The 1982 Papal Consultation Concluding the 1917 Code Revision Process

THE 1982 PAPAL CONSULTATION CONCLUDING THE 1917 CODE REVISION PROCESS Thomas J. Green* After an extensive and complex drafting process, the October 20–28, 1981 Plenaria of the code commission deliberated on the entire text of the proposed new code and cast a definitive vote on it.1 Subsequently the text approved by the Plenaria was enlarged somewhat by the addition of selected canons from the Lex Ecclesiae fundamentalis since it had been decided not to promulgate this text as a separate document. On April 22, 1982 the code commission secretariat presented Pope John Paul II with a text of the proposed new code2 in view of its promulgation. However, given the seriousness of this notable ecclesial undertaking, rather than promulgating this so-called 1982 schema immediately, the pope decided to review it initially with a small group of experts, mostly canonists,3 and later with a small commission of bishops, who were to review the work of the aforementioned commission of experts.4 A key figure during this consultation was the then Archbishop Rosalio Castillo Lara, the propresident of the code commission, who had succeeded Cardinal Pericles Felici, the commission president during most of the 1917 code revision process. The Jurist 67 (2007) 364–431 364 * School of Canon Law, Catholic University of America. 1 For a detailed report on this significant code commission session see Pontificium Consilium de Legum Textibus Interpretandis, Congregatio Plenaria diebus 20–29 octobris 1981 habita (Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, 1991) 2 Pontificia Commissio Codici Iuris Canonici Recognoscendo, Codex Iuris Canonici Schema novissimum iuxta placita patrum commissionis emendatum atque Summo Pontifici praesentatum (1982 schema) (Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, 1982). 3 The members of this commission were the following: the then Msgr. Edward Egan (USA), Msgr. István Mester, the then Msgr. Zenon Grocholewski (Poland-Signatura), Rev. Umberto Betti, O.F.M., Rev. Javier Ochoa, C.F.M. (Spain), the then Rev. Eugenio Corecco (Switzerland), Rev. Luis Diez Garcia, C.F.M. (Spain-Secretariat of State). 4 The members of this commission were the following: Cardinals Agostino Casaroli, Secretary of State, Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Narciso Jubany Arnau, archbishop of Barcelona, Spain, and Msgr. Vincenzo Fagiolo , then archbishop of Chieti, Italy. Very little seems to have been written about this last stage of the 1917 code revision process. However, Cardinal Julian Herranz, then the secretary of the code commission, and one member of the small group of experts advising the pope and the only theologian, Rev. Umberto Betti, OFM, have shed some valuable light on this rather interesting concluding stage of the code revision process.5 There presumably were twelve meetings of this commission of experts in the presence of the pope, beginning on May 19, 1982 and ending on September 30, 1982. The commission members themselves met thirty three times from May 21, 1982 through October 21, 1982. Apparently there were six meetings of the commission of bishops during December 1982.6 One should note that the 1982 schema was the fruit of nearly two decades of study, discussion, and drafting reflecting various cultures and perspectives throughout the Latin church as well as input from the world episcopate, the leadership of the Roman Curia, scholars in universities, ecclesiastical and otherwise, and groups of religious among others. However, a sense of the critical importance of his universal legislative governance role prompted John Paul II to engage in a fairly thorough examination of the aforementioned text with some trusted advisors. Although it has been nearly two decades and a half since the final 1982 papal consultation process, it might be valuable for historians of canon law, other canonists, and scholars in other ecclesiastical disciplines to revisit that significant experience. The author of this article hopes that the the 1982 papal consultation 365 5 See Julian Herranz, “Genesis y elaboración del nuevo Codigo de Derecho Canonico ,” in Comentario Exegético al Codigo de Derecho Canonico, ed. Angel Marzoa et al. 7 vols. (Pamplona: EUNSA, 1996) 1: 197–201; Umberto Betti, “In margine al Nuovo Codice di Diritto Canonico,” (In margine) Antonianum 58 (1983) 628–647. After some initial background comments, Betti briefly discusses two key issues: lay jurisdiction and the supreme...