DELITTI CONTRO LA SANTITÀ DELL’EUCARISTIA E LA SIMULAZIONE DELL’AZIONE LITURGICA (CANN. 1367; 1378 §2, 1°; 1379)
DELICTS AGAINST THE SANCTITY OF THE EUCHARIST AND THE SIMULATION OF THE LITURGICAL ACTION

Summary/Abstract: The present article addresses two groups of delicts from the sixth book of the current Code of Canon Law (Sanctions in the Church), i.e. Delicts against the sanctity of the Eucharist and the simulation of the liturgical action. The content of this book is debated among theologians and canonists, raising a variety of questions: Does the Church have the right to coerce the faithful with penal sanctions? Should penal law exist in the Church, or do certain organizing measures suffice? Based on the first canon of the sixth book (can. 1311), this article shows that using sanctions is a native right of the Church. Since sacraments, in particular the Eucharist, belong to the essence of the Church, the delicts against the sanctity of the Most Holy Sacrament and the simulation of the Sacraments have a great impact on the life of the Church. Therefore, although there are many open questions and several ambiguities around this issue, the present article argues that the Church needs an adequate legal order in the case of sacraments.

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