About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

74 Jurist 91 (2014)
The Obligation of Perfect and Perpetual Continence and Married Deacons in the Latin Church: Canonical Implications

handle is hein.journals/juristcu74 and id is 95 raw text is: THE JURIST 74(2014) 91-129 ANTHONY K. W. MCLAUGHLIN* The Obligation of Perfect and Perpetual Continence and Married Deacons in the Latin Church: Canonical Implications Introduction Through the reception of diaconate a man becomes a cleric.' Canon 277 §1 states: Clerics are obliged to observe perfect and perpetual continence for the sake of the kingdom of Heaven and therefore are bound to celibacy.2 Accordingly, it would seem that clerics have two distinct obligations: * Assistant Professor, School of Canon Law, The Catholic University of America, Wash- ington, DC. i. Codex luris Canonici auctoritate loannis Pauli PP. II promulgatus (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1983) c. 266 §1. English translation will be taken from Code of Canon Law, Latin-English Edition: New English Translation (Washington, DC: CLSA, 1998). All subsequent English translations of canons from this code will be taken from this source unless otherwise indicated. 2. C. 277 §1: Clerici obligatione tenentur servandi perfectam perpetuamque propter Regnum caelorum continentiam, ideoque ad caelibatum adstringuntur.... A plain reading of the canon would bind married permanent deacons to perfect and perpetual continence from the moment of ordination. In examining this canon the author is mindful of the methods of interpretation contained in canon 17. Laws are to be understood according to the proper meaning of words, both their text and context. Only if meaning remains doubtful or obscure may one have recourse to other interpretative aids. See Javier Otaduy, Ecclesiastical Laws, in Exegetical Commentary on the Code of Canon Law, ed. Angel Marzoa et al. (Chicago, IL: Midwest Theological Forum, 2004) 1:325-337.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most