Which describes vicarious governance?

• A. Power attached to an office
• B. Power given by someone else
• C. Power exercised in the name of another
• D. Power to oversee finances

Answer: (C)

Vicarious governance is governance carried out by someone as a substitute for another, acting in the other person's name and with their authority. In canon law, a vicar’s acts bind the person or office they represent, because they are exercised as the principal’s own authority. This is what the option describing power exercised in the name of another captures—the essential idea is representation: acting for and in the name of someone else, with the legal effect on that person’s governance. It isn’t just power tied to an office (the office has authority in itself) or a general delegation of duties, and it isn’t limited to a specific task like finances; it is the representative, in-name-for-the-principal, aspect of governance that defines vicarious governance.