Q: What inspired you to write "Surprised by Canon Law, Volumes I
and II"? From your research and the reaction you have had from
readers, how does canon law affect the life of the average Catholic
in the pew?
Vere: Canon law affects every aspect our daily life as Catholics --
such as when we can receive the holy Eucharist, to how we receive
absolution through the sacrament of confession, to who can be a
godparent. Canon law isn't just dry rules and regulations -- it's a
living part of the Church's sacred Tradition.
Over the past decade we have seen how canon law functions throughout
many extraordinary events in the life of the Church. Some of these
events have been painful, such as the sexual misconduct crisis among
clergy and the need to confront Catholic politicians who undermine
the sanctity of life and marriage. Other events have been a cause
for joy and celebration among the universal Church. These include
the election of Pope Benedict, the reconciliation of Catholic
traditionalists in Campos, Brazil, and the canonizations of Sts.
Faustina, Padre Pio, Josemaría Escrivá and the Fatima children.
When writing as Catholics, one hopes and prays that one's
inspiration is drawn from the Holy Spirit, although we write as his
imperfect human instruments. Most often, God speaks to us through
the Church and other people. In the case of "Surprised by Canon Law,
Volume I" the inspiration came through the Second Vatican Council,
the post-conciliar apologetics movement, and most importantly, the
people of God who we served through tribunal ministry.
Canon law does not exist for its own sake. Rather, it exists as the
handmaiden of theology, to assist in the salvation of souls by
helping to provide order within the Christian life. Thus the
salvation of souls is the supreme law of the Church.
One of the great blessings of the Second Vatican Council is that it
opened up the sacred sciences to the laity, as part of the Council's
universal call to holiness. Simply put, all Catholics are called to
grow in holiness and knowledge of the faith. Consequently, the
Second Vatican Council challenged all Catholics to become more
knowledgeable about their faith.
Whereas the post-conciliar era saw the Church make sacred Scripture
and the various theological disciplines more accessible to the
laity, we were a little slower off the mark in doing so with canon
law. In fact, while writing the first volume of "Surprised by Canon
Law," Michael and I worried that this attempt to make canon law
accessible to the laity would be met with suspicion by our peers in
the canonical world -- especially as Michael and I were still young
to the profession, and our presentation style borrowed heavily from
the new apologetics and evangelization movement.
Our concerns could not have been more unfounded. I am still stunned
by the prayers, encouragement and support we received from fellow
canonists, representing all areas of canonical ministry.
And it was with their prayers and encouragement that we undertook to
write "Surprised by Canon Law, Volume II," which answers questions
on issues that have piqued the interest of laity since the
publication of the first volume.
The topics include: the canonization of saints, papal election, the
sexual misconduct crisis, the Eastern Catholic Churches, possible
actions to remedy Catholic politicians who dissent from the Church's
moral teaching, ecumenism, the rise of new religious orders and
movements, and several other topics.
Q: Let's talk about some of those issues. Many Catholics aren't sure
what to think about high-profile Catholic politicians who support
abortion or same-sex marriage, and then continue to receive holy
Communion. What does canon law have to say about this?
Vere: Canon 915 is clear: Those "who obstinately persist in manifest
grave sin, are not to be admitted to holy Communion."
The question then becomes whether Canon 915 ought to be applied to
pro-abortion politicians who claim to be Catholic. The growing
consensus among pastors and canonists is yes. This is especially the
case since 2004, when Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis came out
strongly in favor of this pastoral remedy, and he received the
backing of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Nevertheless, Archbishop Burke gave it much careful thought and
prayer before going public. This is as it should be, something I say
as someone who had been publicly arguing for the application of
canon 915 prior to Archbishop Burke exercising his leadership on the
issue as both a bishop and a canonist.
Partaking in holy Communion is our most sacred action as Catholics.
Denying a Catholic this sacrament is very serious, and should only
be done where all other pastoral options have been exhausted. It
sends a strong message to deny someone holy Communion, but given
that abortion is the wanton destruction of innocent life in the
womb, such a serious message is indeed necessary. The same is true
with the natural and sacramental definition of marriage, which is
the basic building block of society and the natural order.
Thus imposing Canon 915 becomes necessary when a Catholic politician
is at odds with the Church's moral teaching and refuses pastoral
correction. And yes, from Archbishop Burke to Bishop Joseph Naumann
of Kansas City, I know of no pastor who has denied holy Communion
without first attempting to correct the politician in private and
giving the politician the opportunity to mend his or her ways.
Q: Another painful issue for Catholics over the past five years has
been the sexual misconduct crisis. What do you say about the
Church's handling of these cases in light of canon law?
Vere: It is a tragedy whenever a young person is abused, especially
when this abuse is perpetuated by one who has been set aside to care
for Christ's faithful. Past action, or lack thereof, to address
these situations, did not utilize the canon law legal remedies. It
was not a failure of the Church's law, which, promulgated by Pope
John Paul II in 1983, contained a canon to punish clerics who
sexually abused minors; it was a failure of leadership to utilize
these laws.
In my opinion, canon law was erroneously seen as overly complex,
lending to being easily overturned on appeal by the priest, and
advocating a too-harsh penalty, rather than providing a pastoral and
charitable remedy. "How can we preach forgiveness if we remove
Father X from active ministry because of one mistake?" was the
common objection. Additionally, advice from the psychological
community erred on the side of patient reform and secular legal
counsel usually sought out-of-court settlements and party
confidentiality.
Nonetheless, the wheels of change were already in motion before the
cases in Boston were brought to light. In 2001, the Holy See had
reserved to itself the right to consider such cases of clergy sexual
abuse. In a motu proprio called "Sacramentorum Sanctitatis Tutela"
there appeared a section stating that in instances where a cleric
commits a sexual offense against a minor, the case must be brought
to the attention of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
after a preliminary investigation is carried out by the local
bishop. Prior to this, cases could have been considered locally.
"Sacramentorum Sanctitatis Tutela," in part, then informed the U.S.
bishops' 2002 deliberations at their meeting in Dallas concerning
the creation of the U.S. Charter and Norms for the Protection of
Children and Young People. These national norms where subsequently
approved by the Holy See and continue to have force today.
The U.S. Charter and Norms have dramatically changed the way clergy
sexual abuse cases are handled. Besides the change in competency,
procedure, and removal from ministry, dioceses have a full
compliment of screening and training programs. The U.S. episcopal
conference's National Review Board continues its work of auditing
the programs, making recommendations as to best practices and
compliance.
At the end of the day, the overarching change relates to perspective
-- that clergy and laity are now actively seeking ways to protect
children and young people from those who would want to harm them. In
many ways, Church leaders and personnel have adopted the protective
instinct that a parent has for his or her own child.
Q: Your book answers a number of questions about the canonization
process. Could you give us a brief overview of this process,
especially as we wait for people like Blessed Mother Teresa and Pope
John Paul II to finish these processes?
Vere: Allow me to begin with some good news: Every one of us is
eligible to become a saint. In fact, this is the reason for which
God created us -- to join him in heaven for all of eternity. Thus we
should always ask ourselves whether our actions and words will bring
us closer to God.
Having said that, only a handful of us will be canonized saints by
the Church. The canonization process is rather rigorous, which
insures its integrity. I myself was surprised to learn just how
rigorous the process is, and am grateful to Michael -- who has
experience with the process -- for tackling the canonization
chapter.
Having said that, the process for canonization is not found in the
Code of Canon Law, but in a document promulgated by Pope John Paul
II called "Divinus Perfectionis Magister" (Divine Teacher and Model
of Perfection).
It begins when a Catholic is believed by the faithful to have lived
a life of exemplary holiness. From here, Michael summarizes the
process as follows: "death of the individual; presentation of the
cause -- the person is called a servant of God; declaration of
venerability -- the person is called venerable; declaration of
beatification -- the person is declared blessed; and canonization --
the person is declared a saint."
Of course, Michael goes into a lot more detail in the book,
answering questions about each stage of the process. For example,
canon 368 tasks the diocesan bishop with the responsibility of
presenting a cause for canonization.
All of the candidate's writings must be carefully scrutinized before
the Church declares the candidate venerable. Beatification and
canonization must each be supported by a miracle. The final act of
canonization constitutes an infallible statement that the individual
is in heaven with Our Lord.
As the book explains in more detail, the process calls upon several
experts -- theologians, pastors, laity, medical doctors, etc. --
depending upon the stage of the canonization process.
Q: A number of new religious orders and movements have arisen since
the Second Vatican Council. What are some of the differences between
institutes of consecrated life as envisioned by the Code of Canon
Law, especially something like consecrated virgins who only recently
have returned to the life of the Church?
Vere: As the Third Person of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit is
infinite. This means there are infinite possibilities of how he can
inspire the Catholic faithful to serve the Church. The code presents
a number of possibilities, of which we touch upon several in
"Surprised by Canon Law, Volume II."
For instance, institutes of consecrated life fall into three broad
categories: religious orders, societies of apostolic life and
secular institutes. Most of us are familiar with religious orders
like the Benedictines or the Franciscans, where Catholics live and
pray in common, and all their material goods are held in common by
the community.
Societies of apostolic life are similar, in that the members live
together to fulfill a common purpose. However, like secular priests,
the members of a society of apostolic life can own personal
property. One of the fastest-growing societies of apostolic life in
the Church right now is the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, which
was founded in 1988 to help fulfill the pastoral needs of
traditionally minded Catholics.
With secular institutes, the members live within society and may
have secular occupations as well. Their function is to provide
'spiritual leaven' within the world.
An institute may be clerical, if its membership is predominately
clergy, or lay, if the membership is mostly made up of religious
brothers and sisters. Contemplative institutes spend more time in
prayer, like the Carthusians, whereas active institutes, like St.
Martha in the Gospels, or Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity,
focus on temporal works of charity.
The combinations are endless, and this is before one takes into
account personal prelatures like Opus Dei, consecrated virgins,
hermits, and many other possibilities recognized by the code. And of
course we don't know what the Holy Spirit will inspire in the
future.
Each of these possibilities fulfills a need within the Church.
Throughout the Church's history, these forms have arisen in response
to special challenges faced by the Church. For example, the early
monasteries arose to bring order and community life to the countless
hermits hiding in the desert. The Franciscans arose from the need
for the Church to evangelize. The Jesuits from the need for the
Church to respond to the division within Christendom caused by the
Protestant Reformation. Many of today's new religious movements have
arisen as a response to the secularist malaise and spiritual
lukewarmness that has infected formerly Christian lands. They have
answered Pope John Paul II's call for a new evangelization -- one
that evangelizes from within.
The Code does not so much envision what type of form these movements
will take -- as canon law, like the new movements, arises in
response to the Holy Spirit. Rather, the Code attempts to provide
some order and guidance for when these new movements arise, so that
they may serve the Church and the good of souls to their full
potential.
Q: Many Catholics don't know that Eastern Churches have their own
Code of Canon Law. What sort of differences are there between the
two codes?
Vere: Many of the individual canons are similar, or in some cases
even the same, but there are some significant differences. For
example, for a marriage to be valid under the Eastern code, the
couple must receive the blessing of the priest. This excludes
deacons from presiding over marriages except in an emergency. On the
other hand, nothing in the Latin code stops the deacon from acting
as a qualified witness.
Another key difference, which again concerns marriage, is that a
godparent cannot marry a godchild in the East. So a fiancée could
not sponsor a non-Catholic fiancée into the Church under the Eastern
Code, whereas there is no such prohibition in the West. There are
also a few structural differences -- the Latin Code is divided into
seven books, whereas the Eastern Code is divided into 30 titles.
And, of course, the terminology often differs between the two codes
to account for the different spiritual patrimonies.
That being said, the most profound difference, in my opinion, is the
treatment of our Eastern Catholic Churches. Notice I said "Churches"
and not "Rites." To me this denotes a profound shift in
ecclesiology, that is, the Church's theology of what it is to be a
Church. This is important because how one understands the Church as
an entity will affect how one interprets the Church's law.
The Latin Code, promulgated in 1983, still treated our Eastern
Catholic brethren as members of rites. In other words, Eastern
Catholics were seen as an extension of the Latin Catholic Church,
but with slightly different liturgies and customs, and in some parts
of the world, their own hierarchy.
By using the expression "Churches sui iuris" in the Code of Canons
of the Eastern Churches (CCEO), that is to say Churches of their own
authority, the 1990 Eastern code recognized that Eastern Catholics
belonged to their own Churches, each with its own distinctive
spiritual patrimony, that exist in full communion with Rome and the
Latin Church. Together, these Churches make up the universal Church.
And in the end, this is why Michael and I felt it important to
include a chapter about the CCEO in "Surprised by Canon Law Volume
II." Although our spiritual patrimonies may differ somewhat between
Churches "sui iuris," we exist in full communion with each other,
sharing the same mission, which is the salvation and sanctification
of souls.
