"Ius Divinum" in the Interpretation of Canon Law

Abstract

Every interpreter who wishes to work within the canonical system must deal with divine law, but the implications of this principle are not always clear. Following Benedict XVI’s address to the Roman Rota in 2012, this work revisits the Pope’s teaching on how interpreters should take divine law into consideration, through an interpretation that the Pope defines as “realistic”. The presuppositions of such hermeneutics and its continuity with the classical doctrines of law and Christian thought, in particular of Thomas Aquinas, are highlighted. Finally, the harmony of the proposal of realistic hermeneutics with some currents of contemporary secular legal science and with the traditional practice of canonical tribunals is shown.