Cardinal Coccopalmerio began his address with the
recollection that Blessed John XXIII, in his speech convening Vatican Council
II in 1959, explained that the Council’s legal scope was to bring about the awaited
revision of the 1917 Code. “In his broad perspective, the Pope saw clearly that
the revision of the Code had to be guided by the new ecclesiology that emerged
from an ecumenical and a global summit such as the Council.” Blessed John Paul
II, under whose pontificate the Code was promulgated, also repeated that “the
council’s ecclesiological structure clearly required a renewed formulation of
its laws”.
“As John Paul II emphasized at the beginning of the Apostolic
Constitution ‘Sacrae disciplinae leges’, the reason for the close relationship
between Vatican Council II and the Code of Canon Law was that the 1983 Code was
the culmination of Vatican II … in two ways: on the one hand, it embraces the
Council, solemnly reproposing fundamental institutions and major innovations
and, on the other, establishing positive norms for implementing the Council.”
The president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative
Texts then cited various examples of the strong bond between Vatican Council II
and the Code of Canon Law.
The first is the “doctrine regarding the episcopate and the
relationship between the episcopate and the primate, that is, episcopal
collegiality. This is not entirely new doctrine in the deep consciousness of
the Church but rather a happy discovery. The Code firstly, in canons 330–341, represents
this clearly, and secondly, in canons 342–348, accompanies it with the positive view that
constitutes the structure of the Synod of Bishops, allowing effective implementation
of the structure of episcopal collegiality.”
A second example is the “Council’s teaching on the laity and
therefore on the appropriate and active mission of the lay faithful in the life
of the Church. Once again, this is not absolutely new but more a rediscovery …
through a series of regulations … regarding the diocesan pastoral council or …
the parochial pastoral council. They are structures that allow the faithful laity
to effectively participate in the pastoral decisions of the bishop or the
pastor. This innovation is also the eloquent voice of the faithful relationship
between Council and Code.”
“A third example may come from the conception of the parish
as presented by the Council and implemented by the Code. Ultimately, the Council
conceives of the parish as a community of believers, not as a structure or a
territory. This represents an important innovation with respect to the previous
point of view. The Code receives this concept, particularly in canon 515, and
sanctions it with the positive regulations of the following canons.”
A final example of doctrine and innovation provided by the
Council in the area of ecumenism “resides in the conciliar documents ‘Lumen
gentium’, ‘Orientalium Ecclesiarum’, and ‘Unitatis redintegratio’, which show
the doctrine of ecclesial communion as still imperfect yet real and existent
between the Catholic Church and other Churches or non-Catholic communities.
This is also a fact of incalculable value and scope already found in the
Council and then later in the Code (cf. canon 844), with the possibility of
welcoming non-Catholic Christians, even if under specific conditions, into the
sacraments of the Catholic Church.
“In conclusion,” finished the cardinal, “we can affirm that
the happy union between Vatican Council II and the Code of Canon Law has
produced fruits of renewal in the life of the Church in many areas and on many
levels.”
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