| Part 1 Interview With Author Pete Vere
By Carrie Gress
QUEBEC CITY, 9 SEPT. 2008 (ZENIT)
Canon law is more than just regulations, but is active living out of
our Catholic tradition, says author Pete Vere.
Vere co-authored with Michael Trueman "Surprised by Canon Law: 150
Questions Laypeople Ask About Canon Law," and "Surprised by Canon Law,
Volume 2: More Questions Catholics Ask About Canon Law," both published
by Servant Books.
In Part 1 of this interview with ZENIT, Vere discusses the role canon
law plays in the life of the average Catholic as well as in the
difficult issues of giving Communion to pro-abortion politicians and the
sexual abuse scandals.
Part 2 of this interview will be appear Wednesday.
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.
Part 2
Interview With Author Pete Vere
By Carrie Gress
QUEBEC CITY, 10 SEPT. 2008 (ZENIT)
In response to the growing tide of new movements in the Church, Canon
law does not dictate the form they will take, but arises in response to
the Holy Spirit, says author Pete Vere.
Vere co-authored with Michael Trueman "Surprised by Canon Law: 150
Questions Laypeople Ask About Canon Law," and "Surprised by Canon Law,
Volume 2: More Questions Catholics Ask About Canon Law," both published
by Servant Books.
In Part 2 of this interview with ZENIT, Vere discusses the role canon
law plays in understanding the canonization process and the growth of
new movements in the Church.
Part 1 of this interview appeared Tuesday.
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.
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On the Net:
"Surprised by Canon Law":
http://catalog.americancatholic.org/product.aspx?prodid=T16608&pcat=303
"Surprised by Canon Law, Volume 2":
http://catalog.americancatholic.org/product.aspx?prodid=t16749&pcat=303
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