Subject: VISnews 120123
Organization: VIS
From: Vatican Information Service - Eng - txt
VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
TWENTY SECOND YEAR - N. 16
ENGLISH
MONDAY, 23 JANUARY 2012
SUMMARY: 21 - 23 JANUARY
- Authentic Law Is Inseparable from Justice
- Presentation of the Lambs for the Feast of St. Agnes
- Christian Unity, a Gift of God and a Daily Task
- Audiences
___________________________________________________________
AUTHENTIC LAW IS INSEPARABLE FROM JUSTICE
VATICAN CITY, 21 JAN 2012 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican, Benedict XVI
received the dean, judges, promoters of justice, defenders of the bond,
officials and lawyers of the Tribunal of the Roman Rota, for the occasion of
the inauguration of the judicial year.
Benedict XVI focused his remarks on a fundamental aspect of judicial
ministry: the interpretation of canon law with a view to its correct
application. The hermeneutic of canon law "is closely associated with the
very concept of Law in the Church", the Pope explained, and he went on to
define two forms of interpretation which lead to impoverishment of the law:
"The identification of canon law with the system of canonical legislation",
which effectively means overlooking "natural law, divine positive law and
the vital relationship of all law with the communion and mission of the
Church". In the second form of interpretation, "the specific situation
becomes a decisive factor in determining the authentic meaning of a legal
precept in a particular case"; but in this way "it is human interpretation
that decides what is juridical, and a sense of objective law is lacking".
"But there is another way", said the Holy Father, "in which a correct
understanding of canon law leads to its being interpreted as part of a
search for the truth about law and justice in the Church. ... Authentic law
is inseparable from justice. Obviously, this principle also holds true for
canon law, in the sense that it cannot remain closed in a merely human
system of norms but must be associated with a just ordering of the Church in
which a higher law holds sway. In this perspective, human positive
legislation loses its primacy ... and can no longer simply be identified as
the Law. Nonetheless human legislation is an important expression of
justice, first and foremost for what it declares to be divine law, but also
for what it identifies as being the legitimate ambit of human law.
"In this way", Benedict XVI added, "it becomes possible to apply a legal
hermeneutic that is authentically juridical, in the sense that, in keeping
with the meaning of the law, we can raise the crucial question of what is
just in each particular case. ... Human rules must be interpreted in the
light of the situations with which they deal. These situations always
contain a core of natural law and of divine positive law, with which all
norms must be in harmony if they are to be rational and truly juridical.
"From this realistic standpoint, the sometimes arduous task of
interpretation acquires a meaning and a goal. ... It is revitalised by an
authentic contact with the overall situation of the Church, which
facilitates access to the true meaning of the law".
"It follows that the interpretation of canon law must take place within
the Church. ... 'Sentire cum Ecclesia' also applies to discipline, because
of the doctrinal foundations which are always present and operative in the
Church's legal norms. Thus the hermeneutic of renewal in continuity, about
which I have spoken with reference to Vatican Council II (which is so
closely associated with current canonical legislation), must also be applied
to canon law".
"This basic approach is applicable to all forms of interpretation: from
academic research on canon law ... to the daily search for just solutions in
the lives of the faithful and their communities. Meekness is necessary in
order to accept the laws, seeking to study ... the juridical tradition of
the Church in order to identify with that tradition and with the legal
dispositions issued by pastors, especially pontifical laws and Magisterium
on canonical issues, which are binding in their teachings on the law".
All this has particular importance "as regards laws on the act of Marriage
and its consummation, and Holy Orders. ... Particular care must be taken to
apply all juridically binding measures which tend to ensure coherence in the
interpretation and application of laws, as required by justice. These
measures include the Pontifical Magisterium in this field, contained above
all in addresses to the Roman Rota; the jurisprudence of the Rota itself,
... and the norms and declarations issued by other dicasteries of the Roman
Curia".
The Holy Father continued: "This hermeneutical unity in the essentials in
no way prejudices the function of local tribunals, which are called to face
the complex real situations that arise in all cultural contexts. Each of
them must proceed with a sense of reverence towards the truth of law,
applying judicial and administrative norms so as to achieve exemplary
communion in discipline, this being an essential aspect of Church unity".
Finally Pope Benedict turned his attention to the recent transfer to the
Roman Rota of an office dealing with the procedures for dispensation from
unconsummated marriage and causes for the nullity of priestly ordination. "I
am sure", he said, "that there will be a generous response to this new
ecclesial task".
AC/ VIS
20120123 (830)
PRESENTATION OF THE LAMBS FOR THE FEAST OF ST. AGNES
VATICAN CITY, 21 JAN 2012 (VIS) - This morning in the Urban VIII Chapel of
the Vatican Apostolic Palace the Pope was presented with two lambs which had
earlier been blessed for today's feast of St. Agnes. The blessing took place
in the basilica on Rome's Via Nomentana which bears the saint's name and
where she is buried. The wool of the lambs is used to make the palliums
bestowed on new metropolitan archbishops on 29 June, Solemnity of Sts. Peter
and Paul, Apostles.
The pallium is a white woollen band embroidered with six black crosses
which is worn by the Pope and by metropolitan archbishops. The lambs, the
symbol of St. Agnes who was martyred in Rome around the year 305, are raised
by the Trappist Fathers of the Abbey of the Three Fountains in Rome and the
palliums are made from the newly-shorn wool by the sisters of St. Cecilia.
.../ VIS
20120123 (170)
CHRISTIAN UNITY, A GIFT OF GOD AND A DAILY TASK
VATICAN CITY, 22 JAN 2012 (VIS) - The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity,
which runs from 18 to 25 January, was the theme for the Pope's reflections
before praying the Angelus this morning, as he invited the faithful "to join
the prayer which Jesus addressed to the Father on the eve of His Passion:
'That they may all be one, so that the world may believe'".
The theme of the texts for this year's Week of Prayer has been taken from
St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians: "We will all be changed by the
victory of our Lord Jesus Christ". The Pope explained how "we are all called
to see Christ's victory over sin and death - that is, His Resurrection - as
an event which radically transforms those who believe in Him and opens their
way to incorruptible and immortal life. Recognising and welcoming the
transforming power of faith in Jesus Christ supports Christians in their
search for full unity among themselves".
Benedict XVI affirmed that "our search for unity will be realistic if
change first comes about within us, if we let God act, if we allow ourselves
to be transformed in the image of Christ, if we enter into new life in
Christ Who is the true victory. The visible unity of all Christians always
comes from on high, from God; it requires humility to recognise our weakness
and to accept the gift. However, to use a phrase often repeated by Blessed
Pope John Paul II, each gift is also a task. And so the unity that comes
from God requires a daily commitment on our part to open ourselves to one
another in charity. ... The time we dedicate to prayer for the full
communion of Christ's disciples will give us a deeper understanding of how
we will be transformed by His victory, by the power of His Resurrection".
In concluding the Pope recalled how the Week of Prayer will conclude this
Wednesday with the celebration of Vespers in the Roman basilica of St.
Paul's Outside-the-Walls for the Feast of the Conversion of the Apostle
Paul. The event will be attended by representatives from other Churches and
Christian communities, he said, "and together we will renew our prayer to
the Lord, source of unity".
After the Angelus prayer, Benedict XVI expressed his best wishes for a
happy New Year to countries in the Far East which are celebrating the new
lunar year. "In the present global economic and social crisis, my hope for
those peoples is that the new year may be marked by justice and peace, and
bring relief to the suffering. My particular wish is that the young, with
their enthusiasm and ideals, may offer a new hope to the world".
ANG/ VIS
20120123 (470)
AUDIENCES
VATICAN CITY, 23 JAN 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in
audience:
- Six prelates of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, on
their "ad limina" visit:
- Archbishop Joseph Edward Kurtz of Louisville.
- Bishop Roger Joseph Foys of Covington.
- Bishop Richard Frank Stika of Knoxville.
- Bishop Ronald William Gainer of Lexington
- Bishop James Terry Steib S.V.D. of Memphis.
- Bishop William Francis Medley of Owensboro.
- Stanislas Lefebvre de Laboulaye, ambassador of France, on his farewell
visit.
On Saturday 21 January he received in audience:
- Bishop Antoni Stankiewicz, dean of the Tribunal of the Roman Rota.
- Cardinal Marc Ouellet P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
AL:AP/ VIS 20120123
(120)
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