The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1915-01-16

Question ana Answer carr Inc SAlA
What is meant by the Canon Law
of the Church?
The Canon Law is the body Of laws
made by ecclesiastical authority for
the government of the Church and its
members. II determines the rights,
privileges and obligations OF bishops.
priests, religious and laity. 1t contains
rules about church buildings and prop
erty, about sacred vestments, vessels,
rites, ceremonies, etc. 1t gives the pro-
Cedme to be adopted in ecclesiastical
trials, and definite rules about eccle-
siastical delinquencies and penalties.
1t gives rules concerning divine wOr-
ship, the administration of the sacra-
ments, the celebration and the impedi-
mcnts Of matrimony, etc. The Church
is Catholic, that is, she has existed
through all the ages from the time of
Christ, and is spread throughout all
nations. From this it follows that the
laws OF the Church, with all their
necessary changes and notifications
to suit different times and places and
with the numerous decisions and inter
pretations handed down by competent
ecclesiastical tribunals, must have
grown to an enormous bulk. The
civil laws of any one country form q
life study for the ablest men. What
then must be the extent and the diff
Guilty Of the laws Of the universal
Church? The late Pope Plus X Off
cially ordered codification of the
whole Canon Law, by which all the
laws of the Church will be reduced
to practicable and systematic form, so
that it may be easier for students to
master the subject, and answers to
questions Of everyday interest may be
more easily found. CanOnists in many
countries have been appointed to as
sist in the work which falls principal
Iy upon a commission of Cardinals at
Rome Besides the general laws of
the Church, there are special regula-
tons made for the different ecclesi-
astical provinces in Provincial and Ma
tional Synods, like the Councils OF
Baltimore for this country. The prfn-
cipal points of the Canon Law of the
Church which affect the laity are con-
tanned in the six precepts of the
Church, which are found in the Cate
chism.
What is meant by the Synoptic
inN Enaan4innaI IN =
book | was reading lately?
The Synoptic Problem is the prob
lem that arises from a comparison of
the three Gospels of Saint Matthew,
ST. Mark and st. Luke which are
called the "Synoptic Gospels be-
cause there is SO much in common to
all three that they may be arranged
side by side and their resemblances
as it were. The Synoptic Gospels diff
fer in many respects from the Gospel
OF St John. They tell in simple pOpu-
lar language the story OF our Lords
ministry in Galilee and Peroea, with
some account Of His divine Infancy,
and Of His Passion and Death. st.
John writes in a more elevated and alb
stract style, and confines his narrative
almost exclusively to the ministry OF
Christ in Judea. The following fig
ures will show how the Synoptic Cos
pels agree and how they differ. st.
Matthew has 1910 verses; st. Mark
667: st. Luke 1,15S. Verses peculiar
to st. Matthew are 3301a; to st. Mark
GSA; ST. Luke 541 Y. Verses. common
to St Matthew and st. Mark / 70.
Verses common to St Luke and st.
Matthew 230 Verses common to st.
Luke and st. Mark 50. Verses COM
mon to all three $50. How do account
for these agreements and differ
cnces? That is the "Synoptic Prob
lem" st. Luke in the beginning OF
his Gospel tells us that many men had
written accounts of the life and teach
ing of our Lord before he began his
Gospel. Did he and the other two
evangelists make use of those written
accounts? Did they transcribe from
such accounts the verses we find COM
mon to all three? Or did they make
use of an oral form of teaching, which
the Apostles compiled for the use of
their helpers in the work of spreading
the good news? Or did one CT the
three, st. Mark or st. Matthew, for
instance, write first, and the others
then copy his Gospel, introducing new
matter and making changes which
their special purpose demanded?
These questions have received about
as many answers as there are schol-
ars who interest themselves in the
matter. We must hold three truths
firmly, and then need not concern
ourselves very much how this purely
literary problem is solved. First, we
must hold that the three Gospels are
authentic, that is, they were really
written by the authors whose names
they bear. Secondly, We must hold
that they contain true history and
nothing else. Their writer's made no
mistake and told no lie. Thirdly, and
most important of all, the three evan
gelists were divinely inspired in writ
ing their Gospels, so that their Cos
pels have God for author.
May a non-CathoIic be buried in a
Catholic cemetery, or Catholic in a