Kwestia niezmienności spuścizny kanonicznej Kościoła w kontekście współczesnych wyzwań
The Issue of the Immutability of Church Canonical Law in the Context of Contemporary Challenges

Summary/Abstract: Today we face a number of ethical issues that cause controversy in their assessment. Some of them had already existed in history, other have arisen as a result of the development of modern technologies. Problems that had existed before are in large part addressed in the canonical legacy of the Church. However, they are now subject to the new evaluation. This involves the question of immutability of canonical law. Since the canons relate to dogmatic teaching, they cannot be changed in matters of doctrine. Dogmas express what is unchangeable in Revelation, whereas canons express what is variable in the historical forms. Canons therefore should not be dogmatized. History shows that some canons in the changing historical conditions became obsolete, also the new ones were formed. In some cases – although a few only – canons were changed. But this always happened in order to help a man in the pursuit of salvation. Therefore theologians developed different opinions on the concept of the immutability of canons. Despite the enormous canonical legacy, in case of new challenges there is not always a specific normative designation. According to the ancient practice, the Church should as soon as possible give answers to the burning issues to eliminate ambiguous and incorrect assessment of new phenomena. All this proves that the canonical works cannot be considered completed.

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