Registration Act
Encyclopedia
The Registration Act was an Act of Parliament
of the Parliament of Ireland
passed in 1704, one of a series of Penal law
s. Its long title
is An Act for registering the Popish Clergy and its citation is 2 Ann c.7. It required all existing Roman Catholic priest
s to register in their local magistrate
s' court, to pay two 50-pound bonds
to ensure good behavior, and to stay in the county where they registered.
Its second section stated that if an Irish Catholic priest was to convert to the Church of Ireland
, they would receive a 20-pound stipend, levied on the residents of the area where the priest last practiced.
Any Unregistered Papal clergy were to depart Ireland before the 20th of July 1704 and any unregistered Papal Clergy remaining in Ireland after 24 June 1705 were to be removed from Ireland. Any that returned would be convicted of High Treason and were sought by freelance "Priest hunter
s".
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
of the Parliament of Ireland
Parliament of Ireland
The Parliament of Ireland was a legislature that existed in Dublin from 1297 until 1800. In its early mediaeval period during the Lordship of Ireland it consisted of either two or three chambers: the House of Commons, elected by a very restricted suffrage, the House of Lords in which the lords...
passed in 1704, one of a series of Penal law
Penal law
In the most general sense, penal is the body of laws that are enforced by the State in its own name and impose penalties for their violation, as opposed to civil law that seeks to redress private wrongs...
s. Its long title
Long title
The long title is the formal title appearing at the head of a statute or other legislative instrument...
is An Act for registering the Popish Clergy and its citation is 2 Ann c.7. It required all existing Roman Catholic priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
s to register in their local magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
s' court, to pay two 50-pound bonds
Surety bond
A surety bond is a promise to pay one party a certain amount if a second party fails to meet some obligation, such as fulfilling the terms of a contract...
to ensure good behavior, and to stay in the county where they registered.
Its second section stated that if an Irish Catholic priest was to convert to the Church of Ireland
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
, they would receive a 20-pound stipend, levied on the residents of the area where the priest last practiced.
Any Unregistered Papal clergy were to depart Ireland before the 20th of July 1704 and any unregistered Papal Clergy remaining in Ireland after 24 June 1705 were to be removed from Ireland. Any that returned would be convicted of High Treason and were sought by freelance "Priest hunter
Priest hunter
A priest hunter was a person who, acting on behalf of British forces, spied on or captured Catholic priests during Penal Times in seventeenth and eighteenth century Ireland....
s".