42
Canon and Ecclesiastic Law
REGGIO DI CALABRIA
Overview
Date/time interval
Syllabus
Course Objectives
The study aims to identify, through the examination of documents and by retracing some of the key historical and legal moments that have specifically affected the relationship between the State and the Catholic Church, the useful purposes that these relationships have generated for both institutions. With particular reference to the General Section, students will be able to capitalize on the notions and insights acquired in the areas of public law and constitutional law, particularly those articles that refer to the religious factor. The course and the cultural background acquired by students should enhance their communication skills in the final exam.
Course Prerequisites
It will be necessary to acquire, in general terms, basic notions that refer to the constitutional provisions regarding religious sentiment and the principles of family law regarding marriage. For ecclesiastical entities and their related disciplines, reference to both private law and commercial law will also be useful.
As we mentioned, these are general indications that help to better frame and understand the study of ecclesiastical law as a whole.
Teaching Methods
Teaching will be delivered through classroom lectures, supplemented by seminar sessions on specific topics requested by the attending students. Lectures will also be held by professors or invited scholars on current issues related to ecclesiastical law. The aim is also to offer students the opportunity to participate in discussions, encouraging them to engage with the occasional interlocutor. This will also be a useful way to assess their learning and independent judgment.
Assessment Methods
During class, the instructor will encourage students to contribute to the topics covered that most interest them, in order to assess their preparation and evaluate their ability to present and independently analyze their critical thinking. The final exam will be oral, so encouraging discussion in class, in the form of an ideal debate, will be useful during the final exam. Students who do not attend classes will need to study the textbooks for the General and Special Sections in order to gain a thorough understanding of the topics covered in the course.
Texts
For preparation for the Ecclesiastical Law exam, the recommended textbooks are:
GENERAL SECTION:
Mario TEDESCHI, Manual of Ecclesiastical Law, Giappichelli, Turin, latest edition
SPECIAL SECTION:
Faustino DE GREGORIO, The Catholic Church and the Italian State in the Multireligious and Multiethnic Society of the Third Millennium. The Path Traveled and the One to Travel, Giappichelli, Turin, 2009.
SPECIAL SECTION (ALTERNATIVE):
Faustino DE GREGORIO, Seminar Studies in History, Canon Law and Ecclesiastical Law, Giappichelli, Turin, 2016, only the essays by Valentina Longo, Greta Corrao, and Francesco Angelone.
Contents
The study of ecclesiastical law is based on two texts, one general and one special, structured as follows:
General Part
1. Object, Sources, and Method of Study of Italian Ecclesiastical Law;
2. Religion and the Organization of Civil Power;
3. State Order and Religious Phenomenon;
4. The Italian Constitution and Religious Phenomenon;
5. The State and Minority Religious Confessions in the Constitution;
6. Religious Freedom in the Italian Legal System;
7. The Holy See and the Vatican City State;
8. Religious Confessions;
9. Marriage.
Special Part
1. Church/State Relations in the European Union;
2. Principle of Separation of Church and State and the Development of Religious Freedom;
3. Secularism of the State;
4. Conflict of the Catholic Church in the Formation of the Unified Italian State;
5. Liberal Catholicism.
Delivery method: The lessons aim to enable students to evaluate the key moments that have shaped the relationship between the State and the Church throughout history, while also considering the historical and legal contexts of the period from 1848 onward.
More information
The teaching of ecclesiastical law lends itself to classroom discussions of a multidisciplinary and current nature, of which attendees will be able to propose topics of current or past interest.