Folia Theologica et Canonica, Supplementum (2016)

Szabolcs Anzelm Szuromi, O.Praem, Canon Law Institute in Budapest (1996-2016)

FOLIA THEOLOGICA ET CANONICA (2016)7-10

Szabolcs Anzelm Szuromi, O.Praem.

CANON LAW INSTITUTE IN BUDAPEST (1996-2016)

The science of canon law and its scholarly engage in this discipline has a long historical tradition in Hungary. For illustration here is enough to refer to Card. János Chernoch (and his active contribution in the first codification), Card. Justinian Serédi O.S.B. (and his indispensable work in the process of the codification and in the composition of “Fontes” to the Codex iuris caninici [1917], in close cooperation with Card. Pietro Gasparri), then to József Bánk (who was active as consultor in the Commission for Code-Revision since 1966 with his good friend, Urbano Navarrete S.J.). Naturally, these great names only snap-shots from the Hungarian canonistic history; nevertheless, they prove sufficiently the scholarly level which characterize the country and its clergy.

Achieving this level could not be possible without well-organized formation, a school, scholarly discussions and debates, moreover scientific publications. This list can be summarized with the expression “intellectual milieu” as motivation to understand, to administer, to make, to interpret and to teach the law. The internal law of the Church is that canonical norm system which has conserved its sacred character and which is not only described the life, mission, structure, etc. of the Catholic Church, but as a disciplinary order has protected- and still protects - the doctrine of the Church. The famous school behind this canonical disciplinary knowledge in Hungary was the University in Pest (Budapest) which was erected by Card. Péter Pázmány in 1635 (Nagyszombat- Trnava) and had two intellectual centers within her ancient walls. A Canon Law Department at the Faculty of Theology - where the teaching language was Latin -, and the Ecclesiastical Law Department at the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences - where the language of instruction had become Hungarian -. Thanks to the priest-professors of these two centers who received their academic degrees at the best canonical institutes of Europe - not only the teaching level was on extraordinary high level, but the university was capable to issue degree in canon law too.

This flourishing formation in Budapest had a dramatically end when after World War II, based on the communist Constitution of Hungary (§ 54) the Decree 23rd of the Presidential Commission, which not only detached the Faculty of Theology from the University of Budapest on August 30'h 1950. but suppressed the Ecclesiastical Law Department at the Faculty of Law and