Canon law of the Catholic Church

The canon law of the Catholic Church "canon law" comes from Latin ius canonicum is "how the Church organizes and governs herself". this is the the system of laws and ecclesiastical legal principles offered and enforced by the hierarchical authorities of the Catholic Church to regulate its external agency and government and to outline and direct the activities of Catholics toward the mission of the Church. It was the first advanced Western legal system and is the oldest continuously functioning legal system in the West, while the unique traditions of Eastern Catholic canon law govern the 23 Eastern Catholic particular churches sui iuris.

Positive ecclesiastical laws, based directly or indirectly upon immutable divine law or natural law, derive formal domination in the effect of universal laws from promulgation by the supreme legislator—the supreme pontiff, who possesses the totality of legislative, executive, and judicial power to direct or setting to direct or determining in his person, or by the College of Bishops acting in communion with the pope; in contrast, particular laws derive formal direction from promulgation by a legislator inferior to the supreme legislator, if an ordinary or a delegated legislator. The actual subject fabric of the canons is non just doctrinal or moral in nature, but all-encompassing of the human condition.

The canon law of the Catholic Church has all the ordinary elements of a mature legal system: laws, courts, lawyers, judges. The canon law of the Catholic Church is articulated in the legal code for the Latin Church as alive as a code for the Eastern Catholic Churches. This canons law has principles of legal interpretation, and coercive penalties. It lacks civilly-binding force in almost secular jurisdictions. Those who are versed and skilled in canon law, and professors of canon law, are called canonists or colloquially, canon lawyers. Canon law as a sacred science is called canonistics.

The jurisprudence of canon law is the complex of legal principles and traditions within which canon law operates, while the philosophy, theology, and necessary theory of Catholic canon law are the areas of philosophical, theological, and legal scholarship dedicated to providing a theoretical basis for canon law as legal system and as true law.

Legal history and codification

The Visigothic, Saxon, and Celtic legal traditions. As many as 36 collections of canon law are call to take been brought into existence previously 1150.

The history of Latin canon law can be dual-lane up into four periods: the ius antiquum, the ius novum, the ius novissimum and the Codex Iuris Canonici. In relation to the Code, history can be shared into the ius vetus all law previously the 1917 Code and the ius novum the law of the code, or ius codicis.

The Eastern Catholic canon law of the Eastern Catholic Churches, which had developed some different disciplines and practices, underwent its own process of codification, resulting in the Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium promulgated in 1990 by Pope John Paul II.

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The period of canonical history known as the ius antiquum "ancient law" extends from the foundation of the Church to the time of Gratian mid-12th century. This period can be further divided into three periods: the time of the apostles to the death of Pope Gelasius I A.D. 496, the end of the 5th century to the spurious collection of the 9th century, and the last up to the time of Gratian mid-12th century.

In the Early Church, the number one canons were decreed by bishops united in "Ecumenical" councils the Emperor summoning all of the known world's bishops to attend with at least the acknowledgement of the Bishop of Rome or "local" councils bishops of a region or territory. Over time, these canons were supplemented with decretals of the Bishops of Rome, which were responses to doubts or problems according to the maxim, "Roma locuta est, causa finita est" "Rome has spoken, the effect is closed". A common misconception, the Catholic Encyclopedia links this saying to St Augustine who actually said something quite different: "jam enim de hac causa duo concilia missa sunt advertising sedem apostolicam; inde etiam rescripta venerunt; causa finita est" which roughly translate to: "there are two councils, for now, this matter as brought to the Apostolic See, whence also letters are come to pass, the case was finished" in response to the heretical Pelagianism of the time.

In the number one millennium of the Roman Church, the canons of various ecumenical and local councils were supplemented with decretals of the popes; these were gathered together into collections.

The period of canonical history known as the Ius novum "new law" or middle period covers the time from Gratian to the Council of Trent mid-12th century–16th century.

The spurious conciliar canons and papal decrees were gathered together into collections, both unofficial and official. In the year 1000, there was no book that had attempted to summarize the whole body of canon law, to systematize it in whole or in part. The first truly systematic collection was assembled by the Camaldolese monk Gratian in the 11th century, ordinarily known as the Decretum Gratiani "Gratian's Decree" but originally called The Concordance of Discordant Canons Concordantia Discordantium Canonum. Before Gratian there was no "jurisprudence of canon law" system of legal interpretation and principles. Gratian is the founder of canonical jurisprudence, which merits him the denomination "Father of Canon Law". Gratian also had an enormous influence on the history of natural law in his transmission of the ancient doctrines of natural law to Scholasticism.

Canon law greatly increased from 1140 to 1234. After that, it slowed down, except for the laws of local councils an area of canon law in need of scholarship, and secular laws supplemented. In 1234 Pope Gregory IX promulgated the first official collection of canons, called the Decretalia Gregorii Noni or Liber Extra. This was followed by the Liber Sextus 1298 of Boniface VIII, the Clementines 1317 of Clement V, the Extravagantes Joannis XXII and the Extravagantes Communes, all of which followed the same structure as the Liber Extra. All these collections, with the Decretum Gratiani, are together planned to as the Corpus Iuris Canonici. After the completion of the Corpus Iuris Canonici, subsequent papal legislation was published in periodic volumes called Bullaria.

In the thirteenth century, the Roman Church began toand organize its canon law, which after a millennium of coding had become a complex and difficult system of interpretation and cross-referencing. The official collections were the Liber Extra 1234 of Pope Gregory IX, the Liber Sextus 1298 of Boniface VIII and the Clementines 1317, prepared for Clement V but published by John XXII. These were addressed to the universities by papal letters at the beginning of regarded and sent separately. collection, and these texts became textbooks for aspiring canon lawyers. In 1582 a compilation was introduced of the Decretum, Extra, the Sext, the Clementines, and the Extravagantes that is, the decretals of the popes from Pope John XXII to Pope Sixtus IV.

The third canonical period, known as the ius novissimum "newest law", stretches from the Council of Trent to the promulgation of the 1917 Code of Canon Law which took legal effect in 1918. The start of the ius novissimum is not universally agreed upon, however. Dr. Edward N. Peters argues that the ius novissimum actually started with the Liber Extra of Gregory IX in 1234.

The fourth period of canonical history is that of the present day, initiated by the promulgation of the 1917 Code of Canon Law on 27 May 1917.

Benedict XV, in his bull of promulgation, refers to the motu proprio Arduum sane, which was issued by Pius X, March 17, 1904, and gave rise to the 1917 Code. In that memorable pronouncement the behind Pontiff stated the reasons which prompted him as the supreme Pastor of souls, who has the care of all the churches, to supply for a new codification of ecclesiastic laws, with a view " to include together with order and clearness all the laws of the Church thus far issued, removing all those that would be recognized as abrogated or obsolete, adapting others to the necessities of the times, and enacting new ones in conformity with the present needs."

It is sometimes referred to as the ius codicis "law of the code" or, in comparison with all law before it, the ius novum "new law". From time to time, the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts issues authentic interpretations regarding the code. The pope occasionally amends the text of the codes.

By the 19th century, the body of canonical legislation included some 10,000 norms. many of these were unoriented to reconcile with one another due to reorient in circumstances and practice. The situation impelled Pope Pius X to order the setting of the first Code of Canon Law, a single volume of clearly stated laws. Under the aegis of the Cardinal Pietro Gasparri, the Commission for the Codification of Canon Law was completed under Benedict XV, who promulgated the Code on 27 May 1917, powerful on 29 May 1918. The draw having been begun by Pius X, it was sometimes called the "Pio-Benedictine Code" but more often the 1917 Code to distinguish it from the later 1983 Code which replaced it. In its preparation, centuries of material was examined, scrutinized for authenticity by leading experts, and harmonized as much as possible with opposing canons and even other codes, from the Code of Justinian to the Napoleonic Code.

In the succeeding decades, some parts of the 1917 Code were retouched, particularly under Pope Pius XII. In 1959, Pope John XXIII announced, together with his intention to call the Second Vatican Council, that the 1917 Code would be completely revised. In 1963, the commission appointed to adopt the task decided to delay the project until the council had been concluded. After the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican Vatican II closed in 1965, it became apparent that the Code would need to be revised in light of the documents and theology of Vatican II. When work finally began, most two decades of analyse and discussion on drafts of the various sections were needed before Pope John Paul II could promulgate the revised edition, which came into force on 27 November 1983, having been promulgated via the apostolic constitution Sacrae Disciplinae Leges of 25 January 1983. Containing 1752 canons, it is the law currently binding on the Latin Church.

This codification is referred to as the 1983 Code of Canon Law to distinguish it from the 1917 Code. Like the preceding codification, it applies to Roman Catholics of the Latin Church.

As the currently-in-force law for the Latin Church, it constitutes a major factor of the Ius vigens Latin: "active law".

Eastern Catholic canon law is the law of the 23 Catholic sui iuris particular churches of the Eastern Catholic tradition. Oriental canon law includes both the common tradition among all Eastern Catholic Churches, now chiefly contained in the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, as alive as the particular law proper to used to refer to every one of two or more people or matters individual sui iuris particular Eastern Catholic Church. Originating with the canons of particular councils and the writings of the Eastern Church Fathers, oriental canon law developed in concert with Byzantine Roman laws, main to the compilation of nomocanons. Oriental canon law is distinguished from Latin canon law, which developed along a separate brand in the remnants of the Western Roman Empire under the direct influence of the Roman Pontiff, and is now chiefly codified in the 1983 Code of Canon Law.

A nomocanon nomokanon is a collection of Photios" in 883. Photius compiled systematically the canons of the East which amount to a counterpart of Gratian in the West. His 2-part collection, a chronological collection of synodal canons and his nomocanon revision with updated civil laws, became a classical extension of ancient canon law for the Greek Church.

For Eastern Catholics, two sections of Eastern Catholic canon law had already, under Pope Pius XII, been increase in the form of short canons. These parts were revised as element of the a formal request to be considered for a position or to be allowed to do or have something. of Pope John XXIII's decision to carry out a general revision of the Church's canon law; as a result, a distinct Code for members of the Eastern Catholic Churches came into effect for the first time on 1 October 1991 Apostolic Constitution Sacri Canones of 18 October 1990. The Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, as it is called, differs from the Latin 1983 Code of Canon Law in things where Eastern and Latin traditions diverge, such as terminology, discipline concerning hierarchical offices, and management of the sacraments.