An Analysis of the Relevant Aspects of Canonical Legislation on the Change of the Status of Parishes and Sacred Buildings (can. 512 §2 and 1222 §2): Reflections and Proposals

Abstract

This article analyzes the canonical dispositions concerning the suppression, union, and modification of parishes (can. 515 § 2) and the relegation to profane but not sordid use of sacred buildings (can. 1222 § 2), evaluating whether what is currently prescribed by the norms is sufficient to guarantee the goods that the legislation is meant to safeguard. Moreover, it offers starting points for possible future developments so that there can be a fuller and truer guarantee of the rights of the faithful who are administered, so as to avoid any possible suspicion on their part of arbitrariness in the public administration’soperation.