Folia Theologica et Canonica, Supplementum (2016)

Péter Szabó, The Penal Legality and Guarantees of Self-Defense in Canon Law: CIC/CCEO

THE PENAL LEGALITY AND GUARANTEES OF SELF-DEFENSE IN CANON LAW: CIC/CCEO 197

In brief, the Eastern penal law system gives much more possibilities to the ecclesiastical authority, not only in the imposition of punishments, but first of all in the upholding of medicinal sanctions.

3. If I had more time I would speak in more details about a third quite important feature of the Eastern tradition which consists in the attribution of a significant penal responsibility (and empowerment) to the higher authorities. In the CCEO (Code of Eastern Catholic Churches) actually it seems that it is limited only to two significant competencies: (1) the penal responsibility of the Patriarch about all the clergy of his Patriarchate except Bishops,18 and (2) the possibility to reserve the remission of penalties to higher authorities.19

However, the higher penal competence in Eastern Traditions is still wider, namely, their Patriarchal Synods are entitled (or at least should be) also to proceed against Bishops. Though this last competence in the end, by purely practical reasons, has not been attributed by CCEO to the Synods of Bishops of the Catholic Churches,20 in the future it will be probably gained -or at least could be gained- also by them, due to the growing number of Bishops in many of these Churches.

I think needless to say that greater competence means more responsibility. If the higher authorities fail to comply with this supplemental function, they themselves become accountable for their inaction. Exactly this immediate supplemental responsibility for all the penal issues related to clerics of their Churches provides an additional guarantee that legal discipline be not ignored, penal laws included.2'

Finally, it is worthy to remember that Eastern penal law has also other characteristics which may result helpful for its efficiency.22

Comunione Eucaristica, ma anche privati della stessa assoluzione dal peccato fino a che non si abbia compiuto la penitenza imposta dal confessore”, in Nuntia 20 (1985) 10, 37; cf. also: Szabó, E., Coordinazione interecclesiale nell’amministrazione della penitenza: Questioni intra-cattoliche sorte dal possibile rimando dell ’assoluzione sacramentale nel diritto orientale, in Ruyssen, G. (a cura di), La disciplina della pentitenza nelle Chiese orientali (Atti del simposio tenuto presso il Pontificio Istituto Orienale, Roma 3-5 giugno 2011) [Kanonika 191, Roma 2013.357 ss.

18 See: CCEO can. 89, § 1 (but CCEO can. 1060, § 1,2o).

19 See: CCEO can. 1423, § 1.

29 Cf. Zuzek, I., The Patriarchal Structure according to the Oriental Code, The Code of Canons of the Oriental Churches. An Introduction (ed. Gallagher, C.), Rome 1991.48.

21 One could ask if analogue competence in case of Latin metropolitans could not bring similar favorable results as for the efficiency of canonical penal law.

22 Cf. CCEO can. 1414, § 1/CIC’83 can. 1321, § 1-2; CCEO can. 1414, § 2/CIC ’83 can. 1321, § 3; CCEO can. 1420/CIC ’83, can. 1357; CCEO can. 1421/CIC ’83 can. 1360; for a recent English comparative study on this characteristics, see: Green, Th. J., Pena! Law: an Eastern Perspective, in Studies in Church Law 8 (2012) 87-114, especially 100-103.