Justice and mercy from the perspective of canon law
Introduction; I. The definition of justice and mercy; II. Justice and mercy as the fundamental PRINCIPLE FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE; III. JUSTICE AND MERCY IN THE CANONICAL PENAL LAW; CONCLUSION
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
2022
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| In: |
Folia theologica et canonica
Year: 2022, Volume: 11(33/25), Pages: 149-160 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Criminal law
/ Justice
/ Patristics
/ Thomas Aquinas 1225-1274
/ Mercy
/ Absolution
/ Church law
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| IxTheo Classification: | SB Catholic Church law |
| Further subjects: | B
canonical penal law
B Distributive Justice B righteousness of God B mutual justice B internal and external forum B sacrament of penance |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | Introduction; I. The definition of justice and mercy; II. Justice and mercy as the fundamental PRINCIPLE FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE; III. JUSTICE AND MERCY IN THE CANONICAL PENAL LAW; CONCLUSION Justice (from a human perspective), summarizing the Church s position in different epochs and in different contexts, yet united, is the right action which is in accordance with the order established by God. A patristic understanding of justice and mercy is synthesized in the works of St. Thomas Aquinas. The Angelic Doctor s statement, based on the thought of St. Gregory the Great, that in just punishments justice and mercy are expressed together by the person s realization through suffering of his cleansing from minor sins and approach to God, detached from the temporal attachments of this world, is particularly significant. After baptism, the repentant believer is cleansedfrom sins committed after baptism by the valid reception of the sacrament of absolution. This simplified brief definition summarizes the most essential elements of the canonical prescriptions which have been crystallized in ecclesiastical sources since the early Christian epoch. The reconciliation through confession, thanks to the gift of God’s grace and compassion through the ministry of the Church, gives the people capacity to abstain from sin, to be more attentive to the fulfilment of penance and to heal those wounds which sin has caused in the soul and bad inclinations. With regard to the concept of the canonical penal law, the current Code of Canon Law still explicitly and emphatically considers the prosecution and the imposition ofpunishment as the last resort, because of the primarily curative nature of ecclesiastical sanctions. |
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| ISSN: | 2063-9635 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Folia theologica et canonica
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