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Canon law (from Ancient Greek: κανών, kanon, a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members.
Possibly the earliest known instance of a Catholic priest serving in public office in the United States was Gabriel Richard. Born in France, he founded the University of Michigan and served as a delegate from Michigan Territory from 1823 to 1825. Two priests, Robert Drinan and Robert John Cornell, have served in the United States Congress.
Unlike the system of canon law in the Church of England, which continues to be drawn from the canon law of the Western church, English ecclesiastical law did not remain in force in the Episcopal Church after the American Revolution. [2] There are two parallel systems of canon law within the church operating on a national level, governed by the ...
Catholic canon law is the set of rules and principles (laws) by which the Catholic Church is governed, through enforcement by governmental authorities. [ clarification needed ] [ citation needed ] Law is also the field which concerns the creation and administration of laws.
The canon law of the Catholic Church is articulated in the legal code for the Latin Church [9] as well as a code for the Eastern Catholic Churches. [9] This canon law has principles of legal interpretation, [10] and coercive penalties. [11] It lacks civilly-binding force in most secular jurisdictions.
In canon law, a canon designates some law promulgated by a synod, an ecumenical council, or an individual bishop. [ 2 ] The word "canon" comes from the Greek kanon , which in its original usage denoted a straight rod that was later the instrument used by architects and artificers as a measuring stick for making straight lines.
Here it is used as the authority by which judicial officers investigate and decide cases under canon law. [ 1 ] Such authority in the minds of lay Roman lawyers who first used the word "jurisdiction" was essentially temporal in its origin and in its sphere.
For example, discovery in common law jurisdictions came about in part because of the influence of canon law on courts of equity. [11] Edson Luiz Sampel, a Brazilian expert in canon law, says that canon law is contained in the genesis of various institutes of civil law, such as the law in continental Europe and Latin American countries.