GLOSSARY
advena the term to describe a person when he or she is actually present
in the place where he or she has a quasi-domicile.
ferendae sententiae the term to describe one of the two forms of
penalty, namely, that which is imposed by the judgement of a court or by
the decree of a Superior, when a person has been found guilty of an
offence. (cf latae sententiae below.)
incola the term to describe a person when he or she is actually present
in the place where he or she has a domicile.
inter vivos the term to describe a legal arrangement whereby, during
lifetime, a person at once transfers proper to another person or corporate
body. (cf mortis causa below).
latae sententiae the term to describe one of the two forms of penalty,
namely, that which is automatically incurred on committing an offence,
without the intervention of a judge or Superior. (cf ferendae sententiae
above.)
magisterium the term to describe the teaching authority of the Church.
mortis causa the term to describe a legal arrangement made by a person
during lifetime, whereby only after his or her death property is
transferred to another person or corporate body. (cf inter vivos above.)
motu proprio the term to describe a rescript (cf Can. 59 §1) which
grants a favour not on the request of a petitioner, but on the sole
initiative of the granting authority.
peregrinus the term to describe a person when he or she is outside the
place where he or she has a domicile or quasi-domicile, while still
retaining that domicile or quasi-domicile. The plural is peregrini.
presbyterium the term to describe the body of priests who are dedicated
to the service of a particular Church, under the authority of the Bishop
or other Superior equivalent to a Bishop.
vagus the term to describe a person who has neither a domicile nor a
quasi-domicile anywhere. The plural is vagi.
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PROMULGATION OF THE NEW CODE OF CANON LAW
APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION
Sacrae Disciplinae Leges
To Our Venerable Brothers the Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, Priests,
Deacons and to the other members of the People of God
JOHN PAUL BISHOP
Servant of the Servants of God
For an Everlasting Memorial
Over the course of time, the Catholic Church has been wont to revise
and renew the laws of its sacred discipline so that, maintaining always
fidelity to the Divine Founder, these laws may be truly in accord with the
salvific mission entrusted to the Church. With this sole aim in view, we
today, 25 January 1983, bring to fulfilment the anticipation of the whole
Catholic world, and decree the publication of the revised Code of Canon
Law. In doing so, our thoughts turn back to this same date in 1959, when
our predecessor, John XXIII of happy memory, first publicly announced his
personal decision to reform the current body of canonical laws which had
been promulgated on the feast of Pentecost 1917.
This decision to renew the Code was taken with two others, of which
that Pontiff spoke on the same day: they concerned his desire to hold a
synod of the diocese of Rome and to convoke an Ecumenical Council. Even if
the former does not have much bearing on the reform of the Code, the
latter on the other hand, namely the Council, is of the greatest
importance for our theme and is closely linked with its substance.
If one asks why John XXIII had clearly perceived the need to reform the
current Code, perhaps the answer is found in the 1917 Code itself. There
is however another reason, the principal one, namely that the reform of
the Code of Canon Law was seen to be directly sought and requested by the
Council itself, which had particularly concentrated its attention upon the
Church.
As is quite clear, when the first announcement of the revision of the
Code was made, the Council was something totally in the future. Moreover,
the acts of its teaching authority, and particularly its teaching on the
Church, were to be developed over the years 1962-65. Nevertheless, one
cannot fail to see that John XXIII’s insight was most accurate, and his
proposal must rightly be acknowledged as one which looked well ahead to
the good of the Church.
Therefore, the new Code which appears today necessarily required the
prior work of the Council and, although it was announced together with
that ecumenical gathering, it follows it in order of time, since the tasks
needed for its preparation could not begin until the Council had ended.
Turning our thoughts today to the beginning of that long journey, that
is to 25 January 1959 and to John XXIII himself, the originator of the
review of the Code, we must acknowledge that this Code drew its origin
from one and the same intention, namely the renewal of christian life. All
the work of the Council drew its norms and its shape principally from that
same intention.
If we now turn our attention to the nature of the labours which
preceded the promulgation of the Code and to the manner in which they were
performed, especially during the Pontificates of Paul VI, John Paul I and
then up to this present day, it is vital to make quite clear that these
labours were brought to their conclusion in an eminently collegial spirit.
This not only relates to the external composition of the work, but it
affects also the very substance of the laws which have been drawn up.
This mark of collegiality by which the process of this Code’s origin
was prominently characterised, is entirely in harmony with the teaching
authority and the nature of the Second Vatican Council. The Code
therefore, not only because of its content but because also of its origin,
demonstrates the spirit of this Council in whose documents the Church, the
universal sacrament of salvation (cf Const. Lumen Gentium, n. 9, 48) is
presented as the People of God, and its hierarchical constitution is shown
as founded on the College of Bishops together with its Head.
For this reason therefore, the Bishops and Episcopal Conferences were
invited to associate themselves with the work of preparing the new Code,
so that through a task of such length, in as collegial a manner as
possible, little by little the juridical formulae would come to maturity
and would then serve the whole Church. During the whole period of this
task, experts also took part, people endowed with particular academic
standing in the areas of theology, history and especially canon law, drawn
from all parts of the world.
To each and every one of them we express our deepest gratitude today.
We recall, first of all, those Cardinals, now deceased, who headed the
preparatory Commission, Cardinal Pietro Ciriaci who began the work, and
Cardinal Pericles Felici who over a period of several years guided the
labours almost to their goal. We think then of the Secretaries of this
Commission, Monsignor, later Cardinal, Giacomo Violardo and Father
Raimondo Bidagor SJ, both of whom lavished their talents of learning and
wisdom on their role. Together with them, we recall the Cardinals,
Archbishops and Bishops, and all who were members of this Commission as
well as the Consultors of the individual study groups engaged over these
years in that strenuous task. God has called these to their eternal reward
in the meantime. For all of them our suppliant prayer is raised to God.
With pleasure we also refer to the living: in the first place, to the
present Pro-President of the Commission, our venerable brother Rosalio
Castillo Lara, who has worked so outstandingly for so long in a role of
such responsibility. Next, we refer to our beloved son, Monsignor William
Onclin, who has contributed to the successful outcome of the task with
assiduous and diligent care. Then there are others who played an
inestimable part in this Commission, in developing and completing a task
of such volume and complexity, whether as Cardinal members, or as
officials, consultors and collaborators in the various study groups or in
other roles.
In promulgating this Code today, therefore, we are fully conscious that
this act stems from our pontifical authority itself, and so assumes a
primatial nature. Yet we are no less aware that in its content this Code
reflects the collegial solicitude for the Church of all our brothers in
the episcopate. Indeed, by a certain analogy with the Council itself, the
Code must be viewed as the fruit of collegial cooperation, which derives
from the combined energies of experienced people and institutions
throughout the whole Church.
A second question arises: what is the Code? For an accurate answer to
this question, it is necessary to remind ourselves of that distant
heritage of law contained in the books of the Old and New Testaments. It
is from this, as from its first source, that the whole juridical and
legislative tradition of the Church derives.
For Christ the Lord in no way abolished the bountiful heritage of the
law and the prophets which grew little by little from the history and
experience of the People of God in the Old Testament. Rather he fulfilled
it (cf Matt.5,17), so that it could, in a new and more sublime way, lead
to the heritage of the New Testament. Accordingly, although St Paul in
expounding the mystery of salvation teaches that justification is not
obtained through the works of the law but through faith (cf Rom.3,28;
Gal.2,16), nonetheless he does not exclude the binding force of the
Decalogue (cf Rom.13,8-10; Gal.5,13-25; 6, 2), nor does he deny the
importance of discipline in the Church (cf 1 Cor.5 and 6). Thus the
writings of the New Testament allow us to perceive more clearly the great
importance of this discipline and to understand better the bonds which
link it ever more closely with the salvific character of the Gospel
message.
Granted this, it is sufficiently clear that the purpose of the Code is
not in any way to replace faith, grace, charisms and above all charity in
the life of the Church or of Christ’s faithful. On the contrary, the Code
rather looks towards the achievement of order in the ecclesial society,
such that while attributing a primacy to love, grace and the charisms, it
facilitates at the same time an orderly development in the life both of
the ecclesial society and of the individual persons who belong to it.
As the Church’s fundamental legislative document, and because it is
based on the juridical and legislative heritage of revelation and
tradition the Code must be regarded as the essential instrument for the
preservation of right order, both in individual and social life and in the
Church’s zeal. Therefore, over and above the fundamental elements of the
hierarchical and organic structure of the Church established by the Divine
Founder based on apostolic or other no less ancient tradition, and besides
the principal norms which concern the exercise of the threefold office
entrusted to the Church, it is necessary for the Code to define also
certain rules and norms of action.
The instrument, such as the Code is, fully accords with the nature of
the Church, particularly as presented in the authentic teaching of the
Second Vatican Council seen as a whole, and especially in its
ecclesiological doctrine. In fact, in a certain sense, this new Code can
be viewed as a great effort to translate the conciliar ecclesiological
teaching into canonical terms. If it is impossible perfectly to transpose
the image of the Church described by conciliar doctrine into canonical
language, nevertheless the Code must always be related to that image as to
its primary pattern, whose outlines, given its nature, the Code must
express as far as is possible.
Hence flow certain fundamental principles by which the whole of the new
Code is governed, within the limits of its proper subject and of its
expression, which must reflect that subject. Indeed it is possible to
assert that from this derives that characteristic whereby the Code is
regarded as a complement to the authentic teaching proposed by the Second
Vatican Council and particularly to its Dogmatic and Pastoral
Constitutions.
From this it follows that the fundamental basis of the ‘newness’ which,
while never straying from the Church’s legislative tradition, is found in
the Second Vatican Council and especially in its ecclesiological teaching,
generates also the mark of ‘newness’ in the new Code.
Foremost among the elements which express the true and authentic image
of the Church are: the teaching whereby the Church is presented as the
People of God (cf Const. Lumen Gentium, n. 2) and its hierarchical
authority as service (ibid n. 3); the further teaching which portrays the
Church as a communion and then spells out the mutual relationships which
must intervene between the particular and the universal Church, and
between collegiality and primacy; likewise, the teaching by which all
members of the People of God share, each in their own measure, in the
threefold priestly, prophetic and kingly office of Christ, with which
teaching is associated also that which looks to the duties and rights of
Christ’s faithful and specifically the laity; and lastly the assiduity
which the Church must devote to ecumenism.
If, therefore, the Second Vatican Council drew old and new from the
treasury of tradition, and if its newness is contained in these and other
elements, it is abundantly clear that the Code receives into itself the
same mark of fidelity in newness and newness in fidelity, and that its
specific content and corresponding form of expression is in conformity
with this aim.
The new Code of Canon Law is published precisely at a time when the
Bishops of the whole Church are not only asking for its promulgation but
indeed are insistently and vehemently demanding it.
And in fact a Code of Canon Law is absolutely necessary for the Church.
Since the Church is established in the form of a social and visible unit,
it needs rules, so that its hierarchical and organic structure may be
visible; that its exercise of the functions divinely entrusted to it,
particularly of sacred power and of the administration of the sacraments,
is properly ordered; that the mutual relationships of Christ’s faithful
are reconciled in justice based on charity, with the rights of each
safeguarded and defined; and lastly, that the common initiatives which are
undertaken so that christian life may be ever more perfectly carried out,
are supported strengthened and promoted by canonical laws.
Finally, canonical laws by their very nature demand observance. For
this reason, the greatest care has been taken that during the long
preparation of the Code there should be an accurate expression of the
norms and that they should depend upon a sound juridical, canonical and
theological foundation.
In view of all this, it is very much to be hoped that the new canonical
legislation will be an effective instrument by the help of which the
Church will be able to perfect itself in the spirit of the Second Vatican
Council, and show itself ever more equal to carry out its salvific role in
the world.
It is pleasing to set out these reflections of ours in a trusting
spirit as we promulgate this principal body of ecclesiastical laws for the
latin Church.
May God grant that joy and peace, with justice and obedience, may
commend this Code, and that what is bidden by the head will be obeyed in
the body.
Relying, therefore, on the help of divine grace, supported by the
authority of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, with certain knowledge
and assenting to the pleas of the Bishops of the whole world who have
laboured with us in collegial good will, by the supreme authority which is
ours, and by means of this Constitution of ours which is to have effect
for the future, we promulgate this present Code as it has been compiled
and reviewed. We order that henceforth it is to have the force of law for
the whole latin Church, and we commit its observance to the care and
vigilance of all who are responsible. In order, however, that all may
properly investigate these prescriptions and intelligently come to know
them before they take effect, we decree and command that they shall come
into force from the first day of Advent of the year 1983, all ordinances,
constitutions and privileges, even those meriting special and individual
mention, as well as contrary customs, notwithstanding.
We, therefore, exhort all our beloved children to observe, with sincere
mind and ready will, the precepts laid down, buoyed up by the hope that a
zealous Church discipline will flourish anew, and that from it the
salvation of souls also will be ever more fervently promoted, with the
assistance of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.
Given at Rome, in the Vatican, on the 25th day of January 1983, in the
fifth year of our Pontificate.
JOHN PAUL II
