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Father Robert J. Rippy (front right) is the judicial vicar for the Diocese of Arlington. Just as the United States has a judiciary branch, so too every diocese has a judicial arm. It’s headed by the bishop, who typically designates a judicial vicar to oversee it.
In the Roman Catholic Church, a judicial vicar or episcopal official (Latin: officialis) is an officer of the diocese who has ordinary power to judge cases in the diocesan ecclesiastical court.
May 24, 2023 · The term “parochial vicar” means that such a priest “represents” the pastor within the pastorate (a “vicar” is someone to whom responsibility and power for some task has been delegated by the one with authority, and “parochial” comes from the Latin word for a pastor).
Jun 4, 2024 · “The Judicial Vicar is one of the offices that is mandated in Canon Law ( 1420 §1) to be in every diocese. In general, he is a priest with specialized legal training who has oversight over all canonical affairs.” Father Philip Creurer is the current Judicial Vicar of the Archdiocese of Edmonton.
Since practically all the cases before a diocesan tribunal today are marriage cases, the work of the judicial vicar is to prepare, study, and judge pleas for nullity brought before the court on any of the grounds described in church law for such a nullity plea.
The Judicial Vicar coordinates and oversees the diocesan court of law or Tribunal, and normally serves as presiding judge in all trials.
Bishop – Appointed according to current Canon law. Episcopal Vicars/Auxiliary Bishops – Granted authority by the Diocesan Bishop for governance of a part of the Diocese or in a specific role, such as Education. Vicar General - Assists in the governance of the entire Diocese.
