Page:Moraltheology.djvu/73



i. LEGISLATIVE authority in the Church is derived from God and not from the people, so that an ecclesiastical law receives its binding force not from the will of the people but from the will of the legislator, made known by the promulgation of a law. An ecclesiastical law, then, binds those for whom it is made, independently of the acceptance of the law by the people (Can. 218).

2. Practically, however, if a law is not accepted or acted on by the people, it may in various circumstances be said no longer to be of obligation. If the law was never put in force, and acts contrary to it were known to and connived at by authority, the law may be said not to bind for want of acceptance. Really it does not bind because the ruler does not urge it, but tacitly consents to its non-observance. Similarly, if the greater and saner portion of a community do not observe a law, it may be presumed that it is not the legislator's will to bind the rest. It is obvious that there is question here only of disciplinary laws, for if the law decides matters of faith, obedience is at once imperative.

3. It is the duty of Bishops to make known to their people and to execute new laws made by the Holy See, especially if the new laws were sent to them for the purpose, or if it is thought likely that they will be useful to the diocese.

If, however, a Bishop thinks that a new pontifical law is not suited to his diocese, he not only may, but it is his duty to represent the matter to the Holy See, and in the meantime the obligation of the law is suspended. If the Holy See, after weighing the matter, insists on the observance of the law, obedience must be rendered to lawful authority.