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Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

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Altercatio

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Alteserra, Antoine Dadin

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THE RIGHT OF. In the Church of Rome the right of alternative consists in the power of presenting, alternately with the pope, to collative benefices; so that if the pope confers benefices which fall vacant in the month of January, the bishop confers those which become vacant in February, and so on. The exceptions with regard to the pope are benefices vacated by resignation, and those the patronage of which belongs to lay persons; and, with regard to bishops, benefices the collation to which, for other reasons, belongs to the pope: as, for instance, benefices becoming vacant in curid, i.e. by the death of the incumbents while within the precincts of the court of Rome. Cardinals are exempt from the reservation of the alternative, and collators in all countries possessing a concordat at variance with the alternative. The form of the alternative is given by Loterius, lib. 2, De Re Beneficiaria.