Is the establishment of administrative tribunals in the Roman Catholic Church advisable? Arguments and proposals

Abstract

Despite the codicial recognition of the rights of the faithful, their effective procedural protection continues to be an outstanding issue because the Code does not include a developed system of administrative tribunals. We can observe insufficient instruments to protect the fundamental rights. The need for mechanisms, structures, and just and fair procedures to resolve possible conflicts and re-establish communion in the local Roman Catholic Church today is as important as it was at the advent of the Church. Furthermore, we still encounter arbitrary situations in the ecclesial administration; due to these situations, arises the necessity to concede the possibility that the faithful have Courts to which they can present themselves in search of re-establishing justice. At the time of the promulgation of the Code of 1983, the standard regarding the establishment of these courts was eliminated and its absence provokes various interesting questions. The debate is principally concentrated in doctrinal themes and both theoretical and practical concerns with respect to the viability of the administrative courts. What is the situation of the process to create the administrative tribunals? What are the expectations and future tasks of these courts?