CHA presents this new publication in support of persons with direct responsibility for the temporal goods of Public Juridic Persons in the Catholic Church. The resource updates and builds upon the 1994 CHA document, Inventorying Church Property and Other Administrative Matters, and provides a great deal more foundational canonical information and praxis in the administration of temporal goods. Written by Fr. Frank Morrisey, OMI, Ph.D., JCD, and Sr. Peggy Martin, OP, JCL, the publication is part of a series of resources from CHA to assist sponsors of Catholic health care in the effective exercise of this important ministry of the church.

To set the stage for the 2017 publication, the preface is a reprint of a 2016 Health Progress article, “Ministerial Juridic Persons and their Communion with Diocesan Bishops,” that highlights the need for doctrinal, pastoral and canonical formation – particularly in the area of stewardship of temporal goods. The Appendix contains three sample inventory documents to assist administrators in applying material in this document in maintaining accurate inventories of ecclesiastical goods. The Appendix also includes a reprint of an August 2014 Vatican circular letter that provides much of the basis for the current understanding and practice that this publication expands and applies to the Catholic health ministry.