A decree (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: , from ', 'I judge') is, in a general sense, an order or law made by a superior authority for the direction of others. In the usage of the

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

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, it has various meanings. Any

papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

, brief, or ''

motu proprio In law, (Latin for 'on his own impulse') describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party. Some jurisdictions use the term for the same concept. In Catholic canon law, it refers to a document issued by the pope on h ...

'' is a decree inasmuch as these documents are legislative acts of the

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

. In this sense the term is quite ancient.

Pope Siricius Pope Siricius ( – 26 November 399) was the bishop of Rome from December 384 to his death on 26 November 399. In response to inquiries from Bishop Himerius of Tarragona, Siricius issued the ''Directa'' decretal, containing decrees of baptism, ...

speaks (Ep. i, ad Himer., c. ii) of the ''decreta generalia'' of

Pope Liberius Pope Liberius (310 – 24 September 366) was the bishop of Rome from 17 May 352 until his death on 24 September 366. According to the '' Catalogus Liberianus'', he was consecrated on 22 May as the successor to Julius I. He is not mentione ...

. The

Roman congregations In the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church, a congregation () was a type of department. They were second-highest-ranking departments, ranking below the two Secretariats, and above the pontifical councils, pontifical commissions, tribunals and off ...

were formerly empowered to issue decrees in matters which come under their particular jurisdiction, but were forbidden from continuing to do so under

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (; ; born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, ; 21 November 1854 – 22 January 1922) was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His pontificate was largely overshadowed by World War I a ...

in 1917. Each

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...

, and also each

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

may issue decrees in their periodical

synods A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

within their sphere of authority. Decrees can be distinguished between legislative and executory decrees. A general legislative decree enacts law (''lex'') and stands on its own, while executory decrees determine the implementation of a legislative act and are dependent upon such for their efficacy. Executory decrees can further be distinguished between general executory decrees and singular executory decrees. A general executory decree binds all those for whom the original law was made, while a singular executory decree makes a decision or makes provision for the appointment of a specific office. Precepts are a kind of singular executory decree, which bind specific person(s) to do or refrain from some act, especially to observe the law. Singular executory decrees are administrative acts subject to administrative recourse.

Canon 29 definition

Canon 29 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law offers a definition of general legislative decrees: The canon reproduces substantial elements (later deleted) of the original draft of what would become canon 7. This canon incorporates a definition which takes its inspiration from

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...

' definition of human law found 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. ...

''.''Exegetical commentary'', pg. 261.

Codifications

The word is also used to denote certain specified collections of church law, e.g.

Gratian Gratian (; ; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian was raised to the rank of ''Augustus'' as a child and inherited the West after his father's death in ...

's Decree (''

Decretum Gratiani The , also known as the or or simply as the , is a collection of Catholic canon law compiled and written in the 12th century as a legal textbook by the jurist known as Gratian. It forms the first part of the collection of six legal texts, whic ...

''). In respect of the general legislative acts of the pope there is never doubt as to the universal extent of the obligation; the same may be said of the decrees of a general council, e.g. those of the

First Vatican Council The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I, was the 20th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, held three centuries after the preceding Council of Trent which was adjourned in 156 ...

. The

Council of Trent The Council of Trent (), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most ...

was the first to apply the term indiscriminately to rulings concerning faith and discipline (''decreta de fide, de reformatione'').

Decrees of Roman curial congregations

The Roman congregations were formerly empowered to issue decrees in matters which came under their particular jurisdiction. The decrees of the

(q. v.) are certainly binding in each case submitted for judgment. But there are varying opinions as to whether such judgment is to be taken as a rule or general law applying to all similar cases. The common opinion is that when the decisions are enlargements of the law (''declaratio extensiva legis'') the decisions do not bind except in the particular case for which the decree is made. If, however, the decision is not an enlargement, but merely an explanation of the law (''declaratio comprehensiva legis''), such decree binds in similar cases.

Benedict XV's restriction of curial decrees

On 15 September 1917, by the ''

'' ''Cum Iuris Canonici'',

made provision for a

pontifical commission A pontifical commission () is a committee of Catholic experts convened by the Pope for a specific purpose. The following is a list of commissions, the dates they began and the pope who established. Current commissions # Pontifical Commissi ...

charged with interpreting the code and making any necessary modifications as later legislation was issued. New laws would be appended to existing canons in new paragraphs or inserted between canons, repeating the number of the previous canon and adding ''bis'', ''ter'', etc. (e.g. "canon 1567''bis''" in the style of the civil law) so as not to subvert the ordering of the code, or the existing text of a canon would be completely supplanted. The numbering of the canons was not to be altered. The Roman congregations were forbidden to issue new general decrees, unless it was necessary, and then only after consulting the pontifical commission charged with amending the code. The congregations were instead to issue instructions on the canons of the code, and to make it clear that they were elucidating particular canons of the code. This was done so as not to make the code obsolete soon after it was promulgated. The 1917 Code was very rarely amended, and then only slightly.Metz, ''What is Canon Law?'' pg. 64

Particular law

The decrees of a national council may not be promulgated until they have received the approval of the pope. The decrees of a provincial synod have no force until they have been approved by Rome. This approval is twofold: ordinary (''in formâ communi''), and specific (''in formâ specificâ''). The former means that there is nothing which needs correction in the decrees of the synod, and they thereby have force in the province. This is the approval generally given to such decrees. If approval is given in ''formâ specificâ'' the decrees have the same force as if they emanated from the Apostolic See, though they are binding only in the province for which they are made. The decrees of a diocesan bishop deal with the administration and good order of his diocese. If they are made during a synod, they are diocesan laws, are usually known as "diocesan statutes", or "synodal statutes", and bind until revoked by the bishop or his successor. If the decrees are extra-synodal, they have force only during the lifetime of the bishop or until he revokes them himself.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* *Caparros, Ernest. ''Exegetical Commentary on the Code of Canon Law, Volume I: Prepared under the Responsibility of the Martín de Azpilcueta Institute, Faculty of Canon Law, University of Navarre'' (Chicago, Illinois: Midwest Theological Forum, 2004) Edited by Ángel Marzoa, Jorge Miras and Rafael Rodríguez-Ocaña (English language edition General editor: Ernest Caparros; Review coordinator: Patrick Lagges). *Metz, René. ''What is Canon Law?'', translated from the French by Michael Derrick (New York: Hawthorn Books/Publishers, 1960). * Peters, Dr. Edward N. (translator), ''The 1917 or Pio-Benedictine Code of Canon Law: in English Translation with Extensive Scholarly Apparatus'' (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2001). {{law Catholic canonical documents Jurisprudence of Catholic canon law *