The philosophy, theology, and fundamental theory of Catholic canon law are the fields of

philosophical Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

(

ecclesiological In Christian theology, ecclesiology is the study of the Church, the origins of Christianity, its relationship to Jesus, its role in salvation, its polity, its discipline, its eschatology, and its leadership. In its early history, one of the Chu ...

), and legal scholarship which concern the place of

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

in the nature of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, both as a

natural Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...

and as a

supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

entity. Philosophy and theology shape the concepts and self-understanding of

as the law of both a human organization and as a supernatural entity, since the Catholic Church believes that

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

instituted the church by direct divine command, while the fundamental theory of canon law is a meta-discipline of the "triple relationship between theology, philosophy, and canon law".Ladislas Orsy, "Towards a Theological Conception of Canon Law" (published in Jordan Hite, T.O.R., & Daniel J. Ward, O.S.B., "Readings, Cases, Materials in Canon Law: A Textbook for Ministerial Students, Revised Edition" (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1990), pg. 11

Philosophy of canon law

A triple species of human ositivelaw is distinguished: ecclesiastical or canon law, civil law, and the

law of nations International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

. Canon law () and civil law differ among themselves partly by nature of origin, partly by nature of object, and partly by nature of end: *They differ in origin: for the origin of the civil power is from God the author of nature; while the origin of the ecclesiastical power is from God the contributor of supernatural grace. *They differ in object: because canon law regulates spiritual and sacred matters, while civil law regulates matters temporal and political. *They differ in end: for canon law especially aims at the eternal happiness () of people; civil law, however, aims at their temporal happiness ().

Aristotelian-Thomistic jurisprudence

Although canonical jurisprudential theory generally follows the principles of Aristotelian-

Thomistic Thomism is the philosophical and theological school that arose as a legacy of the work and thought of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), the Dominican philosopher, theologian, and Doctor of the Church. In philosophy, Aquinas' disputed questions ...

legal philosophy Philosophy of law is a branch of philosophy that examines the nature of law and law's relationship to other systems of norms, especially ethics and political philosophy. It asks questions like "What is law?", "What are the criteria for legal vali ...

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wi ...

never explicitly discusses the place of canon law in his ''

Treatise on Law ''Treatise on Law'' is Thomas Aquinas' major work of legal philosophy. It forms questions 90–108 of the ''Prima Secundæ'' ("First artof the Second art) of the ''Summa Theologiæ'', Aquinas' masterwork of Scholastic philosophical theology. ...

'' (a small section of his '' Summa Theologiæ''). However, Aquinas himself was influenced by canon law; the fourth clause of his famous 4-part definition of law—the requirement of

promulgation Promulgation is the formal proclamation or the declaration that a new statutory or administrative law is enacted after its final approval. In some jurisdictions, this additional step is necessary before the law can take effect. After a new law ...

—is taken from the canonists, and the ''sed contra'' of his article on promulgation cites

Gratian Gratian (; la, Gratianus; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers and wa ...

(the "Father of Canon Law") as an authority. According to René A. Wormser, While the term "law" () is never explicitly defined in the 1983 Code, the

Catechism of the Catholic Church The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' ( la, Catechismus Catholicae Ecclesiae; commonly called the ''Catechism'' or the ''CCC'') is a catechism promulgated for the Catholic Church by Pope John Paul II in 1992. It aims to summarize, in book for ...

cites

Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wit ...

in defining law as "...an ordinance of reason for the common good,

promulgated Promulgation is the formal proclamation or the declaration that a new statutory or administrative law is enacted after its final approval. In some jurisdictions, this additional step is necessary before the law can take effect. After a new law ...

by the one who is in charge of the community" and reformulates it as "...a rule of conduct enacted by competent authority for the sake of the common good." Some authors, however, dispute the applicability of the Thomistic definition of law () to canon law, arguing that its application would impoverish

ecclesiology In Christian theology, ecclesiology is the study of the Church, the origins of Christianity, its relationship to Jesus, its role in salvation, its polity, its discipline, its eschatology, and its leadership. In its early history, one of the ...

and corrupt the very supernatural end of canon law.

''Jus Publicum Ecclesiasticum''

With the birth of the omni-competent sovereign nation-state in the seventeenth century, which claimed exclusive jurisdiction over all its citizens, the dual or

concurrent jurisdiction Concurrent jurisdiction exists where two or more courts from different systems simultaneously have jurisdiction over a specific case. This situation leads to forum shopping, as parties will try to have their civil or criminal case heard in the c ...

of the Catholic Church and the sovereign state was intellectually and legally challenged. In the new legal and politico-religious climate in the period following the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, the newly formed

sovereign state A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a polity, political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defin ...

s of Europe claimed more jurisdiction over areas of law and legal practice which had traditionally been under the jurisdiction of the church. In this post-Reformation period of political change, canonical jurists sought to defend within the categories of the

public law Public law is the part of law that governs relations between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that are of direct ...

the right of the

to make and enforce

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

. Hence the name, ''jus publicum ecclesiasticum''—"public ecclesiastical law". The justification of the legal powers of the Catholic Church would now be defended along the lines of the

's justification for its own legal powers, and the Catholic Church would be considered a concurrent and complementary '' Communitas Perfecta'' in the realm of the supernatural end of man to that of the civil

in the realm of the natural end of man.

''Communitas Perfecta''

Many canonists, in the years preceding the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

, considered the justification and basis for canon law being a true legal system to be that the

was established by

as a '' Communitas Perfecta'', and as such was a true human society which had the right to make human law. Fernando della Rocca asserted that it is a "fundamental principle of canon law which insists on the right of the Church as a perfect society,In the context of ecclesiological discourse, "perfect society ()" and "perfect community ('' communitas perfecta'')" have the same meaning and are used interchangeably. to determine, particularly in the field of legislation, the limits of its own power." Even

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His ...

, in his apostolic constitution promulgating the 1917 ''Code of Canon Law'', attributed the legislative authority of the church to it being founded by Jesus Christ with all the requirements for a '' Communitas Perfecta''.

Theology of canon law

In the decades following the

, many canonists called for a more theological, rather than philosophical, conception of canon law,Errázuriz, ''Fundamental Theory'', pg. 71 acknowledging the "triple relationship between theology, philosophy, and canon law".

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

, in his address of 21 January 2012 before the

Roman Rota The Roman Rota, formally the Apostolic Tribunal of the Roman Rota ( la, Tribunal Apostolicum Rotae Romanae), and anciently the Apostolic Court of Audience, is the highest appellate tribunal of the Catholic Church, with respect to both Latin-r ...

, taught that canonical laws can only be interpreted and fully understood within the

in the light of her mission and

structure.Benedict XVI, ''2012 Roman Rota Address'': Some authors conceive of canon law as ''essentially'' theological and the discipline of canon law as a theological subdiscipline, but Msgr. Carlos José Errázuriz contends that "in a certain sense, all postconciliar canonical scholarship has shown a theological concern in the widest sense, that is, a tendency to determine more clearly the place of the juridical in the mystery of the Church."

Ecclesiological inspiration of the 1983 ''Code''

In view of the decision to reform the existing 1983 ''Code'', the

, in the

decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...

'' Optatam totius'' (§16), ordered that "the teaching of canon law ..should take into account the mystery of the Church, according to the dogmatic constitution '' De Ecclesia''". The 1917 ''Code'' was structured according to the

Roman law Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the ''Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor J ...

division of "norms, persons, things, procedures, penalties", while the 1983 Code, in total contrast, was deliberately given a much more doctrinal-theological structure.

John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

described the ecclesiological inspiration of the new code of canon law in this way:Sacrae Disciplinae Leges
accessed Jan-11-2013 Thus the 1983 ''Code'' is configured, as far as possible, according to the "mystery of the Church", the most significant divisions—Books II, III, and IV—corresponding to the ''munus regendi'', the ''munus sanctificandi'', and the ''munus docendi'' (the "missions" of governance, of worship/sanctification, and of teaching) which in turn derive from the kingly, the priestly and the prophetic roles or functions of Christ.

Fundamental theory of canon law

The fundamental theory of canon law is a discipline covering the basis of canon law in the very nature of the church. Fundamental theory is a newer discipline that takes as is object "the existence and nature of what is

juridical {{Short pages monitor