The 343 page e-pub was edited by Archbishop Charles J. Scicluna and Dr. Myriam Wijlens, and contains a foreword by Cardinal Seán O'Malley, OFM Cap.

The Table of Contents includes the following authors and their topics:

Myriam Wijlens: The Rights of Alleged Victims in Penal Proceedings
Introduction to a Seminar 
Gianpaolo Montini: The Rights of Alleged Victims in Canonical Penal Procedures
Current Penal Procedural Canon Law
Fabián Salvioli: The Rights of the Victims: International Standards and the Need of
a Holistic Approach 
Ma. Liza Miscala-Jorda: Rights of Alleged Victims in Penal Procedures in the Philippines 
Jane Goodman-Delahunty, Nicholas Cowdery: Rights of Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse in Criminal Proceedingsin Australia 
Mary Graw Leary: A Crime Victim Rights Framework in the USA 
Jorge Cardona: Rights of Alleged Victims in Penal Procedures in Spain
María Inés Franck: Rights of Alleged Victims in Penal Procedures in Argentina and Current Approach to Victims’ Rights in Canon Law 
Raphaële Parizot: The Rights of Alleged Victims in Penal Procedures in France 

Livia Pomodoro: Rights of Alleged Victims in Criminal Proceedings in Italy, with
Reference to Canon Law 
Frauke Rostalski: The Rights of (Minor) Victims of Sexual Violence in German
Criminal Procedure
Małgorzata Skórzewska-Amberg: Polish Criminal Procedure in Respect of Sexual Offences Against Minors 
Mark L. Bartchak: The Position of Alleged Victims in the Canonical Penal Process
Aidan McGrath, OFM: With Dignity and Respect: How Victims May Participate in
Canonical Proceedings – Reflections on a Seminar by a Practising Canon Lawyer in Penal Matters 
Charles J. Scicluna: Quo vadis? Canonical Reflections on the Rights of Alleged Victims
in Canonical Procedures

Appointment of Promoter of Justice Substitute of
the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura

The Holy Father has appointed the Reverend Monsignor Shane Lee Kirby, previously an official at the Dicastery for the Clergy, as Substitute Promoter of Justice of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura. Monsignor Kirby was born on 12 March 1973 in Washington (United States of America) and received priestly ordination on 26 June 2004 for the Diocese of Scranton. He obtained, in 2005, the Licentiate in Patristic Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome (Italy) and, in 2014, the Licentiate in Canon Law from the Catholic University of America in Washington. In the Diocese of his incardination, in addition to various pastoral roles, he held the office of Chancellor and Episcopal Vicar for Canonical Affairs. Since 2017 he has been an official at the Dicastery for the Clergy.

See the official announcement at this link.

The 2024 Conference of the Orthodox Canon Law Society of North America

Deadline for Abstract Submission: May 31, 2024

Conference dates: October 18–19, 2024

The Orthodox Canon Law Society of North America (OCLSNA) holds an annual forum for the presentation and discussion of papers on every aspect of Orthodox canon law and on related topics relevant to the discipline. Orthodox canon law includes the entire field of Eastern Christian canonical history and practice, including the Oriental and Eastern Catholic traditions. The discipline extends beyond the review of formal legislation and includes a vast scope of practice and literature. The canonical and legal life of the Church is reflected in such diverse areas as hagiography, liturgy, art, hymnography, civil litigation, and pastoral practice.

Conference attendance and membership is open to all. Although blessed by Orthodox hierarchy, the society is academic in nature and not affiliated with any Orthodox jurisdiction or with the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States. The Society is an incorporated non-profit. The website of the society provides further information on recent activities (https://www.oclsna.org/news) and membership (https://www.oclsna.org/membership).

The society aims to foster growth in the study of the Orthodox canonical tradition by gathering scholars, professors, graduate students, attorneys, seminarians, and interested clergy in academic conferences to provide an avenue for the presentation of papers embodying current research in a professional setting.

The location of this year’s conference will take place on October 18–19, 2024 at the Maliotis Cultural Center located on the campus of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, 50 Goddard Avenue, Brookline, MA 02445.

The Program Committee invites proposals for papers on all topics and in all disciplines related to Orthodox canon law, as described above broadly construed. Scholars, professors, graduate students, attorneys, seminarians, and interested clergy are encouraged to contribute. Since the society is academic in nature, all are welcome to submit proposals without any consideration of denominational affiliation.

Paper proposals for the 2024 conference may be in the form of individual papers and complete panels. In both cases, abstracts for proposed papers must not exceed 500 words and must be written in a manner comprehensible to the members of the Program Committee. All proposed papers must be substantially original and, for the most part, not have been published previously. Each author is permitted to deliver only one paper at the conference.

To find more information, see the attached flyer, or visit the Society's website at https://www.oclsna.org/conference

Frequently Asked Questions

1)    Do I need to submit a completed paper before or at the conference?

No. Completed papers are never submitted. Papers are read at the conference but not submitted. 

Only proposals for papers are submitted to the program committee. These proposals take the form of abstracts. Please follow the instructions for their submission. The criteria for their acceptance are listed in the instructions.

2)    Will the accepted abstracts be published?

Yes. All accepted abstracts will be published for the conference.

3)    How long should a conference paper be?

The presentation of the paper must not exceed twenty-five minutes. The expected average time for reading a paper is twenty minutes. Please ensure beforehand that your presentation does not exceed the allotted time limits. 

Typically, three papers will be assigned to a panel. The presentation of the three papers and a question and answer/discussion time that follows will be allotted a maximum of two hours total.

4)    Will the papers be published in a conference volume?

No. Papers will be read at the conference, but not published. The text of the paper will not be distributed. 

Only the accepted abstract will be published for the conference. Absent extenuating circumstances, the submission of the accepted abstract for publication constitutes an agreement to present the paper at the conference. 

Mass of Christian Burial

Wednesday, February 28, 2024, 10:30 a.m.

St. Paul of the Cross Parish, 320 S. Washington Avenue, Park Ridge, IL 60068.

Main celebrant: Cardinal Blase J. Cupich.

Homilist: Reverend John Lodge.

Bishops are invited to concelebrate and are asked to inform the parish office of their participation (phone: 847-825-7605). Priests wanting to concelebrate are asked to bring an alb and a white or Archdiocesan stole.

Interment

Queen of Heaven Cemetery, 1400 S. Wolf Road, Hillside, IL 60162

Notes of condolences

Can be sent to the family care of Father Daniels’s sister, Mary Madda. 675 Sycamore, Lane, Glencoe, IL 60022.

Fr. Dan was born in Chicago and attended St. Giles School in Oak Park, Quigley North, Xavier University in Cincinnati, Loyola University Chicago and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary. He was a seminary classmate of Cardinal Wilton Gregory at Mundelein. In addition to his doctorate in canon law (from the Gregorian University), he held a master’s degree in divinity.

Over the past five decades, Fr. Dan served in many capacities, including: Judicial Vicar; Vicar for Canonical Services; Professor; Judge, Advocate, and Promoter of Justice for Canonical Penal Trials; Author; Teacher; and a member of the Diocesan Review Board.

Funeral arrangements are pending and will be posted here when they are announced. May Fr. Dan  rest in eternal peace.

CLSA members are invited and can pay member rates. 

The speakers this year include:

• Mons. Robert Oliver, Judicial Vicar, Archdiocese of Boston
• Rev Piotr Kroczek, Professor - Faculty of Canon Law, Pontifical University of St John Paul II, Krakow
• Sr Eleanor Campion OCSO, Consultor to the Abbot General, Rome
• Fr Przemyslaw Michowicz OFMC Conv, Professor - Faculty of Canon Law, Pontifical University of St John Paul II, Krakow
• Fr Gregory Pearson OP, Novice Master & Vocations Director, Blackfrairs, Oxford

Further details and to register, go to: https://canonlawsociety.org/annual-conference-2024

Father Paul died on the morning of Saturday, January 20, 2024 at Perryville, Missouri, the retirement facility of the Vincentian Community. 

There will be a wake service on Tuesday evening (January 23) at 7:00 p.m. Central at St. Mary's of the Barrens, Mary, Mother of God Chapel, Perryville, Missouri. The funeral Mass will be held on Wednesday, January 24 at 10:30 a.m. Central at Mary, Mother of God Chapel. The services will be livestreamed on their Facebook page at: stmarysofthebarrens.

Father Paul was interviewed for a podcast in 2022, and he recorded his Role of Law Award response at that time as well. The links to those podcasts are below, as are the links to two other video recordings of Father Paul.

Podcast interview: Acting Justly, Loving Tenderly, and Walking Humbly with our God

Paul reading his ROLA response: Role of Law Response 2005

Conversations with Confreres--Fr. Paul Golden, C.M. (4:15)

Fr. Paul Golden, C.M. shares why he enjoys being a Vincentian priest (3:55)

He received various assignments during his priesthood including Scholastic Professor in Pass Christian MS; Pastor in McCook MS; Director and Superior of Our Lady of the Snows Shrine in Belleville, IL; Central Province Provincial in St. Paul, MN; Director General Executive Secretary at General House Rome Italy; Professor of Canon Law, Ottawa ON Canada; and Tribunal Office for the Archdiocese of Chicago. 

This breadth of experience in pastoral duties and religious life added a unique dimension to his role as professor of canon law at St. Paul University from 1986-2000. He was likewise well-prepared for the role of professor by his own studies. He received licentiate degrees in philosophy and canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, also in Rome. He later obtained the Diploma of Advocate for the Roman Rota after completing the course at the Studia Rotale.

He authored numerous articles that were published in The Jurist, Monitor Ecclesiasticus, Newsletter of the Canadian Canon Law Society, Pastoral Sciences, The Priest, and Studia Canonica.  He authored or edited several books, many of which have been translated into other languages and published simultaneously in various places around the world, especially for the benefit of the Church in developing nations. 

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, December 12, 2023, at the Church of Our Lady of the Snows at the National Shrine Our Lady of the Snows, Belleville, IL. The Mass will be livestreamed on www.youtube.com/oblatesusa. Burial will be at the St. Henry’s Oblate Cemetery, Belleville, IL.

Online obituary available at https://rennerfh.com/fr-william-woestman-omi/.

A podcast featuring Fr. Woestman, our 2004 Role of Law Award recipient, is available at https://clsa.org/page/podcast_woestman.

Register by clicking this link.

Presentation

Ecclesial Movements and Lay Associations are widespread in the Church today. They involve tens of thousands of Catholics, of all states of life, each reality expressing its members’ common baptismal call to seek holiness and to evangelize, through a shared life and apostolate, often colored by a charism, sometimes in reference to a founder still in activity. And yet the notion of charismatically inspired communities in the service of the Church is not new. How these ‘new’ communities perceive themselves is reflected in how they are governed, yet how they are governed may be called to evolve over time. The Webinar will reflect on the criteria for a just exercise of authority in these realities, and on how models of authority are called to evolve if such communities are to continue to bear fruit.

Philip Gerard Milligan was born in Scotland in 1967. He is a lay person committed in celibacy in the Emmanuel Community, and lives in Rome. After graduating in Scots Law at the University of Aberdeen, he studied philosophy at L’Institut d’études théologiques in Belgium, and languages at L’Université Jean Moulin (Lyon III).  He studied Canon Law at the Pontifical University Santa Croce (Rome), completing his doctorate there in 2017, published as Approaches to Authority and Obedience in the International Ecclesial Movements and New Communities (EDUSC, Rome 2017). He coordinated the international office at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family (Rome) from 1997 - 2005. From 2012-2016 he was head of the legal office at the Pontifical Council for the Laity. Since 2016 he holds the same post at the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, the department of the Roman Curia that exercises the Holy See’s competency for the lay apostolate and associations of the faithful.

A vigil is scheduled for October 29 at 6 p.m. at Holy Family Parish in Orange, California. The funeral Mass will be celebrated on October 30 at 10:30 a.m. at Christ Cathedral. Both events will be livestreamed. For more about Bishop Brown and the services to be held in his memory, see this Orange County Catholic article.

The Very Rev. Kenneth Riley, a priest of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, MO, and Vicar General, Moderator of the Curia, and Chancellor for the diocese was elected President. Very Rev. Patrick Cooney, OSB, a Monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey and Judicial Vicar of the Diocese of Owensboro, KY was elected Vice President/President-Elect. Sister Rose Marie Timmer, a perpetually professed member of Institute of the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Michigan, and Chancellor of the Diocese of Toledo, Ohio, was elected Secretary, a three-year term.

In addition, CLSA members elected two new consultors: Dr. Jeannine Marino, a laywoman from the Archdiocese of Washington, DC and Secretary of Pastoral Ministry and Social Concerns for the Archdiocese of Washington, DC, and the Rev. Msgr. Robert Oliver, a priest of the Archdiocese of Boston, Massachusetts, and Judicial Vicar for the Archdiocese of Boston.

Rev. John P. Donovan, Syracuse, NY, assumes the office of Past President. Additional members continuing on the Board of Governors are the Very Rev. Jamin S. David, Baton Rouge, LA, Treasurer; and Consultors Dr. David Castronovo, Beaumont, TX; Sister Tracey Sharp, SCRH, Rolling Hills, CA; the Rev. Msgr. Stephen S. Doktorczyk, Orange, CA; and Mr. Benedict T. Nguyen, Houston, TX.

Each year the CLSA presents its distinguished Role of Law Award to an individual considered to be outstanding in the field of canonical science. The Board selects a person who demonstrates a pastoral attitude and a commitment to research and study; who participates in the development of law; who is willing to respond to needs or practical assistance; who facilitates dialogue and the interchange of ideas within the Society and with other groups.

Sister Nancy drew from the Benedictine charism in her acceptance remarks. “The ancient monastic rules were among the earliest forms of legislation within the Church, and the Rule of Benedict is among the few still in use today,” she pointed out. “The Rule is a hybrid sort of document. It is a spiritual text. It is wisdom literature. It contains a liturgical ordo. But it is also a code, a book of rules or regulations to order a community toward its proper end. As someone who has lived according to this Rule for more than 40 years, I am convinced it does have something significant to contribute to our understanding and practice of church law.”

Concluding her remarks with the first word of the Benedictine Rule, audire, Sr. Nancy said, “Listen. Listen carefully. Listen with the ear of your heart. Listen for the voice of Christ in the voice of petitioners, respondents, witnesses, and clients. Listen for the voice of Christ in all those who call on you for canonical assistance.”

The full text of Sister Nancy’s remarks will be published in the 2023 Proceedings.

The Morrisey Membership category is designed to ensure that canonists with limited financial resources outside of North America have access to CLSA’s rich library of materials. Two two-year, non-voting memberships may be awarded to up to three people from a single Diocese, Eparchy, Institute of Consecrated Life or Society of Apostolic Life each year by a subcommittee of the CLSA Board specifically convened for this review. To honor the spirit of Fr. Morrisey’s work, preference will be given to applicants outside of North America, although applications will be accepted from all areas of the world. Unlike the CLSA scholarships, applicants are not required to be U.S. citizens.

The Very Rev. Kenneth Riley, CLSA President, notes, “Fr. Morrisey was a giant in our canonical community. His selfless gifts of time and mentorship around the world will live on through this named membership. Not only was Fr. Morrisey a vital member of CLSA, but he traveled extensively, even when ill, to instruct canonists around the world, sometimes even at risk of physical danger in parts of the world hostile to Catholicism.”

The first two-year Morrisey Memberships will be awarded beginning with the July 2024 membership year. Applications are due March 1 of each year, although they may be submitted at any time. Click here for full details of the membership, including qualifications.

The results of this survey will be shared at Listening Lunches at the 85th Annual Convention in Milwaukee in October. Task Force members will engage attendees to hear their vision for how to make CLSA stronger and more effective in its work.

You can see the results of the survey here. 

Msgr. John Renken will present on How to Prove Marriage Nullity. The $110 fee includes meals and materials.

For complete information on the schedule, accommodations and registration, please visit https://tribunalworkshop.rsvpify.com. If you have questions, please contact Elizabeth ehowe@dolr.org.

During this webinar, speakers will be discussing the Significance of the changes in "Vos estis" in the context of canon law, the changes in "Vos estis" in the concrete application of canon law in the pastoral context as well as their direction and further steps of reflection and application.

Learn more and register here.

For more information, click here. 

This fourth edition of the 1983 Code of Canon Law has updates added from November 1, 2020 through April 23, 2023, including Authenticum charismatis, Spiritus Domini, Pascite gregem Dei and the new Book VI, Competentias quasdam decernere, Recognitum Librum VI, and Expedit ut Iura. The apostolic constitution Praedicate Evangelium replaces Pastor bonus. Additionally, CLSA has updated the index and tables and restored the fontes, including references to derogations made by Imparare a congedarsi and Cor orans and citations for the locations of canons that were moved or changed, particularly by Mitis Iudex and the new Book VI.

Rev. John P. Donovan, CLSA President, notes, “For the canonical community, it has been a long wait for this fourth edition. CLSA has been working on it for several years as updates and changes have been promulgated by the Holy Father. Moreover, we have worked extensively with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on translations, licensing, publication, and copyright issues, and we are pleased that the fourth edition is fully in compliance.”

The fourth printing is available for purchase here. CLSA members may purchase the book for $80, and non-members may purchase it for $125.

Dr. Goldstein’s book, “Father Ed”, is the first biography of Father Edward Dowling, SJ, whose guidance transformed Alcoholics Anonymous founder Bill Wilson’s life and deepened the spirituality of the twelve-step movement.

In addition to “Father Ed,” Dr. Goldstein has written four other books: “Sunday Will Never Be the Same” and (under the pen name Dawn Eden) “The Thrill of the Chaste,” “My Peace I Give You: Healing Sexual Wounds with the Help of the Saint,” and “Remembering God's Mercy.”

The Christopher Awards celebrate authors, and illustrators as well as writers, producers and directors whose work “affirms the highest values of the human spirit” and reflects the Christopher motto, “It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.”

The Christophers, a nonprofit founded in 1945 by Maryknoll Father James Keller, is rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition of service to God and humanity. The ancient Chinese proverb—“It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness”— guides its publishing, radio, and awards programs. 

Monsignor Goehring was born on July 17, 1938, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and he was ordained to the sacred priesthood on June 6, 1964 by the Most Reverend Joseph Albers, Bishop of Lansing, at Saint Mary Cathedral in Lansing. He joined CLSA in 1988, earning a licentiate in canon law in 1997 from The Catholic University of America.

Visitation at Saint Mary Cathedral, 219 Seymour Ave, Lansing, from 9 a.m. on Friday, March 24, 2023, followed by Requiem Mass at 10am. Bishop Boyea will be the principal celebrant.

Monsignor Goehring's obituary is available at this link.

Requiescat in pace.

Dismissal of a Religious: Recent Modifications & Canonical Challenges

Rev. Dr. M.J. Jesu Pudumai Doss

March 8, 2023

2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Registration compulsory at the following link

https://uottawa-ca.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkd-GvrjkvE9xYwEVxM5_LvcMZFMEPqIi6#/registration

Summary

The Dismissal of a Religious is a difficult process for all those involved and its application has become rather challenging to those who are in leadership within the Religious Institutes. Pope Francis, being a religious himself, has modified lately certain aspects of canon law regarding the Dismissal of Members of Religious Institutes: Apostolic Letter issued motu proprio Communis vita (19 March 2019); Apostolic Letter issued motu proprio Recognitum Librum VI (26 April 2022); Apostolic Letter issued motu proprio Competentias quasdam decernere (11 February 2022).

This webinar intends to highlight significant changes in the revised canon law, which addresses the new ecclesial needs and perspectives vis-à-vis Dismissal of a Religious. It also deals with some challenges regarding the protection of rights of the individual religious and of the Institutes, duties of those in leadership within the Religious Institutes and transparency of the dismissal process.

Biography

Rev. Dr. M.J. Jesu Pudumai Doss is a Salesian of Don Bosco (SDB) priest from Chennai, Tamil Nadu India. He holds post-graduate degrees in English, Education, Civil Law, Human Rights & Oriental Canon Law and has a Doctorate in Canon Law.

At present, he is a Full Professor, Faculty of Canon Law, St Paul University, Ottawa, Canada (from 2021). He also collaborates with “Centre for Safeguarding Minors and Vulnerable Persons”, “Centre for Canonical Services” and “Legal Education for Leadership of Religious Institutes and Their Lay Collaborators”, at Saint Paul University, Ottawa. He has been appointed a Judge in the Canadian National Appeal Ecclesiastical Tribunal (CCCB), Ottawa (from 2021).

He was Professor (from 2002) and Dean, in the Faculty of Canon Law, Salesian Pontifical University, Rome, Italy. He was also a Judge in Ecclesiastical Tribunal (First Instance), Vicariate of Rome (from 2006); a member of special commission for favor fidei Marriage cases at Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith (from 2007); a Defender of Bond for rato et non consummato Marriage cases at the special office of Roman Rota (from 2012); & was a Consultor of Congregation for the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (from 2014-2021).

He has lectured in many European Universities, especially in Rome, and Indian Theological Centres. He has published many books (about 20 edited books & 3 books) and research articles in books and international journals on these aspects: Canon Law, Civil Law (especially Child rights) and Education. His latest book was published in Tamil - his mother tongue, Children Our Nation’s Assets: Child Protection and Indian Laws, New Delhi: AIDBES, 2020, & his latest edited books are: Pathways to Fraternity. Educating the Young in the Light of Fratelli Tutti (New Delhi: AIDBES, 2021); Take Care of Priests! (Chennai: Don Bosco Publications, 2022).