教会法与基督教之爱——格兰西《教会法汇要》的启示

Canon Law and Christian Love:Some Reflections on the Dectrum Gratian

与中世纪教会法大为不同的是,1917年和1983年的《天主教法典》(Codex iuris canonici)基本上没有刑法内容,婚姻法以外的民法内容也比较简略,主要涉及教会财产,同时承认世俗民法和法庭的约束以补教会财产法之不足。两部法典几乎不讨论世俗事务,都非常强调自身的宗教性,注意与国家法律分清界线。也就是说,中世纪西欧教会法和世俗法权能划分不清、教会法庭和世俗法庭争夺司法事务管辖权的问题在根本上得到了解决。

Scholars of medieval legal history consider Gratian one of the most important lawyers in the twelfth-century revival of law.He provides the Church with a well organized body of judicial ideas and norms based on scholastic methodology. Divine grace incarnates in the law of the Church which facili- tates rather than contradicts charity.Unlike secular law,canon law can never ignore moral values,especially the will of God from which canon law itself originates.Therefore,the thesis that justice and mercy are harmonized in Christian love is characteristic of canon law.Gratian is not only one of the earliest canonists who contribute in methodology to the establishment of canon law as an independent discipline,but also one of those who first clarify and explain system- atically this fundamental nature of canon law.