Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

The actual canonical system does not seem to exclude the praxis of making operative the process of matrimonial nullity in relation with the marriages that Catholics may have celebrated without observing the canonical form. In particular, the just cause of the process, in the case, will be identified by the fact that two Catholics are united in marriage, and in that sense, the actual juridical appraisal of the three figures operates, the unitive dimension of which seems to justify precisely the exercise of the jurisdictional power about marriages that Catholics have celebrated without observing the canonical form. The first one is the renewed function that has to be recognized to the canonical form in the new legislation (conditio iuris of the validity but not of the existence of marriage). The other two elements considered to justify the exercise of the jurisdictional power in the case are: the renewed, dynamic and participated dimension of the ecclesial affiliation and the renewed pastoral dimension of the canonical procedure. For its part, the fumus boni iuris of the petition will be identified by the fact that two Catholics have opted precisely to celebrate their marriage, in a manner which conforms to the institutionalised marriage rite.

This article intends to make an explanation about marriage and ius connubii starting from the juridical realism, because marriage, before being a juridical system of norms, is a reality which demands a juridical system which may recognize, regulate, protect and promote it. From this viewpoint, the reason for the matrimonial juridical system can be understood. Faced with the rupture of the juridical and cultural unity of the West, it is necessary to make an effort to reencounter the roots of our matrimonial system, which is not a superstructure which constrains within some narrow margins an unlimited liberty of the person regarding his or her decision about the use of sexuality, but a system which, enriching itself of the centuries-old teachings, deals with providing answers to the demands of ius connubii as a fundamental right to the person and Christ's faithful based on the complementarity of masculinity and feminity.

Because of that Canon Law is often understood as a homogeneous collection of norms that were interpreted similarly throughout Christendom and, therefore, the differences in interpreting the norms of Canon Law have been studied too little. The aim of this article is to determine the understanding of medieval marriage regulations of Canon Law among Christians, especially from the view point if (and how) they were applied and interpreted differently in diverse parts of the Christian West in the late Middle Ages. The source material for this study is based on petitions submitted to the Apostolic Penitentiary -one of the most important offices within the papal curia, especially in the Late Middle Ages- during the pontificate of Pius II (1458-1464), altogether almost 4,200 cases.

I argue here that the three marks of the Calvininian church (doctrine, sacraments and discipline) restate the three classical powers attibuted to the Catholic Church: jurisdictional, sacramental and magisterial. Unlike Luther, for whom the only eclesiastical powers were the authority to preach and teach, Calvin not only acknowledges the magisterial and sacramental powers of the church, but considers also a jurisdictional power with legislative and judicial capability. This jurisdictional dimension is key to explain the role played by the Calvinist church viz a viz the State and its differences regarding other protestant creeds.

The theme of the true autonomy of the religious institutes is analysed here starting from a doctrinal framework which emphasizes especially the principle of unity in diversity, as a typical aspect of the notion of communio. Then follows the analysis about the profound unity between liberty and obedience that must be in the religious, with its consequences to canon law. The principle of the true autonomy of each institute is studied in its foundation and in its application to the monasteries, especially for women.

Stable Patrimony, at least from the formal point of view, is a newness introduced in the 1983 CIC. Its antecedents are related to the regime of protection of the ecclesiastical patrimony from certain alienations. The author has studied fundamentally the period that goes from the Apostolic Constitution Ambitiosae of 1468 to the Code of 1917, centering his work in the first codification. The documents of the Vatican Secret Archives have thrown much light on the process of codification of the canons related to the subject. The author has also studied the doctrine, both previous and subsequent to the 1917 CIC, that has been of the protagonists in the introduction of the figure in canon law. Money and its role within the ecclesiastical patrimony constitute one of the main routes of renovation of the regime of alienation.

It considers in what way the priestly ministry is essentially at the service of the mission of the lay Christian faithful. This requires that priests may understand the proper identity of the laity, as well as the characteristics and the difficulties of their mission. It recalls the teaching of the Vatican II about their 'secular character' and the Christian encouragement of the temporal order as their specific task. In that way they do not act as longa manus of the hierarchy, but with liberty and responsability proper to the dignity of Christian faithful. Finally, it reflects about the development of non-ordained ministries. Together with the positive experiences, one must also recognize in this development the negative tendencies, such as the confusion regarding the difference between common and ministerial priesthood, the clericalization of the laity and their transformation in professional ministers.