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Canon lawyers are not responsible for the content of canon law. The Supreme Legislator is. Only Pope Francis can change the Code of Canon Law, so if you're not happy with what the law says, please take it up with him.
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Category Archives: Clergy Issues
Founding New Religious Institutes: Pope Francis Changes the Law (Episcopal Authority, Part II)
Q: A group of us Catholics in our diocese have a lawfully erected lay institute that’s now almost 15 years old … [and] from the beginning it was our understanding that if it prospers, it might later be formed into … Continue reading
Posted in Clergy Issues, Other Canonical Questions, The Pope
Tagged canon law, Catholic, diocesan right, pontifical right, Pope Francis, religious institute
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Can a Catholic Sue the Church in Civil Court?
Q: Does a person have the right, both moral and legal, under canon law, to sue a Church Institution and/or the individuals in authority over the institutions in civil court, whether they be bishops or lay persons? In particular, I’m … Continue reading
Posted in Clergy Issues, Crimes and Sanctions, Rights of the Faithful
Tagged bishop, canon law, Catholic, civil court, seminarian, sue
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Can Church Officials Require Us to Get Vaccinated?
Q1: My daughter attends [a Catholic university whose president is a Catholic priest] and he announced that all students are required to get vaccinated against covid. We are stunned. Does a Catholic school, which I assume is governed by canon … Continue reading
Posted in Clergy Issues, Rights of the Faithful
Tagged bishop, canon law, Catholic, monastery, nun, priest, seminarian, university, vaccinated, vaccine
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Spiritual Directors and a Seminarian’s Privacy
Q1: According to this article, a seminarian in New York was kicked out of the seminary because he complained about his spiritual director. What concerns me is that the article says that according to canon law, seminarians can freely choose … Continue reading
Posted in Clergy Issues, Rights of the Faithful
Tagged canon law, Catholic, confessor, seminarian, seminary, spiritual director
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Can a Latin Catholic Man Enter an Eastern Catholic Seminary?
Q: My 17-year-old son wishes to pursue his vocation to the priesthood in the Byzantine Rite (having been mostly raised in this rite) even though both of us parents are Roman Rite. Our Byzantine pastor informs us that we parents … Continue reading
Posted in Clergy Issues, Holy Orders, Sacraments
Tagged canon law, Catholic, Church sui iuris, eastern Catholic, seminarian, seminary
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