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Codification (law)
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==Canon law codification== {{main|1917 Code of Canon Law|Legal history of the Catholic Church}} Papal attempts at codification of the scattered mass of canon law spanned the eight centuries since [[Gratian (jurist)|Gratian]] produced his ''[[Decretum Gratiani|Decretum]]'' {{circa|1150}}.<ref name=BenedictXV204>Peters, ''Life of Benedict XV'', pg. 204.</ref> In the 13th century especially canon law became the object of scientific study, and different compilations were made by the Roman Pontiffs. The most important of these were the five books of the ''[[Decretales Gregorii IX]]'' and the ''[[Liber Sextus]]'' of [[Pope Boniface VIII|Boniface VIII]]. The legislation grew with time. Some of it became obsolete, and contradictions crept in so that it became difficult in recent times to discover what was of obligation and where to find the law on a particular question. [[File:Cover of a copy of the 1917 Codex Iuris Canonici (Code of Canon Law).jpg|thumb|right|250px|Hardcover of the ''1917 Code of Canon Law'']] Since the close of the ‘’Corpus Juris’’ numerous new laws and decrees had been issued by popes, councils, and [[Congregation (Roman Curia)|Roman Congregations]]. No complete collection of them had ever been published and they remained scattered through the ponderous volumes of the ‘’Bullaria’’ the ‘’[[Acta Sanctae Sedis]]’’, and other such compilations, which were accessible to only a few and for professional canonists themselves and formed an unwieldy mass of legal material. Moreover, not a few ordinances, whether included in the ‘’Corpus Juris’’ or of more recent date, appeared to be contradictory; some had been formally abrogated, others had become obsolete by long disuse; others, again, had ceased to be useful or applicable in the present condition of society. Great confusion was thus engendered and correct knowledge of the law rendered very difficult even for those who had to enforce it.<ref name=GeneralLegislation55>Ayrinhac, ‘’General Legislation’’ §55.</ref> When the Vatican Council met in 1869 a number of bishops of different countries petitioned for a new compilation of church law that would be clear and easily studied. The council never finished its work and no attempt was made to bring the legislation up to date. By the 19th Century, this body of legislation included some 10,000 norms. Many of these were difficult to reconcile with one another due to changes in circumstances and practice. In response to the request of the bishops at the [[First Vatican Council]],<ref>Pietro Cardinal Gasparri, preface to the CIC 1917</ref> on 14 May 1904, with the ''[[motu proprio]]'' ''Arduum sane munus'' ("A Truly Arduous Task"), [[Pope Pius X]] set up a commission to begin reducing these diverse documents into a single code,<ref>Manual of Canon Law, pg. 47</ref> presenting the normative portion in the form of systematic short canons shorn of the preliminary considerations<ref>Manual of Canon Law, pg. 49</ref> ("Whereas...") and omitting those parts that had been superseded by later developments. By the winter of 1912, the "whole span of the code"<ref name=BenedictXV205>Peters, ''Life of Benedict XV'', pg. 205.</ref> had been completed, so that a provisional text was printed.<ref name=BenedictXV205/> This 1912 text was sent out to all Latin bishops and superiors general for their comment, and their notations which they sent back to the codification commission were subsequently printed and distributed to all members of the commission, in order that the members might carefully consider the suggestions.<ref name=BenedictXV205/> The new code was completed in 1916.<ref>Entry for 'canon law, new code of'. 1910 New Catholic Dictionary. http://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/ncd/view.cgi?n=1909. 1910. Accessed 14 April 2016</ref> Under the aegis of Cardinal [[Pietro Gasparri]], the Commission for the Codification of Canon Law was completed under [[Benedict XV]], Pius X's successor, who promulgated it on 27 May 1917<ref name=Chair256>La Due, William J., J.C.D.: ''The Chair of Saint Peter: A History of the Papacy'' (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1999), pg. 256.</ref> as the Code of Canon Law ({{langx|la|Codex Iuris Canonici}}) and set 19 May 1918<ref name=Chair256/> as the date on which it came into force.<ref>Ap Const. ''Providentissima Mater Ecclesia'' Benedict XV, 27 May 1917</ref> In its preparation centuries of material were examined, scrutinized for authenticity by leading experts, and harmonized as much as possible with opposing canons and even other codes, from the [[Corpus Juris Civilis|Codex of Justinian]] to the [[Napoleonic Code]]. It contained 2,414 canons<ref>[[Dr. Edward N. Peters]], [http://www.canonlaw.info/a_simpleoverview.htm CanonLaw.info "A Simple Overview of Canon Law"], accessed June-11-2013</ref> and was in force until Canon 6 §1 1° of the ''[[1983 Code of Canon Law]]''<ref>1983 Code of Canon Law Annotated, Canon 6 (pg. 34)</ref> took legal effect—thereby [[abrogation (canon law)|abrogating]] it<ref>Dr. Edward Peters, [http://canonlaw.info/masterpage1917.htm CanonLaw.info], accessed June-9-2013</ref>—on 27 November 1983.<ref>NYTimes.com, "[https://www.nytimes.com/1983/11/27/us/new-canon-law-code-in-effect-for-catholics.html New Canon Law Code in Effect for Catholics]", 27-Nov-1983, accessed June-25-2013</ref>
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