Folia Canonica 5. (2002)

STUDIES - Jobe Abbass: Alienating Ecclesiastical Goods in the Eastern Catholic Churches

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JOBE ABBASS

of the Codes as their principal subject-matter.”3 Again, regarding the norms governing ecclesiastical goods, there have been few works to date that have either dealt with the relevant Eastern norms or attempted a comparative study of both Codes in the matter.4 Undoubtedly, one of the reasons for this is that the Eastern Code, itself, is not yet sufficiently known. It follows that comparative studies of the Codes regarding any particular area of canon law will not be proper or reliable if, first of all, the respective CCEO canons are not studied and correctly understood.

The basic aim of this paper will be to comment specifically on CCEO canons 1035-1042, which govern the alienation of ecclesiastical goods in the Eastern Catholic Churches. The corresponding norms that regulate the same matter in the Latin Church are found in CIC canons 1291-1298. On the one hand, the study will be comparative to the extent that all canonical studies, given the one Corpus of canon law in the Church, can be comparative. On the other hand, in the light of the pope ’s call for comparative studies in order to acquire a knowledge of that entire Corpus, the article will examine the norms regarding alienation that are unique to the Eastern Code. Since these characteristic Eastern norms have not always been correctly interpreted, an attempt will be made to provide a clear explanation of them.

Part I of the study will deal with a number of preliminary questions regarding the alienation of ecclesiastical goods in the Eastern Catholic Churches. Among the questions treated are: 1) the type of ecclesiastical goods concerned; 2) the notion of alienation and other transactions subject to the norms on alienation; 3) the consent required for validly placing such a juridical act; and 4) other formalities prescribed by law for any alienation. Here, more reference will be made to comparatively similar Latin norms that regulate these matters. Part II will essentially provide a commentary of the characteristic CCEO canons 1036-1037, whose

3 Acta Apostolicae Sedis (AAS) 83 (1991) 490. John Paul II presented the new Eastern Code to the twenty-eighth General Congregation of the Synod of Bishops on October 25, 1990. Note: Unless otherwise indicated, foreign language translations are the writer’s.

4 See: I. MITROFAN, Les biens de l’église selon le Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium, in A. Al-Ahmar - A. Khalifé - D. Le Tourneau (eds.), Acta Symposii Internationalis circa Codicem Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium, Kaslik 1996, 415—446; J. Abbass, The Temporal Goods of the Church, in Two Codes in Comparison (Kanonika 7), Rome 1997, 177—207; P. G. Marcuzzi, Le pie fondazioni, in Beni temporali (nt. 2), 223-262; V. Chittilappilly, Temporal Goods and their Alienation according to the Eastern Code with Special Reference to the Syro-Malabar Church (Doctoral Dissertation Extract), Rome 1999; A Rajeh, I beni temporali nella Chiesa maronita in libano, Rome 1999; G. Nedungatt, Laity and Church Temporalities: Appraisal of a Tradition, Bangalore 2000, 231-252; R. T. Kennedy, The Temporal Goods of the Church, in J. P. Beal et al. (eds.), New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law, NewYork/Mahwah 2000, 1451-1525; and R. COPPOLA, I beni temporali della Chiesa, in P. V. Pinto (ed.), Commento al Codice dei Canoni déllé Chiese Orientali, Rome 2001, 845-876.