Catholic Canon Law Paralegals?

[IAGladfelter]

Is there such a thing as a specific Catholic Church Canon Law Paralegal? Why or why not?

If there Catholic Church Canon Law Paralegals do exist, where and how are they trained; what is their salary range and their working conditions; and how competitive is the field to enter?

 

[Cristiano]

They are called deacons!

 

[dans0622]

Is there such a thing as a specific Catholic Church Canon Law Paralegal? Why or why not?

If there Catholic Church Canon Law Paralegals do exist, where and how are they trained; what is their salary range and their working conditions; and how competitive is the field to enter?

Hello,

There is no such word (paralegal) in canon law, either in theory or in practice. In my estimation, the function of a paralegal in the Catholic Church is usually carried out by people with no training in law or who might have had a few introductory courses in select areas of law and legal procedure. Most of the training is on-the-job. You might see these people called “auditors” (see the Code of Canon Law, c. 1428) and/or “notaries” (c. 1437).

Salary: I don’t know. Not a lot. It’s all part of a non-profit corporation so it’s not like the secular world. Working conditions: it’s secretarial work with regular hours, air conditioning…typical clerical, office environment, I guess. Competition: there aren’t a lot of openings. In the typical diocese, you’ll have only about five such positions (a few in the Tribunal, a couple in the Chancery). In smaller dioceses, maybe only one or two. In bigger ones, more like 10.

I hope this helps.

Dan

 

[Havard]

I very much doubt there is such a thing, given my understanding of how and where Canon law is practiced.

 

[SerraSemper]

Oftentimes the highest paid “paralegal” in the Church is the non-cleric chancellor (in canon law, a glorified notary and keeper of the archives). Aside from that position, notaries are paid anything from $0 a year (volunteers/priests/deacons/others who do some canon law related tasks) to 20’s or maybe even 30’s if they’re lucky. A canon lawyer might make anywhere from 35 to 40 as starting annual salary as an Advocate, Defender of the Bond, or even Judge in a (arch)diocesan tribunal. Unless you are subsidized by a diocese (as a diocesan cleric), spouse, or institute of consecrated life, it may be very difficult to earn a living wage in the canonical roles unless of course, one does happen to be a chancellor or lands on a high paying job. One “paralegal” who is a case manager/auditor in a tribunal told me that he had to stay with his parents because although he had a masters degree, the pay was insufficient to cover rent in a modest apartment…