Legal Definitions - suit pro laesione fidei

Suit pro laesione fidei is a type of lawsuit that was used in the past in ecclesiastical courts. It was used to address spiritual offenses against conscience, nonpayment of debts, or a breach of contract. This type of lawsuit was especially used for oral contracts made by oath.

An example of a spiritual offense against conscience could be a priest breaking the seal of confession. This would be considered a violation of the trust between the priest and the person confessing. A suit pro laesione fidei could be filed to address this issue.

Another example could be a person who made an oral contract with a church to donate a certain amount of money each year. If the person fails to fulfill this obligation, a suit pro laesione fidei could be filed to enforce the contract.

These examples illustrate how suit pro laesione fidei was used to address various types of offenses and breaches of contract in ecclesiastical courts.