TITLE III. CONCERNING THOSE WHO SEEK SANCTUARY IN A CHURCH.
| I. | No One, Claiming the Privilege of Sanctuary in a Church, shall be Taken from Thence by Force, Unless he Defends himself with Arms. |
| II. | Where a Person Seeks Sanctuary in a Church, and is Killed, while Defending himself with Arms. |
| III. | Concerning the Penalty for Removing a Man from a Church by Force. |
| IV. | A Debtor, or a Criminal, Cannot be Forcibly Removed from a Church, and must Pay such Debts, or Penalties, as are Due. |
I. No One, Claiming the Privilege of Sanctuary in a Church, shall be Taken from Thence by Force, Unless he Defends himself with Arms. No one shall dare to remove, by force, any person who has sought sanctuary in a church unless said person should attempt to defend himself with arms.
II. Where a Person Seeks Sanctuary in a Church, and is Killed, while Defending himself with Arms.
Where anyone takes refuge at the door of a church, and does not lay down his arms, and is killed; the person who struck him shall be liable to no penalty or reproach therefor.
III. Concerning the Penalty for Removing a Man from a Church by Force.
Where anyone removes his slave or a debtor from a church, or the altar where he sought sanctuary, without the consent of a priest, or of some other ecclesiastic who has charge of said church; as soon as the fact has been brought to the notice of the judge, if he is a person of high rank, said offender shall be compelled to pay a hundred solidi to the church which sustained the injury. A person of inferior station shall pay thirty solidi, and if he should not have the means to do so, he shall be arrested by the judge, and receive a hundred lashes in public. The master shall then regain possession of his slave, and the debtor shall be surrendered to his creditor.
IV. A Debtor, or a Criminal, Cannot be Forcibly Removed from a Church, and must Pay such Debts, or Penalties, as are Due.
No one shall presume to seize a person who seeks sanctuary in a church, or at its doors; but he may petition a priest or a deacon to restore said person to him; and if a debtor or a criminal takes refuge there, and he should not be liable to the penalty of death, the ecclesiastic in charge of the church may interpose his good offices, and request that said party be pardoned or discharged. If a debtor should take refuge in a church, the church shall have no right to protect him, but the priest or deacon must surrender him, without delay, with the admonition that his creditor shall neither injure nor bind him who claimed the right of asylum; and the creditor must state, in the presence of said priest or deacon, within what time he shall expect the payment of the debt. Because the intervention of the church may be invoked for purposes of mercy, is no reason why persons should be deprived of their property. The laws relating to homicides and other malefactors are set forth under their respective titles.