Another Note on Canon Law
Since so much in the church depends on canon law, one wonders how it is changed. Is it passed by a group of legislators? Is it ultimately judged by an institution similar to a supreme court? Nope. As things stand today, the Pope exercises supreme legislative, executive, and judicial power in the church. There is no separation of powers, no built-in checks and balances.
There is nothing equivalent to a legislature. If a truly collegial Synod of Bishops existed, this would represent the voice that a legislature represents in a democracy. The last time the bishops exercised their collective collegial power was almost 50 years ago, during Vatican II.
There is also no equivalent of a separate judiciary in the oldest continuously functioning legal system in the Western world. Judicial power is exercised by the equivalent of the executive branch, in the various congregations ( in particular the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) and tribunals of the Roman Curia. The Pope is considered the supreme ecclesiastical judge. If he wants to change the Code of Canon Law, he does so without the advice or consent of the bishops, typically by promulgating a papal letter, which effects the change.
Pope John Paul II did just this when he issued the document Ad tuendam fidem, which created a brand new category of doctrine called “definitive doctrine,”TO PROTECT THE FAITH of the Catholic Church against errors arising from certain members of the Christian faithful, especially from among those dedicated to the various disciplines of sacred theology …”
Such is life in the divine right monarchy that is the Church. More on this in a bit.
Tags: canon law
