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Journal: Ecumeny and Law

The Fides—Sacramentum Matrimonii Relationship in the Post-Synodal Era (2015—). A New Concept of Response to Doctrinal Impulses

Andrzej Pastwa

Language: PL | Published: 25-06-2023 | Abstract | pp. 7-31

In 2020 the International Theological Commission published an important document: The Reciprocity Between Faith and Sacraments in the Sacramental Economy. The document is a presentation of six years of expert work on exploring the relationship between faith and the sacraments. The original theological justification, offered here, of the specific role of faith in the validity and fruitfulness of each sacrament culminates, in some ways, in a focus on an ecclesiastically sensitive “area” (Ecclesia domestica) — which is already foreshadowed by the initial declarations under the “emphatic” subtitle: Faith and the Sacraments: A Reciprocity in Crisis. What is addressed here is a serious scholarly proposal for further reintegration of the doctrine of de sacramento matrimonii, with a nodal understanding of the issue of the sacramental dignity of marriage — a study strongly awaited since it is set in the context of the two memorable assemblies of the Synod of Bishops, of 2014 and 2015.
Adopting the hypothesis of justifiability of the title demarcation line (2015—), marking the “post-synodal era,” bestowed upon the author of this study — consequently — a need to comprehensively examine how the International Theological Commission implemented in concreto the synodal appeals of bishops in 2014 — the first appeal (from Instrumentum laboris of the Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops): “there is a need to deepen the question of the relationship between faith and the Sacrament of Matrimony”; and a later appeal (from Relatio Synodi of the Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops): “it is necessary to consider the possibility of giving importance to the faith of the nupturients in ascertaining the validity of the Sacrament of Marriage, all the while maintaining that the marriage of two baptized Christians is always a sacrament.” In the concluding remarks the author answers the question that preoccupies the canonist: Can it be assumed that the result of the Commission’s six-year long work is — important for the canonical doctrine and, above all, helpful for the consistent jurisprudence — a clarification of the questio dubia: “baptized non-believers” and the sacrament of marriage?

2023-06-25



Journal: Ecumeny and Law

Conscience — Synodality — Ecumenism

Tomasz Gałkowski

Language: EN | Published: 10-08-2022 | Abstract | pp. 157-172

The reference point for deliberations is constituted by two documents: the Apostolic Constitution of Francis Episcopalis communio and the final document of XV General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops dedicated to the problems of young people Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment. The synodal document presented the issues which were not discussed during the synodal sessions and concern the synodal path of the Church. The author reflects on common elements of both documents and interprets each of them in the light of the other one. He highlights the element of discernment of gifts, charisms, and conscience, which determine the position of the faithful in the ecclesial community and influence the bonds between them and the pastors of the Church. Extending the area of implementation of the synodal character of the Church allows the author to ask the question about the model of the presence of the Church in the world. The
author points out similarities between the synodal way and the methodology of ecumenical dialogue, which may affect summoning of the Synod dedicated to ecumenical issues.

2022-08-10



Journal: Ecumeny and Law

Diocesan Synod Today. In What Shape?

Wojciech Góralski

Language: PL | Published: 24-11-2019 | Abstract | pp. 7-27

The Second Vatican Council shaped a new model for a diocesan synod, which was adopted, among others, in Poland, and is characterised by a departure from making the norms of particular law and the popularisation of the council teaching in particular Churches. On the other hand, after the promulgation of the new Code of Canon Law in 1983, the diocesan synods adjusted the diocesan law to the code norms. When this period of the reception of the code law to the diocesan legislation achieved its result, the final resolutions of the subsequent diocesan synods, which were usually extensive, do not meet — to a large extent — the requirements set by the documents of the Holy See: Instruction of the Congregation for Bishops and the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Nations of 1997 and the Directory of the Congregation for Bishops Apostolorum successores of 2004. The author calls for the use of these enunciations so that diocesan synods can be an effective tool for the renewal of a particular Church.

2019-11-24



Journal: Ecumeny and Law

Synodality and the Subjectivity of the Laity in the Church

Aleksander Ryszard Bańka

Language: EN | Published: 30-06-2024 | Abstract | pp. 49-65

The XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, initiated by Pope Francis on 9—10 October 2021 in Rome, under the watchword: “Towards a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission,” involves lay people on an unprecedented scale in co-creating the synodal process. Why is this voice of lay people so important that it should be heard not only in the synodal process but — more broadly speaking — in the entire synodal style of functioning of the Church? This is connected with the fact that lay people are by no means an inferior part of the Church, what is more — the foundation of their subjectivity in the Church is not first of all the division into clergy and laity, which has a secondary meaning and specifies the nature of the vocation realized in the Church, but the Christian identity received with holy baptism. This article shows how Pope Francis, by developing the concept of synodality, consistently continues the council’s intuition of restoring lay people’s subjectivity in the Church and deepening the understanding of their Christian identity.

2024-06-30



Journal: Ecumeny and Law

Ecclesia in Europa: Biblical-Theological and Organizational-Structural Aspects of the Exhortation

Stanislav Přibyl

Language: EN | Published: 31-12-2024 | Abstract | pp. 47-66

The present article discusses John Paul II’s exhortation Ecclesia in Europa (2002), focusing first on the biblical sources of its systematics. In fact, the framework of the exhortation is defined by several passages taken from the Revelation of St. John; however, the text is also filled with other biblical references. The origins of the Trinitar- ian theological inspiration in the exhortation relate to the preparations for the Great Jubilee of the year 2000, since each of the three years preceding the Jubilee was dedi- cated to one of the three persons of the Holy Trinity. On the one hand, the exhortation expresses hope for the European continent, whose unique source is the person of Jesus Christ; on the other hand, it does not obfuscate the problems the Church in Europe faces, for instance, abandoning the sacrament of reconciliation and the moral princi- ples of premarital purity, favouring new ecclesial movements at the expense of a parish pastoral model; excessive activism accompanied by a lack of contemplation. The exhor- tation welcomes the process of European integration and its organizational and insti- tutional guarantees. Thanks to the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE), this dynamic also finds a reflection in the Catholic Church itself. However, the exhor- tation takes a critical view of abortion and euthanasia, as forms of attack on innocent human life.

2024-12-31