The nature of Ecclesiastical Law

1.0 INTRODUCTION The term “ecclesiastical law” can be used interchangeably with canon law or Church law. It is simply the body of codified laws governing the affairs of the Church. The nature of “law” in itself is presupposed in canon law. Otherwise stated, canon law can be understood in respect to law itself especially on the side of being a guiding principle.
This work is simply a critical approach to Thomistic definition of ecclesiastical law from the perspectives of seeing law as “ordinance of reason” which is aimed at “common good”. 2.0 THOMISTIC DEFINITION OF LAW Thomas Aquinas in his treatise on law defined law as something pertaining to reason. For Aquinas, reason is the first principle of human acts. He went further in saying that law is ordained to the common good, which is made either by the whole people or to a public personage who has the care of the whole people, since in all other matters the directing of anything to the end concerns him to whom the end belongs. Finally, law is promulgated for law to obtain its force. In a simple sentence, law as Aquinas puts it, is an ordinance if reason for the common good, made by him who has care of the community, and promulgated. 3.0 IS ECCLESIASTICAL LAW AN ORDINANCE OF REASON ALONE? The ecclesiastical nature of law cannot admit reason alone whether practical or theoretical. Reason is a logical interpretation of phenomenon to ascertain its correctness, veracity and application. Reasoning is the faculty of human mind and it is prerogative to man. Man’s reasoning is limited since he is a finite being. Reason alone cannot lead one to things beyond his immediate nature, thus, the best may not be achieved. Since reason has no objective of realities, therefore, we recourse to faith to illuminate “reason”. In matters of ecclesiastical law, “reason” alone is not sufficient; it must be illuminated by faith so that it will take account of revealed truth. Ecclesiastical law is therefore an ordinance of reason illuminated by faith (faith seeking understanding). Faith is an imperative in ecclesiastical matters because it involves our relationship with God who cannot deceive us. It was after Peter’s confession of faith, that he was made the chief shepherd of the Church. (Unitatis redintegratio 2) 4.0 IS ECCLESIASTICAL LAW MADE STRICTLY FOR THE COMMON GOOD The norms which are dictated by reason are for common good. As Thomas explained in his book summa theologica that every law is ordained to the common good. He arrived at the conclusion following the fact that the purpose of law is to order things to their proper ends because he saw the state as a “perfect society”. This thought was expressed in Aristotle work on politics. In such a state, if law establishes the order of the community, then the task of justice is to preserve that ‘order’. These thoughts might not be plausible if it is defined in respect to ecclesiastical settings. When talking about ecclesiastical law, then we refer immediately to law which has its authority in the Church. Therefore, since law is not an ordinance of reason alone, thus it is not strictly for common good. The Church is not ordered as “purely human society”, and is not from the common good. The Church and its authority (together with their product-law) comes from will of Christ and does not arise from the need of the common good. The ends of the Church transcend the ends of justice. Law for Aquinas does not take account of individuals and their positions in life. The ecclesiastical law also advocate for individual or single persons. The ecclesiastical law is not out for the salvation of community in abstract but salvation of each and every persons (can 1752). For the reason of the salvation of the individual souls, dispensation becomes a complementary aspect of law, which is not the case in secular law. In a nutshell, the ultimate end of ecclesiastical law is necessarily for religious values and not just order which is preserved by justice for the common good. Religious values are sought best by individual persons. 5.0 EVALUATION AND CONCLUSION From the gatherings so far, Aquinas’ pitfall is noticed because of the period which he was writing. In his work on law, ecclesiastical law is only foreshadowed and not actually visualised. His writing deals particularly on civil arrangement of the state as was influenced by Aristotle. Ecclesiastical law, being the matter at hand, is conceived as coming from God through the Church’s authority, thus its ends is not mere obedience for order but for salvation of soul. Pauline writings threats law as something which cannot justify our existence as children of God but it is through faith that we are justified. (cf Roms 3:28, Gal 2:16)