By: Specola
There is a dynamic that repeats with unsettling regularity in the life of the Church: the denial of its own problems. It is perceived in the Church’s own life that the legal system seems increasingly unstable, increasingly compromised. «We have dedicated so many years to study. Why?»
Nowadays, in the Church, studying law makes no sense. Let us hope that a canonist Pope addresses this trend. But perhaps only now are we realizing how inappropriate it was to appoint bishops without legal competence in the past. Canon law, which should guarantee transparency, protection, and impartiality, is often exercised in an arbitrary, selective, almost capricious manner. It is no longer a matter of isolated cases: it is a systemic trend that undermines the credibility of the Church in its own claim to be the guardian of truth and justice.
In recent years, an increase in cases of convictions pronounced without a proper trial has been observed, of procedures lacking concrete evidence and punitive decrees issued with total disregard for the established canonical process.
Obedient priests, often fragile, are suspended or marginalized without even having had the opportunity to defend themselves. Meanwhile, others remain inexplicably unpunished, despite having scandalized the faithful for a long time. Some insult publicly, others appear on television programs, some use vulgar and coarse language, some publish statements on social media that cry out for vengeance before God, discrediting the Church itself. Some of these priests have even been convicted in civil and criminal courts, without this affecting their bishops in the slightest, who are busy arguing with civil society and causing half of the presbytery to flee from the dioceses to which they were unfortunately sent. Why this unequal treatment? Why are those who lack power, support, and silence harshly persecuted, while those who use the media pulpit to offend, spread fake news and division, and discredit their brothers and the Pope himself remain free? Is it perhaps because these individuals control their bishops, blackmailing them with files or threats? Or rather, because the episcopate, in too many cases, chooses the easy way out: showing strength before the weak and weakness before the strong?
Canon law loses credibility and is no longer an instrument of justice, but of convenience. It is no longer a bulwark of law, but a battlefield for personal interests and power dynamics. Canon law, as it is codified, offers clear norms: fair trial, possibility of defense, guaranteed evidence. But how often is all this ignored? How often do ecclesiastical courts become places where decisions already made in offices, episcopal chambers, or the corridors of a Roman dicastery are ratified?
St. Augustine: «Remota itaque iustitia quid sunt regna nisi magna latrocinia»; without justice, what are kingdoms but great bands of thieves? Without justice, what remains of its moral authority? If the Church does not guarantee justice to its priests, how can it demand justice from states, governments, and the powerful of the earth? Canon law, created to protect the weak and safeguard communion, is often used to punish the obedient and absolve the rebels.
This produces a devastating effect: a loss of faith. The faithful no longer believe in the justice of the Church, because they see with their own eyes the discrepancy between proclamations and reality. It is not about invoking indiscriminate repression or demanding summary judgments; on the contrary. It is about reaffirming a fundamental principle: justice must be equal for all. The credibility of canon law is not measured by written codes, but by concrete facts. True reform does not consist of a new law or another motu proprio, but in the choice of courage and competence.
We are surprised by cases of priestly scandals that populate the news, we have fresh the scandal in Spain protagonized by an illustrious member of the Toledo chapter.
In Italy, the news is about Brother Bernardino, 66 years old, from the Fraternity of Renewed Minors, originally from Colombia but resident in Palermo. He is accused of sexual assault against five victims, of whom only one was of legal age. In 2015, the friar allegedly asked the girls to undress and change in front of him. «He told us it was a way to express the freedom of our bodies. We were ashamed, but we did it quickly out of shame». His superior testified before the court, recounting the canonical investigation initiated against the friar when the matter came to light in 2014.
Without justice, there is no peace, neither inside nor outside the Church. Without justice, there is no credibility. Without justice, the Church becomes the caricature that its enemies have always denounced: a self-referential institution, capable of preaching but not of living what it preaches. Can we still trust in canon law?