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Canon Law Resources

"Fight all error, but do it with good humor, patience, kindness, and love. Harshness will damage your own soul and ruin the best cause."  - St. John Kanty


Canon Law Resourses contains articles from news sources and documents taken from various libraries.

FAQ page contains comments and answers concerning specific canon law questions.

Articles

  • DUE PROCESS FOR PRIESTS IS A SHAM, CRITICS SAY
    By JOE FEUERHERD, National Catholic Reporter April 27, 2007
    Though the process is slow, said Ritty, a canon lawyer, "Rome will generally do what the bishop has asked for. If the bishop has asked for a trial, they will authorize a trial, if the bishop has asked for an administrative penal process they will follow that, and if the bishop has asked for an outright ex officio laicization -- dismissal from the clerical state -- they may go ahead and do that."
  • THE RIGHTS OF ACCUSED CLERICS:
    March 24, 2006

  • Levada to Have Authority on Sex-Abuse Cases
    May 16, 2005

  • Mixed Commission Meets in Rome
    The National Catholic Reporter, John L. Allen Jr., Vatican Correspondent January 28, 2005

  • Comments on “The Charter and Norms Two Years Later:
    January 17, 2005
    Opus Bono Sacerdotiis Statement on the Comments on “The Charter and Norms Two Years Later: Toward a Resolution of Recent Canonical Dilemmas” by Msgr. Ronny Jenkins
  • Loss of the Clerical State
    By Reverend Gregory Ingels, J.C.D. November 30, 2004
    Canon law views the status of priests from three perspectives. The first perspective is from the point of view of the sacred order that he has received; the second addresses the faculties which he enjoys; and the third views his relationship to his diocese or religious institute as a cleric. With regard to the first perspective, once validly ordained, a priests ordination never becomes invalid, even if he loses the clerical state.
  • Bishop's Referral Concerning a Delictum Gravius 
    Fr. Ronny Jenkins, Catholic University of America November 30, 2004
    Dismissal from the Clerical state. The CDF might respond to a bishops referral concerning a delictum gravius by authorizing the use of an administrative process to resolve the matter (by virtue of the derogation of SST granted by the Roman Pontiff on February 7, 2003). This process is extra-judicial in nature, and analogous to the process outlined in c. 1720.
  • THE CLERGY SEXUAL ABUSE CRISIS AND THE SPIRIT OF CANON LAW
    Fr. John Coughlin, OFM November 30, 2004
    When canon law functions properly, it maintains the balance between law and spirit in the life of the church. The present crisis in the life of the church may be attributed at least in some part to a failure on the part of the United States bishops to observe the rule of canon law. My point is that the bishops response to the problem of clergy sexual abuse of minors has combined antinomian and legalistic trends that have defeated the balance of law and spirit in the life of the church.
  • Rights of Accused Priests: Toward a revision of the Dallas charter and the 'Essential Norms'
    America Magazine, by Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J. (Theological Advisor to OBS) June 28, 2004

  • Even faced with clergy sexual abuse, the church must still focus on saving souls
    Legal Times June 05, 2004
    For weeks now, the media have been reporting variations of the same theme: sex, lies and Roman collars.
  • Leave of Absence
    Most Reverend John Jukes OFM Conv., June 05, 2004

  • Opus Bono Sacerdotii Canonical Comments on Fingerprinting
    Opus Bono Sacerdotii June 05, 2004
    The policy of fingerprinting clergy is becoming more common in the US.
  • Innocent "Until Proven Otherwise" Counts in Canonical Cases Too
    Zenit March 30, 2004
    Monsignor Boccafola added that "perhaps it would have been better to request the re-establishment of the suspensio ex informata conscientia that is applied to individuals correctly judged guilty," instead of putting in the bishops hands "powers of decision to which he can take recourse according to his own discretion."
  • Canonist criticizes U.S. bishops sex abuse norms
    John L. Allen, Jr., National Catholic Reporter March 26, 2004
    Fr. Joaquín Llobell, a Spanish Opus Dei priest and professor of canonical procedure, delivered a paper on Thursday, March 25. Llobell sits on the apostolic signatura, a tribunal of the holy see, and is a judge on the appeals court of the Vatican City State. His paper was titled “Reconciling the interests of the injured parties with the rights of the defendant: the right to due process.” It offered a ringing defense of due process – and a criticism of both the American norms and the Vatican.
  • Vatican Report Calls U.S. Abuse Policy Too Strict
    FRANK BRUNI, New York Times February 23, 2004

  • What of the innocent priests
    National Catholic Reporter February 20, 2004
    Speaking from his fourth floor office four blocks from the Capitol Building on a wintry Washington afternoon, the Hungarian-born Orsy pulls few punches. The norms instigated a very deep resentment within the clergy in the whole country, said the 82-year-old canon and civil lawyer, an emotional break in the relationship between the bishops and their priests.
  • Canon Lawyers Say Due Process Limited for Accused Priests
    America Magazine February 09, 2004
    As U.S. dioceses work through the cases of clerics accused of sex abuse of minors, several canon lawyers who are defending accused priests have complained that the procedures limit due process for their clients. Under church law you are innocent until proven guilty, said Frank Morrisey, an Oblate priest and canon lawyer who is defending several U.S. priests. Yet once a cleric has been accused, he is suspended from public ministry before he can mount a defense, he said. Critics say that this amounts to punishment without proof of guilt.
  • Bishops' sex abuse norms provide procedures for judging cases
    Agostino Bono, Catholic New Service January 30, 2004
    Canon lawyers defending accused priests complain of deficiencies in due process, such as suspending a priest from public ministry once a credible accusation has been received before the accused has the opportunity to mount a defense.
  • BISHOPS’ NORMS: COMMENTARY AND EVALUATION
    Ladislas Orsy, S.J. December 30, 2003
    This Article examines the Norms on the basis of canonical traditions and the concepts, propositions, and positions contained with them. It strives to find the meaning of the individual norms within the broader context of the life and beliefs of the Church and its need to have structures that prevent corruption and promote healthy growth. The author argues that the Norms are not enough to bring local churches back to good health.
  • INAUGURATION OF ST. PIUS X INSTITUTE OF CANON LAW
    Vatican Information Service December 22, 2003
    Made public today was Pope John Pauls Message to the patriarch of Venice, Cardinal Angelo Scola, on the occasion of the inauguration of the St. Pius X Institute of Canon Law.
  • To Volunteer at Church, First Be Fingerprinted
    New York Times December 02, 2003
    Theresa Mulvoy keeps track of sheet music, takes attendance and gives a vocal boost as a volunteer for the childrens choir at St. Vincent Martyr Church here.
  • TWENTY YEARS LATER: "SACRAE DISCIPLINAE LEGES" AND THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR THE REVISION OF THE CODE
    Francis G. MORRISEY, O.M.I., Faculty of Canon Law, Saint Paul University October 20, 2003
    This is not the time to be sending people "to Hell" or to be condemning them unduly. Rather, it is the time to show that the Church really cares; that it is concerned for the well-being of all, even if it doesnt agree with their situation at a given moment. St. Francis de Sales statement that we catch more flies with sugar than with vinegar is as applicable today as it was when he first made it.I hope and pray that we will all be vigilant to make sure that the canon law of the Church will not become discredited in the years ahead because of our failure to apply the guiding principles put forth so clearly for us.
  • Archbishop Herranz on Why the Church Needs Canon Law
    Zenit Interview October 20, 2003
    I recently reminded the Holy Father: "Neither in theory nor in practice can we do without the exercise of the munus regendi, as a means to declare, determine, guarantee and promote intra-ecclesial justice. They are three absolutely necessary functions. If one is not applied, the tripod collapses. Pastoral action would be incomplete, immature; more than that, it would seem to give up, to be comfortable and even harmful, if there was no government."
  • Hiding in the Thickets of the Law
    KENDRICK BLACKWOOD October 16, 2003
    The Kansas City Catholic Diocese finds itself fighting a slew of new lawsuits over abuse of parishioners all filed by one determined lawyer.

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Documents

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