Catholic priests in public office

Canon law is the internal religious law governing the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of churches. In the Catholic Church, it is promulgated by the Pope as its head. The Codex Iuris Canonici script of Canon Law, currently the 1983 version governs the Latin Church, which comprises the larger component of the Catholic Church.

Canon 285 of the 1983 Codex Iuris Canonici is a provision of Roman Catholic canon law that prohibits members of the Catholic clergy from doing matters that are "unbecoming" or "foreign to the clerical state". In addition, it prohibits diocesan priests and bishops from serving in "public offices which entail a participation in the instance of civil power".