The Persisting Question of “Fundamental” Character and the Significance of the Rights of the Faithful

Abstract

The article will retrace the sequence of events that led to the recognition of the rights of all the Christian faithful. The statues on the faithful in canon law shifted radically. Meanwhile, the notion of the primary rights of the faithful developed gradually. In fact, there were lively debates over the term “fundamental rights” and some were resolved to have it omitted. The oppositions were based on the notion’s supposed origin in Enlightenment or rationalistic concept of law, its excessive dependency on ideas from civil law, and its potential incompatibility with the unique nature of the Catholic Church and its legal system. Once the obstacles and theoretical prejudices were overcome, the notion of fundamental rights spread and was embraced throughout canonical scholarship, albeit at times in a way that lacked precision and rigor in its interpretation and application. The conscious acceptance of the fundamental nature of the rights of the faithful has various implications, for example prevalence, a systematic structural nature, and the non-renounceable nature of the rights. While the constitutional content of the canonical legal system is not as well developed as secular constitutional law in many respects