Friday, February 24, 2006
Canon Law
James A. Coriden, An Introduction to Canon Law
Roman Catholic Church—a highly organized community of religious belief, worship, witness, and action.
“Canon Law”—the name for its church order and discipline, its structures, rules, and procedures.
Churches—though based on divine revelation, are also human institutions, and as human communities, need rules.
—the Church has 850 million members (as of 1991), and is ancient; traces itself back to Jesus Christ. Over time, it has accrued a lot of rules. Generic English name for Church rules is “Canon Law.”
Law—a measure of norm or conduct. Directed toward the common good.
Canon—from the Greek kanon, meaning reed, rod, or ruler. Describes the measure or ruler used by a carpenter or designer. A standard by which things are measured. In English, we speak of the accepted standards of art or professional practice as canons.
**—both Greek and Latin have other words for law: nomos and lex. The Church chose to name its rules “canons” to show that its rules were different than the rules of the Roman Empire.
Ius Canonicum—The Latin for “canon law.” “Canon law” is our English translation of this Latin phrase, but is not a very good one. We do not have an exact equivalent in English for “Ius.” “Ius” can mean “legal system”, “subjective right”, or “objective of justice.” Most languages translate Ius as “right”, but in English, translating ius canonicum as “canonical right” would not work. It’s ambiguous.
Church Order—norms covering basic structures of the Church; papal and episcopal offices, sacramental system.
Church Discipline—norms setting forth individual regulations; age for confirmation, requirements for ordination, etc.
—Canon Law includes both Church Order and Discipline.
—Canon Law contains guidelines for actions and presents norms of conduct, NOT beliefs or the content of faith. If you want Church teaching, go to the documents of Vatican II or the Catechism.
—deals with church’s public governance, NOT the arena of conscience.
4 functions of law:
(1) Law is to aid society in the achievement of its goals. Canon Law aids the Chruch in carrying out its mission, helping it to save souls.
(2) Law give stability to society, provides good order. The Church needs tranquility of order in life, just like other societies.
(3) Law is to protect personal rights, and provide avenues of recourse and redress of grievances. The church is a human society, and it too deals with relationships involving rights and regulations; a juridic order.
(4) Law is to assist in the education of the community by reminding everyone of its values and standards. Canons help the Church in its teaching, though most of the teaching is done through other Church offices and areas.
New Testament Roots of the Rules
—books of the New Testament emerged from the early churches of the 1st century.
—these Gospels and letters tell us about rules that the early believers lived by and organized their communities by.
—local congregations linked together in a fellowship of faith and caring.
—structured authority within each church; had presbyters & bishops. Conciliar, consultative process for making decisions.
**—holding a position of authority among the disciples of Jesus meant serving others.
—rules requiring baptism with water, celebration of the Lord’s Supper, powers of binding and loosing sins, procedures of praying over the sick, and mention of laying on of hands as a way of installing people to offices and calling people to ministry, and rules on marriage and marital conduct, are all found in the texts of the New Testament books.
—There was much diversity among the different church communities on rules, titles, offices, etc., but we do see church order and discipline present from the beginning.
History of Canon Law
—The Church was not “born” with its administrative organization in place.
—it evolved rules and procedures as it grew and spread. Church rules are shaped by internal needs, surrounding cultures, & pressures of changed circumstances.
Post-Apostolic and Early Church (Late 1st to late 4th centuries)
—after NT period, local churches scattered all around Mediterranean basin. Mutual recognition and some communication between them, but no central authority or single rule-making power.
Didache (Teaching of the Twelve Apostles)—anonymous collection of moral, liturgical, and disciplinary instructions. Written c. 100 AD, maybe earlier.
—contains rules on how to baptize, keep the Lord’s day, prayer, elections of bishops and deacons, and moral rules, such as prohibitions on abortion, etc.
—Other collections from first 2 centuries AD: Tradition Apostolica of Hippolytus (c. 218), Didiscalia Apostolorum (c. 250), Canones Ecclesiastici Apostolorum (c. 300).
—not issued by a formal authority. Just compiled customs written down by communities and circulated to other communities.
Synodal (Conciliar) Process—patterned after the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15). Leaders of local churches of an area come together, talk, and seek consensus on matters of doctrine or discipline.
—local councils held in North Africa, Spain, Italy, France, & Asia Minor.
—decisions made at local councils shared with other churches when they gathered in council. System of mutual acceptance and common usage.
Ecumenical Councils—4th century: system of local councils expanded to gatherings of the entire communion of Churches. Ecumenical, from Greek oikoumene (the inhabited world, the universe).
Council of Nicea—First Ecumenical Council. Called by Constantine. 325 AD. Attended by 318 bishops. Most famous for issuing the Creed.
—bishops also debated, agreed upon, and issued 20 “canons”: various rules of discipline.
—these canons were widely circulated and accepted throughout the churches.
—canons dealt with self-mutilation, clerical chastity, ordination of bishops, mutual recognition of excommunications, reconciliation of those who denied the faith, clerical usury, distribution of Holy Communion, and appropriate posture for prayer.
The Church of the Empire (4th to 8th centuries)
Early 4th century—Constantine recognizes Christianity. Granted freedom and a privileged position. Became the established religion.
—took time to work out relationship between Church and State. Emperors tried to dominate the Church, favor heretical factions, and even persecute Church members.
Late 4th century—Bishop Ambrose and Emperor Theodosius I made an agreement: Church and state recognize each other as supreme in their own respective realm.
—Church respected Rome’s imperial authority and policies.
—Rome honored Church’s authority in matters of faith, discipline of the clergy, liturgy, and administration of Church property.
—Church began to borrow from Roman law in making its own laws.
Church began to grow in numbers and spread to the countryside. Results of this:
—Bishops had to send presbyters to rural towns and villages to be pastors. Bishops started losing personal relationships with members of local churches.
—Bishop of Rome grew in power. Rome’s connections to Peter and Paul, plus being the imperial capital, led many bishops in the West to refer questions to Rome.
—answers they received from Bishop of Rome were treated as authoritative.
Leo I (440-461)—by his reign as Bishop of Rome, Bishop of Rome was seen as Patriarch of the West with undisputed primacy. The East recognized him as Patriarch of the West, but NOT as undisputed leader of all. Leo argued that he was the heir of Peter.
—Bishops of Rome, referred to as Popes, began issuing decretals in 5th century. These letters seen as having broad authority.
Pepin—ruler of Frankish Kingdom, given title of King of the Franks by the Pope.
Charlemagne (768-814)—crowned Holy Roman Emperor on Christmas Day 800 AD by Pope Leo III..
—by this time, the Church’s growth in territory and people, plus the influence of Roman Law, led to centralization and monarchical rule within the Church.
—shrinking of local congregational autonomy and participatory governance.
—Rise in authority of bishops. Bishop has sole authority in each diocese, and Roman pontiff has sole authority for the whole Church.
The Church and Feudalism (8th to 12th centuries)
—peoples of Northern Europe who replaced the crumbling Roman Empire ruled themselves not on laws set in writing, but on oral traditions of how things were done.
Feudal System—based on vassalage (personal promise of loyal service in return for protection and recompense), fealty (oath of loyalty), and benefice (beneficium, income for the performance of a certain task).
Ex: local lord gives priests revenue from certain lands in exchange for the performance of parochial duties. The bad side: Lord’s did not usually care whether a particular priest was the best choice for the needs of the people.
Church Laws—used some of these traditions, including oaths in judicial proceedings, stipends and stole fees for sacramental ministries, replacement of personal penances with offerings of money or a substitute task, etc. This led to the:
Lay Investiture Controversy—(late 11th century) power struggle between the Pope and kings.
—German kings, and lords (laypersons—non clergy) had grown accustomed to having the right to install their own chosen bishops and abbots in offices by investing them with the symbols of office (pastoral staff and ring).
Pope Gregory VII (1075)—decrees that NO clergy member is to receive investiture from any layperson. If he does, the investiture is bereft of (does not have) apostolic authority, and that person is excommunicated until reconciliation is made.
—The Lords did not listen. 50 years of power struggle would ensue.
Synod of Worms (1122)—compromise reached. Bishops are to be canonically elected. Lay lords no longer can invest them with ring and staff. But, they could present for elections and receive the homage of newly elected prelates for the feudal lands of their churches.
—basically, lay persons could no longer invest clergy into offices of bishop or abbot, but they had veto power over candidates for office.
Split between East and West (1054)—bonds of unity between Eastern and Western Christianity are broken. The two canonical traditions further diverge & cease to interact.
Classical Period of Canon Law (mid 12th to mid 14th centuries)
12th & 13th centuries—the canons of the church are assembled into an organized and rational body of knowledge.
—this “body of knowledge” studied as a science and practiced as an art from that time on.
3 “factors” make this period the “classical epoch”:
(1) A new and unparalleled collection of canons. John Gratian compiled a collection called Concordantia Discordantium Canonum (c. 1140), better known as Decretum Gratiani (Gratian’s Decree). He analyzed the meaning of the terms in the used in canons, looked at the sources for canons, and determined which canons had greater authority.
(2) The systematic study of this new science in educational centers. Gratian’s Decree is used in all universities where Canon Law is studied. Ex: Paris, Oxford, Salamanca, Montpellier, Padua. Teachers taught it, students studied it, authors commented on it. Became the standard reference work for those in papal and episcopal offices.
(3) Its mutually reinforcing relationship with a very strong papacy. Papacy at this time establishing itself in Europe as a centralized and dominant power, spiritually and temporally. Newly organized system of canon law assisted this growth. Popes now issue more rules and decisions that expanded the canons. Leading popes of the period: Alexander III (1159-81, a student of Gratian), Innocent III (1198-1216), Innocent IV (1243-54), & Boniface VIII (1294-1303) all were canonists.
Boniface VIII—issued Papal Bull Unam Sanctum: To be saved (go to heaven), a person must be subject to the Roman Pontiff.
—along with papal decrees, four ecumenical councils of the period also contributed to the canons: Lateran III (1179), Lateran IV (1215), & two in Lyons (1245 & 1274).
Decretal Gregorii IX (1234)—Pope Gregory IX has all the decrees and conciliar canons since Gratian’s collection compiled. He issues it as an authentic, official, and exclusive source of rules for the whole church.
—two other important developments: (1) mendicant religious orders (Franciscans, Dominicans, etc.) are founded and flourish at this time, creating their own constitutions and statutes to run themselves, and (2) Roman Law still had a big influence. Many canonists received their degrees in Roman Law and recognized Roman Law as supplementary. Whatever isn’t covered by Canon Law is dealt with through Roman Law.
Decline and Reform (mid 14th to 18th centuries)
Black Death (1348-49)—broke the spirit of Western Europe.
Avignon Papacy (1309-77)—weakened the papal office. Two or three rivals claimed the Chair of Peter for about 40 years. Shook the Church to her foundations.
Protestant Reformation (1517-1560)—decline in discipline and morality, unity is splintered.
—an even more centralized Church:
Popes of Avignon—reserved the right to themselves to fill ecclesiastical offices all over Europe. Intervened in the normal course of elections not just for major appointments, but also for smaller offices such as canons, chaplains, monks, and friars. Usually done for political and financial reasons.
Council of Constance (1414-18)—greatest representative assembly of the Middle Ages. More canonists than bishops in attendance! Rid the Church of anti-popes, restored the papal office, made a constitutional change: decreed that general councils should be convened every 10 years as means of ongoing church reform.
—unfortunately, after the next 2 popes, regular general councils fell out of practice.
Protestant Reformation happens, Church realizes a need to reform:
Pope Paul III (1534-49)—calls for ecumenical council in Trent in 1545.
Council of Trent (1545-1563 intermittently)—enacted a series of reforms:
—assigned clear responsibilities for bishops and parish priests.
—outlawed simony, possession of many benefices, absenteeism.
—stressed the needs of the people.
**—with the discovery of the New World, new issues for Canon Law rose up.
2 important canonically collections of this period:
(1) Corpus Iuris Canonici (Body of Canon Law)—a compendium of Gratian’s Decree, the Decretals of Gregory IX, and 4 more collections of decretals, all publishes as single work in Paris in 1500. Corrected and revised under Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. The Corpus is the main source of regulations issued before Trent, and remainedthe Church’s guiding book of rules until the first Code of Canon Law in 1917.
(2) Liber Septimus/Decretales Clementis VIII—begun in the 1580’s as an attempt to gather together decrees of the councils of Florence, Lateran V, & Trent, along with papal decrees issued after the Corpus.
The Church in the Modern World (18th and 19th centuries)
—The Church had trouble in the age of Enlightenment, rationalism, French Revolution, liberalism, modern secular state, etc.
—presuppositions of a shared Christendom are gone.
—Church no longer held the power, wealth, and privilege it had in the past.
Debate arises: between Ultramontanists and Gallicans & Febronians
Ultramontanists—support strong, centralized, papal government for the Church.
Gallicans and Febronians—argued for rights and freedoms of the Churches of France and Germany, and for episcopal authority.
—Febronians further say that we need to recognize bishops as successors to the apostles. Bishops hold authority by divine right; are not vicars and delegates of the Pope.
—together with the Pope in general council, bishops are the true representatives of the body of the Church.
—Pope is center of unity, but not Universal Bishop with unfettered jurisdiction.
*—Ultramontanists won out. Not necessarily by canon law arguments, but a recognition that national, local, churches are weak compared to governments, and a sovereign and strong papacy was a good diplomatic advantage for the Church.
Vatican Council I (1870)—First ecumenical council held since Trent, so first in more than 3 centuries.
—Declaration of papal supremacy (Pastor aeternus) and papal infallibility. Effectively ended the debate.
Canon Law in this period: becomes formulaic and repetitive. Its study in seminaries is shallow and ahistorical. Combined with moral theology, which was beneficial for neither. Issues are settled by which side had the better “authorities”, not the better argument.
The Codification of Canon Law (20th century up to Vatican II)
—No new official collection released since Pope John XXII in 1317.
—many extant laws had piled up over the years; usually were just listed in alphabetical order; sometimes contradictory
Pope Pius X—in 1904, sets the task of collecting the laws of the Church, putting them in a clear and concise order, and adapting them to the conditions of the time.
—The choice was made to make a Code, rather than a collection.
Codification—reduce the rules to terse and abstract formulations, arrange them in a carefully constructed system.
—strong on clarity, brevity, consistency, and order.
—but, the rules are entirely set apart from social and historical context.
1914—reformulations were completed. But, Pius died and World War I broke out.
Pentecost 1917—first Code of Canon Law is promulgated by Pope Benedict XV.
Pentecost 1918—The Code takes affect. Gives people a year to get used to it.
Canonical Sources, Forms, and Distinctions
Sources for Canon Law—Sacred Scripture, Natural Law, Custom, Councils, Fathers of the Church, Popes, Bishops, Rules of Religious Orders, Civil Law, and Concordats
The 1983 Code of Canon Law
History:
Pope John XXIII—on January 25, 1959, announces his vision: (1) a synod for diocese of Rome, (2) an ecumenical council, and (3) a modernization (aggiornamento) of the 1917 Code of Canon Law.
—created Commission for the Revision of the Code in 1963, soon after the beginning of Vatican II and soon before his own death.
Pope Paul VI—November 1965, set the commission to work soon after the close of Vatican II.
—their task: more than just updating the Code; task is to reorganize the Church’s discipline and accommodate it to the teachings of the Council.
—a need to transcend old ways of thinking: formalism, legalistic hairsplitting, & secular juridicism.
—goal is to help the faithful share in whatever assistance towards salvation the Church offers them.
1968—commission is organized into about a dozen groups. Came to Rome regularly for meetings. Circulated their drafts to the bishops of the world, weighed responses, and modified the draft.
1980—a final draft of the Code is ready.
October 1981—approved by the Cardinals of the commission.
April 1982—the draft presented to Pope John Paul II. He and his advisors spent months reviewing and adjusting it.
January 25, 1983—JPII promulgated the Code of Canon Law. Declared it into effect on November 17, 1983.
Organization of the Code
(1) General Norms—define terms, persons, instruments & powers which are employed throughout the Code.
(2) The People of God—largest and most important part of the Code. Reveals the Constitution of the Church. Members, rights, & duties set forth, then ordained ministry & associations of the faithful. Roles for the hierarchy and other religious groups described and outlined.
(3) The Teaching Function—sets forth who is to preach, catechize, do missionary work, roles of Catholic schools, etc.
(4) The Sanctifying function—2nd longest and 2nd most important book of the Code. The canonical discipline of the Sacraments.
(5) Temporal Goods of the Church—shortest book of the Code. Rules for acquisition, disposition, administration of church’s monies, lands, and buildings, and rules on wills and bequests.
(6) Sanctions in the Church—Crimes in the Church and their appropriate punishments.
(7) Procedures—judicial processes used for trials in church courts, some administrative procedures, e.g. administrative recourse and removal of a pastor.
Roman Catholic Church—a highly organized community of religious belief, worship, witness, and action.
“Canon Law”—the name for its church order and discipline, its structures, rules, and procedures.
Churches—though based on divine revelation, are also human institutions, and as human communities, need rules.
—the Church has 850 million members (as of 1991), and is ancient; traces itself back to Jesus Christ. Over time, it has accrued a lot of rules. Generic English name for Church rules is “Canon Law.”
Law—a measure of norm or conduct. Directed toward the common good.
Canon—from the Greek kanon, meaning reed, rod, or ruler. Describes the measure or ruler used by a carpenter or designer. A standard by which things are measured. In English, we speak of the accepted standards of art or professional practice as canons.
**—both Greek and Latin have other words for law: nomos and lex. The Church chose to name its rules “canons” to show that its rules were different than the rules of the Roman Empire.
Ius Canonicum—The Latin for “canon law.” “Canon law” is our English translation of this Latin phrase, but is not a very good one. We do not have an exact equivalent in English for “Ius.” “Ius” can mean “legal system”, “subjective right”, or “objective of justice.” Most languages translate Ius as “right”, but in English, translating ius canonicum as “canonical right” would not work. It’s ambiguous.
Church Order—norms covering basic structures of the Church; papal and episcopal offices, sacramental system.
Church Discipline—norms setting forth individual regulations; age for confirmation, requirements for ordination, etc.
—Canon Law includes both Church Order and Discipline.
—Canon Law contains guidelines for actions and presents norms of conduct, NOT beliefs or the content of faith. If you want Church teaching, go to the documents of Vatican II or the Catechism.
—deals with church’s public governance, NOT the arena of conscience.
4 functions of law:
(1) Law is to aid society in the achievement of its goals. Canon Law aids the Chruch in carrying out its mission, helping it to save souls.
(2) Law give stability to society, provides good order. The Church needs tranquility of order in life, just like other societies.
(3) Law is to protect personal rights, and provide avenues of recourse and redress of grievances. The church is a human society, and it too deals with relationships involving rights and regulations; a juridic order.
(4) Law is to assist in the education of the community by reminding everyone of its values and standards. Canons help the Church in its teaching, though most of the teaching is done through other Church offices and areas.
New Testament Roots of the Rules
—books of the New Testament emerged from the early churches of the 1st century.
—these Gospels and letters tell us about rules that the early believers lived by and organized their communities by.
—local congregations linked together in a fellowship of faith and caring.
—structured authority within each church; had presbyters & bishops. Conciliar, consultative process for making decisions.
**—holding a position of authority among the disciples of Jesus meant serving others.
—rules requiring baptism with water, celebration of the Lord’s Supper, powers of binding and loosing sins, procedures of praying over the sick, and mention of laying on of hands as a way of installing people to offices and calling people to ministry, and rules on marriage and marital conduct, are all found in the texts of the New Testament books.
—There was much diversity among the different church communities on rules, titles, offices, etc., but we do see church order and discipline present from the beginning.
History of Canon Law
—The Church was not “born” with its administrative organization in place.
—it evolved rules and procedures as it grew and spread. Church rules are shaped by internal needs, surrounding cultures, & pressures of changed circumstances.
Post-Apostolic and Early Church (Late 1st to late 4th centuries)
—after NT period, local churches scattered all around Mediterranean basin. Mutual recognition and some communication between them, but no central authority or single rule-making power.
Didache (Teaching of the Twelve Apostles)—anonymous collection of moral, liturgical, and disciplinary instructions. Written c. 100 AD, maybe earlier.
—contains rules on how to baptize, keep the Lord’s day, prayer, elections of bishops and deacons, and moral rules, such as prohibitions on abortion, etc.
—Other collections from first 2 centuries AD: Tradition Apostolica of Hippolytus (c. 218), Didiscalia Apostolorum (c. 250), Canones Ecclesiastici Apostolorum (c. 300).
—not issued by a formal authority. Just compiled customs written down by communities and circulated to other communities.
Synodal (Conciliar) Process—patterned after the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15). Leaders of local churches of an area come together, talk, and seek consensus on matters of doctrine or discipline.
—local councils held in North Africa, Spain, Italy, France, & Asia Minor.
—decisions made at local councils shared with other churches when they gathered in council. System of mutual acceptance and common usage.
Ecumenical Councils—4th century: system of local councils expanded to gatherings of the entire communion of Churches. Ecumenical, from Greek oikoumene (the inhabited world, the universe).
Council of Nicea—First Ecumenical Council. Called by Constantine. 325 AD. Attended by 318 bishops. Most famous for issuing the Creed.
—bishops also debated, agreed upon, and issued 20 “canons”: various rules of discipline.
—these canons were widely circulated and accepted throughout the churches.
—canons dealt with self-mutilation, clerical chastity, ordination of bishops, mutual recognition of excommunications, reconciliation of those who denied the faith, clerical usury, distribution of Holy Communion, and appropriate posture for prayer.
The Church of the Empire (4th to 8th centuries)
Early 4th century—Constantine recognizes Christianity. Granted freedom and a privileged position. Became the established religion.
—took time to work out relationship between Church and State. Emperors tried to dominate the Church, favor heretical factions, and even persecute Church members.
Late 4th century—Bishop Ambrose and Emperor Theodosius I made an agreement: Church and state recognize each other as supreme in their own respective realm.
—Church respected Rome’s imperial authority and policies.
—Rome honored Church’s authority in matters of faith, discipline of the clergy, liturgy, and administration of Church property.
—Church began to borrow from Roman law in making its own laws.
Church began to grow in numbers and spread to the countryside. Results of this:
—Bishops had to send presbyters to rural towns and villages to be pastors. Bishops started losing personal relationships with members of local churches.
—Bishop of Rome grew in power. Rome’s connections to Peter and Paul, plus being the imperial capital, led many bishops in the West to refer questions to Rome.
—answers they received from Bishop of Rome were treated as authoritative.
Leo I (440-461)—by his reign as Bishop of Rome, Bishop of Rome was seen as Patriarch of the West with undisputed primacy. The East recognized him as Patriarch of the West, but NOT as undisputed leader of all. Leo argued that he was the heir of Peter.
—Bishops of Rome, referred to as Popes, began issuing decretals in 5th century. These letters seen as having broad authority.
Pepin—ruler of Frankish Kingdom, given title of King of the Franks by the Pope.
Charlemagne (768-814)—crowned Holy Roman Emperor on Christmas Day 800 AD by Pope Leo III..
—by this time, the Church’s growth in territory and people, plus the influence of Roman Law, led to centralization and monarchical rule within the Church.
—shrinking of local congregational autonomy and participatory governance.
—Rise in authority of bishops. Bishop has sole authority in each diocese, and Roman pontiff has sole authority for the whole Church.
The Church and Feudalism (8th to 12th centuries)
—peoples of Northern Europe who replaced the crumbling Roman Empire ruled themselves not on laws set in writing, but on oral traditions of how things were done.
Feudal System—based on vassalage (personal promise of loyal service in return for protection and recompense), fealty (oath of loyalty), and benefice (beneficium, income for the performance of a certain task).
Ex: local lord gives priests revenue from certain lands in exchange for the performance of parochial duties. The bad side: Lord’s did not usually care whether a particular priest was the best choice for the needs of the people.
Church Laws—used some of these traditions, including oaths in judicial proceedings, stipends and stole fees for sacramental ministries, replacement of personal penances with offerings of money or a substitute task, etc. This led to the:
Lay Investiture Controversy—(late 11th century) power struggle between the Pope and kings.
—German kings, and lords (laypersons—non clergy) had grown accustomed to having the right to install their own chosen bishops and abbots in offices by investing them with the symbols of office (pastoral staff and ring).
Pope Gregory VII (1075)—decrees that NO clergy member is to receive investiture from any layperson. If he does, the investiture is bereft of (does not have) apostolic authority, and that person is excommunicated until reconciliation is made.
—The Lords did not listen. 50 years of power struggle would ensue.
Synod of Worms (1122)—compromise reached. Bishops are to be canonically elected. Lay lords no longer can invest them with ring and staff. But, they could present for elections and receive the homage of newly elected prelates for the feudal lands of their churches.
—basically, lay persons could no longer invest clergy into offices of bishop or abbot, but they had veto power over candidates for office.
Split between East and West (1054)—bonds of unity between Eastern and Western Christianity are broken. The two canonical traditions further diverge & cease to interact.
Classical Period of Canon Law (mid 12th to mid 14th centuries)
12th & 13th centuries—the canons of the church are assembled into an organized and rational body of knowledge.
—this “body of knowledge” studied as a science and practiced as an art from that time on.
3 “factors” make this period the “classical epoch”:
(1) A new and unparalleled collection of canons. John Gratian compiled a collection called Concordantia Discordantium Canonum (c. 1140), better known as Decretum Gratiani (Gratian’s Decree). He analyzed the meaning of the terms in the used in canons, looked at the sources for canons, and determined which canons had greater authority.
(2) The systematic study of this new science in educational centers. Gratian’s Decree is used in all universities where Canon Law is studied. Ex: Paris, Oxford, Salamanca, Montpellier, Padua. Teachers taught it, students studied it, authors commented on it. Became the standard reference work for those in papal and episcopal offices.
(3) Its mutually reinforcing relationship with a very strong papacy. Papacy at this time establishing itself in Europe as a centralized and dominant power, spiritually and temporally. Newly organized system of canon law assisted this growth. Popes now issue more rules and decisions that expanded the canons. Leading popes of the period: Alexander III (1159-81, a student of Gratian), Innocent III (1198-1216), Innocent IV (1243-54), & Boniface VIII (1294-1303) all were canonists.
Boniface VIII—issued Papal Bull Unam Sanctum: To be saved (go to heaven), a person must be subject to the Roman Pontiff.
—along with papal decrees, four ecumenical councils of the period also contributed to the canons: Lateran III (1179), Lateran IV (1215), & two in Lyons (1245 & 1274).
Decretal Gregorii IX (1234)—Pope Gregory IX has all the decrees and conciliar canons since Gratian’s collection compiled. He issues it as an authentic, official, and exclusive source of rules for the whole church.
—two other important developments: (1) mendicant religious orders (Franciscans, Dominicans, etc.) are founded and flourish at this time, creating their own constitutions and statutes to run themselves, and (2) Roman Law still had a big influence. Many canonists received their degrees in Roman Law and recognized Roman Law as supplementary. Whatever isn’t covered by Canon Law is dealt with through Roman Law.
Decline and Reform (mid 14th to 18th centuries)
Black Death (1348-49)—broke the spirit of Western Europe.
Avignon Papacy (1309-77)—weakened the papal office. Two or three rivals claimed the Chair of Peter for about 40 years. Shook the Church to her foundations.
Protestant Reformation (1517-1560)—decline in discipline and morality, unity is splintered.
—an even more centralized Church:
Popes of Avignon—reserved the right to themselves to fill ecclesiastical offices all over Europe. Intervened in the normal course of elections not just for major appointments, but also for smaller offices such as canons, chaplains, monks, and friars. Usually done for political and financial reasons.
Council of Constance (1414-18)—greatest representative assembly of the Middle Ages. More canonists than bishops in attendance! Rid the Church of anti-popes, restored the papal office, made a constitutional change: decreed that general councils should be convened every 10 years as means of ongoing church reform.
—unfortunately, after the next 2 popes, regular general councils fell out of practice.
Protestant Reformation happens, Church realizes a need to reform:
Pope Paul III (1534-49)—calls for ecumenical council in Trent in 1545.
Council of Trent (1545-1563 intermittently)—enacted a series of reforms:
—assigned clear responsibilities for bishops and parish priests.
—outlawed simony, possession of many benefices, absenteeism.
—stressed the needs of the people.
**—with the discovery of the New World, new issues for Canon Law rose up.
2 important canonically collections of this period:
(1) Corpus Iuris Canonici (Body of Canon Law)—a compendium of Gratian’s Decree, the Decretals of Gregory IX, and 4 more collections of decretals, all publishes as single work in Paris in 1500. Corrected and revised under Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. The Corpus is the main source of regulations issued before Trent, and remainedthe Church’s guiding book of rules until the first Code of Canon Law in 1917.
(2) Liber Septimus/Decretales Clementis VIII—begun in the 1580’s as an attempt to gather together decrees of the councils of Florence, Lateran V, & Trent, along with papal decrees issued after the Corpus.
The Church in the Modern World (18th and 19th centuries)
—The Church had trouble in the age of Enlightenment, rationalism, French Revolution, liberalism, modern secular state, etc.
—presuppositions of a shared Christendom are gone.
—Church no longer held the power, wealth, and privilege it had in the past.
Debate arises: between Ultramontanists and Gallicans & Febronians
Ultramontanists—support strong, centralized, papal government for the Church.
Gallicans and Febronians—argued for rights and freedoms of the Churches of France and Germany, and for episcopal authority.
—Febronians further say that we need to recognize bishops as successors to the apostles. Bishops hold authority by divine right; are not vicars and delegates of the Pope.
—together with the Pope in general council, bishops are the true representatives of the body of the Church.
—Pope is center of unity, but not Universal Bishop with unfettered jurisdiction.
*—Ultramontanists won out. Not necessarily by canon law arguments, but a recognition that national, local, churches are weak compared to governments, and a sovereign and strong papacy was a good diplomatic advantage for the Church.
Vatican Council I (1870)—First ecumenical council held since Trent, so first in more than 3 centuries.
—Declaration of papal supremacy (Pastor aeternus) and papal infallibility. Effectively ended the debate.
Canon Law in this period: becomes formulaic and repetitive. Its study in seminaries is shallow and ahistorical. Combined with moral theology, which was beneficial for neither. Issues are settled by which side had the better “authorities”, not the better argument.
The Codification of Canon Law (20th century up to Vatican II)
—No new official collection released since Pope John XXII in 1317.
—many extant laws had piled up over the years; usually were just listed in alphabetical order; sometimes contradictory
Pope Pius X—in 1904, sets the task of collecting the laws of the Church, putting them in a clear and concise order, and adapting them to the conditions of the time.
—The choice was made to make a Code, rather than a collection.
Codification—reduce the rules to terse and abstract formulations, arrange them in a carefully constructed system.
—strong on clarity, brevity, consistency, and order.
—but, the rules are entirely set apart from social and historical context.
1914—reformulations were completed. But, Pius died and World War I broke out.
Pentecost 1917—first Code of Canon Law is promulgated by Pope Benedict XV.
Pentecost 1918—The Code takes affect. Gives people a year to get used to it.
Canonical Sources, Forms, and Distinctions
Sources for Canon Law—Sacred Scripture, Natural Law, Custom, Councils, Fathers of the Church, Popes, Bishops, Rules of Religious Orders, Civil Law, and Concordats
The 1983 Code of Canon Law
History:
Pope John XXIII—on January 25, 1959, announces his vision: (1) a synod for diocese of Rome, (2) an ecumenical council, and (3) a modernization (aggiornamento) of the 1917 Code of Canon Law.
—created Commission for the Revision of the Code in 1963, soon after the beginning of Vatican II and soon before his own death.
Pope Paul VI—November 1965, set the commission to work soon after the close of Vatican II.
—their task: more than just updating the Code; task is to reorganize the Church’s discipline and accommodate it to the teachings of the Council.
—a need to transcend old ways of thinking: formalism, legalistic hairsplitting, & secular juridicism.
—goal is to help the faithful share in whatever assistance towards salvation the Church offers them.
1968—commission is organized into about a dozen groups. Came to Rome regularly for meetings. Circulated their drafts to the bishops of the world, weighed responses, and modified the draft.
1980—a final draft of the Code is ready.
October 1981—approved by the Cardinals of the commission.
April 1982—the draft presented to Pope John Paul II. He and his advisors spent months reviewing and adjusting it.
January 25, 1983—JPII promulgated the Code of Canon Law. Declared it into effect on November 17, 1983.
Organization of the Code
(1) General Norms—define terms, persons, instruments & powers which are employed throughout the Code.
(2) The People of God—largest and most important part of the Code. Reveals the Constitution of the Church. Members, rights, & duties set forth, then ordained ministry & associations of the faithful. Roles for the hierarchy and other religious groups described and outlined.
(3) The Teaching Function—sets forth who is to preach, catechize, do missionary work, roles of Catholic schools, etc.
(4) The Sanctifying function—2nd longest and 2nd most important book of the Code. The canonical discipline of the Sacraments.
(5) Temporal Goods of the Church—shortest book of the Code. Rules for acquisition, disposition, administration of church’s monies, lands, and buildings, and rules on wills and bequests.
(6) Sanctions in the Church—Crimes in the Church and their appropriate punishments.
(7) Procedures—judicial processes used for trials in church courts, some administrative procedures, e.g. administrative recourse and removal of a pastor.
# posted by SeanPatrick @ 6:57 AM 
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