Pastor's Notes

From our youth every aspect of our life has been subject to rules or laws. Our parents determined when we could play outside, watch TV, and do our chores. At school, the sisters determined where we could stand, how we would write, and who would sit closest to her desk (not an honor, I should tell you). When we took out our Spauldings and laid into them with our stickball bats it was determined what constituted fouls or runs.

Society demands that we obey traffic laws, pay our taxes, and heed the dictates of the penal code. The faith community to which we belong has its rules as well. These are in addition to those prescriptions gained from revelation in Sacred Scripture. They cover all areas of concern to the Church. Some norms are contained in liturgical texts it uses in the celebration of the Eucharist and the sacraments. The bulk of its rules are contained in the Code of Canon Law. (These dictates cover only the Latin (read Roman) Church. There is another Code for the Oriental (read Eastern Churches).

The first organized effort to establish a universal law was promulgated in 1917. The present compendium of canons was approved by Pope John Paul II in 1983. It was the result of the initial call for reform by Blessed Pope John XXIII in 1959 when at the same time he called the Second Vatican Council. Before we delve into the renewal expectations of the Church I desire to share with you some thoughts about the place of law in the life of the community. Those who find religion as outside their comfort zone or those who do not understand the Catholic ethos sometimes make the criticism: “The laws of the Church are arbitrary and make no sense.” When I teach Canon Law I often give an example which goes a long way to put a lie to this assertion. Under the previous Code the clergy were forbidden to participate in fox hunting. (My students would chuckle too.) However, the Church’s rationale for this regulation is serious and a loud defense of its concern for social justice. Think about it. When the fox takes off, the horses, riders, and dogs pursue wherever the prey leads, even over the land rented by the poor to nourish their families. The Church thought it unseemly that any of her clerical leaders should be seen as harming those who could afford it the least.

Father James Coriden shares with us the significance of the reformed Code to which all the baptized are subject: “The law is not meant to be a text for academic rumination but an effective instrument to guide the life of the People of God. The code is so deeply rooted in the decrees of Vatican II that its practical intent should be obvious - the promotion of pastoral renewal and reform…It…hopes to implement a contemporary understanding of the Church and its mission ,expressed so carefully in Vatican II and subsequent teaching. As law has done from the beginning, the code tries to articulate the order and discipline that the Church needs at this time in salvation history.” In other words law serves theology.

After Book I gives the general norms by which laws are established and enforced and the definitions of terms are given the succeeding books focuses on the People of God. It defines the membership in terms of the document LumenGentium. Beginning its focus with an exposition of the obligations and rights of the faithful and lay it states: “…among all the Christian faithful a true equality regarding the dignity and action by which they all cooperate in the building up of the Body of Christ according to each one’s own condition and function…(exists).” (C.208) “They must maintain communion with the Church.” (c.209) “All the Christian faithful have the duty and right to work so that the divine message of salvation more and more reaches all people in every age and land” (C. 211) In these canons and those succeeding cooperation and communication are stressed. The pastor and his people must both have an openness towards one another and reverential attitude. The laity “are designated by God for the apostolate through Baptism and Confirmation. They are bound by the general obligation and possess the right as individuals, or joined in associations, to work so that the divine message of salvation is made known and accepted by all persons everywhere in the world. This obligation is even more compelling in those circumstances in which only through them can people hear the Gospel and know Christ.” (c. 225) Practically speaking, we must as Church pursue the freedom necessary for all to grow in their relationship with God. Additionally, in recognizing the talents and skills of the laity the Church must open herself to increase the opportunities for them to serve in ecclesiastical offices and programs of religious formation and development. With these directives comes the reminder that all when witnessing must set forth the Church’s teaching and “avoid setting forth their own opinion as the doctrine of the Church.” (c.227)

In terms of the clerical state all the faithful have an obligation to encourage vocations especially families, educators, and pastors. Once a man expresses a desire to discern a priestly vocation the canons call for his education to take place in a seminary where his human moral, spiritual and intellectual needs are evaluated and his intentions judged. Of particular concern to the church is that: “Students are to be prepared through suitable education to observe the state of celibacy and are to learn to honor it as a special gift of God”. (C.247) Academic studies must be supplemented by pastoral training and experience. Of course, spirituality is of prime importance and its growth must continue after ordination. The canons also call for clerics “to pursue sacred studies and are to strive after that solid doctrine founded in sacred scripture (and)…set out especially in the documents of councils and of the Roman Pontiffs.” (c.279)

Next week we will continue this mini-series on Church law. Have a blessed week.

Vivat Jesus

Fr. Brian