Canon law of the Catholic Church

Jus novum (c. 1140-1563) Jus novissimum (c. 1563-1918) Jus codicis (1918-present) Other Sacraments Sacramentals Sacred places Sacred times Supra-diocesan/eparchal structures Particular churches Juridic persons Philosophy, theology, and fundamental theory of Catholic canon law Clerics Office Juridic and physical persons Associations of the faithful Pars dynamica (trial procedure) Canonization Election of the Roman Pontiff Academic degrees Journals and Professional Societies Faculties of canon law Canonists Institute of consecrated life Society of apostolic life The canon law of the Catholic Church (from Latin ius canonicum[1]) is "how the Church organizes and governs herself".

The actual subject material of the canons is not just doctrinal or moral in nature, but all-encompassing of the human condition.

[15] The term ius ecclesiasticum, by contrast, referred to the secular law, whether imperial, royal, or feudal, that dealt with relations between the state and the Catholic Church.

[15] The term corpus iuris canonici was used to denote canon law as legal system beginning in the thirteenth century.

[20] Examples of ecclesiastical positive law are fasting during the liturgical season of Lent, and religious workers (monks, nuns, etc.)

[19][21] The word "canon" comes from the Greek kanon, which in its original usage denoted a straight rod, was later used for a measuring stick, and eventually came to mean a rule or norm.

What began with rules ("canons") said to have been adopted by the Apostles at the Council of Jerusalem in the first century has developed into a highly complex legal system encapsulating not just norms of the New Testament, but some elements of the Hebrew (Old Testament), Roman, Visigothic, Saxon, and Celtic legal traditions.

[26] St. Raymond of Penyafort (1175–1275), a Spanish Dominican priest, is the patron saint of canonists,[27][5] due to his important contributions to canon law in codifying the Decretales Gregorii IX.

[citation needed] 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).

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 ad 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.

[citation needed] In the first millennium of the Latin Church, the canons of various ecumenical and local councils were supplemented with decretals of the popes; these were gathered together into collections.

[34] In 1234 Pope Gregory IX promulgated the first official collection of canons, called the Decretalia Gregorii Noni or Liber Extra.

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 to collect and organize its canon law, which after a millennium of development had become a complex and difficult system of interpretation and cross-referencing.

These were addressed to the universities by papal letters at the beginning of each collection, and these texts became textbooks for aspiring canon lawyers.

Edward N. Peters argues that the ius novissimum actually started with the Liber Extra of Gregory IX in 1234.

[36] 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.

[23] In that memorable pronouncement the late Pontiff stated the reasons which prompted him as the supreme Pastor of souls, who has the care of all the churches, to provide for a new codification of ecclesiastic laws, with a view " to put 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.

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,[37] effective on 29 May 1918.

In 1959, Pope John XXIII announced, together with his intention to call the Second Vatican Council, that the 1917 Code would be completely revised.

When work finally began, almost two decades of study 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,[40] having been promulgated via the apostolic constitution Sacrae Disciplinae Leges of 25 January 1983.

The latter was long held in esteem and passed into the Russian Church, but it was by degrees supplanted by the "Nomocanon of Photios" in 883.

These parts were revised as part of the application 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).

[64] Fundamental theory is a newer discipline that takes as is object "the existence and nature of what is juridical in the Church of Jesus Christ.

[73] Ordinarily, bishops are to have an advanced degree (doctorate or at least licentiate) in scripture, theology, or canon law.