Membership in the Catholic Church: an Analysis from the Perspective of Church Law
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Membership in the Catholic Church: An Analysis from the Perspective of Church Law MY THESIS Table of Contents Introduction……………………………………………………………………….............1 Chapter I: The Nature of Membership in the Catholic Church According to the 1917 Code of Canon Law………….………………………….………………….....3 1. Analysis of Canon 87…………………………………………………………..4 Personhood: Rights and Obligations…..……………....………………….4 Church of Christ….….………..…….………………………………..…...6 Bellarmine……………………………………………………….………..7 2. Analysis of Canon 12…………………………………………………………..8 Those Subject to Ecclesiastical Law……………………………………...9 Exception: Baptized Non-Catholics……………………..…………..…..10 3. Mystici Corporis : Membership in the Church………………………………...14 Church of Christ and the Catholic Church………..……………………...14 Incorporation…………………………………………….……………....15 Chapter II: Vatican II: Incorporation and Communion According to Canons 96 and 205……………………………………...........18 1. Analysis of Incorporation and Lumen Gentium 14…………………………....18 2. Analysis of Canon 96……………………………………………………....….22 Canon 204: The Term "Subsists" in the Church of Christ…………….…...26 3. Analysis of Canon 205……………………………………………..………….27 Chapter III: Joining the Catholic Church from a Juridical Perspective……………...…..33 1. Introduction…………………………………………………………….……..33 2. Ecumenism in Context: Graces Shared through Common Ecclesial Elements………………………………………………………….…………..33 3. Communicatio in sacris: Analysis of canon 844 §1,§3-4………………….....36 4. Intention of the Candidate to Enter into Communion with the Catholic ii Church…………………………………………………….……………….....42 5. The Role of the Pastor in the Process: Canon 843§2…………..…………......47 Conclusion……………………………………………………………….........................51 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………..53 iii iv Introduction Baptism is the sacrament of salvation which brings one into communion with Christ's faithful. One who receives baptism not only enters into communion with Christ's faithful but also enters into communion with the Catholic Church, the truest instrument of salvation. Those baptized outside the Catholic Church, however, only enjoy imperfect communion with the Catholic Church; whereas those who were baptized into the Catholic Church enjoy full communion. In this thesis, we will analyze the significance of entering into full communion with the Catholic Church. In chapter one, we will first study membership in the Catholic Church under the 1917 Code in canons 87 and 12. The concept of membership will be further developed from the encyclical, Mystici Corporis Christi of Pius XII. When discussing membership under the 1917 code, it will be necessary to analyze the rights and obligations that flow from membership and the subjects of these rights and obligations. Chapter two, develops the concept of full communion. It will be important to determine what constitutes incorporation in canon 96 of the 1983 code. This dovetails with canon 204 of the 1983 code, which further develops the concept of incorporation by describing the baptized person as being part of Christ's body, the Church. Canons 96 and 204 will provide a foundation for discussing the nature of full communion with the Catholic Church in canon 205. 1 In chapter three, we will close with how one may acquire full communion with the Catholic Church. We will start by looking at the actual bonds of communion that other ecclesial communities and churches share with the Catholic Church. Communicatio in sacris in canon 844, is necessary for illustrating the bonds of communion that ecclesial communities and churches have with the Catholic Church. The process of entering into full communion with the Catholic Church will begin with canon 788 for those who are not baptized and canon 889 for those who are baptized. We will conclude with the pastor's essential role in the process of bringing the inquirer into full communion with the Catholic Church according to canon 843§2. Chapter I: Membership in the Catholic Church According to the 1917 Code of Canon Law and Mystici Corporis In this chapter, we will analyze the nature of membership in the Catholic Church based upon the 1917 Code of Canon Law and Mystici Corporis . To proceed systematically and logically, we will focus on two canons, 87 and 12. Further development of the concept of membership will be drawn from Pius XII's encyclical Mystici Corporis Christi .1 It is important to note that the term membership has a meaning that changes within certain contexts. A good example can be seen in Charles Augustine's Commentary on the New Code of Canon Law : "…because by Baptism a man becomes a member of the Church, although there may be, here and now, an obstacle preventing him from being an actual member." 2 Through baptism, one becomes a member in the Catholic Church. However, membership can be interpreted as actual membership in terms of the rights and obligations that one may enjoy. Therefore, validly baptized non- Catholics are members of the Catholic Church but not members in the sense that they enjoy rights and obligations in the same way as baptized Catholics do. 1 Given the juridical nature of this thesis, the theological issues cannot be dealt with in depth in this thesis. Please refer to Mystici Corporis of Pius XII for a thorough treatment of these matters: Pius XII, encyclical letter, Mystici Corporis Christ i, 29 June 1943. Acta Apostolicae Sedis ( hereafter AAS) 35 (1943). English translation from: Johannes Feiner, “Chapter 1. Catholic Principles of Ecumenism” in Commentary on the Documents of Vatican II , ed. Herbert Vorgrimler, 5 v. (New York, Herder and Herder, 1967) 2. 2 Charles Augustine, Commentary on the New Code of Canon Law , (London: B. Herder, 1918) 1: 88. 3 4 1. Analysis of Canon 87 To understand the essence of membership in the Catholic Church under the 1917 code it is necessary to begin our analysis with canon 87: By baptism a man is constituted a person in the Church of Christ with all of the rights and duties of Christians unless, in what applies to rights some bar obstructs, impeding the bond of ecclesiastical communion, or there is a censure laid down by the Church. 3 Personhood: Rights and Obligations Canon 87 defined who a person was in the Catholic Church. When an individual received baptism, he is constituted a person in Christ's Church and acquired rights and obligations. Christ's Church has a destiny that is supernatural in nature. Only individuals who receive baptism are able to participate in the sacramental assistance offered by the Church to achieve their divine end. Baptism results in the rights that Christians enjoy universally. Given that baptism confers rights, it is important to analyze the level at which an individual holds rights. Every person who receives baptism has the same capacity to have rights. From this, it is apparent that every baptized individual may have the same number of rights. However, there are several conditions that determine who has more or fewer rights based on their connection with the Catholic Church. The state in life of a baptized person considers the number of individual rights he can exercise. For example, 3 Codex Iuris Canonici Pii X Pontificis Maximi iussu digestus Benedicti Papae XV auctoritate promulgatus (Westminster, Maryland: The Newman Press, 1957). Hereafter CIC 1917. English translation for the 1917 Code from Edward N. Peters, The 1917 Pio-Benedictine Code of Canon Law (San Francisco: Ignatius, 2001):"Baptismate homo constituitur in Ecclesia Christi persona cum omnibus christianorum iuribus et officiis, nisi, ad iura quod attinet, obstet obex, ecclesiasticae communionis vinculum impediens, vel lata ab Ecclesia censura." 5 a cleric will have more rights than a layperson. Essentially, there are various situations according the nature of positive law that dictate how many individual rights a person may exercise in the Church. 4 However, even though a person has possession of certain individual rights, this does not mean that he has the right to exercise them at every time and in every situation. This is indicated by the nisi clause in canon 87 which made evident that the exercise of rights can be limited. Rights can be limited by an obex, that is, an impediment that prevents one from having communion with the Church thus limiting the rights one enjoys. One can lose the exercise of his rights in two ways: through a censure that the Catholic Church imposes or if one decides to depart the Catholic faith by heresy, schism, or apostasy. Hence, there are factors that can prevent the capacity for rights and possessing juridic personality from having their full effect. Certain controls and restrictions can be placed on using rights that are derived from natural law for the welfare of the human race and the overall common good. This principle is also relevant for the Catholic Church. There may be circumstances in which rights given by the Church have to be regulated in a critical way through the imposition of canonical sanctions. 5 Even though an individual receives baptism outside the Catholic Church, he still has a juridic bond that submits him to the authority of the Church whether or not he wants to enter into communion with the Catholic Church. This is the case because there is only 4 Albert A. Reed, The Juridical Aspect of Incorporation into the Church of Christ – Canon 87 (Cathagena, Ohio: The Messenger Press, 1960) 61-62. 5 Ibid., 62. 6 one true Church and one baptism instituted by Christ. Christ, the founder of the Church, established that baptism is essential for entering the Church; therefore, anyone who seeks valid