Know your Canon Law

[Crumpy]

Canon Law is the law of the Church. Pope John Paul II revised in the early 80’s.

Google will give you a couple on-line copies of it for searching.

Check out Canons 208 to 231.

You have RIGHTS, DUTIES, and RESPONSIBILITIES.

Did you know that?

To put it one way, you have the right to complain to the Bishop (although he doesn’t have to answer you – be nice in what you say).

Specifically Canon 212 Section 2 Says (1983 translation) “The Christian faithful are free to make known their needs, especially spiritual one, and their desires to the pastors of the Church.”

Section 3, paraphrased for brevity: the faithful have the right and at times the duty to give their opinions to their pastors on matters that pertain to the good of the Church.

Raymond de Souza, noted Catholic apologist from Australia, was on EWTN the other day in a series and quoted Canon 212. He was saying this was a way around your stubborn pastor, when you want to start up some devotion or other activity. You (he says) have a right to do that. But, of course, you still have to deal with your pastor in the end, so be nice.

Canon 215 “The Christian faithful are at liberty to freely found and to govern associations for charitable and religious purposes or for promotion of the Christian vocation in the world; they are free to hold meetings to pursue these purposes in common.”

You should also know your duties, intermingled among these canons.

 

[seabird3579]

Hey, thanks for the references, Crumpy. They’ll help a lot.

 

[cameron_lansing]

Crumpy:

Canon Law is the law of the Church. Pope John Paul II revised in the early 80’s.

Google will give you a couple on-line copies of it for searching.

Check out Canons 208 to 231.

You have RIGHTS, DUTIES, and RESPONSIBILITIES.

Did you know that?

To put it one way, you have the right to complain to the Bishop (although he doesn’t have to answer you – be nice in what you say).

Specifically Canon 212 Section 2 Says (1983 translation) “The Christian faithful are free to make known their needs, especially spiritual one, and their desires to the pastors of the Church.”

Section 3, paraphrased for brevity: the faithful have the right and at times the duty to give their opinions to their pastors on matters that pertain to the good of the Church.

Raymond de Souza, noted Catholic apologist from Australia, was on EWTN the other day in a series and quoted Canon 212. He was saying this was a way around your stubborn pastor, when you want to start up some devotion or other activity. You (he says) have a right to do that. But, of course, you still have to deal with your pastor in the end, so be nice.

Canon 215 “The Christian faithful are at liberty to freely found and to govern associations for charitable and religious purposes or for promotion of the Christian vocation in the world; they are free to hold meetings to pursue these purposes in common.”

You should also know your duties, intermingled among these canons.

Rights and duties are spread throughout the entire code, and are not confined to this one section. Further, not all rights and duties are expressed explicitly in the code, but are derivable from natural law as expressed in the magisterium. Some rights originate in divine law, some originate from ecclesiastical law. Rights are also to be exercised and moderated in accord with the common good (c 223).

The other section that should be read treats administrative-hierarchical recourse in the code. You will want to read the section following canon 1732.

Be careful in reading the code. There are norms for interpretation of Church law. It is best to know what they are and how they are properly understood within the canonical tradition.

If a recourse is to taken against an action of Church authority or complaint of some kind made, it is best to have consulted an expert in the law first. A poor interpretation of the law could easily undermine the credibility of someone making a legitimate complaint.

Recall too that the Church has the right to regulate and structure liiturgy and devotions. This is expressed at the beginning of Book IV on the Sanctifying Office. The diocesan bishop has, as well, rights and duties in this regard.

A general website worth viewing is that of the Saint Joseph Foundation. www.st-joseph-foundation.org

I do recommend the Vatican website for the code and the more current CLSA translation.

It is worthwhile for any adult Catholic to have some knowledge of canon law. But always keep in mind that the supreme law of the Church is the salvation of souls.