Indult

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This article refers to an Indult according to church law. For other uses of the word, see Pardon.

An indult in Catholic canon law is a permission, or privilege, granted by the competent church authority – the Holy See or the diocesan bishop, as the case may be – for an exception from a particular norm of church law in an individual case,^[1] for example, members of the consecrated life seeking to be dispensed from their religious vows.^[2]

The best-known indult among lay Catholics in recent times was the one granted by Pope John Paul II in 1984 authorising the world's bishops to permit celebrations of the Tridentine Mass liturgy in their dioceses. This indult gave rise to the term "indult Catholics", referring to Catholic who attended such celebrations. This indult was superseded in 2007 by new legislation introduced by Pope Benedict XVI in a document known as Summorum Pontificum.