ABOUT THE RIGHT OF NECESSITY IN THE CHURCH

"These canonical considerations are taken from a booklet by Professor George May, entitled Notwehr, Widerstand und Notand. Begriffliche Klärungen (Legitimate Defense; Resistance and Necessity. Clarifications of these notions), published in Vienna by Mediatrix-Verlag in 1984 (29 pages). (Translation from the Rome Courier).

State of Necessity

The 1917 Code of Canon Law spoke of necessity in canon 2205 § 2 and 3. The law does not say what is included under this term, leaving it to jurisprudence and doctrine to specify its meaning. But it emerges from the context that necessity is a state in which vital goods are endangered in such a way that, in order to avoid the danger, the violation of certain laws is unavoidable.

Law of necessity

The Code recognizes necessity as a circumstance that exempts from any penalty in case of violation of the law as long as the action is not intrinsically evil or does not cause harm to souls; otherwise necessity will only mitigate the penalty.

State of Necessity in the Church

In the Church (as in civil society) a state of necessity is conceivable which cannot be overcome by the observance of positive law. Such a situation exists in the Church when the persistence, order and activity of the Church are considerably threatened or injured. This threat can fall principally upon doctrine, worship and ecclesiastical discipline. (… )

Right of Necessity in the Church

State of necessity justifies the right of necessity. The right of necessity in the Church is the sum of valid juridical rules, in case of threat against the persistence and activity of the Church.

This right of necessity can be claimed only when all the possibilities of achieving, relying on positive law, the reestablishment of a normal situation have been exhausted.

The right of necessity also permits the taking of measures, the launching of initiatives, the creation of organisms that are necessary for the Church to be able to continue her mission of preaching divine truth and dispensing the grace of God.

The right of necessity justifies only those measures that are necessary for the restoration of the functions of the Church. The principle of proportionality must be observed. (…)

The Church, and its organs in the first place, has the right but also the duty to take all necessary measures to avert dangers. In a situation of necessity, the pastors of the Church can take extraordinary measures to protect or restore the activity of the Church. If one organ fails to exercise its essential and indispensable functions, the other organs have the right and the duty to use the power they have in the Church so that the life of the Church may be guaranteed and its purpose attained. If the ecclesiastical authorities refuse to do so, the responsibility of the other members of the Church increases, but so do their rights".

This is a translation of: http://catapulta.com.ar/?p=2335