Canon Law

Qualification Framework

Latin and Eastern Canon Law is aimed at cultivating and promoting canonical subjects in the light of God’s Word and the Magisterium of the Church, through scientific research and the formation of experts in Canon Law study and practice. In addition to providing Canon Law Professors with the necessary scientific preparation, it is aimed at training professionals who are able to carry out specific duties in ecclesial, apostolic, and diocesan Tribunals, and hold administrative posts both in diocesan Curias and Institutes of Consecrated Life [1].

[1] Cf. Veritatis Gaudium, art. 78

Canon Law
  • POST DOTTORATO

Post Doc:

It is the level of academic specialization that is focused on special and/or pioneering topics in the domain of Canon Law studies. It can be established in order to delve into a specific topic or meet professional and pastoral updating and retraining needs.

Access Criteria:

In order to access Post Doc courses, a Doctorate in Canon Law is required. Each Faculty can introduce their own criteria regarding the recognition of pastoral and/or professional experience to allow also Licentiates in Canon Law to enroll.

Workload: at least 60 ECTS.

Duration: at least 1 year.

Next level:

Not regulated. Courses are organized and degrees are issued under each institution’s responsibility.

 

  • TERZO CICLO

Doctorate in Canon Law

Access Criteria:

In order to access the Third Cycle of the Faculty of Canon Law, a Licentiate in Canon Law is required [1].

Duration:

At least as long as the time needed to perfect the necessary Canon Law formation to carry out scientific research aimed at writing a doctoral dissertation [2].

Workload: not specified.

The 3rd Cycle degree in Canon Law can be awarded to students who:

• have proved they are endowed with a systematic and advanced understanding of Canon Law and related research methods;
• have developed the full capability to use the specialist knowledge they have acquired to devise, design, and implement original research projects, in order to contribute to the progress of Canon Law in the light of Christian Revelation and evangelization [3];
• have developed the ability to develop and disseminate a vision of Canon Law that integrates different legal and institutional cultures, in a unified vison where the primacy of justice and equity is connected to the central value of the human person [4];
• are able to systematically convey the knowledge they have acquired through academic level teaching [5];
• are able to communicate with academic and professional experts, in the different domains of knowledge, in order to contribute to human civilization through the evangelizing mission of the Church [6].


[1] Cf. Veritatis Gaudium, art. 49 § 1

[2] Cf. Veritatis Gaudium, art. 78 c) (Decreto della Congregazione per l’Educazione Cattolica Novo codice 2 settembre 2002)

[3] Cf. Veritatis Gaudium, artt.: 3, §§ 1-3; 40 § 1 ; 49, § 2

[4] Cf, Sacrae Disciplinae Leges, 25 gennaio 1983

[5] Cf. Veritatis Gaudium, art. 50, § 1

[6] Cf. Veritatis Gaudium, art. 3, § 1. Cf. Giovanni Paolo II, «Proemio», Cost. Apostol. Sapientia Christiana, I, II

[7] Cf. Istruzione sugli studi di diritto canonico alla luce della riforma del processo matrimoniale, art. 11

 

 

 

  • SECONDO CICLO

Licentiate in Canon Law

Access Criteria:

Students who have completed the philosophical-theological curriculum in a Seminary or a Faculty of Sacred Theology can enroll in the 2nd Cycle, as well as students who have already studied a few subjects of the First (preparatory) cycle in a suitable Faculty or Institution. Each Faculty can lay down their own Access Criteria and the related curricular integrations that are required for admission [1].

Duration: 3 years [2].

Workload: at least 180 ECTS.

Next level: Doctorate in Canon Law.

The 2nd Cycle degree in Canon Law can be awarded to students who:

• have demonstrated an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the Code of Canon Law or the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, through the complete study of both magisterial and subject-specific sources [3];
• know and understand Latin and the history of Canon Law institutions [4];
• have proved they have the abilities that are related to administrative and judicial practices [5];
• are endowed with the necessary independent judgment in considering legal processes and the relations between the Church and (national and international) civil institutions, political communities, and civil and religious associations [6];
• have the ability to integrate their knowledge of Canon Law with the sources of law of particular Churches’ legal systems and ecclesial communities, as well as reconcile their legal training with pastoral sensitivity, in order to discern the true justice needs of God’s people [7];
• are able to communicate their conclusions clearly and unambiguously, by helping to grasp the justice component that is inherent in salvific goods, even prior to its inherent presence in the positive norms of the Code of Canon Law or the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, as well as the underlying ratio, to both specialist and non-specialist interlocutors;
• have the ability to convey this theoretical and practical knowledge when fulfilling ecclesiastical posts, in particular when teaching in major Seminaries or equivalent schools [8];
• have fully developed the theoretical, methodological, and language skills, in the domain of canonical studies, to continue their studies in the 3rd Cycle of Canon Law.

[1] Cf. Veritatis Gaudium, artt. 45, 48

[2] Cf. Veritatis Gaudium, art. 78 b)

[3] Cf. Veritatis Gaudium, art. 78 b)

[4] Cf. Veritatis Gaudium, art. 78 b)

[5] Cf. Veritatis Gaudium, art. 78 b)

[6] Cf. Veritatis Gaudium, art. 78 b)

[7] Cf, Sacrae Disciplinae Leges, 25 gennaio 1983

[8] Cf. Veritatis Gaudium, art. 50, § 1

 

 

 

 

 

  • PRIMO CICLO

First (preparatory) Cycle in Canon Law

Access Criteria:
In order to access the First Cycle of the Faculty of Canon Law, appropriate degrees are required to enroll in a university pursuant to the laws existing in students’ countries or in the region where the Faculty is located [1].

Duration: 2 years [2].

Workload: at least 120 ECTS.

Next level: Licentiate in Canon Law.

Students who complete the First (preparatory) cycle in Canon Law:

• have demonstrated knowledge and understanding of the basic principles of philosophy and theology, that are necessary in order to acquire a higher education in Canon Law [3];
• have demonstrated a sufficient knowledge and understanding of Latin and the history of Canon Law institutions [4];
• are able to apply this knowledge in an ecclesiological context and in the different connections with the civil world [5];
• have demonstrated their ability to communicate the unified vison stemming from canonical culture and what is related to it;
• have developed the basic theoretical, methodological, and language skills to enroll in the 2nd Cycle of Canon Law.

[1] Cf. Veritatis Gaudium, art. 47

[2] Cf. Veritatis Gaudium, art. 78 a)

[3] Cf. Veritatis Gaudium, art. 79 § 1

[4] Cf. Veritatis Gaudium, art. 78 a)

[5] Cf. Sacrae Disciplinae Leges, 25 gennaio 1983