USCCB - Maximum and Minimum Sums for Alienation, Adjusted for the Rate of Inflation in the United States
Date: March 17, 2005
To: All Bishops
From: Bishop William S. Skylstad, President, USCCB
Re: Maximum and Minimum Sums for Alienation, Adjusted for the Rate of Inflation in the United States

As you may recall, the complementary legislation of the Conference regarding canon 1292 §1 of the Code of Canon Law, which concerns the maximum and minimum sums for alienation of ecclesiastical goods notes that “both the maximum and minimum amounts within the region are linked to the consumer price index as determined annually by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, and reported by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to the appropriate offices of the Holy See and to the Conference members.” At the recommendation of Bishop Thomas Doran, Chairman of the Committee on Canonical Affairs, I wish to inform you that the U.S. Department of Labor has released the rate of inflation figure for 2004 which has been officially calculated at 3.3%. Effective immediately, the adjusted maximum and minimum sums for 2005 are:

Maximum: $10,330,000 for Dioceses with Catholic populations of 500,000 or more, $5,165,000 for all others (raised from $10,000,000 and $5,000,000 respectively),

Minimum: $1,033,000 for Dioceses with Catholic populations of 500,000 or more, $516,500 for all others (raised from $1,000,000 and $500,000 respectively),

For other juridic persons subject to the Diocesan Bishop the new maximum sum for alienation is $5,165,000 and the minimum is $25,825 or 5% of prior year ordinary annual income, whichever is greater.

Might I suggest that this information be forwarded to the appropriate offices for their information?

Thank you for your attention to this Memorandum.

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