Canon Law

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It’s primarily human law, though it has many elements which relate to divine law. It’s tough to answer in generalities; do you have a specific question about it?
 
Just the old case of 2 people saying different things. Could you expand on that, or give me a reference?
 
aball1035 said:
Would this be human law or divine law or both?
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It’s human law, but it sometimes refers to (ie quotes) divine law. When it does that it still isn’t the canon law that is divine though.

Think of it like civil law. We wouldn’t say that civil law is divine law (we probably wouldn’t even ask the question), but there are times when it expresses the divine law. God’s law is “thou shalt not kill.” When a state law defines murder as a felony, it’s referring to the divine law.

One really can’t ask the question “is it divine or human?” about the entire code of canon law, because some of the canons are human law, and some of them express the divine law. That’s why the question can only be asked in reference to individual canons.

Is that helping?
 
So, for instance, Canon 1578 §1 provides that in canonical trials where expert testimony is presented, “[e]ach of the experts is to prepare a report separate from the others unless the judge decrees that one report signed by the experts individually be drawn up; if this is done, differences of opinion, if there are any, are to be noted carefully.” However you care to define “human law,” Canon 1578 §1 is definitely human law. Lots of canon law has to do with various canonical processes, how ecclesiastical structures are set up, that sort of thing. Most of it is highly mundane.

On the other hand, you have canons like 924 §1: “The most holy eucharistic sacrifice must be offered with bread and with wine in which a little water must be mixed.” If you used crackers and grape juice, there would be no Eucharist, no transubstantiation, no Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In that way, the canon relates to divine law. However, the divine law is not created by the Code of Canon Law or anything like that; in fact, prior to 1917 there was no Code of Canon Law at all, though there were earlier collections of canonical rules.

So canon law sometimes overlaps with divine law. Yet there are lots of elements of divine law which are not codified – I don’t think, for instance, that “Thou shalt not steal” or “Thou shalt not commit adultery” is in there. The chief purpose of the Code of Canon Law is to run the Church, not to run the faithful’s lives.

As a disclaimer, I’m not a complete novice, but I’m definitely not a canon lawyer.
 
MarkThompson said:
So, for instance, Canon 1578 §1 provides that in canonical trials where expert testimony is presented, “[e]ach of the experts is to prepare a report separate from the others unless the judge decrees that one report signed by the experts individually be drawn up; if this is done, differences of opinion, if there are any, are to be noted carefully.” However you care to define “human law,” Canon 1578 §1 is definitely human law. Lots of canon law has to do with various canonical processes, how ecclesiastical structures are set up, that sort of thing. Most of it is highly mundane.

On the other hand, you have canons like 924 §1: “The most holy eucharistic sacrifice must be offered with bread and with wine in which a little water must be mixed.” If you used crackers and grape juice, there would be no Eucharist, no transubstantiation, no Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In that way, the canon relates to divine law. However, the divine law is not created by the Code of Canon Law or anything like that; in fact, prior to 1917 there was no Code of Canon Law at all, though there were earlier collections of canonical rules.

So canon law sometimes overlaps with divine law. Yet there are lots of elements of divine law which are not codified – I don’t think, for instance, that “Thou shalt not steal” or “Thou shalt not commit adultery” is in there. The chief purpose of the Code of Canon Law is to run the Church, not to run the faithful’s lives.

As a disclaimer, I’m not a complete novice, but I’m definitely not a canon lawyer.
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But all Catholics are bound to obey Canon Law.
 
thistle said:
But all Catholics are bound to obey Canon Law.
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Yes, but it’s not the Church’s attempt at codifying the divine rules for living. Almost none of what Catholics are “bound to obey” on a day-to-day basis is in the Code of Canon Law.
 
Can. 210 All the Christian faithful must direct their efforts to lead a holy life and to promote the growth of the Church and its continual sanctification, according to their own condition
 
Actually, the main purpose of canon law is neither to run the lives of the faithful nor to run the Church. It’s main purpose is for the good of people.
 
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