Concerning an SSPX Dossier on Sedevacantism - Novus Ordo Watch

place <strong>an</strong>d occult in <strong>an</strong>other, or may become occult even in the same place after a lapse
of years." 13
iii) Notoriety chiefly relates to guilt, not to the element of divulgation. The C<strong>an</strong>onist
Augustine explains, “It is this element of inexcusability or of knowledge of the criminal
character of the deed that appears to distinguish a public from a notorious crime. For
the text m<strong>an</strong>ifestly lays stress on divulgation with regard to public crimes <strong>an</strong>d
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emphasizes the criminal character as known <strong>an</strong>d inexcusable.”
iv) This is also made clear by Woywod, who employs “publicly known” as <strong>an</strong> equivalent
term to “public.” He writes, “The distinction between occult <strong>an</strong>d public offenses is
explained in general terms by the Code. C<strong>an</strong>onists have given more specific rules by
which one may judge whether <strong>an</strong> offense is to be considered publicly known. In the first
place, the number of people who were witnesses to <strong>an</strong> offense <strong>an</strong>d the number of
inhabit<strong>an</strong>ts of the place where the offense was committed, must be taken into
consideration to determine whether <strong>an</strong> offense may be said to be public. It is
maintained by m<strong>an</strong>y c<strong>an</strong>onists that at least six persons in a small town or community
must know of the offense before it c<strong>an</strong> be called public, <strong>an</strong>d more persons in proportion
to the greater number of inhabit<strong>an</strong>ts before it c<strong>an</strong> be called public in larger places.
However, c<strong>an</strong>onists consider, not only the relative number in determining whether <strong>an</strong>
offense is occult or public, but also the character of the perhaps few persons who
witnessed the commission of the offense – whether they are reserved <strong>an</strong>d taciturn or
talkative <strong>an</strong>d eager to make known what they have witnessed. The Code calls <strong>an</strong>
offense public when knowledge of it has been spread among the people (divulgatum), or
when it was committed under circumst<strong>an</strong>ces which make it practically impossible to
keep the offense secret.” 15
It should be sufficiently clear that in the l<strong>an</strong>guage of c<strong>an</strong>on law the term “notorious” is a
technical term with a very specific definition, <strong>an</strong>d the way in which we use the same
term in common discourse is quite different. Sometimes these matters appear to be
approached with a lack of discipline which causes technical terms to be understood in
their everyday sense, which of course c<strong>an</strong> be <strong>an</strong>d often is fatal to a proper
13 Bouscaren <strong>an</strong>d Ellis, C<strong>an</strong>on Law: A Text <strong>an</strong>d Commentary, page 858.
14 Augustine, A Commentary on C<strong>an</strong>on Law, volume 8, page 17.
15 A Practical Commentary on the Code of C<strong>an</strong>on Law, Woywod Smith, volume 2, p. 403.
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