Considerations on the configurability of the case of illegitimate harm to good reputation (can. 220)

That the right to good reputation should be ascribed to the catalog of fundamental rights of the faithful was clear from the earliest work of the revision of the Code. It must, however, be interpreted as a relative and not an absolute right, since under certain conditions it can be placed in a second position. The text aims to trace some profiles of the configurability of the harm to a good reputation — if and when it can be said to be legitimate — on the basis of a jurisprudential re (of the Apostolic Signatura and the Roman Rota) and doctrine.

Keywords: good reputation; can. 220; legitimate harm to good reputation

“Proportionality” in CIC: A Norm, a Principle, and a System

The latest reform of Book VI introduced in a norm the obligation to look at proportionality between the crime and the punishment when it comes to a crime with an indeterminate punishment. Research shows us that this is not just a norm, nor just a normative principle, but fundamentally a “way of reasoning” laws in all fields of application.

Keywords: can. 1349; indeterminate penalty; just cause.

The general decree of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life of 3 June 2021 on the exercise of governance in international associations: a first step towards a comprehensive theological-canonical framework for church movements?

The contribution first of all examines the general decree International Associations of the Faithful that was issued on 3 June 2021 by the Dicastery for the Laity, Family, and Life, that regulates the exercise of governance in international associations of the faithful, both private and public, and in other bodies with legal personality subject to the supervision of the same Dicastery. The article then presents the mens of this document, its recipients, regulatory provisions on the term of office of central governing bodies, and representation through the right of active voice ascribed to members with full rights. In particular, it addresses a number of interpretative issues concerning the duration of mandates. Subsequently, on the basis of the conviction that it is opportune and even necessary to have a comprehensive regulation of various ecclesial movements and new communities (of which the decree could be seen as a first step), the article lists and briefly presents some psychological, ecclesiological, and canonical issues that should be addressed and resolved together with the preparation of the predispositions of the aforementioned norms, in order to finally offer such movements and new communities the possibility of having a presence in the Church that is theologically founded and canonically guaranteed.

Keywords: associations; movements; government of associations.

Voting, elections, majorities and minorities: interesting el-ements of ecclesial synodality

The article asserts that it is easy to find, both within official documents and in the speeches of various experts, a certain aversion to voting and elections and thus to the subject of majorities and minorities. In this regard, this study subjects the text of the Apostolic Constitution Episcopalis communio, n. 7, to a critique. The article concludes with an emphasis on the special importance of voting and elections as an expression of the person and his or her particular contribution within the process of ecclesial synodality.

Keywords: ecclesial synodality; voting; elections; majorities and minorities; person; peculiar contribution.