Divine Law in the Exercise of Church Government

Abstract

This contribution explores the distinctive features of the Church’s governing function and the ways in which it is exercised, as an expression of the Church’s mission to implement the plan of salvation, based on its dual christological and pneumatological roots. It therefore emphasizes the instrumental relationship to the divine plan, the nature of authority as service, and human co-responsibility in translating the requirements inherent in the economy of salvation into juridical forms.