Canon (canon law)

[4] Some writers think that the Church preferred the word canon to law, as the latter had a harsh meaning for the faithful in the times of persecution.

[note 2][4] Bickell declares that for the first three hundred years, canon is scarcely ever found for a separate and special decree of the Church; rather does it designate the rule of faith in general.

[4] According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, from the fourth century onward, canon signified almost universally a disciplinary decree of a council or of the Roman Pontiffs.

[4] The word decretum during the same period, though signifying in general an authoritative statute or decision, began to be limited more and more to dogmatic matters, while canon when used in opposition to it was restricted to laws of discipline.

[note 3][4] As ecclesiastical regulations began to multiply, it became necessary to gather them into codices, which generally received the title of "Collection of Canons".

The dogmatic determinations of the Councils are to be applied rigorously since they are considered to be essential for the Church's unity and the faithful preservation of the Gospel.

[4] The usage of Trent seems to bring canon nearer to the signification it bore before the First Council of Nicea, when it referred rather to faith than to discipline.

Similarly, canons containing a precept already binding by reason of Divine or natural law, cannot be on the same footing as those that are of mere ecclesiastical origin.

When there is question of canons in the ordinary ecclesiastical sense (namely, that which obtained before the Council of Trent), as they refer principally to matters of discipline, it must be borne in mind that they are neither immutable nor irreformable.

[4] In like manner when there is question of the binding force of a canon, it is important to determine whether it was issued by a general council or by the decree of a pope, as imposing an obligation on all the faithful, or whether it was framed solely for restricted regions or persons.

[4] William H. W. Fanning, in the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia article states that: The neglect of the prescriptions of the sacred canons has always been the source of corruption in morals, and perhaps the chief reason for the loss of faith by nations as well as by individuals.