Church Property: The Unity of Law and Theology

Abstract

As part of a book project, this Chapter explores the ownership of property in the Catholic Church. The Chapter consists of four sections. First, the Chapter compares several seminal elements in the understanding of property in canon law and liberal political theory. On the basis of the differences, the Chapter suggests that it would be misplaced to impose the understanding of property embraced by liberal theory onto the canon law that regulates the ownership of property within the Catholic Church. Second, in light of the question raised about the ownership of parish property in the recent diocesan bankruptcy litigations, the Chapter examines the canonical and theological relationship between the diocese and the parish in terms of the ownership of property. Third, the Chapter recounts the nineteenth century struggle of the Catholic Church to secure its parish property in accord with the hierarchical structure required by canon law in opposition to the then dominant congregational model embraced by Protestantism. Fourth, it discusses the relationship between canon law and state law with regard to ecclesiastical property. The Chapter suggests that property is held within the Catholic Church in accord with the unity of canon law and theology.