Person (canon law)

This article is part of the series:
Legislation and Legal System of the Catholic Church
Codifications Legal History of the Catholic Church 1983 Code of Canon Law Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches 1917 Code of Canon Law Corpus Juris Canonici The Apostolic Constitutions Decretum Gratiani Decretist Decretals of Gregory IX Decretalist Extravagantes Nomocanon Collectio Canonum Quadripartita Collectio Canonum Quesnelliana Collectio Canonum Wigorniensis Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals
Apostolic Constitutions Anglicanorum Coetibus Benedictus Deus (Benedict XII) Benedictus Deus (Pius IV) Ex Corde Ecclesiae Fidei Depositum Indulgentiarum Doctrina Pastor Bonus Sacrae Disciplinae Leges Universi Dominici gregis
Motu Proprio Ad tuendam fidem Mysterii Paschalis Pontificalis Domus Summorum Pontificum Tra le sollecitudini
Canon Law of Vatican II Lumen gentium Sacrosanctum Concilium Gaudium et spes Dei verbum
Matrimonial Law Affinity Banns of Marriage Declaration of Nullity Matrimonial Nullity Trial Reforms of Pope Francis Defender of the Bond Disparity of Cult Impediment of crime Matrimonial Dispensation Natural Marriage Pauline privilege Petrine privilege ratum sed non consummatum
Tribunals & Canonical Structures Tribunal System Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura Tribunal of the Roman Rota Apostolic Penitentiary Judicial Vicar/Officialis Auditor Defender of the Bond Personal Ordinariate Personal Prelature
Theory Dispensation Ecclesiastical positive law Excommunication Fundamental Theory of Canon Law Indult Impediment Interpretation Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts Internal forum Latae Sententiae Censure Resignation of the Roman Pontiff sede vacante vacatio legis Valid but illicit
Other Canon 915 Canon 1324 Canon 1398 Eastern Canonical Reforms of Pius XII
Canon Law Task Force

In the canon law of the Catholic Church, a person is a subject of certain legal rights and obligations.

Physical Persons

Age of Reason

The age of reason is the age at which children attain the use of reason and begin to have moral responsibility. On completion of the seventh year a minor is presumed to have the use of reason, but mental retardation or insanity prevent some individuals from ever attaining the use of reason. The term "use of reason" appears in the Code of Canon Law 17 times, but "age of reason" does not appear. However, the term "age of reason" is used in canon law commentaries such as the New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law published by Paulist Press in 2002.

Children who do not have the use of reason and the mentally handicapped are sometimes called "innocents" because of their inability to commit sins: even if their actions are objectively sinful, they sometimes lack capacity for subjective guilt.

In the Eastern Catholic Churches, the Eucharist and Confirmation are given immediately after baptism, even to infants who do not yet have the use of reason. In Latin Rite Catholicism, Confirmation is conferred, except in danger of death, only on persons who have the use of reason; and Holy Communion may be administered to children only if "they have sufficient knowledge and careful preparation so that they understand the mystery of Christ according to their capacity and are able to receive the Body of Christ with faith and devotion." In danger of death, the Eucharist may be administered also to children who lack the use of reason, if the child can distinguish the sacrament from ordinary food and receive it reverently. This is likewise true for those who are not so mentally retarded that they are not assumed to ever gain use of reason.

Age of Majority

The age of majority in the Catholic Church is 18 following the general consensus of Civil law, though, until Advent 1983, the Age of Majority was 21, based on the age of majority according to Roman Law.

Juridic Persons

In simple terms, a juridic person is an artificial construct under canon law that allows a group of person or things to function and be treated under canon law as a single unit.

A more thorough definition is given by Kennedy: "A juridic person... is an artificial person, distinct from all natural persons or material goods, constituted by competent ecclesiastical authority for an apostolic purpose, with a capacity for continuous existence and with canonical rights and duties like those of a natural person... conferred upon it by law or by the authority which constitutes it and to which it is also accountable under canon law."

The doctrine of juridic personality is thought to have its origins in canon law. It has been attributed to Pope Innocent IV, who seems at least to have helped spread the idea of persona ficta as it is called in Latin. In the early church, the doctrine of persona ficta allowed monasteries to have a legal existence that was apart from the monks, simplifying the difficulty in balancing the need for such groups to have infrastructure though the monks took vows of personal poverty. Another effect of this was that as a fictional person, a monastery could not be held guilty of delict due to not having a soul, helping to protect the organization from non-contractual obligations to surrounding communities. This effectively moved such liability to individuals acting within the organization while protecting the structure itself, since individuals were considered to have a soul and therefore capable of being guilty of negligence and excommunicated.

See also

• Canon law (Catholic Church)
• Legal personality
• Natural person