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BOOK II. THE
PEOPLE OF GOD (LIBER II. DE POPULO DEI)
PART I. THE
CHRISTIAN FAITHFUL
TITLE I. THE
OBLIGATIONS AND RIGHTS OF ALL THE CHRISTIAN
FAITHFUL (Canon 208 - 223)
TITLE I.
THE OBLIGATIONS
AND RIGHTS OF ALL THE CHRISTIAN FAITHFUL (Canon
208 - 223)
Can. 208 From
their rebirth in Christ, there exists among all
the Christian faithful a true equality regarding
dignity and action by which they all cooperate
in the building up of the Body of Christ
according to each one’s own condition and
function.
Can. 209 §1. The
Christian faithful, even in their own manner of
acting, are always obliged to maintain communion
with the Church.
§2. With great
diligence they are to fulfill the duties which
they owe to the universal Church and the
particular church to which they belong according
to the prescripts of the law.
Can. 210 All the
Christian faithful must direct their efforts to
lead a holy life and to promote the growth of
the Church and its continual sanctification,
according to their own condition.
Can. 211 All the
Christian faithful have the duty and right to
work so that the divine message of salvation
more and more reaches all people in every age
and in every land.
Can. 212 §1.
Conscious of their own responsibility, the
Christian faithful are bound to follow with
Christian obedience those things which the
sacred pastors, inasmuch as they represent
Christ, declare as teachers of the faith or
establish as rulers of the Church.
§2. The Christian
faithful are free to make known to the pastors
of the Church their needs, especially spiritual
ones, and their desires.
§3. According to
the knowledge, competence, and prestige which
they possess, they have the right and even at
times the duty to manifest to the
sacred pastors their opinion on matters which
pertain to the good of the Church and to make
their opinion known to the rest of the Christian
faithful, without prejudice to the integrity of
faith and morals, with reverence toward their
pastors, and attentive to common advantage and
the dignity of persons.
Can. 213 The
Christian faithful have the right to receive
assistance from the sacred pastors out of the
spiritual goods of the Church, especially the
word of God and the sacraments.
Can. 214 The
Christian faithful have the right to worship God
according to the prescripts of their own rite
approved by the legitimate pastors of the Church
and to follow their own form of spiritual life
so long as it is consonant with the doctrine of
the Church.
Can. 215 The
Christian faithful are at liberty freely to
found and direct associations for purposes of
charity or piety or for the promotion of the
Christian vocation in the world and to hold
meetings for the common pursuit of these
purposes.
Can. 216 Since
they participate in the mission of the Church,
all the Christian faithful have the right to
promote or sustain apostolic action even by
their own undertakings, according to their own
state and condition. Nevertheless, no
undertaking is to claim the name Catholic
without the consent of competent ecclesiastical
authority.
Can. 217 Since
they are called by baptism to lead a life in
keeping with the teaching of the gospel, the
Christian faithful have the right to a Christian
education by which they are to be instructed
properly to strive for the maturity of the human
person and at the same time to know and live the
mystery of salvation.
Can. 218 Those
engaged in the sacred disciplines have a just
freedom of inquiry and of expressing their
opinion prudently on those matters in which they
possess expertise, while observing the
submission due to the magisterium of the Church.
Can. 219 All the
Christian faithful have the right to be free
from any kind of coercion in choosing a state of
life.
Can. 220 No one
is permitted to harm illegitimately the good
reputation which a person possesses nor to
injure the right of any person to protect his or
her own privacy.
Can. 221 §1. The
Christian faithful can legitimately vindicate
and defend the rights which they possess in the
Church in the competent ecclesiastical forum
according to the norm of law.
§2. If they are
summoned to a trial by a competent authority,
the Christian faithful also have the right to be
judged according to the prescripts of the law
applied with equity.
§3. The Christian
faithful have the right not to be punished with
canonical penalties except according to the norm
of law.
Can. 222 §1. The
Christian faithful are obliged to assist with
the needs of the Church so that the Church has
what is necessary for divine worship, for the
works of the apostolate and of charity, and for
the decent support of ministers.
§2. They are also
obliged to promote social justice and, mindful
of the precept of the Lord, to assist the poor
from their own resources.
Can. 223 §1. In
exercising their rights, the Christian faithful,
both as individuals and gathered together in
associations, must take into account the common
good of the Church, the rights of others, and
their own duties toward others.
§2. In view of
the common good, ecclesiastical authority can
direct the exercise of rights which are proper
to the Christian faithful.
Source:
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__PU.HTM |
