A Look at a few problems with the New Code of Canon Law
Canon : #
1. 6 § 1 ° The old code of 1917 is entirely abrogated. No more distinctions as in the old code canon 6. Only with this canon in 1983 is abolished the excommunication ipso facto St Pius X imposed on all who contradict any of his teachings against Modernism in "Lamentabili" & "Pascendi" of 1907 (cf. Denz 2114).
2. 11 Now only Catholics are considered bound to Church law. The old code includes all baptised reasonable adults, while allowing exceptions (12, 87, 1099, 1070). In the same way Papal writings would use the word Christian as a synonym for Catholic. This is an ecumenical canon, denying implicitly the full authority of Christ's One True Church.
3. 87 § 1 Diocesan bishops can now dispense anyone from universal disciplinary laws made by the supreme ecclesiastical authority. This canon favours collegiality, allowing every modernist bishop to undermine the laws of the Church.
4. 129 § 2 Lay people, even women, can co-operate in the exercise of Church government. They always did help the clergy as advisers etc, in an unofficial capacity. This code gives lay folk a right to full paid wages as church leaders, thus weakening the structure given by Christ, and resulting in "nuns" overruling parishes.
5. 204 § 1 All lay people are told to exercise priestly teaching and ruling offices in the Church; with no mention of the essential difference of their role to that of the ordained clergy. Indeed the chapter on "Christ's Faithful" now comes before that of clerics (#232 ff).
§ 2 The Church is defined as a society, dropping the adjective "perfect". It retains the word "subsists" to broaden ecumenical horizons, implicitly renouncing exclusive claim to being Christ's one true Church.
6. 208 All groups in the Church (lay, clerical, religious) have "genuine equality of dignity and action" as if the state of virginity and the role of priests were equal to the married or lay state. This was condemned forcefully by numerous Popes, including Pius XII in 1949.
7. 228 § 1 Lay people are now given places in the hierarchy which belong to clerics.
8. 230 § 1 Lay ministries replace minor orders - harmful to vocations & further dissolves the distinction between clergy and laity
§ 2 Women can now read in Church, contrary to Holy Scripture (I Cor 14:34); even act as commentator or cantor, thus disrupting sacred services, and distracting men who try to concentrate on God.
§ 3 Women can give Holy Communion and baptism, contrary to all tradition.
9. 231 § 2 Lay man and women have a right to permanent special ministries with the right to payment for assisting at clerical functions. This is also harmful to vocations, and to respect for sacraments.
10. 239 § 3 Seminary students now share in the rector's responsibility, especially in discipline. How very democratic, after all, we are all EQUAL.
11. 251 Philosophy courses at seminaries must take into account historical investigations which are not perennially valid. This canon results in a smorgasbord approach to study, where truth and error are equally presented without any suitable explanation of why deviations from Thomism are wrong.
12. 330 Collegiality canon says the Pope and bishops are one. It is used to restrict the Pope's power of acting aside from the approval of the "college" of bishops, introducing a kind of democracy into the Church hierarchy.
13. 336 Supports above canon implying authority is no longer personal.
14. 354 Cardinals are asked to resign at seventy-five years of age, to weed out all the traditional ones. What other motivation could there be since retirement is unheard of before Vatican II except for sickness or gross incompetence.
15. 447 Episcopal conferences are now a permanent institution, further dissolving the power of the individual and his responsibility. These conferences often infringe the rights of a bishop to control his own diocese.
16. 665 § 2 No more punishment for apostates from religious life. Formerly they were excommunicated.
17. 752 Now is required an assent of faith to the college of bishops as well as the Pope, exercising their own authentic magisterium. This canon reinforces the error of two supreme powers in the Church, and tends to subjectivise (or relativise) tradition - their not the authentic magisterium. Hence we get the false concept of "Living Tradition" which conflicts, or evolves by substantial mutation with past papal teaching (Ecclesia Dei).
18. 755 § 1 The Church is said to be bound to promote the ecumenical movement, which the Catholic Church has already condemned (Mortalium Animos...)
19. 759 Lay women can now "exercise the ministry of the word" contrary to scripture and tradition.
20. 766 They may also preach in Church, further conducing to disorder and disturbance of faith.
21. 787 § 1 Missionaries must now establish "sincere dialogue" with unbelievers, which tends to put them on the same level.
22. 825 § 2 "Catholic members of Christ's faithful" implies non-Catholics are also members of Christ! Heretics may now join with Catholics in publishing the sacred scripture.
23. 827 § 3 Now the bishops approbation is not necessary for religious or moral writings with the exception of school text books. Censorship was and should be enforced.
24. 835 § 4 Lay folk have a share in the sanctifying office of the Church. This canon should emphasize the essentially passive role, only limited active role of such an office.
25. 836 Sounds very protestant : "Common priesthood" and "sacred ministries" shows no essential difference between clergy and laity.
26. 838 § 3 Bishop's conferences can allow liturgical adaptations. This was more encouraged by Rome in January 1994, including Liturgical rhythmic dancing.
27. 844 § 2 For "genuine spiritual advantages" Catholics may now receive absolution, Holy Communion and Extreme Unction from heretical or schismatic churches.
§ 3 Catholics priests may now give these sacraments to non-Catholics of the Eastern Churches
§ 4 Also they may be given to any kind of Protestant who asks for them, if they show Catholic faith as to the particular sacrament, yet remaining heretics. With this canon, one wonders how the scandal of indifferentism can be avoided.
28. 847 § 1 Now any kind of plant oil, even peanut oil, may be used for the sacraments, when only olive oil was previously considered suitable for validity.
29. 910 § 1 Deacon is now considered an ordinary minister of Holy Communion, contrary to tradition.
§ 2 Lay women can be appointed "minister" of Holy Communion.
30. 917 Now one can receive Holy Communion more than once a day, reinforcing the "meal mentality".
31. 933 Now Mass can be offered in a Protestant or a Jewish temple.
32. 943 Any lay women can now be minister of exposition of the Blessed Sacrament.
33. 1009 § 1 Abolished are the minor orders and subdiaconate. The seven orders are of apostolic antiquity (Trent session XXIII ch 2 Denz. 958) and should not be despised.
34. 1031 § 2 Permanent diaconate established for married men. This detracts from the dignity due to such high functions, exposes faithful to less suitably prepared ministers, and withdraws potential priestly vocations.
35. 1055 § 1 The purposes of marriage are distorted by presenting the secondary end as primary. The "wellbeing of the spouses" can mean their personal comfort over the duty of raising children. This canon is used by those who support contraception, and allow easy annulment, or “Catholic Divorce”.
36. 1095 § Never before have purely internal criteria sufficed for invalidating a marriage. The "causes of a psychological nature" are not defined.
37. 1125 § 1 A Catholic partner in a mixed marriage now makes no written promise, but only a verbal promise to try raising the children Catholic.
§ 2 The non-Catholic partner need not promise anything, thus the faith of the children and the peace and stability of the family is endangered.
38. 1127 § 1 Non-Catholic Eastern Rites now suffice for a valid Catholic wedding.
§ 2 Any public rite can be valid, if the local bishop dispenses the canonical form. This canon was used to justify marriage of a Catholic to a Jew before the Rabbi.
39. 1167 § 2 No longer is the prescribed form required for validity of Sacramentals.
40. 1168 Lay people can now administer Sacramentals. Why bother being a priest?
41. 1176 § 3 Cremation now generally allowed. This lessens reverence to the temple of the Holy Ghost.
42. 1183 Non-baptised and non-Catholics can be given Catholic burials.
43. 1194 No more can a superior or parent annul vows made by subjects. This is an implicit denial of the dominative power in God's order. False equality implied.
44. 1246 § 2 Bishops can now suppress holy days of obligation, or transfer them to Sunday, thus aiding the secularisation of society.
45. 1247 No more specifies what kind of work is forbidden on Sundays, viz: servile, judicial, monetary.
46. 1248
Violation of all
tradition, by allowing Mass of obligation to be attended on the evening before.
This canon
encourages non-observance of Sunday as a religious day; no wonder family life
is ruined by shops open seven days a week, and God is not worshipped as He
should be.
47. 1251 Abstinence and fasting can be reduced to two days in the year, against all tradition and necessity for common prescribed penance.
48. 1374 No more excommunication for a Catholic who joins the Masons who plot against the Church. Indeed penalties are now reduced drastically from 101 specific offences down to 36. The 1917 code had 37 ways to incur automatic excommunication, the new code has only 7. This is an abdication of authority.
49. 1382 Exaggerates the gravity of consecrating a bishop without a pontifical mandate. Pius XII made it serious offence for particular urgent reasons in the matter of communist China (1917 code suspension only).
50. 1397 No more distinction between cleric and lay persons in penalties for offences against personal rights.
51. 1421 § 2 Lay women could now be appointed judge in a Church hearing.
52. 1682 52. 1682 § 2 The appeal tribunal can immediately ratify a marriage nullity decision in the first instance. This makes it easier for destroying true marriages by mistake.
*Other serious omissions : No more penalties for : bigamy, giving sacraments to public sinners, failure to denounce one who solicits to sin, (thus encouraging child abuse), despising rubrics, not wearing clerical dress, etc, etc...
Thus we see the fruits of Vatican II in the new law, deviating Catholics from the path to Heaven and scandalising those who would join her. Let us pray that the Pope will courageously make all the necessary changes, first to the doctrine, then the worship, then the law - soon!