Spanish expert points out importance of Canon Law for life of the Church

Lima, Peru, Aug 13, 2008 / 08:34 am

The Dean of the Faculty of Canon Law at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, Father Luis Felipe Navarro, who is in Peru for a course on Canon Law to be held August 18-21, said that knowing Canon Law is essential for ensuring that the Church is manifested as a “mirror of justice.”
 
“Twenty-five years have passed since the promulgation of the Code of Canon Law of 1983 and there is still much to be done in applying it… Knowing Canon Law well and faithfully applying it is essential for the Church to be a mirror of justice, speculum iustitiae, as Paul VI said,” Father Navarro emphasized.
 
Father Navarro also underscored the importance of addressing the issue of the new associations, movements and new communities in the life of the Church from a canonical perspective as well as their charismatic dimension.  “It is undeniable that we living in a new phase in the Church, as the beloved John Paul II said.”
 
 “The answer Canon law gives to these new challenges is a necessary complement.  On the one hand, it does not limit charisms, but makes them more beautiful, conferring upon them stability and continuity which are necessary.  On the other hand, the legal-canonical perspective allows for the rights of persons who participate in these associative realities as well as of the communities themselves to be protected,” he added.