www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall What canon lawyers are good for

A member of the forum recently posted a remark which could be taken as an insinuation that canon lawyers are superfluous or even harmful.

I don't agree with that. Canon lawyers have, on many occasions, helped people achieve peace of mind through matrimonial nullity cases. They have helped folks "get right" with the Church.

They have also helped deliver people from the bumblings and errors made by incompetent, heavy-handed bishops.Ever heard of a "petition for hierarchic recourse"?

I hope no one ever needs their services but it's reassuring to know they're there to help if you ever get into a conflict with local Church authority figures.

Unable to edit my post, I want to add that the practice of canon law is a kind of ministry, at the service of truth and justice.

I think they make excellent door stops.

It's hard for me to imagine needing a lawyer for my faith.

In fact, the whole concept of canon "law"--an objective code of law by which the Church is regulated and bound--is not compatible with the fundamental Eastern Christian conception of oikonomia. Hence, the term "canon law" is mainly a Western invention, because the East tends to speak rather more ambiguously about "the canons"; and while the West has canon lawyers, the East lacks that specialty, though some people who study the various compilations are known as "canonists". Whereas in the West, canons are regarded as normative law, in the East, the canons have varying degrees of authority; most are regarded more in the way of precedents and examples for those given stewardship of the Church (i.e., the bishops) to apply as they believe fits each particular case, using the power to bind and loose which is inherent in their office. A bishop may therefore, at his discretion, follow a particular canon in its letter; or use his oikonomia either to mitigate or magnify its rigor. Relying on canonical precedent, the subject of the bishop's ruling may always follow a chain of appeals, but in most cases, respecting the bishop's authority over his flock, the appellate synods will usually uphold the original ruling.

It's amusing to read a post on the incompatibility of legalistic canon law with Eastern Christianity which then goes on to discuss precedents, following canons to the letter, or not, appeals, appellate synods, and rulings.

Canon lawyers are servants of faith in an indirect manner. God forbid this should ever happen to you - but if you ever get spiritually/psychologically gored by an abusive authority figure in the Church, your faith might get maimed in ways you never imagined.

A priest I knew often said "Ya ain't been hurt til ya been hurt by the Church."

The victims of pedophile priests and the bishops who protected the perps would probably agree.

You could have easily kept that crack to yourself.

At least I didn't ask what you call a bus full of canon lawyers at the bottom of a lake.

Oh, the Church has hurt me plenty--dang near broke my heart. But canon lawyers would not have helped anything. In fact, the principal perpetrator likes to boast of his canon law credentials (SEOD).

I suspect I'd call it a tragedy - depending on which one or which ones were on the bus, I might just call it in French a mere "incident routier" - and go light candles and the kadilo. We never send flowers but we might have trees planted in Israel.

Thanks to me, my mother and one other relative a certain retired bishop here in N. America knows more about petitions for hierarchic recourse than he ever thought he'd need to know.

We did him a favour by enhancing his experience of episcopal ministry. I bet he hasn't forgotten it to this very day.

I'd call it a start.

I can mention the case of a friend who wished to have his granddaughter illuminated in the parish he attended regularly, the only parish the little girl had ever known. He was astounded when told that she would have to be baptized in a parish of a different Byzantine-rite Church, because that was the Church into which he had been received. That his granddaughter, of whom he was legal guardian, had not been received into any Church, and had no connection whatsoever to the Church into which her grandfather had been received, made no impact upon the implacable canon lawyers in the Eparchial Chancery. And so, what should have been a joyous event within one parish community was turned into a private event among strangers in a totally different city.

What they say about liturgists also appears to be true of canon lawyers--the main difference between them and terrorists is you can negotiate with terrorists.

It seems that canon lawyers are a necessary evil at present. Still, one can sympathize with Shakespeare.

"The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers". - (Henry VI, Part II, Act IV, Scene II)

Maybe I should have entitled this topic "what some canon lawyers are good for".

It's turned into a chance for people to vent a bit about negative (and positive) experiences with canon lawyers. And that's OK.

I think Dorothy Day once said, "The Church is the Bride of Christ and simultaneously the Cross upon which He is continually crucified."

Me, I'd say "sometimes the Bride of Christ acts like bridezilla."

Complicated and paradoxical are our Churches. People ought to be made aware of this before joining.