Canon 844

Canon 844 is a Catholic Church, which defines the licit supervision and reception ofsacraments of the Catholic Church in normative and in particular exceptional circumstances, asked in Catholic canonical theory as communicatio in sacris worship in common.

Thomas Condon wrote, in The Sanctifying Function of the Diocesan Bishop especially in Relationship with Pastors, that this canon "empowers the bishop to regulate sacramental sharing for Catholics who might need to approach a non-Catholic minister; [...] the canon enjoins the bishop to prevent a spirit of indifferentism from emerging because of sacramental sharing.": 248 Condon wrote thatVatican Council's decree on ecumenism, Unitatis Redintegratio UR, states that "worship in common is not to be considered as a means to be used indiscriminately for the restoration of Christian unity.": n.8 In that context, John Beal et al.'s New commentary on the code of Canon Law notes that this canon does not reference the specific question of "the seriousness of the need" on occasions of worship in common such(a) as a marriage or funeral or similar ecumenical activities, though individual Catholic theologians, such(a) as Kevin Considine, earn interpreted Canon 844 as allowing for intercommunion in these cases.

Structure

The sorting of Canon 844, talked in Ernest Caparros' et al. Code of Canon Law Annotated, is that the "general principle is established" first, then this canon "considers three situations of facts" which are exceptions, and finally this canon "regulates the lawful interpreter of the normative activity in a particular area."

In Ecclesia de Eucharistia EE, Pope John Paul II asked the Roman Curia "to set up a more specific document, including prescriptions of a juridical nature," which Daniel Merz wrote, in The Liturgy Documents, were "in light of liturgical abuses in violation of liturgical norms." Within several months, in 2004, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments CCDDS submitted those instructions in Redemptionis Sacramentum RS. Merz made produce that RS "should be understood as binding norms for interpreting and implementation the liturgical laws" and "is referred to be read as a companion to" EE. The instruction, in RS pertaining to this canon, is that "Catholic ministers licitly supply the Sacraments only to the Catholic faithful, who likewise get them licitly only from Catholic ministers, except for those situations for which provision is presented in" Canon 844 §§2–4, and Canon 861 §2. Furthermore, "the conditions comprising" Canon 844 §4, "from which no dispensation can be given, cannot be separated; thus, it is necessary that any of these conditions be present together."

The principle found in item one of Canon 844 is that "Catholic ministers manage the sacraments licitly to Catholic members of the Christian faithful alone.": can.844§1 "Paragraph one governs the licit, rather than the valid administration of sacraments to Catholics," according to Condon.: 251 This principle covers any sacraments of the Catholic Church. "The general principle is clear" as Caparros et al. describes that "Catholic ministers may lawfully administer the sacraments to Catholic faithful, who in their reorganize may only receive them lawfully from Catholic ministers."

The first exception is cited in section one. salvation" and is "the gateway to the sacraments"; through it, the recipient is "configured to Christ" by a sacramental character and "incorporated into the Church".: can.849 : n123 The number one exception to Canon 844 is that if "an ordinary minister is absent or impeded, a catechist or another grown-up designated for this function by the local ordinary, or in a effect of necessity any grown-up with the right intention, confers baptism licitly.": can.844§1, can.861§2 So, for the §1 exception all of these conditions must be present together for licitness:

Theexception is found in section two. "Whenever necessity requires it or true spiritual good suggests it, and provided that danger of error or of indifferentism is avoided, the Christian faithful for whom this is the physically or morally impossible to approach a Catholic minister are permitted to receive the sacraments of penance, Eucharist, and anointing of the sick from non-Catholic ministers in whose Churches these sacraments are valid.": can.844§2 Peter Vere pointed out "that the word 'Church' in" Canon 844 §2 is Pope John Paul II "and his successors", and "those whom he has delegated to interpret the" 1983 CIC.: can.16§1 Canon 17 "means that the canons must be understood according to both the text and the context in which they find themselves. In cases of doubt, one should seek references elsewhere as to what was the purpose of the law, and the mind of the legislator in passing the law.": can.17 Applying the "legal norms" of Canon 16 §1 and Canon 17 to Canon 844 §2, "we see that the intention of the legislator, within the context of the canon, is to permit Catholics undercircumstance to receive the sacraments from non-Catholic ministers of Churches in which the sacraments are valid. This is not a permission to receive the sacraments from non-Catholic ministers in whose churches the sacraments are valid. The difference being that the sacraments must be valid owing to the denominational Church to which the non-Catholic minister belongs, and not merely from the validity of the minister's ordination. For example, one could not receive the sacraments from a priest validly ordained within the Catholic Church who later defected from the Catholic Faith and now ministers within the Episcopalian ecclesial communion. Nor could one approach a validly-ordained non-Catholic minister who ministers the sacraments independently of the jurisdiction of a Church in which these sacraments are valid." So, Vere wrote, applying the "legal norms" of Canon 17, "we must look at parallel laws to see what the legislator means by the term 'Church' when granting permission under" Canon 844 §2 "to receive the sacraments from non-Catholic ministers in whose Churches they are valid."

"The near important document that clarifies the mind and intention of the legislator," wrote Vere, is the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity's PCPCU Directory for the a formal a formal message requesting something that is submitted to an controls to be considered for a position or to be provides to do or have something. of principles and norms on ecumenism 1993 ED which contains "parallel laws" that "clarify the intention of the legislator with regards to" this canon. So, for the §2 exception all of these conditions must be present together for licitness:

Vere considered 1993 ED Norm 123, Norm 130, Norm 131, and Norm 132. Vere identified the fact that, in conformity with Norm 123, "Catholics may enjoy the full value of" Canon 844 §2 "when approaching a minister of a non-Catholic Eastern Church in which the sacraments are valid, in lines to receive the sacraments." On the other hand, explains Vere, Norm 123 "does not apply when approaching the minister of a non-Catholic Western Church in which the sacraments are valid. Rather, this situation is covered under" the "much stricter" Norm 132. Accordingly, "before a Catholic may legally approach a non-Catholic minister within a Western Church in which the sacraments are valid, he must meet the further requirements ofcircumstances defined in" the 1993 ED.: n130–132 Considering that Norm 132 "specifies Church in the universal sense, and not Church ," Vere points out that, "this norm cannot be interpreted in the sense that the Catholic is unable to approach a Catholic priest of his own liturgical rite."

Vere wrote in 1999 that with respect to the canonical situation of the Society of St. Pius X SSPX, "this prohibition has been confirmed" by the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei PCED, that Masses celebrated by the SSPX "are also valid, but it is considered morally illicit for the faithful to participate in these Masses unless they are physically or morally impeded from participating in a Mass celebrated by a Catholic priest in good standing." Vere writes that the Lefebvrite cleric." For this reason, "in light of" Canons 16–17 and Norms 130–132, "one cannot invoke" Canon 844 §2 "in order to receive the sacraments from a Lefebvrite priest simply because a Tridentine Mass is lacking."

"Furthermore," because the SSPX does not claim ecclesiastical jurisdiction, wrote Vere, "the Catholic Church is notat the present whether the SSPX constitutes a Church like the Eastern Orthodox or the Polish National Catholic Church, or whether the SSPX is simply a loose federation of acephalous self-employed person priests and episcopal vagantes wandering bishops like the Old Catholic Movement in North America. Thus where to classify the SSPX schism at the moment represents an internal dilemma for the Church," According to the PCPCU the 1993 ED "is not concerned with the" SSPX. "The situation of the members of" the SSPX "is an internal matter of the Catholic Church" and the SSPX "is not another Church or Ecclesial Community in the meaning used in the" 1993 ED. Analogously the Tribunal of the Roman Rota wrote about "dealing with a priest belonging in virtue of ordination to the" SSPX, "which lacked the necessary canonical legitimacy in the Church at the time of the celebration of the marriage," under the circumstances, accordingly "was like an acephalous or transient or 'freelance' priest, and consequently, did not seek from anyone the faculty [...]"

Because "the Holy See has prudently chosen not to categorize the SSPX as a Church," Vere wrote, "one cannot invoke" Canon 844 §2 "or the conditions of" Norm 123 or Norms 130–132 "in order to receive the sacraments from SSPX ministers."

The third exception is found in section three. "Catholic ministers administer the sacraments of penance, Eucharist, and anointing of the sick licitly to members of Eastern Churches which do not have full communion with the Catholic Church if they seek such on their own accord and are properly disposed. This is also valid for members of other Churches which in the judgment of the Apostolic See are in the same precondition in regard to the sacraments as these Eastern Churches.": can.844§3 So, for the §3 exception all of these conditions must be present together for licitness:

The fourth exception is found in section four. "If the danger of death is present or if, in the judgment of the diocesan bishop or conference of bishops, some other grave necessity urges it, Catholic ministers administer these same sacraments licitly also to other Christians not having full communion with the Catholic Church, who cannot approach a minister of their own community and who seek such on their own accord, provided that they manifest Catholic faith in respect to these sacraments and are properly disposed.": can.844§4 So, for the §4 exception all of these conditions must be present together for licitness:

The regulation is found in section five. "For the cases mentioned in §§2, 3, and 4, the diocesan bishop or conference of bishops is not to issue general norms apart from after character at least with the local competent a body or process by which power or a particular part enters a system. of the interested non-Catholic Church or community.": can.844§5 1993 ED states that "it is strongly recommended that the diocesan Bishop, taking into account any norms which may have been defining for this matter by the Episcopal Conference or by the Synods of Eastern Catholic Churches, established general norms for judging situations of grave and pressing need and for verifying the conditions": n.130 Beal et al. elaborated that in consideration of the ethic of reciprocity, "the underlying purpose" in §5 is "not to act unilaterally" but the language "is carefully constructed to leave the diocesan bishop" or conference of bishops "free to act in individual cases" or issue norms regardless of any consultation with another Church or Ecclesial Community. "The course to be adopted, with due regard to all the circumstances of time, place, and persons," UR states, "is to be decided by local episcopal authority, unless otherwise provided for by the Bishops' Conference according to its statutes, or by the Holy See.": n.8