It is proper that those who have been selected by Divine beneficence for the service of the altar should not only be free from the baseness of sin, but also should not engage in the ordinary affairs of life and be subjected to its annoyances. For as it is not lawful for the monuments of divine worship to be profaned and contaminated through being handled by everyone, so those who are living ornaments of the Holy Sanctuary should not be defiled by engaging in pursuits which are common to all mankind, but should devote themselves to those duties for which their pure consecration destines them. A decree of the Holy Apostles very properly deprives of office any bishop, priest, or other ecclesiastic who takes it upon himself to act as advocate, who arranges marriages, redeems slaves, or occupies himself with any transactions of this kind; for those who, in this manner, dishonor the dignity conferred upon them by the Holy Spirit, and, as far as is in their power, show their want of appreciation of the glory of Divine favor, and the magnitude of its benefits, are considered unworthy of the places they occupy, and shall be deprived of them. Still, as mankind at the present time are too weak to attain to the elevated life to which these divine legislators desired to restrict them, I do not believe that they will be displeased if I should be a little more indulgent to an offence of this description, inasmuch as it is not absolutely unpardonable; for, indeed, I do not intend to oppose their regulations, but rather to enforce them, and to afford no excuse to those who are disobedient. Therefore, We decree that if any bishops or ecclesiastics of an inferior rank, or, indeed, any other members of the clergy, should be so regardless of the dignity of their order as to defend lawsuits, negotiate marriages, or perform any other acts of this kind, they shall be excommunicated, and suspended for a time from the celebration of all religious rites; and when they have paid the penalty merited by their offence, and have promised that they, as far as they are able, will abstain from engaging in purely secular transactions, they shall again be permitted to discharge their religious duties; but if they should be found to have polluted themselves in this way a second time, they shall be absolutely excluded from the exercise of all sacred functions as being unworthy and profane.