Vatican Council II and code of canon law

[JReducation]

I received this in today’s email to religious superiors. It can also be found at the Vatican Information Service. I thought it helps understand why Bl. John XXIII wanted to revise the Code of Canon Law of 1917.

**
CLOSE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VATICAN COUNCIL II AND CODE OF CANON LAW

Vatican City, 22 January, 2013 (VIS) – This morning in the Press Office of the Holy See, the schedule for the Study Day “The Code: A Reform Desired and Requested by the Council” (25 January, Pius X Hall, Rome) marking the 30th anniversary of the promulgation of the Code of Canon Law was presented. The study day has been organized by the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts and the International Institute of Canon Law and Comparative Studies of Religion in Lugano, Switzerland and is sponsored by the Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) Vatican Foundation and the John Paul II Foundation. Participating in the conference were Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta, secretary of that dicastery, and Msgr. Giuseppe Antonio Scotti, president of the Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) Vatican Foundation.

Cardinal Coccopalmerio began his address with the recollection that Blessed John XXIII, in his speech convening Vatican Council II in 1959, explained that the Council’s legal scope was to bring about the awaited revision of the 1917 Code. “In his broad perspective, the Pope saw clearly that the revision of the Code had to be guided by the new ecclesiology that emerged from an ecumenical and a global summit such as the Council.” Blessed John Paul II, under whose pontificate the Code was promulgated, also repeated that “the council’s ecclesiological structure clearly required a renewed formulation of its laws”.

“As John Paul II emphasized at the beginning of the Apostolic Constitution ‘Sacrae disciplinae leges’, the reason for the close relationship between Vatican Council II and the Code of Canon Law was that the 1983 Code was the culmination of Vatican II … in two ways: on the one hand, it embraces the Council, solemnly reproposing fundamental institutions and major innovations and, on the other, establishing positive norms for implementing the Council.”

The president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts then cited various examples of the strong bond between Vatican Council II and the Code of Canon Law.

The first is the “doctrine regarding the episcopate and the relationship between the episcopate and the primate, that is, episcopal collegiality. This is not entirely new doctrine in the deep consciousness of the Church but rather a happy discovery. The Code firstly, in canons 330–341, represents this clearly, and secondly, in canons 342–348, accompanies it with the positive view that constitutes the structure of the Synod of Bishops, allowing effective implementation of the structure of episcopal collegiality.”

A second example is the “Council’s teaching on the laity and therefore on the appropriate and active mission of the lay faithful in the life of the Church. Once again, this is not absolutely new but more a rediscovery … through a series of regulations … regarding the diocesan pastoral council or … the parochial pastoral council. They are structures that allow the faithful laity to effectively participate in the pastoral decisions of the bishop or the pastor. This innovation is also the eloquent voice of the faithful relationship between Council and Code.”

“A third example may come from the conception of the parish as presented by the Council and implemented by the Code. Ultimately, the Council conceives of the parish as a community of believers, not as a structure or a territory. This represents an important innovation with respect to the previous point of view. The Code receives this concept, particularly in canon 515, and sanctions it with the positive regulations of the following canons.”

A final example of doctrine and innovation provided by the Council in the area of ecumenism “resides in the conciliar documents ‘Lumen gentium’, ‘Orientalium Ecclesiarum’, and ‘Unitatis redintegratio’, which show the doctrine of ecclesial communion as still imperfect yet real and existent between the Catholic Church and other Churches or non-Catholic communities. This is also a fact of incalculable value and scope already found in the Council and then later in the Code (cf. canon 844), with the possibility of welcoming non-Catholic Christians, even if under specific conditions, into the sacraments of the Catholic Church.

“In conclusion,” finished the cardinal, “we can affirm that the happy union between Vatican Council II and the Code of Canon Law has produced fruits of renewal in the life of the Church in many areas and on many levels.”**

 

[YoungTradCath]

Would you kindly distill this into one paragraph or so?

 

[Oneofthewomen]

Br. Jay, I read this this morning also, very interesting!

I am a little confused though- the statement talks about a “day of study”, has that happened yet, or is that what this press-release is about, that there ***will be ***a “day of study”?

And if there is more to be discussed, is there anyway a lay woman in the US could get her hands on what it talked about?

 

[JReducation]

Br. Jay, I read this this morning also, very interesting!

I am a little confused though- the statement talks about a “day of study”, has that happened yet, or is that what this press-release is about, that there ***will be ***a “day of study”?

And if there is more to be discussed, is there anyway a lay woman in the US could get her hands on what it talked about?

The Day of Study is January 25, 2013. This week. We will have to wait and see if they publish anything or if it’s just going to be a report to the Holy Father.

 

[JReducation]

Would you kindly distill this into one paragraph or so?

This reminds me of the kid who would often ask me to do his homework for him. LOL

In brief, what it is saying is that Pope John XXIII wanted the Code of Canon Law of 1917 revised so that it would come into agreement with Vatican II.

As we know, he died before the Council finished. However, Pope Paul VI was

a) A Cardinal at the Council

b) A legal consultant at the Council

c) A Doctor of Law

Therefore, he continued forward with the work of revising the Code of 1917 to reflect the thinking of Vatican II. He died before the work was completed. When Bl. John Paul came to office, he convened the same team of legal experts to finish the work, which they did in 1981. In 1983, after some revisions by Bl. John Paul, the new code for the Latin Church was promulgated.

The Code of the Eastern Churches followed in 1990. The difference was that the Eastern Churches were given the freedom to write the Code of Canon Law according to their theology and their beliefs. It was not written at the Vatican.

They had to submit the code to the Holy Father, John Paul II, for his approval and he promulgated it. But it’s their work. Having said that, it was expected of them to write the code in a way that reflected Vatican II as it applies to them.

This is very important for all Catholics. If the two codes of law, Latin and Eastern are guided by Vatican II and what came before it, the it is not possible to deny any part of Vatican II, especially any part that is in the law. To do so would make the law null and void.

Also, if the Patriarchs of the East agreed to including the conclusions of Vatican II into their Code, then they too accept Vatican II as error free.

Now we have the Church being governed by everything that came before, up to and including Vatican II, but with a special attention to that last council.

 

[Mrs_Sally]

Very, very interesting! Is it in the law or elsewhere that defines structures for Societies of Apostolic Life and the like? You and others have stated before that some folks who would like to repudiate Vatican II also want to take advantage of some of these newer structures that would allow them to be organized in a way they like.

I am moer and more grateful everyday to be an ordinary layperson without any special role or responsibilities in the Church other than what Catholic wives and mothers have been called to since the very beginning. That’s plenty for me!!

 

[JReducation]

Very, very interesting! Is it in the law or elsewhere that defines structures for Societies of Apostolic Life and the like? You and others have stated before that some folks who would like to repudiate Vatican II also want to take advantage of some of these newer structures that would allow them to be organized in a way they like.

Canons 731 to 755 vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P2G.HTM

 

[Genesis315]

This is pretty par for the course. Almost all ecumenical Councils revised canon law and many Popes have done so as well (there just wasn’t an organized Code in the past, so canon lawyers had to wade through a ton of stuff to figure out was still good law and not.).

The idea of organizing a code of canon law was to be discussed at the First Vatican Council, but due to the wars in Europe it got cut short, so the code was taken up by subsequent Popes.

 

[JReducation]

This is pretty par for the course. Almost all ecumenical Councils revised canon law and many Popes have done so as well (there just wasn’t an organized Code in the past, so canon lawyers had to wade through a ton of stuff to figure out was still good law and not.).

The idea of organizing a code of canon law was to be discussed at the First Vatican Council, but due to the wars in Europe it got cut short, so the code was taken up by subsequent Popes.

This is true and no code of law is intended to be eternal, unless it’s about dogma. In which case, the law is pretty obvious (i.e. You need priest, bread, and wine for a mass)…

What they did differently, this time, was that they gave the Eastern Catholics greater autonomy in the law itself. Their Beatitudes always led the writing of the law; but in order to maintain communion with Rome, there were certain points that were non negotiable. There seems to be more flexibility in the Code of 1983. I could be wrong, but I believe that I see some things that were not there before, statutes that give the Patriarchs more freedom and at the same time, clarify that they are truly patriarchs, not just a “standard” bishop.

I couldn’t think of a better word than “standard”. No offense meant toward the bishops.

Now, I will be struck by lightning.

 

[jacobhalo]

Vatican II and the Code of Canon law produced fruits? Can someone name one fruit? I have seen disaster which came from Vatican II-empty churches, seminaries, convents, Catholic schools, empty confessionals, cafeteria Catholics.

 

[GloriaMaria]

Vatican II and the Code of Canon law produced fruits? Can someone name one fruit? I have seen disaster which came from Vatican II-empty churches, seminaries, convents, Catholic schools, empty confessionals, cafeteria Catholics.

Brother, do you get a dollar?

 

[TimothyH]

Vatican II and the Code of Canon law produced fruits? Can someone name one fruit? I have seen disaster which came from Vatican II-empty churches, seminaries, convents, Catholic schools, empty confessionals, cafeteria Catholics.

That anyone could not see how real and existent ecclesial communion between the Catholic Church and non-Catholic Communites could not bear fruit for the salvation of souls is incomprehensible to me.

-Tim-

 

[JReducation]

Vatican II and the Code of Canon law produced fruits? Can someone name one fruit? I have seen disaster which came from Vatican II-empty churches, seminaries, convents, Catholic schools, empty confessionals, cafeteria Catholics.

There are the ones that are mentioned in the statement from the Vatican in the original post.

There are others that the average person in the pew would not see, but that affect the life of the Church. The entire code governing religious life was redone eliminating clericalism from the religious life. This was very necessary for religious communities of men. It equalizes all of the members.

There was the creation of secular institutes of consecrated life. These institutes have existed for centuries. But there was not law for them. They were always bound to follow the religious institutes of consecrated life.

Societies of Apostolic Life were recognized. These also existed for a very long time and again, they were never recognized in the law. They had to follow laws that were written for religious life. However, most societies of apostolic life are either secular or blended (secular and regular).

These all came out of the command from Vatican II, Perfectae Caritatis, which recognized that there are many forms of consecrated life. New forms are being born and older forms are dying. This is actually very natural. The form of life lived by the Desert Fathers died after St. Benedict organized monasticism and St. Bruno organized the eremetic life.

The laws for prelatures were created. These are new, because there were no prelatures until Opus Dei Came into existence.

The process for canonization has been simplified. The old process was very cumbersome and cases were stacked up waiting for someone to look at them. Someone said that when Bl. John Paul came to office, there were several hundred cases waiting to be reviewed. All the necessary information was there, but the infrastructure was so cumbersome that one case took many people and too many hours. Bl. John Paul said that this was not fair to the faithful. The Congregation for the Causes of the Saints simplified the process and it was incorporated into Canon Law.

The rights of parish pastors were clarified. These were rather murky in the Code of 1917. The’re clearer now and not as verbose. I think it was the verbose that didn’t let them be too clear.

The Code of Canon Law took out many little phrases and words that were in conflict with other laws in the Church. The interesting thing is that Canon Law, like the constitution of a nation is not the only code of law. There are other codes for different regions, religious orders, dioceses and dicastries. Sometimes you either duplicate or you have two statements that can confuse, because of a one word difference. Something as simple as “should” in one document and “must” in another, makes a big difference in law.

I’m sure that there are others that I can’t think of and don’t know. Out of sight out of mind.

 

[jacobhalo]

That anyone could not see how real and existent ecclesial communion between the Catholic Church and non-Catholic Communites could not bear fruit for the salvation of souls is incomprehensible to me.

-Tim-

Yes, it did. But what did the Catholic church do for itself? nothing.

 

[JReducation]

Yes, it did. But what did the Catholic church do for itself? nothing.

Wait a minute, be gentle here. Go back and see the original statement by the Vatican. It mentions several things that the Church did for itself.

Then go back and read my post # 13, I’ve added a few more things that the Church did for itself.

I’m sure that other people can point to other things.

 

[jacobhalo]

What I see are empty churches, convents, seminaries, Catholic schools, few people at confession, cafeteria Catholics, a clergy with no backbone, etc.

 

[JReducation]

What I see are empty churches, convents, seminaries, Catholic schools, few people at confession, cafeteria Catholics, a clergy with no backbone, etc.

I would disagree with this. I believe that this depends on where one is, with which activities and ministries in the Church one is involved, the parish, at times demographics and in many situations, as Pope Benedict has said, the loss of faith in society, which is not a product of either the Council or Canon Law. It was coming as society moved toward economic and military advances.

But if you look closely, you will find some wonderful products. In my own Franciscan family, we have had about 10 new congregations born in the USA alone during that last 25 years. The Dominican Sisters have two of the fastest growing communities in the country. Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity are in the thousands, they now have three branches: Missionary of Charity Sisters, Missionary of Charity Brothers, Missionary of Charity Fathers.

Catholic lay movements are growing such as the Emmaus Movement, Charismatic Renewal, Opus Dei, Neo Catechumenate, Faith and Liberation, and Madonna House.

We have an incredible network of services: pregnancy centers, homeless shelters, homes for unwed mothers, soup kitchens, street ministry, return to work programs, programs for the disabled, homes for the sick and dying. The voiceless are being served, as was the Gospel of this past Sunday. These are run mostly by lay Catholics.

Seminaries are not as empty as you think. There are seminaries that have waiting lists or at least are full: Boston, Miami, New York, Baltimore, just to name the ones that I know of.

Religious communities of women are evolving into different models. The older communities are dying out, which happens every couple of hundred years. However, we have many new communities of women in ministries such as: pro-life, outreach to the poor, hospice, immigrant services, care of the elderly, care and service to the person with disabilities, preaching, retreat work, spiritual direction, street ministry, ministries to mothers and children, youth ministry, liturgy, and the contemplative life. The Poor Clares alone are up to 20,000. There seems to be a movement back toward the cloistered life. Just look at the Poor Clares in the USA. Just the house in Henceville has given birth to two other houses.

Catholic communication has increased exponentially. We have TV stations such as EWTN which is international. Then there are local stations on the radio. There are Catholic news papers, local, regional and national. There are online ministries such as this one, which is lay and huge.

There are parishes that are thriving and parishes that are dying. We can’t say that they’re all the same. In the neighborhood where we are, there are five very active parishes, each has 7 masses on a weekend, confessions every Saturday with at least two priests, penance services with four or five priests for Lent and Advent. I know one parish that has a school of religious education that serves 600 kids and another that has 26 ministries all run by laymen.

I work with Respect Life and I see about 200 or so men and women very involved in preaching the Gospel of Life, providing material assistance to couples in crisis pregnancies, providing chastity education to youth, retreats and formation on the Church’s teaching on the life issues, at least once a month, sometimes twice in several languages. These are six-hour workshops that laymen and religious prepare for and deliver without compensation.

We have diocesan bishops that have taken on renewing their dioceses. Archbishop Thomas Wenski has implemented the Diocesan Synod, which is incredible. Archbishop Chaput has begun a renewal of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Cardinal Sean has restructured Boston and its seminary is full.

I’m more familiar with the East Coast than the rest of the nation. But I’m sure that the East Coast is not an anomaly.

Are there deserts in between the fertile patches? Yes there are. Should we be cynical, depressed, afraid, despondent, whatever other negative feeling we can conjure up? I don’t think so. We just have to look around and find something that we can do, get a few people of similar mind and get going. An ocean begins with one drop.

 

[Lormar]

 

[larsont7]

What I see are empty churches, convents, seminaries, Catholic schools, few people at confession, cafeteria Catholics, a clergy with no backbone, etc.

I would say there are “pockets” of orthodoxy, but in general, you are correct. If you trust the latest polls, a small percentage of Catholics believe in the Real Presence, a small percentage of Catholics believe that contraception is immoral, less than 1/4 of Catholics attend Mass every Sunday. While some of this may be due to the changing times in society, at least part of the blame has to be put on the fruits of the Council.

While Br. JR makes some good points about flourishing lay organizations and religious orders, there are many others that are suffering (if not in numbers, at least in orthodoxy). I don’t want to speak for other parts of the world, but it’s evident in the Catholic Church in America that there are many problems, from the hierarchy all the way down to the laity. The focus has turned almost exclusively to social justice when the focus should ALWAYS be on the salvation of souls. Charity without Truth produces little fruit.

All one needs to do is look at the latest election and see that the most pro-abortion pro-gay marriage President that has ever been in office was supported by over 50% of American Catholics to know there is a serious problem here.

 

[jacobhalo]

Bravo!! I think that brother is living with blinders on. If Vatican II was such a success, why is the pope calling for the “reform of the reform?” Why, because it was not a success.