The Doctrinal and Legal Contents of the John Paul II Apostolic Constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae of the Catholic Universities

Abstract

The paper discusses the doctrinal and legal contents of the John Paul II Apostolic Constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae of the Catholic Universities.

The introduction adumbrates the history of the Catholic universities and the evolution of the Catholic Church legislation which refers to them. The main part of the paper exposes the genesis of the constitution Ex corde Ecclesiae, discusses the structure of the constitution in question, analyzes the leading ideas of its doctrinal part, and a substantial analysis of its normative part. The latter pinpoints five principal requirements whose realization decides about the Catholic identity of a university. In view of the analysis of the doctrinal part the author comes to a conclusion that the material requirement of a university is to hand down Catholic values. This requirement constitutes an absolute condition of maintaining the university’s Catholic identity. The remaining four requirements 1) a recognition by a competent church authority, 2) canonical erection or confirmation, 3) putting the legal requirements into practice, the requirement which concern the canonical mission, management of university assets and organization of university pastoral care, 4) subduing the university to a diocesan bishop’s supervision) bear a formal significance. However, only their joint realization ensures that a university may be fully deemed as Catholic.

The paper closes with an evaluation of the doctrinal values and legal aspects of the constitution, and emphasizes its historical and practical significance.