杏MAP导航

By Amedeo Lomonaco

The Dicastery for Legislative Texts promotes and encourages in the Church the understanding and acceptance of the canon law of the Latin Church and that of the Eastern Churches and offers assistance for its correct application. The Prefect is Archbishop Filippo Iannone, O.Carm., and the Secretary is Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta Ochoa de Chinchetru.

Responsibilities

The Dicastery for Legislative Texts carries out its duties in the service of the 杏MAP导航, the supreme legislator. According to the , "it is the function of the Dicastery to formulate the authentic interpretation of the Church鈥檚 laws, approved in forma specifica by the Roman Pontiff as Supreme Legislator and Interpreter, after having consulted, in questions of greater importance, the competent curial institutions and offices of the Roman Curia with regard to the particular matters being considered." 

The Dicastery studies the current legislation of both the Latin Church and the Eastern Churches and, based on requests and developments in ecclesial practice, examines any possible lacunae legis (gaps in the law) and submits appropriate proposals to the 杏MAP导航 to address them. This body maintains contact with various entities in the Church, particularly with other Dicasteries of the Roman Curia and with Episcopal Conferences, to identify needs for potential changes in the norms or to receive suggestions. Special attention is also given to proper canonical practice, ensuring that the law in the Church is rightly understood and correctly applied.

Historical background

The Dicastery for Legislative Texts originated in the context of the 1917 codification of canon law. That year, with the Motu Proprio Cum iuris canonici, 杏MAP导航 Benedict XV established the Pontifical Commission for the Authentic Interpretation of the Code of Canon Law. The document states: 鈥淔ollowing the example of our predecessors, who entrusted the interpretation of the decrees of the Council of Trent to a special assembly of Cardinal fathers, we establish a Council or Commission that shall have the exclusive right to pronounce the authentic interpretation of the canons of the Code.鈥� In 1963, 杏MAP导航 John XXIII established the Pontifical Commission for the Revision of the Code of Canon Law to prepare, in light of the decrees of the Second Vatican Council, a reform of the Code promulgated by Benedict XV.

In 1967, 杏MAP导航 Paul VI established the Pontifical Commission for the Interpretation of the Decrees of the Second Vatican Council. On 2 January 1984, 杏MAP导航 John Paul II issued the Motu Proprio Recognito Iuris Canonici Codice, establishing the Pontifical Commission for the Authentic Interpretation of the Code of Canon Law. With the of 28 June 1988, the Commission was transformed into the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, with broader and more structured responsibilities. Finally, the Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium, promulgated on 5 June 2022, which abrogated and replaced Pastor Bonus, transformed the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts into the Dicastery for Legislative Texts.

Dicastery for Legislative Texts, a book on Church law

Law, mercy, and charity

Those who work at this Dicastery are required to have specific legal expertise. An academic degree in canon law is necessary, along with a working knowledge of modern languages in addition to Latin in order to respond to consultation requests from different countries. Typically, officials appointed to the Dicastery already have experience in the ecclesial legal field, having served in ministries within their dioceses or religious institutes that require knowledge of canon law.

In addition to legal qualifications, a particular perspective is essential. Promoting knowledge of canon law means, first and foremost, understanding that canon law is distinct from other legal systems: it is founded on natural law and divine law, which ultimately define the standards of justice that ecclesiastical authority must follow. For this reason, canon law provides those who exercise authority with the necessary tools to balance the rigor and demands of the law with justice in individual cases. Above all, canon law is animated by a constant exhortation: never to forget the demands of charity and mercy in the application of the law. As Saint Thomas Aquinas emphasized, 鈥淢ercy without justice is the mother of dissolution; justice without mercy is cruelty.鈥�