Precepts of the Church

[TruthseekerGR]

Dear Friends,

I was wondering who exactly is bound by the precepts of the Church given in para. 2041-3 of the Catechism. Obviously Catholics are, but the text only mentions the “faithful” and the definition of the “faithful” given in para. 871 seems broad enough to include Protestants. Moreover, the Catholic Encyclopedia states: “As baptism is the gate of entrance to the ecclesiastical society, all those who are baptized, even non-Catholics, are in principle subject to the laws of the Church” (under the entry on Canon Law). Does this not also suggest that the precepts of the Church bind Protestants? This is contrary to what I had thought before, that only Catholics were bound by the precepts. If anyone could offer a sound answer with doctrinal support, it would be much appreciated.

May God Bless,

a Truth seeker

 

[JRKH]

Interesting question…I look forward to the responses…

To me - I believe the gist of the matter is that even though a person is accepted as part of the Church by virtue of their baptism - and as such would be subject to her precepts, there is the matter of ignorance that effects culpability.

Hopefully other - smarter - folks will explain this to us both…

Peace
James

 

[1ke]

No, baptized non-Catholics are not bound by the precepts of the Church. Only those incorporated into the Church fully are under canonical jurisdiction:

Can. 11 Merely ecclesiastical laws bind those who have been baptized in the Catholic Church or received into it, possess the efficient use of reason, and, unless the law expressly provides otherwise, have completed seven years of age.

Can. 204 §1. The Christian faithful are those who, inasmuch as they have been incorporated in Christ through baptism, have been constituted as the people of God. For this reason, made sharers in their own way in Christ’s priestly, prophetic, and royal function, they are called to exercise the mission which God has entrusted to the Church to fulfill in the world, in accord with the condition proper to each.

§2. This Church, constituted and organized in this world as a society, subsists in the Catholic Church governed by the successor of Peter and the bishops in communion with him.

Can. 205 Those baptized are fully in the communion of the Catholic Church on this earth who are joined with Christ in its visible structure by the bonds of the profession of faith, the sacraments, and ecclesiastical governance.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

Note that Canon Law specifies that only Catholics are bound by canon law in regard to marriage; so presumably in regard to other matters.

Can. 1059 Even if only one party is Catholic, the marriage of Catholics is governed not only by divine law but also by canon law, without prejudice to the competence of civil authority concerning the merely civil effects of the same marriage.