on a just and proportionate
reason.
§3 A resignation which requires acceptance has no force unless it is accepted within three
months. One which does not require acceptance takes effect when the person resigning
communicates it in accordance with the law.
§4 Until a resignation takes effect, it can be revoked by the person resigning. Once it has taken
effect, it cannot be revoked, but the person who resigned can obtain the office on the basis of
another title.
ARTICLE 2: TRANSFER
Can. 190 §1 A transfer can be made only by the person who has the right to provide both for the
office which is lost and at the same time for the office which is being conferred.