Agreement between the Cantons of Lucerne, Bern, Solothurn, and Zug concerning the organization of the Diocese of Basel

1. The New Definition of the Diocese of Basel Shall Comprise

a. the entire Catholic population of the honorable Cantons of Lucerne, Solothurn, and Zug;

b. the Catholic population in the part of the land unified with the honorable Canton of Bern by the Congress of Vienna on March 19, 1815.

1. The seat of the Bishop is relocated to Solothurn, where the collegiate church of Saints Ursus and Victor is elevated to a cathedral church.

1. The election of the bishop, who must be a person agreeable to the governments of the diocesan cantons and chosen from the entire clergy of the diocese, is vested in the voting canons.

2. The honorable estates shall ensure that the occurrence of a vacancy in the episcopal seat does not last too long.

1. The Bishop shall receive his canonical appointment from the Holy Father, after the verbal process regarding his canonical attributes has been drawn up according to the generally applicable regulations for episcopal churches existing in Switzerland.

1. The annual salary for the Bishop is set at CHF 8,000.

1. The government of the commendable canton of Solothurn assigns the Bishop a residence suitable to his dignity, free of charge, and assumes the maintenance of its buildings, without seeking contributions from the diocesan cantons for this purpose.

1. A cathedral chapter is assigned to the bishop.

1. The cathedral chapter shall consist of 17 canons or capitulars, of whom at least 12 shall reside at the cathedral chapter to conduct the divine service and provide the necessary assistance to the bishop in ecclesiastical functions.

2. It shall be composed of: three canons from the canton of Lucerne, three from the canton of Bern, furthermore, the ten capitulars from the collegiate chapter of St. Urs and Victor in Solothurn, and finally by the canon from the honorable canton of Zug.

1. From the aforementioned number, ten individuals with voting and electoral rights will form the Bishop's Senate, namely: three from each of the cantons of Lucerne, Bern, Solothurn, and one from the canton of Zug.

1. Each diocesan chapter is at liberty to decide that the number of voting canons pertaining to it may consist partly of those who are resident or non-resident. However, at least one canon from the honorable chapters of Lucerne and Bern should always reside at the cathedral chapter to assist in worship and to aid the bishop in his ecclesiastical duties.

1. The government of the canton of Solothurn appoints the number of canons related to it, who are to form the bishop's senate, from the Solothurn chapter.

1. An exception to the aforementioned § 11 shall be made during the initial appointment of members to the cathedral chapter, concerning the canons of the Arlesheim chapter, as follows: Since six canons from the Arlesheim chapter are still alive and must be regarded as actual canons of the Diocese of Basel, they are assured a seat and a vote in advance in the newly formed cathedral chapter, and they shall be counted as canons of those honorable estates which have previously constituted a part of the Diocese of Basel.

2. Accordingly, the respective estates are to reach an understanding regarding the distribution and incorporation of these canons in accordance with the proportion of their populations formerly incorporated into the Diocese of Basel.

1. However, this allocation does not diminish the obligation assumed by the estates of Bern and Basel to maintain these canons. On the contrary, the concerned estates commit to providing their respectively allocated canons of Arlesheim, who would reside at the bishop's seat, with an additional salary supplement alongside the pension assured by the estates of Bern and Basel, to elevate their annual remuneration to the sum of L. 2,000 during their residency period.

1. The ten canons forming the Bishop's Senate shall be appointed according to the method of election that is specifically either already determined for each estate or will be negotiated further between His Papal Holiness and the honorable estates.

1. To be eligible for election as a canon, the candidate must either be a member of the canton that endows the vacant position or be employed as a clergyman therein. In both of the aforementioned cases, the following qualifications are required

2. The candidate must in any case be a secular clergyman and must have diligently and wisely led a parish for four years, or, in lieu of this latter condition, assisted the bishop in the administration of the diocesan district, or distinguished himself as a teacher of theology or canon law at a public institution.

1. The annual salary of the resident voting canons is set at Fr. 2,000, whereas that of the non-resident canons is set at Fr. 300.

1. The government of Solothurn guarantees its canons (domestic clergy) the perpetual enjoyment of the prebends they actually possess and the associated residences.

2. For the residences of the other canons, if they are bound to the residence, the respective governments shall provide either by assigning a residence or by reimbursing an appropriate rent.

1. The cathedral chapter shall consist of the following dignitaries

a. a provost and

b. a dean.

1. The Provost, whose prebend is sufficiently endowed, is appointed by the government of the Canton of Solothurn according to the traditional method of election.

1. The Dean of the Cathedral Chapter, to be appointed by the Holy Father, exercises the canonical disciplinary supervision over the Cathedral Chapter.

1. In addition to his salary as a canon, he will be assured an allowance of Fr. 800, which will be provided by the diocesan estates according to the standard established in § 34.

1. Only one dignity can be conferred on the same canon.

1. The dignity of a provost and dean may never be held by a person from the same canton.

1. For each of the diocesan cantons, a separate officiality must be established upon request.

2. The honorable canton of Bern is reserved and assured the application of § 1 as stated in the union document concerning the territories of the Bishopric of Basel, taken into guarantee by the Confederation on May 8, 1816, which reads

"There shall be an officiality in the Catholic part of the diocese whose attributes shall be the same as those in the other Catholic cantons of the Diocese of Basel. The principles and functions of this officiality shall subsequently be determined through an agreement between the episcopal authority and the government of Bern."

3. In the same manner, the other diocesan states shall retain their existing institutions as possessed in this regard.

1. The cathedral chapter is augmented by ten chaplains from the chapter of Saints Urs and Viktor for religious services.

1. These collegiate chaplains are to be remunerated from their existing endowments without the involvement of the other cantons.

1. The Appointment of Collegiate Chaplains, who may be selected from the entire diocese, is conducted by their respective collators.

1. At the location of the episcopal seat, a seminary shall be established at the joint expense of the respective states that have a stake in it.

2. Apart from this, no seminary may be established without the consent of the respective governments.

3. However, each canton is free to establish its own seminary at its own expense, with the cooperation of the bishop, in which case it shall reach an agreement with him regarding the necessary arrangements. The honorable states assure each other mutual guarantees of the sovereign right of supervision (Ius inspectionis et cavendi) in its full extent over the seminaries once established. Furthermore, they reserve the right to determine the details of its application through a future agreement.

1. The Government of Solothurn provides the necessary building for the seminary, assuming responsibility for its maintenance, without claiming contributions from the diocesan cantons for either.

1. For the initial interior setup of the Seminary building and for the acquisition of the necessary equipment for this purpose, as well as for the maintenance of the latter, the participating cantons of the Seminary shall contribute proportionally, after the honorable canton of Solothurn has presented an overview of the needs and their respective costs, and the majority of the cantons have approved it.

1. The government of Solothurn ensures the maintenance of the church building dedicated to Saints Urs and Victor. The vestments and other items necessary for the collegiate church's liturgical services are supplied by the college treasury dedicated to Saints Urs and Victor.

2. To duly ensure the provision for this, the vacancy revenues during the first three months of the bishop's seat being vacant shall accrue to the aforementioned college treasury.

3. In the case of a longer vacancy of the bishop's seat, the diocesan estates reserve the right to make further determinations regarding the allocation of ongoing vacancy revenues for the purpose of diocesan administration as deemed appropriate.

1. However, the honorable State of Solothurn reserves the following rights

a. that the parish service can continue to be held in the collegiate church;

b. that in unforeseen cases of alteration or abolition of this diocese, the collegiate church, the seminary, the bishop's house, and the collegiate custodianship can never be regarded as diocesan property;

c. that the Solothurn canons shall continue to form their own corporation, and they shall be assured the continued enjoyment of their rights, properties, and benefices in the manner previously customary, insofar as the present concordat has not made any changes thereto.

1. As the special Solothurn endowment is now and will continue in the future to be managed separately, any inflows accruing to the diocese through legacies, donations, etc., which have been expressly designated for this purpose, shall be segregated from said endowment and managed as actual diocesan assets, apportioned among the entire diocesan estates in proportion to their contributions.

2. Donations of any kind, which are established for the prebends of a single canton, belong solely to that canton and shall be reserved for it in the event of any division, for the purpose which they were intended.

1. Calculation of Contributions to the Bishop's Salary and Other Joint Expenses of the Diocese

For the contracting cantons, their Catholic population, which is incorporated into the episcopal jurisdiction, shall serve as the basis for the allocation of contributions to the bishop's salary and other common expenses of the diocese. Until a formal assessment is conducted, the following proportions will be adopted

For the Canton: Lucerne; Souls: 100,000

For the Canton: Bern; Souls: 44,000

For the Canton: Solothurn; Souls: 45,000

For the Canton: Zug; Souls: 14,000

Total: 203,000

2. In the spring following the implementation of the new diocesan structure, a formal census of all Catholic residents within the diocese, irrespective of civic rights and without consideration of age, shall be conducted by order of the governments.

3. This census shall be renewed every 20 years, at the same period, in the same manner.

4. The governments shall submit the results of these censuses, categorized by parishes or municipalities and formally endorsed and certified, to the diocesan association.

1. The diocesan estates ensure the regular, secure, and free delivery of their respective share of these communal diocesan costs from the resources at their disposal for this purpose, and they refrain from any other method of delivery than the one just specified, as well as from any other form of endowment.

1. Pursuant to the convention concluded with the Apostolic See, the Bishop shall take the oath of fidelity prescribed therein towards the Diocesan States, at their discretion, either in the presence of all the representatives or before a joint delegation thereof.

1. Since the formula of the oath, which the bishops are required to take upon assuming office to His Papal Holiness, as it is customarily stated, is by no means appropriate to the position of a spiritual leader with subordinates under a non-Catholic or parity government, the honorable diocesan representatives shall insist that a future bishop of Basel should take his oath not according to this formula, but rather according to the one that is customary in states under a non-Catholic ruler, such as in Prussia, Great Britain, etc.

2. The honorable diocesan representatives demand that the prescription of this oath to be taken be delivered to them in a certified copy, and that, upon the oath-taking of each new bishop, the associated protocol in its formal completion be forwarded to them.

1. The honorable estates mutually guarantee each other the right of the Placetum Regium in its full extent. All publications of the bishop or his delegates, as well as the acts of the ecclesiastical jurisdiction, shall be subject to the approval of the governments according to forms to be determined thereon.

1. The diocesan estates likewise solemnly reserve their existing rights, customs, freedoms, and well-established practices in ecclesiastical matters and mutually guarantee them to one another.

1. The honorable cantons of Aargau and Thurgau are reserved and assured the right to freely join the new delineation of the Diocese of Basel as well as the current agreement.

2. Likewise, the honorable canton of Basel, either for its entire Catholic population or, where it deems appropriate, solely for that part of the territory allotted to it by the Congress of Vienna on March 19, 1815.

3. Should the honorable cantons of Aargau and Thurgau join the diocesan association, their share in the cathedral chapter is assured as follows: to the canton of Aargau, one resident and two non-resident canons; to the canton of Thurgau, one non-resident canon.

4. If one or more of the aforementioned cantons join the diocesan association, the annual salary of the Bishop will be increased in proportion to the incorporated Catholic population of the relevant canton, up to a maximum of CHF 10,000.

5. Should the union of all the aforementioned cantons take place, and if necessary, the bishop's jurisdiction may be provided with a suffragan or auxiliary bishop, who, appointed by the Bishop, will receive an annual salary of CHF 2,000, to be distributed among all the cantons that have joined the diocesan association.

6. Furthermore, the three aforementioned honorable cantons shall enter into all those rights, benefits, and obligations that have been determined by the preceding agreement for the contracting diocesan cantons.

1. The commendable estates separated from the Diocese of Constance are also reserved the right and guaranteed access to the newly defined Diocese of Basel, provided that consent can be obtained from the papal see.

2. Their related conditions remain subject to a future agreement.

3. By virtue of this, the present act, made in four duplicates, is subject to ratification by the highest state authorities, has been duly signed, and has been secured with the state seals.

1. The High Diocesan Estates of Lucerne, Bern, Solothurn, and Zug, without prejudice to the later agreement reserved in § 28 of the Basic Treaty concluded between them on the restoration and redefinition of the Diocese of Basel dated yesterday regarding the specific application of the mutually guaranteed Ius inspectionis et cavendi for the seminaries once established, formally adopt the principle among themselves by means of the present addendum

2. That under these supervisory rights of the High Diocesan Estates, in particular, their approval shall be required for the appointment of those to be employed at such seminaries, both as directors and teachers, and shall fully include the authority to participate through their own commissioners in the examinations conducted with the alumni of such seminaries.

3. This additional article shall carry the same force and obligation as if it had been incorporated directly into the aforementioned Basic Treaty.