Canon Law Module-I

8/17/2019 Canon Law Module-I

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Canon Law - 1

INTRODUCTION TOCANON LAW

Course Description :

This course leads the Learner into a step bystep study of the entire code of Canon Law,explaining, contextualizing, oeringbackground, examples and historicalperspectie to this legal document of theChurch ! "t introduces the student to the basicstructures of Canon law, its history and codes! The course guides the learner to the text of theCanon law itself in words that can beunderstood and their meaning appreciated! "tsintroductory orientation to all of Canon law iswell suited for those who want basic knowledgeof the Church laws! "t also seres as a good

foundation for future specialization in the #eldof Canon Law!

Objectives:

That at the end of this course the student will

be able to$- hae knowledge of the rules which goern

church order- be aware of the discipline of the %oman

Catholic Church- hae introductory knowledge of the entire

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Center for Continuing &ducation-'niersity of La (alette-

11 Visayas Avenue, Quezon City Philippines



Canon Law - 1

Code of Canon Law- understand the basic structure and design

of the arious o)ces and functions withinthe church and describe how they relate to

one another- hae the solid foundation for more

specialized study of the Canon Law

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Canon Law - 1

*orta Coeli Center for Continuing &ducation + 'niersity of La (alette

&%"&.

/odule "0ackground and "ssues

/odule ""Churchs *eople

/odule """Churchs Teaching 2unction and

its (acraments/odule " 3oernance and Temporal 3oods

.e shall now begin our study! .e promise thisis going to be an exciting 4ourney for you as wedele into the inner workings of the CatholicChurch iewed through its rules and discipline!

This how you shall proceed with your homestudy$

- %ead the Lesson slowly, then answer itscorresponding %eiew-5uiz! 6ou can #ndthis in the 7ctiity 0ooklets included inyour (tudy 8it,

- 7fter #nishing all four or #e Lessons of

the /odule, please take the /odule Test! This coers all the lessons you hae gonethrough in the /odule

- /ail back to the )ce each 7ctiity0ooklet you accomplish for ealuation

- 7fter #nishing all four /odules, you arenow ready for your 2inal &xams! This

exam will hae to be taken either in the)ce or proctored by your &ducationalCounsellor or (ite Coordinator!

ur text and readings for this course are takenfrom the book of 9ames 7! Coriden $ "ntroduction

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Canon Law - 1

to Canon Law, published by *aulist *ress, :ew 9ersey!

Let us now show you the ob4ecties and

outline for your #rst /odule

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Canon Law - 1

- MODULE ONE -

07C83%':; 7:; "(('&(

Objectives$

7t the end of this module, the student will beable to$

- learn the meaning of the word canon,know its purpose, function andscope

- understand the :ew Testament rootsof our %ules

- discoer the history of canon law

- identify the canonical sources, formsand distinctions of our rules

- be aware of the background,organization, status and scope of thecode of canon law

OVERVIEW

Lesson 1 - %ules in a ChurchCommunity

Lesson < - The =istory of Canon Law

Lesson > - Canonical (ources, 2orms,

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Center for Continuing &ducation-'niersity of La (alette-

11 Visayas Avenue, Quezon City Philippines



Canon Law - 1

and ;istinctions

Lesson ? - The Code of Canon Law

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Canon Law - 1

/;'L& :& + L&((: 1

%ules in a Church Community

Naes

&ery church, although based on what itsmembers beliee to be diine reelation, is also

a human institution! 7s human communities,churches re@uire rules!

The %oman Catholic Church is a particularlylarge and far-Aung community of faith! "tclaims about BD million members worldwide!7nd it is ancient! "t traces its origins back to 9esus Christ in the #rst century of this era, andconsiders itself to be in continuity with his

teachings and those of his disciples! Thechurch, through the centuries, has accrued a lotof rules!

The generic name in &nglish for the rules of the %oman Catholic Church is Ecanon law!EELawE is a familiar termF its meaning is well-known! "t is a measure or norm of conduct! .e

are induced to act or refrain from acting inaccord with the law! Laws are products of reason, and they are directed toward thecommon good of the society for which they aregien!

ECanonE is not as common a word, but ithas been used to describe the churchGs rules

from ery early times! ECanonE comes from the3reek word kanon, which means reed, rod orruler! "t described the measure or ruler used bya carpenter or designer! "t was a standard bywhich things were measured! "t came to mean arule of conduct! H"t is used in this sense in the

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Canon Law - 1

:ew TestamentF cf! 3al I,1I and *hil >,1I!J "n&nglish, we speak of the accepted standards of art or professional practice as canons! The Latinword regula also means rule, pattern or model,

and from it our term EregulationE is deried!

0oth 3reek and Latin hae other words forElawE$ nomos and lex. 0ut the church chose toname its rules EcanonsE because it recognizedthat its rules were dierent from the laws of the%oman &mpire! "ndeed, canons are compared tothe adisory opinions of the %oman (enate,

senatus consulta! They gae a Esense of the(enate,E and were not lightly disregarded, butthey were not the same as the laws of therealm!

ECanon lawE is a rather unfortunate &nglishtranslation of the Latin ius canonicum Ius doesnot hae an exact &nglish e@uialent! "t can

mean a legal system He!g!, Ius Romanum,%oman lawJ, or a sub4ectie right He!g!,iusadrem, right to a thingJ, or the ob4ectie of 4ustice, that which is right, due or 4ust! /ostother modern languages translate ius as right$droit, dirilto, derecho, rechl. "n &nglish, inreference to the churchGs system of rules, wetranslate it as law! HTo translate ius canonicum

literally as Ecanonical rightE 4ust wouldnGt work!J The other languages clearly distinguish canonlaw from ciil or secular law, but in &nglishthere is a tendency to e@uate the two erydierent systems of rules, because of the use of the same word, law!

(o Ecanon lawE is a slightly redundant andinfelicitous descriptie title for the rules whichgoern the public order of the %oman CatholicChurch! "t names our ecclesiastical regulations!

Those norms which describe the basicstructures of the church, e!g!, the papal andepiscopal o)ces, the sacramental system,

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constitute %oman Catholic Echurch orderE! Those which set forth indiidual regulations,e!g!, the age for con#rmation, the re@uirementsfor ordination, are considered to be Echurch

disciplineE! Canon law includes both order anddiscipline!

Canons are rules or norms for thegoernance of the external life of the church!

!CO"E

The canons hae to do with church orderand discipline rather than doctrine and dogma!"t is important to recognize that canon lawcontains guidelines for actions, not beliefs! "tpresents norms of conduct, not the content of faith! 2or o)cial church teaching one consultsthe teaching documents, e!g!, the documents of the (econd atican Council, not the Code of

Canon Law! Theology is concerned with 3odGs

reelation and the churchGs teachings! Canonlaw is concerned with the patterns of practicewithin the community of faith! They are distinctbut closely related disciplines! (ystematic andmoral theologians teach about the diinity of Christ and the morality of war! ne mightconsult a canonist about the limits of theteaching o)ce or the defense of someoneaccused of teaching falsehood!

Canon law goerns the external order of the church, the public life of the faithcommunity! "t does not attempt to measure orcompel personal conscience or moral

4udgments! Canon law pertains almostexclusiely to the Eexternal forumE, the arena of the churchGs public goernance, as oer againstthe Einternal forumE, the arena of conscience!

"UR"O!E AND #UNCTION!

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The church is a radically dierent kind of community than the state or other secularsocieties! 7s a result, its system of rules has a

dierent purpose than other legal systems! The church is a mystery, a reality imbued

with the presence of 3od! "t is the temple of the=oly (pirit, resplendent with the (piritGs gifts! "tis the sacrament of Christ, the isible andeectie sign of his saing work in the world! The church is a communion, that is, a uni@ueset of interrelationships among its members

and with 3od, based on faith and loe! 0ut thechurch is also a human community made up of ornery, erring and sinful people!

The church is sui generis, in a class byitself! "t diers from all other human societies inits origins, its history, its inner dynamism and

its destiny! Conse@uently, the churchGs systemof rules must function dierently from that of any other society!

*ope 9ohn *aul "", when he promulgated theCode of Canon Law in 1KB>, described itspurpose as follows$

The purpose of the Code is not to substitute for faith,grace, charisms, and especially charity in the life of theChurch or of the Christian faithful. On the contrary, itsvery purpose is to create an order in the ecclesial society

so that, while giving priority to love, grace and charism,their ordered development is facilitated in the life of theecclesial society as well as in the lives of the individuals

who belong to it (Apostolic constitution, Sacraedisciplinae leges).

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This is true not only of the Code, but of allof canon law as well!

Law has at least four functions in any

society, and, by analogy, canonical rules ful#llthese functions within the church$

1! Law is to aid a society in the achieement of its goals! "t is to facilitate the attainment of the purpose or common good of the society!Canon law helps the gathered community of the Christian faithful to be what it is meant tobe, and to carry out its mission in the world!

The church is to proclaim the life andmessage of Christ, to be a communal witnessto the loing presence of 3od, and to be of serice to the world of today! The churchGsdiscipline is to aid it in carrying out thosecentral tasks, The church has a transcendentspiritual purpose as well$ the ultimate

salation of its members, their reconciliationand communion with 3od! =ence, the classiccanonical maxim$ EThe salation of souls isthe supreme lawE (salus animarum supremalex; cf! canon 1<J! 7ll else must defer tothis end!

<! Law is to aord stability to the society, thatis, proide good order, reliable procedures,

and predictable outcomes! The church needsthe tran@uility of order in its life, 4ust as othersocieties do! Leaders need to be elected,sacraments celebrated, the word of 3odpreached, decisions made, propertyadministered! The community of faith has aright to expect reasonable, appropriate andpredictable ways of doing these eerydaythings! The canons goern these functions,which are ital as well as stabilizing!

>! Law is to protect personal rights, proideaenues of recourse and redress of grieances, and means for the resolution of

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Canon Law - 1

conAicts! .hat the church has in commonwith all other isible, human societies isrelationships inoling rights and obligations,that is, a 4uridie order! "ts 4uridie life must be

conducted with 4ustice and fairness for all itsmembers! This is another task of its canonsof discipline$ to articulate the rights andduties of the faithful, and to proide meansfor their protection!

?! 2inally, law is to assist in the education of thecommunity by reminding eeryone of its

alues and standards! The church re@uiressuch continual education and, although muchof its teaching is done in other ways, thecanons help! Canon law spells out theexpectations of members, the @uali#cationsfor o)ce-holders, and the ideals of religiouslife! The churchGs discipline is concerned tolead people to a irtuous life, not simply an

external compliance with rules! :ot satis#edwith 4ustice, canon law, at its best, challengesthe church to strie toward loe as its goal!

The canons also help to create andmaintain the metaphors and symbols whichinAuence the faithful subtly but strongly! 2orexample, the canons call marriage a coenant

rather than a contract, and a parish isdescribed as a community of the faithful ratherthan a territorial part of a diocese! The eectsof these characterizations, oer time, areprofound!

Canon law shapes and guides the life of thechurch in many ways! 2or those who care aboutthe church, it is important to understand itsrules!

NEW TE!TAMENT ROOT! O# T$ERULE!

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The most sacredand reered of theclassic sources forthe Christian

tradition is the:ew Testament! The books of the:ew Testamentemerged from theliing churches of the #rst century!

.e beliee, theirauthors were moed by the =oly (pirit, but theyalso wrote from their own experiences andmemories as members of or isitors to what wenow call Elocal churchesE! The gospels andletters, in addition to all they tell us about thelife, words and works of 9esus, tell us a lot aboutthose early congregations of belieers in 9esus!

*art of the message is about their rules!&ery human society deelops patterns of

action, which eentually become rules of behaior! The #rst Christian churchesdeeloped regulations to help them lie inorderly and Christ-like ways! The :ew Testa-ment is replete with indications of these earliestrules! "ndeed, many of our present Ecanon lawsEare rooted in these originating writings!

.hat follows is simply a range of examplesof rules or policies of those early churchesdrawn from the pages of the :ew Testament! They are not arranged in any special order, norare they analyzed! The examples are simplypresented to bear witness to the fact that the

ery #rst Christian communities receied oreoled rules for their lies! They were notamorphous or spontaneously charismaticgroupings! The churches had orderly structuresand procedures!

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The local congregations were linked to oneanother in a fellowship of faith and caring He!g!,*aulGs collection for the church of 9erusalem,%om 1,<IJ! There was a structured authority

within each local church He!g!, lists of ministries,1 Cor 1<,<BF &ph ?,11F references to elders andoerseers, i!e!, presbyters and bishops, 7cts <DF*hil 1,1J! The church had a conciliar,consultatie process for making decisions,especially on ma4or policy matters He!g!, theE3entile @uestionE and the ECouncil of 9erusa-

lemE in 7cts 1 and 3al <J! The participantswere obiously conscious of being guided bythe =oly (pirit H7cts 1,<BJ! To hold a position of authority among thedisciples of 9esus meant to sere the others,after the example of the /aster H/t <D,<F /k"D!?<FLk <<,<J! The @uali#cations for o)ce-holders were enumerated H1 Tim > M F Tit 1,J,

and the responsibilities attached to thoseo)ces were spelled out! The charges to preachand teach were presented clearly and forcefullyin the pastoral epistles H1 Tim ?F < Tim ?J!

The sacramental life Has we now call itJ of the communities was delineated! 0aptism withwater was necessary for incorporation in ChristH/t <B,1KF 9n >,F 7cts <,>BF 1 *et >,<DJ! Thediscipline for celebrating the LordGs (upper wasgien in detail, along with instances of abuseswhich occurred H1 Cor 11J! The powers of binding and loosing from sins were announcedH/t 1B,1BF 9n <D,<>J! The procedure for prayingoer and anointing the sick was described H9as,1>J! /ention was made of the laying on of

hands, eidently an early form of installation ino)ce or commissioning for ministry H1 Tim?,1?J! %egulations for marrying Ein the Lord,Ethe conduct of married life, and the prohibitionof diorce were enunciated with unusualspeci#city H&phs ,<1->>F /t ,>iF /t 1K,>,KFLk

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1I,1BJ!

7n explicit process for the resolution of disputes or oenses within the community was

gien in /atthewGs gospel H1B,1J! "ndeed,chapter 1B of /atthewGs gospel has been calledE9esusG sermon on church order and life!E /uchof it is directed to those who act with authorityin the church and hae pastoral responsibility!&xamples of excommunication, or at leastEcorrectie @uarantine,E for oenders are alsomentioned, showing that a rudimentary system

of sanctions was in place H/t 1B,1F 1 Cor ,1-J!

ne must not conclude too much fromthese examples! There was great arietyamong the :ew Testament churches! ;iersitywas the standard, not the exception! Titles,o)ces, functions, all aried greatly! There was

no sense of uniform regulations or coordinatedgoernment for the churches! 0ut there was,clearly present, at least the beginnings of church order and discipline! The earliestchurches had begun to come to grips withroutine, authority, succession and conAict!

N N N N &nd of Lesson 1 N N N N

It’s time for a Review Check-up time!

Please refer to your Activity Booklet 1

and answer the Reviewer ui of

"odule #ne - $esson 1%

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Canon Law - 1

/;'L& :& + L&((: <

="(T%6 2 C7:: L7.

The history of the churchGs 4uridicalstructures from the post-apostolic times to thepresent day is ery complex! The church was

not born with its administratie organization inplace! "t eoled rules and procedures as itgrew and spread! "n that process, the churchGsrules were shaped by its internal needs, thesurrounding cultures, and the pressures of changed circumstances!

This eolutionary process was anything but a

smooth, unilinear tra4ectory! "t more resembledthe icissitudes of a pilgrim people making theirway across a strange continent, bueted andbene#ted by the things they encounter! Theyreact to and learn from their surroundings! Theydefend themseles from occasionaladersaries, but they also discoer and adoptnew ways! They borrow the customs of others

out of need and out of wisdom!

This brief synopsis of the long history of canon law is diided into periods$

HaJ from the end of the #rst century to latefourth$ T=& *(T-7*(TL"C 7:; &7%L6 C='%C=F

HbJ from the fourth to the eighth centuries$ T=& C='%C= 2 T=& &/*"%&F

HcJ from the eighth to the twelfth centuries$ T=& C='%C= 7:; 2&';7L"(/F

HdJ from the mid-twelfth to the mid-

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fourteenth centuries$ T=& CL7(("C7L *&%";F

HeJ from the mid-fourteenth to the

eighteenth centuries$ ;&CL":& 7:; %&2%/F

HfJ the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries$ T=& C='%C= ": T=& /;&%: .%L;F

HgJ the twentieth century until the (econdatican Council$ T=& C;"2"C7T": 2 C7:: L7.!

f each of these periods, we ask three@uestions$

1J .ho made the rulesO 2rom whatauthority did they emergeO

<J .hat forms did they takeO .hat wastheir scope and styleO

>J .hat were the ma4or inAuences whichshaped the rulesO

The rule-making process is stimulated inperiods of church reform! &nactment andenforcement of rules is an integral part of theprocess of church renewal! .e are now in themidst of a reform period! "t may be aluable,after sureying the historical deelopment, toreisit some of the ma4or moments of renewalof our churchGs life and recall the role thatcanon law played in them!

T$E "O!T-A"O!TOLIC AND EARL% C$URC$

7fter the :ew Testament period, local

churches were scattered all around the/editerranean basin! There was mutualrecognition and some communication betweenthem, but there was no central authority or sin-gle rule-making power! 6et some of the earliestrecords we hae about the life of these

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churches are canonical!

The Didache or Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, an anonymous collection of moral,

liturgical and disciplinary instructions, is one of the #rst and most precious post-apostolicwritings! "t was written about the year 1DD! "tcontains clear directions on how to baptize, onkeeping the LordGs day, on prayer, and on theelection of bishops and deacons!

The Didache formed the pattern for seeralother small collections of rules about the life of

the church in the #rst two hundred years after:ew Testament timesF for example, the Traditio Apostolica of =ippolytus of %ome Hca! <1BJ, theDidascalia Apostolorum Hca! <DJ, and theanones !cclesiastici Apostolorum Hca! >DDJ! They were not issued by any formal authority! They were simply compiled customs! *eople

wrote down the accepted practices of their owncommunity! Then they were circulated andaccepted by other communities!

The earliest form of church discipline wasthe recorded customs of the belieingcommunities! They told of the ways thatsacraments were celebrated, leaders electedand sinners reconciled! They also reAected the

conAicts and disputes which troubled the localchurches, e!g!, whether to rebaptize those whohad fallen into heresy and then returned!

The writings of the apostolic 2athers andapologists of this same period con#rm and bearwitness to these early church practicesF forexample, the letters of Clement of %ome,

"gnatius of 7ntioch and *olycarp of (myrna! The most signi#cant deelopment of this

early period for canon law, howeer, is thesynodal or conciliar process! "t was patternedafter the example of the Council of 9erusalem

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depicted in 7cts 1! The leaders of the localchurches of an area would come together,either regularly or as need arose, to deliberateand seek consensus on matters of doctrine and

discipline! This practice was common and wellaccepted from at least the early third century!

Local councils were held in :orth 7frica,(pain, "taly, 2rance and 7sia /inor! Thedisciplinary decisions of these local councilswere fre@uently communicated to otherchurches when they gathered in council! "t was

a lateral process of mutual acceptance andcommon usage!

"n the fourth century this conciliar processexpanded to what we now call Eecumenicalcouncils,E that is, gatherings representatie of the entire communion! HThe term ecumenicalcomes from the 3reek oikoumene, the

inhabited world, the unierse!J The #rst of these EuniersalE councils, called by the %oman&mperor Constantine, met in :icea Hin present-day Turkey, not far from "stanbulJ in the year><! "t was attended by about >1B bishops! "t isknown chieAy for its debate about the nature of Christ! The council gae us the :icene Creed,which we still use in eucharistic celebrations

today! 0ut the bishops of the council alsodebated, agreed upon and issued twentyEcanons,E that is, arious rules of discipline!7nd such was the authority and prestige of thecouncil that those canons were widelycirculated and accepted throughout thechurches which made up the communion!

The canons of :icea dealt with a range of topics which apparently represented abuses ordisputes at the timeF for example$ self-mutilation, clerical chastity, ordination of bishops, mutual recognition of excom-munications, reconciliation of those who denied

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their faith, clerical stability or non-transferability, clerical usury, distribution of holy communion, and the appropriate posturefor prayer!

"n this early period the church wasrelatiely free to deelop its own regulatiestructures! "t was a minority religious group,widely established in the urban centers of the%oman &mpire! 0efore Constantine the churchwas either ignored or persecuted by thegoernment! "t retained the o)ces and

practices #rst used in the :ew Testamentperiod, those deried from 9ewish traditionHe!g!, the conciliar processJ or the 3reekcontext He!g!, o)ces like episkopos, oerseer,bishop, and pres"#teros, elder, presbyterJ!=oweer, the churchGs world was organized bythe law of the %oman &mpire and, naturallyenough, when the church needed new

structures, it often borrowed from that sourcePe!g!, EdioceseE and EproinceE were termsdirectly taken oer from the subdiisions of theempireJ! *erhaps the most important thing toremember about these #rst centuries of thechurchGs rule-making life is that its earliestmodes were customary and conciliar!

T$E C$URC$ O# T$E EM"IRE

&arly in the fourth century the church wasrecognized by the %oman emperor,Constantine, and was granted not only freedombut a position of preference and priilege!3radually it became the established religion!

0ut its relationship with the imperial authoritywas not worked out satisfactorily until later! Throughout the middle of that centurysuccessie emperors sought to dominate thechurch, to faor heretical factions within it, andeen to persecute members of the church!

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"n the late years of the fourth century,0ishop 7mbrose of /ilan and &mperor Theodosius " worked out a relatiely balancedalliance$ a positie, close and collaboratie

relationship in which both authorities, churchand state, recognized each other as supreme intheir own realms! The church respected andsupported imperial authority and policies, andthe state honored the churchGs authority inmatters of faith, the discipline of the clergy,liturgy and the administration of church

property! The empire supported the social andcharitable works of the church, exempted theclergy from taxes and military serice, andeen made the bishops administrators of thestateGs 4ustice! The church had become thechurch of the empire!

"n this new status the church could not helpbeing strongly inAuenced by %oman law! "t

borrowed freely from the well-deeloped legalstructures and procedures of the empire! "nfact, the church was compelled to adoptelements of %oman law because the Christianemperors, especially the great legal compilersof the #fth and sixth centuries, Theodosius ""and 9ustinian ", legislated for the church! Theyincluded large sections of ecclesiastical rules,many of their own making, in the collections of laws promulgated for the empire He!g!, theodex Theodosianus of ?>B, and the orpusluris, >J! "t would be di)cult to exaggeratethe inAuence of %oman law on the churchGsregulatory system, at this period and perma-nently thereafter!

Two demographic factors aected thedeelopment of the churchGs organization andministry at this timeF namely, its hugenumerical growth and its spread into thecountryside! "t became socially and politicallyadantageous to be a Christian, and many

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desired to 4oin the church! The result was a astincrease in membership, but a decrease in theleels of preparation and commitment! Thisnewer population extended the church outside

its traditional urban areas into rural towns andillages! This caused the bishops of the cities todepute presbyters to lead the outlyingcommunities! Congregations of the faithfulwere dispersed and multiplied, but the bishopgradually lost all personal relationship with themembers of the local churches!

The gradual eolution of the 0ishop of %ome into a #gure of central authority isanother key factor in the deelopment of canonlaw! 0ecause of its connections with theapostles *eter and *aul, and because of itsimportance as the imperial capital, %ome hadsigni#cance as an ecclesiastical reference pointas early as the third century! ;uring the

tumultuous changes of the fourth century the0ishop of %ome grew in stature and inAuence!

"n the .est, bishops referred @uestions to%ome, and they receied answers which weretreated as authoritatie! 0y the time of Leo "H??D-?I1J, the 0ishop of %ome was recognizedas the *atriarch of the .est with an undisputed

primacy! This uni@ue leadership role was notyet acknowledged in the &ast! Leo articulatedthe theory that the 0ishop of %ome is the heirof *eter! Christ is the true and eternal bishop of all his people, but he granted *eter an enduringshare in his episcopal power, and each suc-cessie 0ishop of %ome inherits it!

The bishops of %ome, referred to as popesHfrom papa, fatherJ, began to issue preceptieletters or decretals (decretales, decreesJ withsome fre@uency during the #fth century! Theseletters were seen to hae broad authority, eenthough they were addressed to one bishop or

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one region! The decretal letters, therefore, arethe #rst manifestation of papal legislatiepower! They began to be collected and placedalongside the earlier customary and conciliar

regulations for the life of the church!

The two most important canonicalcollections from the early centuries are$

1J The $#ntagma anonum Antiochenum Hthecollection of conciliar canons made at7ntiochJ, probably begun in the late fourth

century and completed in the late #fth! This collection, with its later additions, isthe central basis for riental church law!

<J The Dion#siana, a collection of conciliarcanons and papal decretals made at %omeby a monk named ;ionysius &xiguusH;ennis the LittleJ in the outset of the sixthcentury! This compilation, in its arioussubse@uent editions, had an immenseinAuence on all medieal canon law!

7 #nal example will illustrate therelationship of church to empire and theeectie use of a canonical collection! "n theyear 1, long after the decimation of the%oman &mpire by the inading tribes from the

north, *epin, the de facto ruler of the *rankishkingdom, was gien the title of 8ing of the2ranks by the pope! *epin and his son,Charlemagne HIB-B1?J, set about the work of consolidating the kingdom, and they knew thatthe restoration of church discipline was anintegral part of that task! They also assumed

that church renewal was their responsibility asChristian monarchs! "n ? *ope 7drian " gaeto Charlemagne a reised ersion of theDion#siana collection of canons Hcalled theDion#siana% &adriana', which the igorousChristian king did his best to enforce

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throughout the kingdom! =e conened reformcouncils in arious parts of &urope to restoregood order to the church! =e appointed reform-minded metropo- litans and bishops, and they

brought the message home to their diocesansynods! n Christmas ;ay in the year BDD,*ope Leo """ crowned Charlemagne the =oly%oman &mperor!

To conclude this section on the Church of the &mpire, it should be noted that the growthand territorial organization of the church,

together with the inAuence of %oman law,contributed greatly to centralization andmonarchical Hfrom monos archein, to rulealoneJ rule within the church, with asimultaneous diminution of local congregationalautonomy and participatory goernance! Thegroundwork was laid for the sole authority of the bishop in each diocese, the metropolitan in

the proince, and the %oman pontiGin theentire church!

T$E C$URC$ AND #EUDALI!M

The peoples of northern &urope whooerran the crumbling %oman &mpire had aprofound eect on the churchGs regulatorysystem! These changes took place oer a long

period of time, howeer, not as a result of theinasions! They emerged in what we nowdescribe as the feudal period Hroughly mid-ninth century until early thirteenthJ, and theyare related to some basic legal conceptsdeeloped among these peoples! The tribes hadbecome @uite settled, and also @uite Christian!

Their system of laws was customary, moredependent on the oral traditions of how thingswere done than on laws written down in collec-tions! "t was closely entwined with the life andlielihood of the people, rather than inheritedfrom the distant past! 7nd it was tied to the

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land on which and from which they lied!

The feudal system was based on theconcepts of assalage Ha personal promise of

loyal serice in return for protection andrecompenseJ, fealty Han oath of #delityJ, andbene#ce ("enecium, income for theperformance of a speci#c taskJ! These andother features of feudal law impinged on thelife of the church! 2or instance, the local lordgae priests the reenue from certain lands inexchange for the performance of their parochial

duties! The pastorate became a bene#ce, ano)ce tied to a source of income! 7nd the lord,owner and protector of the land, dispensed thepastoral o)ces to whomeer he wished, oftenwithout regard for the priestGs @uali#cations orthe spiritual welfare of the people!

The same was true of bishoprics and

monasteries! 3reater nobles and kings usedthese o)ces and the lands of the church toconsolidate their power and income! The clergypromised faithful serice to the secular rulers!

/any other elements of this tradition foundtheir way into the churchGs disciplineF e!g!, theextensie use of oaths in 4udicial proceedings,stipends and stole fees on the occasion of

sacramental ministries, personal penancesreplaced by oerings of money or performed bya substitute, etc! There were also certainparticipatie procedures which wereencouragedF e!g!, the collegial forms of self-goernance in religious orders, chapters of canons, confraternities, and lay associations!

&entually the EpriatizationE of thechurchGs public o)ces led to the great church-state conAict known as the Elay inestiturecontroersyE of the late eleenth century! 7restored papacy faced determined 3ermankings in a struggle to regain control of

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ecclesiastical o)ces! The practice had been forthe lords HlaypersonsJ to install their chosenbishops and abbots in their o)ces by inestingthem with the symbols of o)ce Hpastoral sta

and ringJ! *ope 3regory "" in 1D decreed$

! !! that no one of the clergy shall receie theinestiture with a bishopric or abbey or churchfrom the hand of an emperor or king or of anylay person, male or female! 0ut if he shall do sohe shall clearly know that such inestiture isbereft of apostolic authority, and that hehimself shall lie under excommunication until

#tting satisfaction shall hae been rendered!

The matter was not ended with a decree,for the practice of inestiture was deeplyembedded in the structure of feudal society!0ut after nearly #fty years of conAict,theological and political as well as military, theissue was fairly concluded with a compromise

Hat the (ynod of .orms in 11<<JF bishops wouldbe canonically elected and lay lords would nolonger inest them with ring and sta, but theycould be present for the elections and receiethe homage of newly elected prelates for thefeudal lands of their churches! =ence, thesecular ruler still could exercise an eectieeto oer a candidate unacceptable to him! "t

was probably the best solution possible in thecontext of the times!

These were not transitory episodes in themedieal life of the church! (trong inAuences of 3ermanic law remain in the canonical tradition!*arishes were considered to be bene#ces andthe ius patronatus Hright of the patron to name

the pastorJ continued until the middle of thetwentieth century! /ass stipends and oaths of #delity and eracity are with us still! Thegesture in the ordination ceremony of placingoneGs folded hands within those of the ordainingbishop while promising reerence and obe-

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dience is a replica of the feudal act of assalhomage! H"t is a symbolic expression of theobligations of reerence and obedience of c!<>!J 7nd the participatie practices, e!g!,

election of leaders, deliberations in chapters,within religious communities and layassociations also endure!

The reiew of the period should notconclude without mention of #e signi#cantcanonical collections$

1J in the &ast, the )omocanon Hfrom the 3reek

nomos, law, and kanon, ruleJ, compilationswhich combined the ciil laws of the empireand the canons of the church councils,edited in the ninth century and reised inthe eleenthF

<J the ollectio Dacheriana, a lasting productof the Carolingian %eform, compiled in the

middle of the ninth century Hand namedafter its seenteenth- century 2renchpublisherQJF

>J the Decretum of 0ishop 0urchard of .orms,a collection completed in 1D1< which waswidely used in schools and church o)cesF

?J three collections, Tripartita, Decretum, and

*anormia, completed in 1DK?, by 0ishop"o of Chartres, works inAuential in thedebates of the 3regorian %eformF

J the *seudo%Isidorian Decretals, of unknown mid-ninth century authorship,attributed to the seenth-century 0ishop"sidore of (eille, and containing #ctitiousdecrees of seeral early popesF aninAuential collection of false documents,whose falsity was not discoered until the#fteenth century!

=ere it is a sad necessity to note that,owing to the tragic eents of 1D? which broke

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the bonds of unity between &astern and.estern Christianity, the two cano- nicaltraditions further dierge and cease to interact!

T$E CLA!!ICAL "ERIOD O# CANON LAW

The canons of the church were assembledinto an organized and rationalized body of knowledge in the twelfth and thirteenthcenturies! This body of canonical knowledgewas studied as a science and practiced as anart from that time on!

Three factors coalesced to make thisperiod, from the mid-twelfth to the mid-fourteenth centuries, the Eclassical epochE of canon law, a time of critical deelopment andgreat inAuence$ a' a new and unparalleledcollection of canons, "' the systematic study of his new science in ma4or educational centers,

and c' its mutually reinforcing relationshipwith a ery strong papacy!

1J 7t the 'niersity of 0ologna in the earlytwelfth century there occurred a ma4orreial of interest in and study of %omanlaw! "n that context, a Camaldolese monk, 9ohn 3ratian, who taught in one of the

faculties, compiled a collection of canonswhich he called oncordantiaDiscordantium anonum H7 =armony of ;iscordant CanonsJ! =e completed thework about 11?D! "t became morecommonly known as the Decretum +ratianiH3ratianGs ;ecreeJ, but it was a scholarlycompilation, not a decree! 3ratianGs worksurpassed and superseded all precedingcanonical collections because it was morecomprehensie, better organized, andbecause he applied to this mass of canonical literature a systematic process of

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scholastic analysis! 3ratian analyzed themeaning of the terms used in the canons,examined the sources for the canons, anddetermined which canons had greater

authority! .hen rules on the same issue di-erged or were contradictory, he workedout a reconciliation Hor harmonyJ of thecanons by means of these principles of comparison and preference!

<J 3ratianGs Decree @uickly became the onebook used in all of the uniersities where

canon law was studied, and their numbermultiplied in the decades following itspublicationF e!g!, at *aris, xford,(alamanca, /ontpellier, *adua! Teacherslectured on it, students studied it, and au-thors commented on it! HThose earliestcommentators are called Edecretists!EJ "twas the unifying point of departure for a

whole new #eld of study! /ore gradually italso became the standard reference workfor those in papal and episcopal o)ces!

>J "n this same period the papacy wasestablishing itself in &urope as acentralized and dominant power, bothspiritually and temporally! The newly

organized system of canon law assistedthis growth and, in turn, the popes, nowclaiming wider legislatie, 4udicial andadministratie powers, issued more rulesand decisions which further expanded thecanons! The leading popes of this periodwere all canonists$ 7lexander """ H11K-B1who had been a student of 3ratianJ,

"nnocent """ H11KB-1<1IJ, "nnocent " H1<?>-?J! and 0oniface """ H1<K?-1>D>J! "n theirfre@uent negotiations with the kings of &urope as well as in their daily goernanceof the church, these strong men reliedheaily on the canonical system!

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7t the apogee of papally asserted Efullnessof powerE (plenitudo potestaiis' 0oniface """stated that the spiritual authority of the church

was superior to the temporal power of ciilrulers, and that church leaders could bothinstruct and sit in 4udgment upon those rulers! The highest spiritual powers could be 4udged by3od alone! =e concluded$

Therefore we declare, state, de#ne andpronounce that it is altogether necessary tosalation for eery human creature to be

sub4ect to the %oman *onti! HThe 0ull nam$anctam, 1>D<!J

*apal decrees were not the only source of canons during this period! 2our ecumenicalcouncils were held during this time Htwo in%ome, Lateran """ in 11K, " in 1<1, and two inLyons, in 1<? and 1<?J, and each of these

issued its own canonical regulations!*opes and bishops used the newly deeloped

canonical craft to undergird their authority andactions, but they also adanced the canonicalscience! 3regory "R H1<<-?1J ordered a;ominican scholar, %aymond of *enafort, tocompile all of the decrees and conciliar canonsissued since 3ratianGs collection Has well as

some materials 3ratian had omittedJ! 3regoryissued this collection of decretals Hwhichbecame known as the Decretales +regorii I-' in1<>?! 7nd for the #rst time it was promulgatedas an authentic, o)cial and exclusie source of rules for the whole church! 7ll preiouscanonical collections had been essentially

priate and uno)cial! HThe commentators on3regoryGs decretals are known asEdecretalistsE!J

;ecretal and conciliar legislation continued,and subse@uent popes issued similar, well-ordered collections of canons! The @uality of the

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scholarship surrounding this growing body of canons was exemplary! The canonicalcommentators and teachers were among the#nest minds of the time! Three stand out$

1J =uguccio H=ugh of *isaJ taught at 0olognaand was later 0ishop of 2erraraF his$umma Habout 11KDJ was among the #nestworks of the decretalists!

<J =ostiensis H=enry of (usaJ, taught at*aris and later became Cardinal-0ishop

of stiaF his $umma H1<>J and ecluraHabout 1<DJ place him at the head of thedecretalists!

>J 9oannes 7ndreae H9ohn of 7ndreaJ, alayman and distinguished professor at0ologna, wrote two glossa ordinariaHcommentaries, 1>D1 and 1><<J, and

sureyed the whole of decretalistsliterature in his )ovella ommentariaH1>>BJ.

Two other important canonicaldeelopments of this period should bementioned! 2irst, the mendicant religious ordersHe!g!, 2ranciscans, ;ominicans, Carmelites,(eritesJ, which were founded and Aourished atthis time, deeloped enduring constitutions andstatutes which enabled them, under papalprotection, to launch splendid apostolicinitiaties and remain in control of their owndestinies! *arallel to them and often relatedwere the foundations and actiities of Third

rders, confraternities and other layorganizations, which sponsored ast charitableand educational undertakings, supported byparticipatie canonical structures!

(econd, %oman law once again had aprofound eect on canon law! The two systems

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were studied side-by-side! /any canonists alsoearned degrees in %oman law! The principles of interpretation were parallel! 7nd the canonicalsystem recognized %oman law as

supplementary, i!e!, when there was no canonto coer a certain matter, it was appropriate toharken to %oman law! HThroughout this and thefollowing period the word ElawsE referred to%oman laws, while EcanonsE referred to rulesenacted by church authorities!J

9oannes 7ndreae died in 1>?B, a ictim of

the terrible 0lack ;eath which decimated&urope in the ensuing years! =is death marksthe end of the classical period of canon lawand, to some extent, a decline in its itality!

DECLINE AND RE#ORM

The 0lack ;eath H1>?B-?KJ broke the spirit

of .estern &urope, the 7ignon *apacy H1>DK-J weakened the papal o)ce, and the 3reat.estern (chism H1>B- 1?1J shook the churchto its foundations! The church had not reallyrecoered from the schism and its aftermath, awoeful decline in discipline and morality, whenits unity was splintered by the *rotestant%eformation H11-1IDJ!

These tragic eents did not trace a single,steady spiral of decline, but they seerelybueted the church, eroded its authority, andmuSed its attempts to proclaim the gospel!Cries for Ereform in head and membersE aroseon all sides!

Canonists were actie in both directions,decline and reform! The powers of the papacy,so carefully crafted and enhanced in theclassical period, now sered to centralizechurch authority as neer before! The popes of 7ignon resered to themseles the right to #ll

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ecclesiastical o)ces all oer &urope! Theyemployed a litany of pretexts for interening inthe normal course of elections andappointments, not only to ma4or archdioceses

and dioceses, but to all manner of o)ces$canons, chaplains, houses of monks and friars!(ometimes these EreserationsE of o)ces tothe =oly (ee were due to abuses or disputes inthe legitimate electoral processes, but moreoften the reasons were political or #nancial! Thepapal coers at 7ignon were #lled by the

taxes, re@uired gifts, and reenues from theseendowed o)ces! They were the principalmeans of support for a laish papal court!

The reseration of appointments to churchbene#ces was perhaps the most oensieexercise of the fullness of 4urisdictionalauthority! =oweer, an een greater abuse wasthe practice of Epluralism,E that is, the

simultaneous possession of seeral bene#cesby the same person! (ome cardinals of thepapal curia held more than #fteen o)ces at thesame time! They were ecclesiastical positions,with incomes, all oer &urope! Their holdersneer een isited the places, to say nothing of ful#lling the sacred duties attached to theo)ces! They coeted the income! They mighthire a substitute to perform the local ministries,if they were keen of conscience! Hne extremeexample$ 7s late as 1I, Cardinal 7lessandro2arnese, grandson of *ope *aul """, possessedten episcopal sees, twenty-six monasteries, and1>> other bene#ces-canonries, parishes andchaplaincies!J

Canonists designed and ran the machinerywhich droe the whole system, and it was bothelaborate and eectie! 0ut the canonists alsolabored as agents of change! ;uring theshameful disgrace that was the .estern(chism, when two or three rials

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simultaneously claimed the Chair of *eter fornearly forty years, canonical writers stroe toresole the conAict! They studied therelationships between pope, councils, emperor

and people! The issue was #nally resoled atthe Council of Constance H1?1?-1BJ, called thegreatest representatie assembly of the whole/iddle 7ges! There were more canonists thanbishops in attendance!

The Council of Constance, in addition to itschief achieement of ridding the church of anti-

popes and restoring the papal o)ce, made aconstitutional change! "t decreed that generalcouncils should be conened regularly andfre@uently Heery ten yearsJ as an eectiemeans of ongoing church reform! Two followingpopes complied with that conciliar proision,but then it was allowed to fall into desuetude!=igh papalists interpreted the rule to imply that

a council was superior to a pope and could sit in 4udgment on him Has Constance had done inorder to clear the papal throneJ! =ighconciliarists had gien reasons for concern but,in retrospect, such regular conciliar consultationmight hae mitigated the monarchical style of the papacy, and perhaps spared the church thegreater grief which lay ahead!

The worldly %enaissance popes of the lasthalf of the #fteenth and last half of thesixteenth centuries Hfrom :icolas , 1??-! toLeo R, 11>-<1J had some serious concerns,but church reform was not among them! Theirneed for huge amounts of money precluded anyreal consideration of the gross abuses related

to church o)ces! Toward the end of this perioda general council was called, the 2ifth LateranCouncil H11<-1J, but it was so poorlyattended that it scarcely merits the nameecumenical! "t enacted lengthy reform decrees,but no one seemed committed to making them

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work!

The *rotestant %eformation began with/artin LutherGs actions of 11! "t precipitated

the fracturing of .estern Christianity!:o one desired a reformation that would

lead to a diision in .estern Christendom! Thereformers wanted the reform of the one Churchcommon to all! 0ecause this reform in head andmembers was thwarted, the split occurred!Conse@uently, the %eformation would be thereolutionary re4oinder to the failure of reform

in the fourteenth and #fteenth centuries! H&!"serloh, &and"ook of hurch &istor#, , >-?!J

LutherGs burning of books of canon law at.ittenberg on ;ecember 1D, 1<D, symbolizednot only his de#ance of papal authority but alsohis iew that the church leaders Econstantlyexalt their own ordinances aboe the

commands of 3od!E =e complained that theolumes of canonistic literature Esay nothingabout Christ,E but within a decade he had cometo terms with the need for Egood order andtran@uility in the church!E =e then claimed thatEwe are more faithful to the canons than ouropponents areE H7pology of the 7ugsburgConfession, 1>DJ!

7s Luther and the other leaders of the%eformation began to modify and refashion thecanonical tradition to #t their own theology andpractical needs, the %oman church slowlybegan to come to terms with its need forreform! The two successors of *ope /artin could not or would not call for the necessary

reform council! 0ut *aul """ H1>?-?KJ didconoke a general council, after frustratingdelays, in the city of Trent at the end of 1?!=e accomplished three other things which setreform in motion$ named a number of reform-minded men to the college of cardinals, urged

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on the reform of the ma4or religiouscommunities, and appointed a specialcommission on the reform of the church(onsilium de !mendanda !cclcsia'. The report

of the commission Hin 1>J candidly pointedto the papal o)ce, the College of Cardinals,and the %oman curia as most in need of reform!

"n spite of enormous political obstacles andtwo long interruptions Hit #nally concluded in1I>, eighteen years after it beganJ, theCouncil of Trent succeeded in enacting a series

of decrees on the internal reform of the church,in addition to ma4or doctrinal clari#cations! "tdid not radically alter existing structures orcreate many new ones$ instead it made rulesabout the @uali#cations for ordination andperformance in o)ce! "t assigned clearresponsibilities for bishops and parish priests! The restoration of the episcopate, morally and

administratiely, was a central focus! "toutlawed simony, the possession of multiplebene#ces, absenteeism Hthe obligation of residency was a ma4or pointJ, and it stressedattention to the needs of the people! The chief aim of the councilGs reform decrees was therestoration of pastoral care!

Canonists played a key role in thedeliberations at Trent, and the regulationswhich the council issued breathed new life intothe canonical enterprise! Canon law, since theend of the classical period, lacked originalityand drifted from its pastoral purpose! "t hadbecome repetitie, defensie, and increasinglydistant from its essentially religious function!

2rom the end of the council to at least the mid-eighteenth century, the reforming spirit anddecrees of Trent dominated the canonicalagenda!

Church renewal is neer accomplished by

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rules alone! "t takes determined leadership aswell! To the extent that the Catholic Ecounter-reformationE actually succeeded in reformingthe church, credit must be gien to a series of

coninced popes H*ius , 1II-<, 3regory R""",1<-B, and (ixtus , 1B-KD, stand outJ anda legion of committed bishops Hsome examples$3iberti of erona, 2isher of %ochester, 0orromeoof /ilan, Thomas of illanoa, 2rancis de (alesin (aoyJ! They acted out in the life of thechurch the script written at Trent and, in doing

so, set the standard for others!%emarkably enough, the papal o)ce

emerged from the council een stronger andwith greater authority than before, and thelocal power of bishops was enhanced by haingthem act in many matters as Edelegates of the7postolic (eeE in their own dioceses! The%oman curia and the college of cardinals were

reformed, not so much by abolishing o)ces andprocedures, but by appointing persons of integrity to the o)ces and insisting on theirresponsible performance!

The missionary actiity of the church in thesixteenth and seenteenth centuries, followingupon the discoery and exploration of Enew

worlds,E opened up extensie areas for thedeelopment of canon law! (panish and*ortuguese missionaries went to 7merica,7frica and 7sia right along with the explorersand exploiters! 2ranciscans, ;ominicans,Carmelites, 9esuits and other religiouscommunities supplied the missionary spirit andpersonnel! They encountered new problems

and sought new disciplinary answersF e!g!,about administering baptism, holy communion,ordination of the natie peoples, the tolerationof slaery, the resolution of 4urisdictionaldisputes, and the adaptation of rites to localcultures! These discussions were ital concerns

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of the canonists of the day!

"n 1I<< *ope 3regory R established the%oman Congregation for the *ropagation of the

2aith in order to foster and coordinate this newmissionary actiity, as well as to reassert papalclaims to 4urisdiction oer the territories Hwhichthe (panish and *ortuguese kings hadassumedJ! The *ropaganda became a powerfulinAuence in the whole missionary moement!2or example, its leaders pressed for thecreation of an indigenous Christianity in mission

lands as early as 1IK! "t also sered as theinterface between traditional canonicaldiscipline and special proisions for themissions!

Two important canonical collections mustbe mentioned from this long period of Edeclineand reformE$

1J the orpus luris anonici H0ody of CanonLawJ is the name gien to a compendiumof 3ratianGs Decree, the ;ecretals of 3regory "R, and four subse@uent collectionsof decretals, #rst published as a singlework in *aris in the year 1DD by 9ohnChappuis and itale de Thebis! "t wascorrected and reised under the direction

of *ope 3regory R""" in 1B<! The orpus isof supreme importance historically$ "t is themain source for regulations issued beforethe Council of Trent, and it remained thechurchGs guiding book of rules, along withthe anones et Decrela oncilii Tridentini,until the promulgation of the #rst Code of Canon Law in 1K1!

<J 7n important collection which was madeunder papal authority but neer publishedis called the i"er $eptimus Hafter the sixbooks of the orpus' or the Decrctalesdementis /III Hafter the pope, 1K<- 1ID,

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who was supposed to issue itJ! "t wasbegun in the 1BDs as an attempt to gathertogether the decrees of the councils of 2lorence, Lateran , and Trent as well as

the papal decrees issued after the lastbook of the orpus. "t would hae been aery aluable sourceQ

Canonical writing in the #rst half of thislong Hfourteenth to eighteenth centuryJ periodtended to be limited to special @uestions which

reAected the problems of the time$ e!g!, onschism, heresy, bene#ces, elections, taxes,papal ersus conciliar authority! Later, howeer,in what is sometimes called the Egolden ageE of canonical studies, seeral outstanding authorscomposed comprehensie works of lastinginAuence$ 9ohn *aul Lancelotti of *erugiacomposed Institutiones luris anonici in 1 I>!

H=e almost had his work promulgated as o)cialby the popeQJ =enry *irhing, (!9!, of ;illingen,wrote niversum lus anonicum . . . !xplicatumH7ll of Canon Law &xplainedJ, 1I?-B!7nacletus %eienstuel, !(!2!, of 2reising, wroteniversum lus anonicum, published from1DD-1?! 2rancis (chmalzgruber, (!9!, of "ngolstadt, published lus !cclesiasticum

niversum in 11!

T$E C$URC$ IN T$E MODERN WORLD

The church truly struggled to #nd its placein the world of enlightenment rationalism,absolutist monarchies, the 2rench %eolutionand the new liberalism, and the modern secularstate! The papacy negotiated endlessly withkings and generals and presidents in order todefend and promote the interests of the church,but the presuppositions of a commonly sharedChristendom were long gone! The emerging

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goernments wanted either to be entirelyseparate from churches or to manipulate themfor their own purposes!

The %oman Catholic Church no longer heldthe kind of power, wealth and priilege which itonce possessed! "n the late nineteenth centuryit een lost the papal states Hcentral "talyJ! Thepopes, bishops and people fought hard, in thecontext of modern state regimes, for enoughfreedom and leerage for the church tocontinue its work of witness and worship! They

suered heay losses in the process, e!g!, theexile, imprisonment or death of thousands of priests and nuns, the suppression of religiouscommunities, and the con#scation of astamounts of church property! "t was atumultuous time of radical political and culturalchanges!

ne set of canonical issues was closelyentwined with this ongoing church-statestruggle! "ts most common label is the debatebetween the 'ltramontanists Hthose fostering astrong, centralized papal goernment for thechurchJ and the 3allicans and 2ebroniansHthose arguing for the rights and freedoms of the churches of 2rance and 3ermany,

respectiely, and for episcopal authorityJ!3allicanism began earlier, and had roots in theconciliarism of the reform councils of Constanceand 0asel! "t was tinted with the bright shadesof 2rench nationalism!

2ebronianism Hafter the pseudonym usedby 0ishop 9ohann :iko-laus on =ontheim whenhe wrote De statu ecclesiae et legitima pot estate Romani *onticis in 1I>J was theoutgrowth of a ery respectable canonicaltradition! eger-0ernard an &spen, 8aspar0arthel and Christoph :eller were three of itsma4or authors and teachers! They hearkened

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back to the early church, before theexaggerated papal claims of the *seudo-"sidorian ;ecrees and the 3regorian %eform,and asked for a return to its constitution, one in

which bishops were recognized as thesuccessors of the apostles! 0ishops holdauthority by diine right, and were not icars ordelegates of the pope! 3athered together withthe pope in general council, the bishops werethe true representaties of the body of thechurch! The pope was the center of unity, but

not 'niersal 0ishop with unfettered 4urisdiction!

The canonists of the %oman curia andothers H9esuits in the forefrontJ, countered thesetheories, and strongly asserted the prerogatiesof the *etrine o)ce and warned of the dangersof national churches! &entually the'ltramontanists won out, not so much by force

of canonical and theological argument, but as aresult of many other factors, e!g!, the practicalrealization that national churches were nomatch for strong goernments, and that asoereign papacy was a great adantage, thepopular appeal of the papal o)ce, and eectiediplomatic negotiations with national leadersHlike the concordat with :apoleon in 1BD1J! The2irst atican Council in 1BD, with its formaldeclaration of papal supremacy (*astor aeternus', eectiely ended the debate!

7part from the heated 3allican-2ebroniancontroersy, the canonical waters of this periodwere relatiely calm, nearly stagnant! Therewas no conciliar legislation because no other

general councils were heldF the 2irst aticanwas the only one held since Trent, more thanthree centuries earlier! *apal decrees continuedto be issued on arious matters of discipline! The many concordats between the =oly (eeand ciil goernments added canonical

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regulations applicable in nations aected! 2orexample, the concordat with :apoleon allowedthe 2rench ruler to name bishops, but assuredthat the state would pay the salaries of the

clergy in compensation for con#scated churchproperty! This pact was the prototype forseeral subse@uent agreements in thenineteenth century!!

Canon law had become formalistic andrepetitie! "ts study in seminaries and religioushouses of studies was shallow and a historical!

"n important areas He!g!, sacraments,penalties, clerical obligationsJ its teaching wascombined with that of moral theology, andneither discipline bene#ted from the marriage!/anuals of canon law multiplied, and werelargely duplications of one another! 7uthorssettled disputed issues by counting theauthorities on both sides, rather than by

intrinsic arguments!

There were a few outstanding canonicalwriters, and they broke some new ground,especially with important historical studies!

These names stand out$*rosper Lambertini H1I-1B, also known as *ope

0enedict R", 1?D-BJ!2rederick /aassen H1B<>-1KDDJ, 9ohn 2rederick on(chulte H1B<-1K1?J!2rancis Raier .ernU, (!9!H1B?<-1K1?J! 3eorge

*hillips H1BD? <J! 2erdinand .alter H1K?-1BKJ, *aul =inschius H1BK-KBJ, and 'lrich

(tutz H1BI-<K<?J!

T$E CODI#ICATION O# CANON LAW

The papacy had come a long way from thehumiliating imprisonment of *ius "" by

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:apoleon H1BDK-1?J to the relatiely exaltedsituation of *ius R H1KD>-1?J! The popes of theCatholic restoration had succeeded in gainingrespect and authority for a renewed papal

o)ce! They neer changed their defensieposture or shed their siege mentality inrelationship to the modern world, but theymanaged to centralize and concentrate theirauthority within the church as well as theirrespect outside it, The 'ltramontanist triumphleft the papal o)ce a irtually absolute

monarchy!*ius R was one of the great reform popes,

but his mode of reform was conseratie,restorationist, and Efrom the top down!E :osooner was he elected than he began thereorganization of canon law!

0ishops and canonists for decades had

sought a new collection of canons! The lasto)cial collection was that of 9ohn RR"" in 1>1!Little was added when the orpus luris anoniciwas put together in 1DD and again in 1B<! The i"er $eptimus, attempted after theCouncil of Trent, was neer issued! The sheernumber of extant laws was astF they hadgrown like mushrooms in the ensuing centuries!

They were not systematically arrangedF oftenthey were listed in chronological order! (ome of the documents in the collections were not lawsat all, some were contradictory, some had beenabrogated or fallen into desuetude, many werewritten in a diuse and obscure prose! Thecanons had grown into a large thicket in whichliing and dead branches intertwined, making

passage exceedingly di)cult een for theskilled canonist! "n preparation for the 2irstatican Council a group of 2rench bishops hadwritten to %ome$ E.e are drowning in laws!E

"n /arch, 1KD?, *ius R set in motion the

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Etruly di)cult taskE (arduum sane munus' of Ecollecting the laws of the uniersal church, in aclear and concise order, and adapting them tothe conditions of our time!E To direct the eort

he chose a curial canonist who had taught atthe 'niersity of *aris, *ietro 3asparri H1B<-1K>?J, a man of extraordinary talent, energyand persistence! 3asparri worked withcommissions of con-sultors for ten years at theprodigious task of organizing, sifting and refor-mulating the canons! "t was more a work of

legal drafting than legislating! 7lthough thework was carried on in secret, it began andended with a consultation of all the bishops andCatholic uniersities of the world!

7 key decision, made at the outset, was thechoice to make a code rather than a collection!7ll preious compilations of canons had been inthe form of collections of documentsF the

original words, pastoral situation, dale, andissuing authority were retained! The canonicalrule remained in its historical context!odication is an exercise in conceptual 4uridical abstraction! "t stries to reduce therules to terse and abstract formulations, andarrange them in a carefully constructed system!"t is strong on clarity, breity, consistency andorder, but the rules are entirely set apart fromthe social and historical context which gae riseto them! HThe 'niform Commer- cial Code is agood example of a contemporary law code inthe 'nited (tates!J

Codi#cation was in ogue in &urope in thenineteenth century! :apoleon used the code

style in 1BD? to erase the memory of theancient regime in 2rance! 3ermany, (witzerlandand "taly were using the codi#cation process!3asparri and his coworkers admired it andadopted it!

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The reformulation of the canons and the#nal consultation were completed by the end of 1K1?, but *ius R had died and .orld .ar "broke out, so it was decided to wait until

*entecost, 1K1, to promulgate the #rst Code of Canon Law! *ope 0enedict R, with that singlelegislatie act Emade it all his own!E and sweptaside all preious canonical enactments! TheCode actually took eect one year later,*entecost, 1K1BF a yearGs vacatio legis wasgien for the church to get used to its new set

of rules! The new Code was hailed as a great

success! "t was handy, well-ordered andaccessible H4ust <,?1? canonsJ, and canoniststook to it with relish! They promptly began toprepare commentaries on it and restructuredtheir courses in accord with it!

The Code furthered the centralization of authority at both papal and episcopal leels,and reinforced an extreme uniformity of practice in the church! 0ut it also broughtrelatie order out of the chaotic state of canonlaw at the beginning of the twentieth century! The promulgation of the Code marked theopening of a new canonical epoch!

"n the following decades the Code seredas a book of answers, sometimes een as acatechism! "t began to get Eout of dateE in afast-changing world! /any changes were madein the rules, but they were not inserted into theCode! nce again, the rules outside therulebook began to outnumber those within it!/ore basically, the pastoral restructuringneeded for eectie ministry in the modernworld was not forthcoming! 0ut canonists didnGtnotice! "t took the isionary *ope 9ohn RR""" tosee that the canons needed aggiornamentoHupdatingJ!

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RE#ORM MOVEMENT! AND CANON LAW

0y way of a reprise of this historical

oeriew of canon law, it might be helpful torecall the reform periods in the churchs historyand the role that the canons played in them!

1! The 3elasian %enaissance H?K<-<KJ,beginning with the papacy of 3elasius "H?K<-KIJ, out of which came the collectionsof canons of ;ionysius &xiguus, theDion#siana.

0. The Carolingian %eform HD-BDJ, namedfor the emperor Charlemagne, in which thecollection Dacheriana Hcompiled from theDion#siana% &adriana and the &ispana'aided in the renewal!

>! The 3regorian %eform H1DK-11<<J, in which

the monk =ildebrand, 3regory "" H1D>-BJ used earlier collections of canons andstimulated further collections with his ownDictatus *apae.

?! The Conciliar (olution H1?DK-1??KJ to theconstitutional crisis of the 3reat .estern(chism was based on the canonical

theories and courageous actions of ecumenical councils!

! The Tridentine %eform or the Catholiccounterreformation H1>?-1IDJ focusedon the reform decrees of the Council of Trent H1?-I>J!

I! The Conseratie %eform of *ius R H1KD>-1?J

in which the #rst codi#cation of canonsplayed a great part!

! To these historical moements of reform, thepresent one might be added$ inauguratedin 1KK by 9ohn RR""", centered in the

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(econd atican Council H1KI<-IJ, carriedon by *aul " and 9ohn *aul "", and includingthe 1KB> Code of Canon Law!

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/;'L& :& + L&((: >

Canonical (ources, 2orms7nd ;istinctions

!OURCE!

.hat are the sources of the rules which

make up the churchGs canonical systemO .heredid those who compiled the arious collections#nd the canons they includedO This listsummarizes the most common sources for thecanons$

1! T=& (7C%&; (C%"*T'%&(! 0oth :ew and ld Testament authors were cited as thehighest authorities in matters of churchdiscipline!

<! :7T'%7L L7.! Those structures or alueswhich are considered to be of the eryessence of things, e!g!, monogamy inmarriage, truth in speech, were and areoften called upon as bases for rules!

>! C'(T/! Long-standing practices within theearliest church communities, e!g!, (undayobserance, the celebration of &aster, weretaken to be normatie! Custom is still asource of norms!

?! C':C"L(! The periodic gatherings of theleaders of local churches, called synods orcouncils, often deliberated and settled

matters of discipline, e!g!, rebaptism or re-ordination! &cumenical councils, like the(econd atican Council, are a ma4or sourceof ecclesiastical regulations!

! 27T=&%( 2 T=& C='%C=! The writings of many

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authors in the early centuries were reeredand taken to be authoritatie, e!g!,Didache, "renaeus, Cyprian, 0asil,onstitutiones Apostolorum, 9ohn

Chrysostom, 7mbrose, 9erome, 7ugustine!

I! **&(! The letters and responses sent by the0ishop of %ome were liened with specialrespect and gradually eoled Hin the early#fth centuryJ into decretals with the forceof general regulations!

! 0"(=*(! .hen leading bishops made

pastoral 4udgments or rules for theirdioceses, they were often imitated andapplied elsewhere!

B! %'L&( 2 %&L"3"'( %;&%(! The constitutionsor rules eoled within religiouscommunities, e!g!, 0enedictines,2ranciscans, ;ominicans, inAuenced other

religious groups and, eentually, thegeneral rules of the church!

K! C""L L7.! The enactments of the %omanemperors and of later kings andlegislatures on matters which aect religionhae often been accepted as authoritatieby the church!

1D! C:C%;7T(! 2ormal internationalagreements between the =oly (ee andnational goernments are a modern sourcefor canonical regulations!

Canon law is a complex tapestry woenfrom these dierse strands and threads!

LITERAR% #ORM!(trange as it might seem, canon law and

the Code of Canon Law in particular, containdierent literary forms! :ot eerything in thecanons is law, not eerything is statutory! "t is

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necessary, from the ery outset, to be attentieto the literary form which one encounters in thecanons, 4ust as it is, for example, in the sacredscriptures! The ld and :ew Testaments include

many dierent literary forms, e!g!, poetry,letter, history, parable, sermon, apocalyptic,prophecy, proerb! "n order to understand thewriting, one must #rst ask what kind of writingit is! "t is the same in canon law! 7lthough thecanons look ery much alike, they contain se-eral dierent kinds of writing! "t is important to

recognize the literary form before trying tointerpret the meaning of the canon!

;CT%":7L ( T7T&/&:T(! ften canons arestatements of the teachings of the church,rather than rules of behaior! (ometimes theformulations of doctrine are expressions of thechurchGs faith, parts of its creed, e!g!, the

descriptions of the sacraments of baptism,eucharist and penance Hcc! B?K, BK,KKJ! 7tother times the doctrinal canons are theologicalopinions or moral alues, e!g!! the purposes of marriage Hc! 1D>J! the nature of theeangelical counsels Hc! J or of thecontemplatie life Hc! I?J! ccasionally, theydeclare philosophical theories, like the canon on

Catholic education Hc! KJ! "n all theseinstances the canons are doctrinal statements,intended to gie the background or context forrules of action, but containing no sense of legalprecept themseles!

:%/( 2 7CT":! .ithin this broad category,there are dierse forms$

1! !xhortations1 schools should be alued Hc!KIJ, the faithful should 4oin approedassociations Hc! <KBJ, clerics should giesuperAuous income to charity Hc! <B<J!

<! Admonitions1 use discretion in the use of

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the media Hc! IIIJ, refrain fromeerything alien to the clerical state Hc!<BJ, aoid dangerous companions Hc!<J!

>! Directives1 maintain communion Hc! <1DJ,show pastoral care for your people Hc!>B>J, see that the word of 3od isproclaimed Hc! <KJ!

?! *recepts1 record the marriage Hc! 11<1J,hear the #nance council Hc! 1<J, takepossession of the diocese Hc! >B<J!

! *rohi"itions1 do not damage anotherGsgood name Hc!<<DJ, clerics are forbiddento assume public o)ce Hc! <BJ, do notsell church property without permission Hc!1<K1J!

I! *enalties1 a confessor who breaks the sealof confession is excommunicated Hc!

1>BBJ, a priest who strikes a bishop isinterdicted and suspended Hc! 1>DJ!

! *rocedures1 a censure cannot be imposedunless the accused has been warned Hc!1>?J, the respondent must be noti#ed of the trial Hc! 1DJ!

B! onstitutional elements1 those

incorporated into Christ by baptism sharehis priestly, prophetic and royal o)ces Hc!<D?J, the pope and the bishops holdsupreme authority in the church Hcc! >>1,>>IJ!

7 threshold @uestion in canonical

inestigation is$ .hat kind of writing is thisO0efore one attempts to discern the meaningand possible obligation of a passage or a canon,its literary form must be clari#ed! That guidesall further understanding!

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DI!TINCTION!

1! 'niersal, *articular! Canon law is diidedinto uniersal or general or common norms

as opposed to particular or proper or specialnorms depending on whether they apply tothe whole Latin church, in all parts of theworld, or 4ust to some part of it! *articularlaws are those which apply only to adetermined area or group of people, like thechurch in one nation or one diocese! *roperlaw usually refers to the constitutions andother rules of a religious community, its ownnorms! (pecial law is that which goerns aprocess, like the election of the pope, thecanonization of a saint, the operations of ano)ce of the %oman Curia, or a particularkind of 4udicial trial!

<! *rescriptie, *enal! Canons are prescriptie,

either preceptie or prohibitie, if theycommand those sub4ect to them to do orrefrain from doing something! They arepenal if they attach a speci#c or genericpenalty to the iolation of the canon!

>! ;iine, =uman! Canons are said to embodydiine law if they are drawn directly from

3odGs reelation or from the natural law,3odGs creation! The ast ma4ority of canonsare human law HEmerely ecclesiastical law,Ec! 11J that is, enactments of the churchGsown authority and, conse@uently, alterable!

?! "nalid, "llicit! (ome rules are inalidating,which means that actions placed in iolationof them are null and oid, of no 4uridic

eect! (ome are incapacitating, meaningthat the person is 4uridically unable to placethe action, and the attempt brings the sameresult, a nullity! (uch radical limitations mustbe expressly stated Hc! 1DJ! The iolation of

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most prescriptie canons results in an illicitaction, one that is unlawful, but still alidand eectie!

! Constitutie! (ome canons are constitutie,that is, they de#ne the ery essence of a 4uridical institute or act, e!g!, people for aparish Hc! 1J, water for baptism Hc! B?KJ,consecration for a bishop Hc! >J! Thesecannot be dispensed from, because to do sowould be to change the nature of the thingHc! BIJ!

I! :ormalcy, &mergency! /ost non-constitutiecanons are intended to oblige Emost of thetimeE (ut in pluri"us', that is, in the commoncontingency, in ordinary circumstances! They may not oblige in emergencies or inextreme situations, depending on theirseriousness!

! (ubstantial bserance! (ome canons admitof substantial rather than complete and totalobserance, meaning that occasional non-obserance does not constitute a iolation!2or example, those who regularly andhabitually pray the liturgy of the hours Hc!<I!<!>J, abstain from meat on 2ridays Hc!1<1J, and participate in mass and refrain

from work on (undays and holy days (c.1<?J, may occasionally excuse themselesfrom the obserance of these rules for agood reason without iolating the generalobligation!

B! &xternal, "nternal 2orum! 7lmost all canonicalmatters pertain to the external forum, that

is, the arena of the churchGs publicgoernance wherein the power of goernance is normally exercised Hc! 1>DJ! There also exists the internal forum or theforum of conscience, also called the forumDei, the forum of 3od, because it is the

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arena of oneGs personal relationship, gracedor sinful, with 3od! (acramental confessionand absolution pertain to the internal forum,and therefore are surrounded with the

strictest secrecy Hcc! KK>, KK?, 1>BBJ! "nrare instances the power of goernance isexercised in the internal forum Hcc! 1DK,1DBD, 1>J!

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/;'L& :& + L&((: ?

T=& C;& 2 C7:: L7.

The key and controlling document in thecanon law of the .estern church is the Code of Canon Law which was promulgated by *ope

9ohn *aul "" in 1KB>! The o)cial Latin text waspublished in a single olume of about threehundred pages! "t contains 1,< canons! 7nannotated and well-indexed ersion is alsoaailable from its atican publisher! The Codehas been translated into many modernlanguages!

&AC'(ROUND

"t was *ope 9ohn RR""" who set things inmotion! There was no talk of a reised Codewhen, on 9anuary <, 1KK, 4ust a few monthsafter his election, *ope 9ohn announced hisision of a three-part enterprise for his papacy$1J a synod for the diocese of %ome, <J an

ecumenical council, and >J a modernization(aggiorna mento' of the Code of Canon Law!

*ope 9ohn created a Commission for the%eision Hactually, recognitio, a rethinkingJ of the Code in 1KI>, not long after the beginningof the (econd atican Council, and a short timebefore his own death! *ope *aul " set the

commission to work 4ust as the Council drew toa close in :oember, 1KI! =e told them thattheir task was more than the updating of a #ftyyear old document Hthe 1K1 CodeJ! They wereto reorganize the churchGs discipline and toaccommodate it to the teach ings of the

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council! They were also to reform the churchGscanonical style, to gie it a Enew way of thinkingE (novus ha"itus mentis', responsie tonew needs! *ope *aul implied that the old

canonical style of formalism, legalistic hair-splitting and secular 4uridicism had to betranscended!

"RINCI"LE! O# REVI!ION

ne of the commissionGs #rst actions wasto draft a set of principles to guide their work of rethinking the Code! These were approed by

the (ynod of 0ishops held in 1KI endure a! They endure as aluable guidelines forcontemporary canonists! They are presentedhere in summary form$

1! The Code is to de#ne and protect the rightsand obligations of the faithful in relation toone another and to the church! "ts norms are

to help the faithful, in the course of theirChristian lies, share in whateer assistancetoward salation the church oers them!

<! The external and internal forums should beco- ordinated and not in conAict with oneanother!

>! *astoral care is to be fostered aboe all, and

to that end both the legislation and itsapplication are to be characterized bycharity, moderation, humanity and e@uity aswell as 4ustice! &xhortation and persuasionare to be preferred to an insistence onrights!

?! 0ishops are to hae the authority to dispensefrom the general laws of the church!

! The principle of subsidiarity is to be moreeectiely applied, especially because theo)ce of bishop is of diine law! .here unityof discipline is not re@uired, decentralizationshould preail, especially in the form of

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particular legislation and a healthyautonomy of executie authority!

I! The rights of persons are to be de#ned and

safeguarded, since all the Christian faithfulare fundamentally e@ual and their o)cesand duties so dierse! Then the exercise of authority will appear more clearly asserice, and it will be more eectie andfree from abuse!

! (ub4ectie rights are to be protected bysuitable procedures! The administration of

4ustice must be improed, and the ariousfunctions of church authority, namely,legislatie, administratie and 4udicial, areto be clearly distinguished!

B! *ortions of the *eople of 3od are to bedetermined territorially for purposes of goernance, but other criteria may also be

used to describe communities of the faithful!K! *enalties are sometimes necessary, but they

are to be imposed in the external forum andafter 4udgmentF those imposed by the lawitself are to be reduced to a minimum!

1D! The new Code is to be restructured toreAect its accommodation to a new

mentality and dierent needs! The preface to the Code a)rms that the

drafters were, in point of tact, guided by theseprinciples! That is not always obious in theresults of their labors!

"ROMUL(ATION O# T$E REVI!ED CODE

"n 1KIB the commission organized itself into about a dozen working groups, composedmostly of canonists who sered as consultorsHoer two hundred persons in allJ! They cametogether in %ome on a regular schedule, andcorresponded between meetings! .hen a

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preliminary draft of their section of canons wasready, they circulated it to all the bishops HandCatholic uniersitiesJ of the world for reaction! Then they weighed the responses, and modi#ed

the draft!

7 #nal draft of the entire Code was ready in1KBD, and it was circulated to the cardinals whomade up the commission! They came togetherin ctober, 1KB1, made some emendations,and approed the product! "n 7pril, 1KB<, thedraft was presented to *ope 9ohn *aul "", who

spent seeral months with a small group of adisors reiewing and ad4usting it! n 9anuary<, 1KB>, exactly twenty-four years after *ope 9ohn RR""" announced the pro4ect, the popepromulgated the Code of Canon Law, anddeclared that it would go into eect on the 2irst(unday of 7dent, :oember <, 1KB>!

RELATION!$I" TO T$E COUNCIL

"t is of the highest importance to recognizethe relationship of the 1KB> Code of Canon Lawto the (econd atican Council! This relationshipis a key to the proper understanding of thecanons of the Code! The CodeGs connections tothe Council are multiple and strong$

1! "n the creatie ision of *ope 9ohn RR""" thetwo were closely linked! =e said that thecouncil would suggest the reforms to beintroduced into the legislation of the church!

<. The fathers Hi!e!, the bishopsJ of the councilwere @uite conscious of the canonicalreision which was to follow their own

deliberations! They left the speci#cation of many disciplinary matters to thatsubse@uent drafting process! They thoughtof the Code as instrument for carrying outthe decisions of the council!

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>! *ope *aul " explicitly stated that theCommission for %eision would formulate inconcrete terms the deliberations of theecumenical

?! The Commission for %eision and theconsultors who drafted the Code referred tothe documents of the council continuouslyand conscientiously during the course of their work!

! *ope 9ohn *aul "" made the connectionbetween the Code and council repeatedly,

both during the drafting process and at thepoint of formal promulgation! =e said thatthe Code depends on the preious work of the council, reAects its theology, andmanifests its spirit!

I! The canons of the Code themseles reeal itsclose dependent relationship on the council!

They employ ery fre@uently the conceptsand language of the conciliar decrees! Thosedocuments are cited many hundreds of times in the footnotes to the canons!

The conclusion to draw from these #rm andundeniable bonds between council and Code isthat the council goerns the Code, and not the

other way around! To understand the canonsproperly, one must seek their meaning in theirsources, the documents of the council! Thoseconciliar teachings rule and guide theinterpretation of the canons!

"t is true to say that the Code of Canon Lawis the fruit of the (econd atican Council, thecouncilGs E#nal document!E This means that thecanons of the Code must be read in the light of the constitutions and decrees of council whichgae rise to them!

OR(ANI)ATION O# T$E CODE

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The Code of Canon Law features a new andimproed internal organization, in response toprinciple number ten HaboeJ! "n the past,canonical collections and codes borrowed their

organizational design from secular or ciil lawpatterns, with categories deried from %omanlaw! 2or example, the 1K1 Code was diidedinto #e sections Hcalled EbooksEJ$ 3eneral:orms, *ersons, Things, *rocedures, Crimesand *unishments! 0y contrast, the organizationof the present Code of Canon Law is based on

the theology of the church of the (econdatican Council! "t prominently employs theE*eople of 3odE language and the threefolddiision of the churchGs mission and ministryinto teaching, sanctifying and ruling! HThe Latinword used for this threefold role is munus,which can mean serice, o)ce, function, dutyor work! E2unctionE seems to be the best

translation here!J This triad is another way of describing the classical messianic roles of Christ$ prophet, priest and king!

The Code of Canon Law is diided intoseen sections Halso railed EhooksEJ! " his is abrief summary of their contents$

1! 3eneral :orms! The #rst book contains the

building blocks for the whole canonicalsystem! These canons de#ne the terms,persons, instruments and powers which areemployed in the rest of the Code andoutside it as well! These are ery basicconcepts, most of them drawn from the longcanonical tradition and its %oman law roots!

<! The *eople of 3od! This is the central, largestand most important part of the Code! "treeals the constitution of the church!/embers and their rights and duties are setforth #rst, then the ordained ministry HtheclergyJ, and the associations of the faithful!

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The hierarchy is described$ pope, college of bishops, dioceses, their o)cials and theirgroupings! *arishes, pastors and otherpastoral roles are outlined, and religious

institutes and societies of apostolic life aredescribed!

>! The Teaching 2unction! The arious personsre- sponsible for preaching, catechesis,missionary action and Catholic schools areall set forth here! This book is mostly newand directly from the documents of the

(econd atican Council! "t closes with ruleson the prior censorship of books!

?! The (anctifying 2unction! This is the secondlongest and most important book of theCode! "t contains the canonical discipline of the sacraments and other acts of diineworship, as well as that for churches, altars,

cemeteries, and days of feast and fast!

! Temporal 3oods of the Church! =ere, in theCodeGs shortest book, are found the rules forthe ac@uisition, disposition andadministration of the churchGs monies, landsand buildings, as well as the rules on willsand be@uests!

I! (anctions in the Church! Those acts whichare considered crimes in the church and theappropriate punishments for them areoutlined here!

! *rocedures! This last book treats of the 4udicial processes used for trials in churchcourts, as well as some specialized

administratie procedures, like those foradministratie recourse or for the remoal of a pastor!

The Code consists of 1,< canons, erydi)cult in style, content, weight and

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application! Together they represent thecontrolling center of the churchs wholecanonical system!

!TATU! O# T$E CODE

The Code of Canon Law, promulgated on 9anuary <, 1KB>, has the Eforce of lawE for theentire Latin church! "t is the ius vigens, thecanonical collection with uni@ue 4uridical eect! This Code is the operatie center of thechurchGs system of canonical regulations! "t

does not contain all of the norms, or een thema4ority of them, but all the others are toaccord with those in the Code!

The Code replaces all preious collections,i!e!, the 1K1 Code, the decrees of the Councilof Trent, the Corpus luris Canonici, etc! "t sup-plants them, abrogates them Hc! IJ! =oweer,

those preious collections, and the many otherrules enacted apart from them do retain alue! They are the ius vetus, the Eold law,E and, assuch, are important witnesses to the canonicaltradition! The present canons, whensubstantially similar to their predecessors Has isery often the caseJ are to be understood asthe old ones were Hc!I!<J! =ence, the former

collections of canons remain as sources of interpretation een though they now lack all 4uridical authority!

!CO"E O# T$E CODE

"n its introductory canons Hcc! 1-IJ theCode states its own limits$

1! "t only applies to the Latin or .estern church,not to the &astern or riental churches inunion with %ome, e!g!, the 0yzantine,7rmenian, Chaldean, 7ntiochene, or7lexandrian churches Hc! 1J!

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<! "t does not, for the most part, regulateliturgical matters Hc! <J! This limitation isespecially important to recognize! The ruleswhich guide the churchGs liturgical life, the

celebration of the sacraments and otheracts of public worship, are usually not foundin the Code! The Code is only a secondarysource for a ery limited number of liturgicalnorms! (acramental and liturgical norms arefound in the introductory sections of theritual books or ordines for the arious

sacraments, for example, the 3eneral"nstruction on the %oman /issal, the %ite of Christian "nitiation of 7dults, the rders of *enance, /arriage and 7nointing of the (ick!:ot only are these liturgical books the morecomplete and appropriate sources for thenorms of worship, but in them the rules areproperly set within a rich context of

theological and pastoral explanations! 3o tothem for liturgical and sacramental guid-ance rather than to the Code!

>! The canonical rules which apply in indiidualnations which result from specialagreements between their goernments andthe =oly (ee, agreements calledEconcordats,E are not found in the Code Hc!>J!

?! (ome ac@uired rights and priileges, whichare not contrary to the canons of the Code,remain in eect Hc! ?J

! (ome customs, either not contrary to theproisions of the Code or of ancient intage,may also remain in eect Hc! J!

I! 7ll sorts of special or particular rules, e!g!,norms for the canonization of saints,procedures used within %omancongregations, national guidelines, diocesanrules, the constitutions and norms of

63



Canon Law - 1

religious institutes, etc!, are not found in theCode HI!1!<J! These arious particular rulesare to be in keeping with the canons of theCode, not in conAict with them!

N N N N &nd of Lesson N N N N

Con&ratulations! )ou *ust finished your fourth

and last $esson for this "odule%

+ow please do the followin&,

- take the Reviewer-ui of $esson then

answer "odule .est I

- mail /ack to the #ffice accomplished

Activity Booklet 1 for evaluation%

)ou may now proceed to your 0econd "odule%

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Canon Law Module-I