cormacburke.me.ke - The 'good of the spouses'

Still more on the "good of the spouses" (Newsletter, Canon Law Society of Great Britain & Ireland, Sept. 1998, pp. 55-59)

webmaster — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 07:52:52 +0000

It was encouraging to see in your Newsletter no. 110. that the debate on the bonum coniugum is very much alive. While Fr. Paul Churchill's article marks a particularly thought-provoking contribution, he makes a few points concerning my own ideas that I would like to clarify.

The Bonum Coniugum and the Bonum Prolis; Ends or Properties of Marriage? (The Jurist 49 (1989), 704-713).

webmaster — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 07:52:26 +0000

Canon 1055 of the new Code presents matrimony as being directed to two ends: it is "by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and toward the procreation and education of offspring" ("indole sua naturali ad bonum coniugum atque ad prolis generationem et educationem ordinatum").

Progressive jurisprudential thinking (The Jurist 58 (1998:2), pp. 437-478)

webmaster — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 07:51:49 +0000

Progress in juridic science

Juridic science must progress, just as any other science. Otherwise it stagnates and loses vitality. By means of continuous reflection it needs to seek deeper insights on major questions that have always been at its very basis, such as the relation of truth and justice; or on the juridic treatment to be given to what may be considered new but are certainly not secondary themes, such as the definition and legal protection of human rights; or again on lesser but still important topics, such as the way of accelerating legal procedures without violation of due process or detriment to justice.

More on the "Good of the Spouses" (Newsletter, Canon Law Society of Great Britain & Ireland, 1998)

webmaster — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 07:51:21 +0000

May I offer a few comments on Fr. Patrick Connolly's interesting paper "Reflections on the Good of the Spouses", given at the 1996 Canon Law Conference in Glasgow. In his opening paragraphs he makes very important points: a) that the "bonum coniugum" is an objective (institutional) end of marriage rather than any subjective end of the parties [1]; b) "post-conciliar documents give great attention to the good of the spouses, [but] do not identify its specific elements" (pp. 27-28). In these latter words he pinpoints the main problem, and suggests the dangers of over-invoking a totally new term without having identified not just its elements but its very nature. It seems unwise to make any broad use of a new term without having a fairly precise notion of what it means; and particularly, in the case of canonists, of its juridic scope and effect.

Married personalism and the ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â«good of the spousesÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â» (Angelicum 75 (1998), pp. 255-269)

webmaster — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 07:16:04 +0000

Self-giving is the basic notion of christian personalism, as is so succinctly expressed in that key phrase of Gaudium et Spes: "man can fully discover his true self only in a sincere giving of himself" (GS 24). In these pages therefore the idea of marital self-donation - mutually made and mutual accepted in all sincerity - has largely guided our consideration of personalism as present in the matrimonial canons of the new Code. Before ending these brief considerations, I wish to turn again to that other significantly personalist term, the "bonum coniugum" or the "good of the spouses", which c. 1055, the opening canon of the Title on Matrimony, presents (along with procreation) as an end of the conjugal institution.

Annulments: the good of the spouses, the family and the Church (New York Lecture, 1999. Linacre Quarterly, 2000)

webmaster — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 07:15:27 +0000

Annulments: the good of the spouses, the family and the Church (New York Lecture, 1999. Linacre Quarterly, 2000)

As my title suggests, I propose to look at several aspects connected with the topic of annulments, none of which has to do directly with canonical procedures. But a prior word may not be out of place on two questions that I am at times asked. One is, if I am in favor or against annulments? Perhaps a somewhat naive question, since naturally I am in favor; very strongly so, when a proper judicial process shows that a declaration of nullity corresponds to the facts. Then one is dealing with a matter of justice, of the upholding of ecclesial rights.

Personalismo Conjugal e «Bem dos Conjuges» (Celebração Litúrgica)

webmaster — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 13:31:41 +0000

Por que é que dentro da Igreja, seguindo escrupulosamente as indicações para a renovação da vida cristã em geral e da vida conjugal em particular, que o Concílio Vaticano II procurou apresentar, mesmo assim são tantos os matrimónios católicos que fracassam? Há quem atribua a culpa ao «personalismo» moderno, que em seu entender não fez outra coisa senão fomentar uma visão egoísta do matrimónio, encorajada por certa ênfase sobre o matrimónio como união de amor, unida a uma desvalorização do seu fim procriativo.