Folia Canonica 4. (2001)
STUDIES - John D. Faris: A Canonical Examination of the Acquisition, Consequences and Loss of Membership in a Church - A Catholic Perspective
152 JOHN D. FARIS VOLUNTARY DEPARTURE The matter of voluntary departure from the Catholic Church is a delicate one. The Church supports the freedom of conscience,86 but also declares that the Catholic Church is the most complete expression of the will of Christ.87 With this in mind, the law of the Church must deal with persons who, for whatever reason, wish to abandon the Catholic Church, either for another Christian church or ecclesial communion, for a non-Christian religion or for atheism. This final aspect of our analysis of ecclesial membership from the perspective of the Catholic Church will demonstrate that there is never an absolute loss of membership in the Church, especially from the perspective of the law of the Eastern Catholic Churches. Such a lack of recognition of a de facto situation may be nothing more than a legal fiction that has little effect on the individual who has departed and therefore has little or no concern about the Church’s opinion of his or her legal status. Nonetheless, the law of the Church takes the following approach. The Latin Code speaks of a Catholic’s departure from the Church by a formal act, defined as “formal adherence to a non-Catholic religion or atheism”88and absolves such a person from certain aspects of marriage law, among which is the obligation to observe the Catholic canonical form of marriage.89 The other obligations that bind Christians and Latin Catholics remain intact. The Eastern Code takes the approach that once a person is a member of an Eastern Catholic Church, the person always retains the rights and obligations of that status. In those cases whereby a person de facto departs from the Church (denial of a truth of the faith90 or refusal of subjection to the supreme authority of the Church or communion with the Christian faithful91), the Church can impose censures. Nevertheless, from the perspective of the Church, certain bonds of communion remain intact as do the relevant obligations. 86 “It is through his conscience that man sees and recognizes the demands of the divine law. He is bound to follow this conscience faithfully in all his activity so that he may come to God who is his last end. Therefore, he must not be forced to act contrary to his conscience. Nor must he be prevented from acting according to his conscience, especially in religious matters.” Dignitatis humanae n. 3. 87 “Truth can impose itself on the mind of man only in virtue of its own truth, which wins over the mind with both gentleness and power. So while the religious freedom which men demand in fulfilling their obligation to worship God has to do with freedom from coercion in civil society, it leaves intact the traditional Catholic teaching on the moral duty of individuals and societies toward the true religion and the one Church of Christ.” Vatican II, Dignitatis humanae n. 1. 88 F Bersini, II nuovo diritto canonico matrimoniale: commento giuridico-pastorale Turin, 1985 174. 89 CIC cc. 1086 §1; 1117; 1124. 90 CCEO c. 1436 §1. See also C/C cc. 1364 and 1371,1. 91 CCEO c. 1437. See also CIC c. 1364.
