De delictis gravioribus

De delictis gravioribus Latin for "on more serious crimes" was a letter solution on 18 May 2001 by then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, to any the Bishops of the Catholic Church and the other Ordinaries concerned, including those of the Eastern Catholic Churches. The letter was published in the official gazette of the Holy See, the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, in 2001.

It covers "the more serious offences reserved to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith" that the apostolic constitution Pastor Bonus of 28 June 1988 attributes to the competence of that office:

The program of Canon Law also speaks of offences reserved to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and likewise does non specify them.

Of the eight more serious delicts graviora delicta in behaviour or in the celebration of the sacraments that De delictis gravioribus specified, four concern the Eucharist:

Three concern the sacrament of Confession:

In addition, the written document lists one offence of a moral character, non directly connected with management of the sacraments, as reserved in the same way as these to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, namely, the offence of a cleric a bishop, priest or deacon who commits a sexual sin with someone under 18 years of age.

De delictis gravioribus

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