18 - The Codes of Canon Law: 1917, 1983, 1990

Summary

Canon law has played a role in the life of the Church since its earliest days. For many centuries, it was largely customary and local. However, from the sixth century on, the Roman pontiff played an increasingly prominent role in shaping and applying this law in the West. This tendency to centralize authority in the hands of the Roman pontiff reached its culmination with the promulgation of the first Code of Canon Law in 1917. Cut off from the law’s roots in history and theology, this code derived its force from the will of the pontiff who enacted it. The Second Vatican Council, from 1962 to 1965, attempted to balance the role of the pope with that of the College of Bishops and to move toward decentralization of authority by enhancing the figure of the diocesan bishop and creating episcopal conferences. These conciliar efforts have been implemented, at least in part, in the revised Latin code of 1983 and the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches of 1990. Nevertheless, subsequent legislating has come largely through the unilateral action of the Roman pontiff.