Dictionary
A modern dictionary of Catholic terms, both common and obscure. Find accurate definitions of words and phrases.
APPEAL
Application for judgment from lower to a higher judicial authority in connection with ecclesiastical courts. There is no appeal from a decision by the Pope, but below him every Catholic has the right to appeal if one considers oneself wronged by a judgment in a lower tribunal. The term "appeal" also refers, especially in modern times, to taking an ecclesiastical matter to the civil courts on the ground that the Church had encroached on the rights of the state.
All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.
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