St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology (Feb 2024)
Roman Catholic Canon Law
Abstract
The Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church is contained in two Codes that legislate on the way the Church is organized and carries out its activities in the world. The Law is understood with reference to a renewed ecclesiology expressed in the texts of the Second Vatican Council, which deeply inspired its development. This renewal produced a conception of the egalitarian relationships between those baptized in the Catholic Church which must, however, take into account the role given to sacred ministers – who have received, in sacramental ordination, legal capacities for action and decision-making that underpin their hierarchical power. Canon Law therefore contains laws that regulate the exercise of authority at the universal and particular levels of the church, and organize the participation of the faithful, according to their status, in synodal institutions. The purpose of these laws is to exercise the functions entrusted to the church, which are those of Christ the priest, prophet, and king, especially in terms of teaching and sanctification. Canon Law is a complete order that deals with all aspects of community life, managing conflicts between people by establishing an internal judicial system that delivers sentences, some of which are penal.
