This is the a translation of an address given on 10 October 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI to participants in a congress
marking the 20th anniversary of the promulgation of the Code of Canons of Eastern
Churches.
* * *
Lord Cardinals,
Venerable Patriarchs,
Major Archbishops,
Dear Brothers in the episcopate and priesthood,
Illustrious Representatives of other ecclesial churches and communities,
Esteemed Practitioners of Eastern Canon Law,
With great joy I receive you at the conclusion of the scholarly
proceedings, which were convened to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the
promulgation of the “Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium.” I
cordially gr eet all of you, beginning with Monsignor Francesco Coccopalmerio,
whom I thank for the words he addressed to me also on behalf of those present.
I thank the Congregation for Eastern Churches, the Pontifical Council for
Promoting Christian Unity and the Pontifical Oriental Institute, who worked
together with the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts in organizing this
conference. I would like to express my cordial appreciation to the speakers for
the competent scientific contribution to this ecclesial initiative.
20 years after the promulgation of “Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum
Orientalium” we would like to pay homage to the intuition of John Paul II,
whom, in his concern that the Eastern Catholic Churches “flourish and
carry out the mission entrusted to them with new apostolic vigor” (Vatican
Council II, “Orientalium Ecclesiarum,” 1) wanted to grant these
venerable Churches a complete universal Code adapted to the times. In this way
there was fulfil led “the same constant will of the Roman pontiffs to
promulgate two Codes, one for the Latin Church and the other for the Eastern
Catholic Churches” (Apostolic Constitution “Sacri canones”). At
the same time there was reaffirmed the “very clear, constant, and firm
intention of the supreme legislator in the Church in regard to the faithful
safeguarding and diligent observance of all the rites” (ibid.).
The “Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium” was followed
by two other important documents of the magisterium of John Paul II: the
encyclical letter “Ut unum sint” (1995) and the apostolic letter
“Orientale Lumen” (1995). Furthermore, we cannot forget the
“Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism”
published by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (1993) and
the instruction of the Congregation for Eastern Churches about the application
of the liturgical prescriptions of the Code (1996). In these authoritative
documents of the magisterium various canons of the “Codex Canonum
Ecclesiarum Orientalium,” just as the “Codex Iuris Canonici,”
are textually cited, commented on and applied to the life of the Church.
This 20th anniversary is not only a celebratory event to preserve
it in memory, but rather provides an occasion for confirmation to which above
all the “sui iuris” Eastern Catholic Churches and their institutions,
especially the hierarchies, are called. In this regard the apostolic
constitution “Sacri canones” already foresees the context of
verification. It is a question of seeing in what measure the Code effectively
had force of law for all the “suir iuris” Oriental Churches and also
in what measure the legislative authority of each “sui iuris” Church
has provided for the promulgation of its own particular law, keeping present
the traditions of its right along with the direct ives of Vatican Council II.
The topics of this conference articulated in three unities —
history, particular legislation, ecumenical perspectives — indicate a very
important “iter” to follow in this verification. It must start from
the awareness that the new “Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium”
has created for the Oriental Catholic faithful a disciplinary situation that is
partly new, becoming a valid instrument to protect and promote their rite
understood as a “liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary
patrimony, distinct by culture and historical circumstances of peoples, that is
expressed a way of living of the faith that is proper to each “sui
iuris” Church” (can. 28, § 1).
In this way, the “sacra canones” of the ancient Church,
that inspire the Oriental codification in force, stimulate all the Oriental
Churches to conserve their own identity, which is simultaneously Eastern and
Catholic. In preserv ing the Catholic communion the Eastern Catholic Churches
did not at all intend to deny their own tradition. As has been many times
repeated, the full union of the Eastern Catholic Churches with the Church of
Rome that is already realized must not lead to a diminution of the
consciousness of the unique authenticity and originality of those Churches. For
this reason it is the task of all the Eastern Catholic Churches to conserve the
common disciplinary patrimony and nourish their own traditions, which is a
treasure for the whole Church.
The same “sacri canones” of the first centuries of the
Church constitute to a large extent the same basic patrimony of canonical
discipline that also regulates the Orthodox Churches. Thus the Eastern Catholic
Churches can offer a peculiar and relevant contribution to the ecumenical
journey. I am happy that in the course of your symposium you have taken account
of this particular aspect and I encourage you to make it an object of further
study, cooperating thus for your part to the common effort to adhere to the
Lord’s prayer: “May all be one … that the world may believe …”
(John 17:21).
Dear friends, in the context of the Church’s current effort for a
new evangelization, canon law, as the peculiar and indispensable ordering of
ecclesial fellowship, will not fail to contribute to the life and the mission
of the Church in the world, if all the components of the People of God know how
to interpret is wisely and apply it faithfully. Thus, I exhort, as did the
venerable John Paul II, all the beloved children of the Eastern Churches
“to observe the precepts set down with a sincere heart and a humble will,
not in the least doubting that the Eastern Churches will provide in the best
way possible for the good of the souls of faithful Christians with renewed
discipline, and that they will always flourish and carry out the task entrusted
to them under the protection of the glorious and blessed ever Vi rgin Mary, who
in all truth is called ‘Theotokos’ and who shines as the great mother of the
universal Church” (“Sacri canones”).
I accompany this wish with the Apostolic Blessing, which I impart
to you and to those who make their contribution in the various fields connected
with the canon law of the Eastern Churches.
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
© Copyright 2010 — Libreria Editrice Vaticana