Tuesday 29 April 2014

The Role of the Laity : Canon Law

Lay Dominican Postulancy/ O.P. Notes
(Lesson given by Rev. Noel Castor, O.P.)

"It appears sufficiently clear that the Code is in no way intended as a substitute for faith, grace and the charisms in the life of the Church and of the faithful." ~Saint John Paul II, 28January 1983.




The Code> is a principal legislative document of the Church, founded on the juridical-legislative heritage of the Revelation and Tradition.

Status of the Laity

Canon 204, paragraph 1
The laity participates in the priestly, prophetic, and kingly office of Christ

> All are called according to his/her condition.

In Lumen Gentium, the laity is described as "all baptized constitute the Christian faithful; our destiny is the kingdom of God. All baptized are called without distinction; all are called to sanctify and to do apostolate. All the faithful from the pope to the baptized child share the "common priesthood".


Principle of Diversity
Functional distinction in the 1983 Code of Canon Law

A. Clerical State
> to serve the people of God in Persona Christi; the one who administers the Sacraments, etc.

B. Laity
> to imbue the temporal reality with Gospel truths and values; to exercise the mission which God entrusted to the Church, ad serves the people of God by living the Gospel values in the world.


Rights of the Laity

A person is one who is free; a master of his own acts; autonomous and regulates his own acts according to his conscience.

> Rights give rise to obligations
> In the Church, rights and obligations of a Christian comes with baptism.
>Participation in Church life in the prophetic, priestly, and kingly functions of Christ.

Canon 207
> The laity, clergy, and religious constitute the Faithful.

Canon 209
> The Christian faithful, even in their own manner of acting, are always obliged to maintain communion with the Church.
> With great diligence they are to fulfill the duties which they owe to the Universal Church and the particular church to which they belong according to the prescripts of the law. 

Canon 210
> All the Christian faithful must direct their efforts to lead a holy life and to promote the growth of the Church and its continual sanctification, according to their own condition.

Canon 211
> All the Christian faithful have the duty and the right to work so that the divine message of salvation more and more reaches all people in every age and in every land.

Canon 213
> The Christian faithful have the right to receive assistance from the sacred pastors out of the spiritual goods of the Church, especially the Word of God and the Sacraments.

Canon 216
> Since they participate in the mission of the Church, all the Christian faithful have the right to promote or sustain apostolic action even by their own undertakings, according to their own state and condition. Nevertheless, no undertaking is to claim the name Catholic without the consent of competent ecclesiastical authority.

Canon 217
> Since they are called by baptism to lead a life in keeping with the teaching of the Gospel, the Christian faithful have the right to a Christian education by which they are to be instructed properly to strive for the maturity of the human person and at the same time to know and live the mystery of salvation. 

Canon 219
> All the Christian faithful have the right to be free from any kind of coercion in choosing a state of life.

Canon 224
Rights and Obligations of the Lay Faithful

Rights
> Communion in the Church
> Personal sanctification
> Christian education
> Apostolate
> Association
> Good name and privacy.
> The Christian faithful has the right to be assisted pastorally by the clergy. There is a necessity of an ongoing formation of the lay faithful. (Canon 231)
> The lay faithful has the obligation and the right to receive doctrinal instruction, and acquire the full knowledge of religious sciences. The lay also has the right to teach the Sacred Sciences.
>The lay who dedicate their lives in the service of the Church are entitled to the rights of workers, like health benefits, etc.
> The lay is best to be part of Media where he can effectively proclaim the truths of the Gospel and upholding Christian values.


Obligation
> Proclamation of the message of salvation.
> The laity is not a passive member of the Church.

Sanctification of the Temporal Order/Affairs
> Primary mission of the lay faithful.
> In the world, we are called to live the Gospels. 

(Click to read more on the Obligations and Rights of the Christian Faithful)



The Code of Canon Law is divided into 7 parts (or 7 Books)

Book I. General Norms | Liber I. De Normis Generalibus
-> Ecclesiatical Laws, Common Norms, Privileges, Dispensations, etc.

Book II. The People of God | Liber II. De Populo Dei
-> The Christian Faithful, Sacred Ministers or Clerics, the Hierarchical Constitution of the Church, etc.

Book III. The Teaching Function of the Church | Liber III. De Ecclesiae Munere Docendi
-> The Ministry of the Divine Word, The Missionary Action of the Church, Instruments of Social Communication, Profession of Faith, etc.

Book IV. Function of the Church
-> The Sacraments, The Other Acts of Divine Worship, Sacred Places, etc. 

Book V. The Temporal Goods of the Church | Liber V. De Bonis Ecclesiae Temporalibus

Book VI. Sanctions in the Church | Liber VI. De Sanctionibus in Ecclesia 
-> Penalties, Censures, etc.

Book VII. Processes
-> Trials in General, Marriage Tribunals, Penal Process, etc.


No comments:

Post a Comment