Monsignor Juan Ignacio Arrieta.
PHOTO: Manuel Castells

"The Canon Law expresses the being of the Church and has as challenge to show correctly the identity and principles of the Church, with a language and forms appropriate to the culture of each moment". Juan Ignacio Arrieta, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts committee . Msgr. Arrieta participated as speaker in a conference on workshop on team management in Church entities, organized by the University of Navarra.organized by the group of research on the Support of the Catholic Church (GISIC). (GISIC).

As he pointed out, the Church's laws "translate the content of the faith into socially recognized juridical forms," so that "when the Magisterium delves into new aspects, it is sometimes necessary to correct the formulation of certain laws so that they better express the reality of the Church.

In this regard, he referred to the project revision of Book VI of the Code of Canon Law, 'On Sanctions in the Church' that has been underway for some years: "Some choices that were made in this area in the seventies have been found to be difficult to implement, created uncertainty and greatly complicated the role of the bishop who has to apply the criminal law. For this reason, as happens with any law that is found not to be working properly, it has become necessary to correct it".

Adaptation to new realities and different cultures

Bishop Arrieta affirmed that flexibility is one of the characteristics of the Church's law, as reflected "in its capacity to adapt to new realities" and "to adapt to very different cultures while respecting the fundamental core of the faith".

In this regard, he recalled how "the Church's juridical order has been able to adapt to the different cultures of the earth, taking on traditions as different as those of Africa, Japan, Latin America over twenty centuries, while remaining faithful to its fundamental principles. This capacity is unparalleled and is a reflection in the juridical field of the universality of the Catholic faith.

The secretary of the Pontifical committee for Legislative Texts made these statements at the framework of the workshop 'La Personnel Management Service en el gobierno patrimonial de las entidades ecclesiasticas', which took place at the Schools Eclesiasticas of the University of Navarra on June 4 and 5. It was attended by more than 50 experts, including members of government teams and management from 25 Spanish dioceses.

Some of the speakers were David Martín, director Procurement of the Spanish Episcopal lecture ; Miguel Ángel Ariño, professor at IESE; and coach and consultant Carlos Andreu.