Omnium In Mentem
Encyclopedia
Omnium in mentem is the incipit
of a motu proprio
of 26 October 2009, published on 15 December of the same year, by which Pope Benedict XVI
modified five canons of the 1983 Code of Canon Law, two concerning the sacrament of holy orders
, the other three being related to the sacrament of marriage
.
This seemed to attribute to deacon
s as well as to priests
(bishops and presbyters) the function of acting "in the person of Christ", the Head of the Church. No such ambiguity was found in the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches
.
The concluding words of canon 1008 were therefore revised to read more generically: "... so that, each according to his own grade, they serve the People of God with a new and specific title".
The motu proprio specified the distinct forms of serving the people of God exercised by deacons and priests by adding to the following canon 1009 a third paragraph:: "§3. Those who are constituted in the order of episcopate or presbyterate receive the office and faculty of acting in the person of Christ the Head, while deacons receive the power to serve the people of God in the diaconia of liturgy, word and charity"
1086 §1 "A marriage is invalid when one of the two persons was baptised in the catholic Church or received into it and has not by a formal act defected from it, and the other was not baptised."
1117 "The form prescribed above is to be observed if at least one of the parties contracting marriage was baptised in the catholic Church or received into it and has not by a formal act defected from it, without prejudice to the provisions of can. 1127 §2."
1124 "Without the express permission of the competent authority, marriage is prohibited between two baptised persons, one of whom was baptised in the catholic Church or received into it after baptism and has not defected from it by a formal act, the other of whom belongs to a Church or ecclesial community not in full communion with the catholic Church."
What is meant by the phrase "defected from it (the catholic Church) by a formal act" (not just de facto) was spelled out in a notification from the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts
on 13 March 2006. On the precise meaning of the phrase, see the article Actus formalis defectionis ab Ecclesia catholica
.
From the entry into force of the 1983 Code of Canon Law until the entry into force of the motu proprio Omnium in mentem, a marriage contracted in violation of any of these canons by a Catholic who had made a formal act of defection from the Church was considered valid in the eyes of the Church, whether that person was or was not reconciled with the Church, since the canons explicitly exempted such persons from their provisions. The motu proprio removed that exemption, so that a person who, for instance, after the entry into force of the motu proprio, contracts a merely civil marriage after formally defecting from the Church but who is later reconciled to the Church is considered free, in the eyes of the Church, to marry someone else in the Church.
Incipit
Incipit is a Latin word meaning "it begins". The incipit of a text, such as a poem, song, or book, is the first few words of its opening line. In music, it can also refer to the opening notes of a composition. Before the development of titles, texts were often referred to by their incipits...
of a motu proprio
Motu proprio
A motu proprio is a document issued by the Pope on his own initiative and personally signed by him....
of 26 October 2009, published on 15 December of the same year, by which Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
modified five canons of the 1983 Code of Canon Law, two concerning the sacrament of holy orders
Holy Orders (Catholic Church)
Holy Orders in the Catholic Church includes three orders: bishop, priest, and deacon. The Church regards ordination as a Sacrament. In the phrase "Holy Orders", the word "holy" simply means "set apart for some purpose." The word order designates an established civil body or corporation with a...
, the other three being related to the sacrament of marriage
Catholic marriage
Catholic marriage, also called matrimony, is a "covenant by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life and which is ordered by its nature to the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring...
.
Canons on holy orders
The previous text of canon 1008 was: "By divine institution some among Christ's faithful are, through the sacrament of order, marked with an indelible character and are thus constituted sacred ministers; thereby they are consecrated and deputed so that, each according to his own grade, they fulfil, in the person of Christ the Head, the offices of teaching, sanctifying and ruling, and so they nourish the people of God."This seemed to attribute to deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
s as well as to priests
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
(bishops and presbyters) the function of acting "in the person of Christ", the Head of the Church. No such ambiguity was found in the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches
Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches
The Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches is the title of the 1990 codification of the common portions of the Canon Law for the 22 of the 23 sui iuris Churches in the Catholic Church. The Roman or Latin rite Church is guided by its own particular Canons...
.
The concluding words of canon 1008 were therefore revised to read more generically: "... so that, each according to his own grade, they serve the People of God with a new and specific title".
The motu proprio specified the distinct forms of serving the people of God exercised by deacons and priests by adding to the following canon 1009 a third paragraph:: "§3. Those who are constituted in the order of episcopate or presbyterate receive the office and faculty of acting in the person of Christ the Head, while deacons receive the power to serve the people of God in the diaconia of liturgy, word and charity"
Canons connected with marriage
The change in the other three canons consisted in the elimination of the clause "and has not by a formal act defected from it" (nec actu formali ab ea defecerit) from the following canons:1086 §1 "A marriage is invalid when one of the two persons was baptised in the catholic Church or received into it and has not by a formal act defected from it, and the other was not baptised."
1117 "The form prescribed above is to be observed if at least one of the parties contracting marriage was baptised in the catholic Church or received into it and has not by a formal act defected from it, without prejudice to the provisions of can. 1127 §2."
1124 "Without the express permission of the competent authority, marriage is prohibited between two baptised persons, one of whom was baptised in the catholic Church or received into it after baptism and has not defected from it by a formal act, the other of whom belongs to a Church or ecclesial community not in full communion with the catholic Church."
What is meant by the phrase "defected from it (the catholic Church) by a formal act" (not just de facto) was spelled out in a notification from the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts
Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts
The Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts is part of the Roman Curia. Its work "consists mainly in interpreting the laws of the Church". ....
on 13 March 2006. On the precise meaning of the phrase, see the article Actus formalis defectionis ab Ecclesia catholica
Actus formalis defectionis ab Ecclesia catholica
Actus formalis defectionis ab Ecclesia catholica was the action alluded to in canons 1086, 1117 and 1124 of the Code of Canon Law from 1983 to 2009, by which someone formally, and not just de facto, left the Catholic Church. These canons indicated some juridical effects of such an act...
.
From the entry into force of the 1983 Code of Canon Law until the entry into force of the motu proprio Omnium in mentem, a marriage contracted in violation of any of these canons by a Catholic who had made a formal act of defection from the Church was considered valid in the eyes of the Church, whether that person was or was not reconciled with the Church, since the canons explicitly exempted such persons from their provisions. The motu proprio removed that exemption, so that a person who, for instance, after the entry into force of the motu proprio, contracts a merely civil marriage after formally defecting from the Church but who is later reconciled to the Church is considered free, in the eyes of the Church, to marry someone else in the Church.