Definition of parish: codification of can. 515
In the current Code, for the definition of parish, the legislator adopts the doctrine of the Second Vatican Council, which presents the parish as a coetus fidelium (cf. SC 42) or communitas (cf. AG 30; CD 30). The work that created the can. 515, from the first drafts to its finalization, points to the terminological and structural variations that occurred throughout the various schemes, resulting in the definition of the Parish and its constitutive elements.
Keywords: parish; can. 515; codification process; parish pastor.

The Right of the Parish Community to have the Parish Priest as proper Pastor
In light of the conciliar magisterium and the Code of Canon Law, the present article seeks to answer the question why a parish might be entitled to have a parish priest as its proper pastor, taking into consideration the juridical meaning of parish and parish priest, as well as the mutual relationship of their respective ecclesiological s. Salvation (salus animarum) or the good of souls is emphasized as the essential foundation of the parish’s right to have a parish priest as its
proper pastor.
Keywords: rights of the faithful; parish community; parish priest; proper pastor; salus animarum.

Lay participation in the pastoral care of the parish
Taking as his starting point the ecclesiological vision of the parish as the embodiment of the local Church, the author sets out to show how a lay person can participate in the pastoral care of a community of the faithful. After analysing the current provisions of canon law, the article distinguishes between participation at the community level through membership of an association or corporate entity and the direct participation of an individual member of the faithful. The
concluding reflections touch on the subject of the formation of the laity and well on the question of eventual normative developments in the light of the recent Synod of Bishops on Synodality in the Church.
Keywords: Layperson; Baptism; pastoral care; pastor; pastoral council; council for economic affairs; synodality.

The Structures of Ecclesial Synodality the Deliberative Communal Subject
Dioceses and parishes are presented in the Code as juridic persons (cf. cann. 373 and 515 §3), clearly as types of universitates personarum (cf. can 115 §1). For this reason, both dioceses and parishes are to be considered as a “unit” and, at the same time, as being composed of a plurality of persons. We can therefore use the term “communal subject”. This subject acts by performing acts of the will in the context of apposite voting. We can therefore complete the aforementioned term
and use that of “deliberating communal subject”. Just as the communal subject is a unit but composed of several persons, in the same way the act performed by the deliberative communal subject is a single act but composed of the several acts of will performed by the persons making up the subject itself. Hence, the members of the subject perform, and each must perform, an act of will. There follows the evidence of the deliberative vote. The structures of ecclesial synodality at the diocesan and parish levels are nothing else than this, albeit in a smaller version. Thus, what has been said of the latter also applies to the relative structures of ecclesial synodality: a deliberative communal subject with a deliberative vote.
Keywords: dioceses; parishes; juridical persons; universitas personarum; deliberative communal subject; structures of ecclesial synodality.

False Mysticism: A Hidden Crime?
“False mysticism” refers to the attempted moral legitimization of an immoral act with theological-spiritual  reasoning that instrumentalizes the invocation of the name of God, supported (1) by an incorrect reading of Christian revelation, (2) by misleading biblical exegesis, and (3) by a groundless set of ethics. It is an act with anti-juridical implications, in the face of which however canonical penal law currently does not seem to offer adequate means for the restoration of justice and the amendment of the allegedly offending party responsible for these acts. This article analyzes the phenomenon of false mysticism, its moral gravity, and the current possibilities of its penal prosecution in canon law, identifying a potential juridical solution by characterizing the specific form an applicable canonical norm might take.
Keywords: false mysticism; penal law; delicts; can. 1399; second commandment.

The Remonstratio. An effective way to avoid conflicts
The purpose of this study is to analyze in a concise manner one of the canonical instruments contained in the current canonical legislation as a concrete and effective means in the effort to avoid conflicts or to resolve them equitably when they have already arisen: the remonstratio. At the basis of this instrument are elements such as the legitimate defense of the rights of the faithful, which, if exercised correctly, cannot be considered an attack on ecclesial communion and the
evangelical call to avoid disputes and to seek solutions that reflect an adequate exercise of justice. Together with dialogue the remonstratio constitutes a first step in the search for such solutions.

Keywords: remonstratio; conflict resolution; legitimate defense; rights of the faithful; administrative justice; can. 1734.