Tuesday of the First Week of Lent
March 11, 2014

Prayer:

Look upon your family, Lord, that, through the chastening effects of bodily discipline,
our minds may be radiant in your presence with the strength of our yearning for you.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity
of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Scripture:

O Lord, you have been our refuge, from generation to generation; from age to age, you are.
(Psalm 89)

Question of the Day:

The Place of Canon Law and the Role of a Canonist in Today’s Church?

In the minds of some people Canon Law is perceived as an outdated, academic exercise, serving no other purpose than "fixing up" whatever goes wrong in the Church and individual lives. Others see it as an obstacle whereby more barriers are erected and hurdles thrown up to keep the clergy and faithful in their place and maintain the status quo at whatever cost. Unbearable and cumbersome rules ands regulations of an age long forgotten in the memories of countless numbers - is that how Canon Law is perceived at the end of the millennium? Or, can there be another perception? Can the practice of Canon Law be considered a useful and much needed ministry undertaken for the sole purpose of serving Christ’s faithful as they constantly strive to respond to the call of holiness issued by the gospels and the Second Vatican Council? Can Canon Law be seen today as an aid in assisting "the salvation of souls?" This canonist finds the question proposed to be a legitimate, challenging and even an intriguing query needing reflection and explanation.

Law - nothing can be as weary, taxing, unimaginative and constricting as the subject of law - be it civil, criminal, property or ecclesiastical. Unfortunately, many individuals view the law with great suspicion, considering it to be a burdening, legalistic, game-playing exercise - a discipline full of loop-holes, insensitive and uncaring individuals, demanding its "pound of flesh". All in all, law is viewed with contempt to say the least. On the other hand, law can be a source of great comfort - a freeing and stabilizing element in a world fulled of uncertainty. The one who exercises the practice of law is called to be one who challenges, searches for truth, lifts burdens, listens with compassion, reassures. Law exists for the protection of rights, the prevention of arbitrariness, the healing of relationships, the restoration of justice and the good of society.

From early Jewish times, law has played an extremely important part in the worship, business and everyday life of the human community. Law found itself playing a necessary and useful purpose in the preservation of order and justice within the community of believers. From its role of service, the law sometimes became a great weight on the shoulders of God’s people - reducing worship of God to mere ritualistic observance of rules and regulations — instead of freeing —it held captive. Regardless, law has its rightful and essential place - to keep the community together — free from error and strife — holding up worthwhile and life-giving traditions.

New Testament times were born out of the Mosaic tradition. The early Church remained faithful to Jewish ordinances at least up to the Council of Jerusalem ( ca. 50AD). The ordinances were adapted allowing for the vital growth of the Church to extend to the far reaches of the Roman Empire.

Countless examples can be found in the Gospels where Jesus both challenged mere ritualistic expressions of the law. However, he upheld the importance and function of an orderly community and individual observation of the law which is meant to set free not oppress God’s people.

In order for new communities of faith to flourish in the early Church, law for the purpose of order and proper conduct had to be devised. With the Council of Jerusalem - old practices were put aside and new customs adopted especially in the area of liturgical practice and personal conduct. From Apostolic Times to the Middle Ages and well into our own times, there has been a love/hate relationship with law. Reaching its pinnacle in the 12^th and 13^th centuries, Canon Law has been both the weakening and strengthening of ecclesiastical life. At times , yes, it has been harsh, cruel, exacting, impersonal - tearing apart the very fabric of church life - reducing the call to holiness to the mere ritualistic and legalistic keeping of (at times) outdated, human regulations. However, at other times throughout its history, especially during times of great tempests and threatening moments, Canon Law has provided that sense of purpose, security and vision needed to allow the Church to be that beacon of hope, stability and consolation in a world knowing only darkness and confusion.

What is needed at the end of this millennium is a healthy respect and appreciation of canon law. The law exists, not to reduce the church to being only a keeper of rules, but a source aiding discipleship and holiness to flourish among all God’s people. Canon Law exists to be at the service of the Church during good times and bad; at moments of crisis and jubilation. Canon Law acts as a custodian of the things of God upholding tradition and allowing for new and great possibilities to thrift. A canonist could be described in the words of St. Paul as a "servant of Christ and of the mysteries of God." (1Cor 4:1).

The tasks facing Canon Law and the canonist on the eve of the millennium involve some serious issues which have always surfaced at one time or another during the Church’s history. The following is by no means complete but it helps identify what it is that a canonist does whether working in chancery, tribunal, teaching, consultation, etc. — matters of Catholic identity; the rights and duties of Christ’s faithful; misconduct and abuse ; marriage and celibacy; divorce and cases of nullity; resolution of conflicts and disputes; liturgical abuses; creation of structures to incorporate and coordinate gifts and ministries of the ordained and laity; clergy assignments, drafting of contracts for employees ; financial matters (temporal goods); administrative matters and accountability; role of women in the Church; fostering respect for the visible Body of Christ.

Father John Beal, Dean of the Faculty of Canon Law at Catholic University of America, Washington, DC addressed the Thirty-First Annual Conference of the Canon law Society of Australia and New Zealand. In his address he stressed that the role of the canonist in the Church today is "to bring from the store room things new and old, to maintain peace in the household of faith, to see that the needs of the faithful are not neglected and that other ministers carry out their responsibilities, to insure that the mysteries of God entrusted to the household of faith are not squandered but support the building up of the community in faith and charity."

Without doubt, indeed Canon Law is to be considered pastoral ministry and its practitioners are invaluable resources in today’s Church not to hound and hunt down dissenters but to assist in building up the household of faith founded on the cornerstone of Christ Jesus whose kingdom is one of "truth, justice and peace..." (Preface of Christ the King).

In the words of Father Beal, the purpose of Canon Law is "to create an ecclesial order that does not stifle charity, grace and charisms but facilitates their development and growth in the life of the individual members of the faithful and the Church as a whole." In the final analysis canonists should be "faithful and prudent stewards — who make the transition from airy abstractions to the concrete messiness of everyday life."