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Canon Law |
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BASIC R.C. BELIEF
The body of Church Law, consisting of laws of binding force concerning
faith, morals, and ecclesiastical law.
POST VATICAN II
Vatican II undertook a modernization of Canon Law. In March of
1963,
Pope
John XXIII
set up a pontifical commission for the revision of
the Code. Drafts of the revised documents were circulated in early 1977.
After receiving comments of bishops, the work will be turned over to the
Pope for final approval and promulgation.
Canon lawyers around the world are reacting vigorously against the
revisions. U.S. church lawyers, on October 12, 1977, declared the new laws
with only one exception, "unacceptable in their very substance."
EXCERPTS FROM THE CODE OF CANON LAW: A TEXT AND COMMENTARY
Promulgated by John Paul II in 1983
Translation prepared by Canon Law Society of America
Approved by the National Council of Bishops
Published by Paulist Press, 1985
Compiled by Richard Bennett
SUBJECT: BASIS OF TRUTH
Canon 750: "All that is contained in the written
word
of God or in
tradition,
that is, in the one deposit of faith entrusted to the Church and
also proposed as divinely revealed either by the solemn
magisterium
of the
Church or by its ordinary and universal magisterium, must be believed with
divine and catholic faith..."
Canon 212, Section 1: "The Christian faithful, conscious of their own
responsibility, are bound by Christian obedience to follow what the sacred
pastors, as representatives of Christ, declare as teachers of the faith or
determine as leaders of the Church."
SUBJECT: INERRANCY
Canon 749, Section 1: "The Supreme Pontiff, in virtue of his office,
possesses infallible teaching authority when, as supreme pastor and teacher
of all the faithful...he proclaims with a definitive act that a doctrine of
faith or morals is to be held as such."
Canon 333, Section 3: "There is neither appeal nor recourse against a
decision or decree of the Roman Pontiff."
SUBJECT: EUCHARIST (Mass)
Canon 89B: "The faithful are to hold the
Eucharist
in highest honor, taking
part in the celebration of the Most August Sacrifice, receiving the
sacrament devoutly and frequently, and worshiping it with supreme
adoration..."
Canon 904: "Remembering that the work of redemption is continually
accomplished in the mystery of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, priests are to
celebrate frequently; indeed daily celebration is strongly recommended,
since even if the faithful cannot be present, it is the act of Christ and
the Church in which priests fulfill their principle function."
Canon 940: "A special lamp to indicate and honor the presence of Christ is
to burn at all times before the tabernacle in which the Most Holy Eucharist
is reserved."
Canon 849: "Baptism, the gate to the sacraments, necessary for salvation in
fact or at least in intention, by which men and women are freed from their
sins, are reborn as children of God, and configured to Christ...:"
Canon 868, Section 1,1: "For the licit baptism of an infant it is necessary
that the parents or at least one of them or the person who lawfully takes
their place gives consent."
Canon 1186: "To foster the sanctification of the people of God the Church
recommends to the particular and filial veneration of the Christian
faithful to Blessed Mary ever Virgin, the Mother of God, whom Christ
established as the Mother of the human race; it also promotes true and
authentic devotion to the other saints by whose example the Christian
faithful are edified and through whose intercession they are sustained."
Canon 1188: "The practice of displaying sacred images in the churches for
the veneration of the faithful is to remain in force..."
Canon 960: "Individual and integral confession and absolution constitute
the only ordinary way by which the faithful person who is aware of serious
sin is reconciled with God and with the Church;..."
Canon 978 (Section 1): "In hearing
confessions
the priest is to remember
that he acts as a judge as well as a healer..."
CHRISTIAN COMMENT
As Christians, we accept the Bible as the rule of faith and practice.
SECULAR JOURNALS
From LOS ANGELES TIMES, 1/21/83, "HISTORIC NEW RULES WILL GUIDE CATHOLICS.
After 20 years of painstaking revision, a historic new code of universal
laws for the Catholic Church will be officially issued at the Vatican
Tuesday (1/23/83) by Pope
John Paul II
"The new Code of Canon Law, the first overall revision of the church's
rules of operation since 1917, is designed to guide the world's 700 million
Catholics from conception to the grave.
"Although the final draft has not yet been made public, those familiar
with the latest drafts say the document streamlines church policies,
stresses flexibility for national as well as local church jurisdiction,
accords greater responsibility for them laity - especially women - and
drastically reduces the number and severity of penalties imposed on
offending church members.
"The new law will also officially allow Catholics to become Masons, to
be cremated instead of buried and will permit lay members to hold many
offices formerly reserved for the clergy. They may preach and even perform
marriages and baptisms under special circumstances when no priest is
available. (Ed Note: Laymen could always perform valid baptisms, but only
in emergency circumstances and never publicly in the church.) Protestants
are no longer considered heathen; the new code allows for the possibility
that in certain cases Protestants could receive Communion and last riteslast rites
from a Catholic priest.
"Despite the sweeping nature of the new code, which will become binding
on all Catholics on the date set by the Pope, many of the changes have
already become church practice since the reforms instituted during the
Second Vatican Council of 1962-65 and its aftermath.
"`The (canon) law will recognize these things already in effect,' said
Father Donald E. Heintschel, a canon law expert . . . `so their inclusion
in the new code is more a matter of integrating and solidifying the changes
rather than introducing real innovations.'
"Father Thomas Lynch called its provisions for a new structure of
administrative tribunals, or appeals courts, to settle church disputes `the
big sleeper in the code.'
"The new code will make little practical difference in the way that
marriage annulments are handled in the United States . . . but a mandatory
review of all annulments . . . must be made by another regional review
board. The additional requirement is expected to add about a month's time
to the process, which usually takes from eight to twelve months.
"Canon law experts generally approve of the new version, but they say it
is not without faults. `It is a compromise,' said Jesuit Father Ladislas
Orsy, a noted American canonist at Georgetown University in Washington.
"The greatest criticism appears to be those disappointed that the new
code maintains the church's traditional ban against women priests.
"The National Coalition of American Nuns also criticized the new laws on
grounds that the code requires religious communities to submit their
constitutions to Rome for approval. They said, `Why do these men (in Rome)
think they have a mandate from on high to tell women religious how to live
. . . without taking into consideration women's new shared experience.'"
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