On Dispensations

10 On Dispensations

Ask a Canon Lawyer �ack in March when the COVID-19 “safer at home” measures were first being put into place, Bishop Quinn grant ed a dispensation to all the faithful in the Diocese of Winona-Rochester from the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of obligation. Even now that the public celebration of Mass is resuming in many parts of our diocese, this dispensation remains in effect. But what is a dispensation, and how can a bishop grant this? What Is a Dispensation? Canon 85 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law defines a dispensation as “relaxation of a merely ecclesiastical law in a particular case.” To understand what this definition means, let’s go through the different categories of law that the Church recognizes. First of all, natural law is law that is built into the very nature of things. A good example of natural law are fundamental principles of morality, which are non-negotiable and unchanging. E.g., murder is always wrong in and of itself; it’s not wrong just because a lawgiver arbitrarily decided it would be.

On the other hand, positive law is law that is cre ated or made up. One familiar example of positive law is the secular civil law of a city, state, or national gov ernment. But more pertinent to our discussion here, divine positive law is law that God Himself has made up for us, which addresses things that go beyond the basic morality of natural law. The Church can also make up positive law, and we call this ecclesiastical law. Sometimes, as in the above-cited canon, this referred to as "merely ecclesiastical law," to emphasize the fact that the Church is making up these laws as a human judge ment call for the sake of the good governance of the people of God, thereby acknowledging that such a law is not a matter of divine revelation or something which comes directly from God. Jenna Cooper In terms of dispensations within the Church, the appropriate authority—which in many cases in the diocesan bishop, but in some specific circumstances Tribunal Coordinator & Judge jcooper@dowr.org could be the superior of a religious community or even the pastor of a parish—is able to dispense from some way to set Sundays apart as a sacred time. This should be done first of all by abstaining from unnec essary work, but also by making time specifically for prayer. Incidentally, while watching a livestreamed or televised Mass doesn’t technically satisfy the usual obligation to attend Sunday Mass, it can be a help ful way to make Sunday an especially prayerful time when going to Mass in person is not safe or possible.

Why Bother with a Dispensation?

One other important point to keep in mind about the Sunday obligation is that there are other circumstanc es, outside of a formal dispensation, when a Catholic might be excused from it. For example, if a Catholic is too ill to go out, he or she does not sin by not attend ing Mass while sick. Also, an obligation is not binding when fulfilling that obligation would put a person in harm’s way. For instance, nobody is obligated to attend Mass when extreme winter weather makes the roads too dangerous to travel, or when they have a medical condition which makes it risky to be in a large crowd.

And of course, a very basic principle of canon law this merely ecclesiastical law. That is, the proper is that nobody can be obligated to do what is truly authority figure can dispense from the Church’s prac impossible. Therefore, nobody sins by not attending tical human-made laws, but not from those things Mass in a situation where all the public Masses in the which God himself commands or from unchanging entire country are cancelled. matters of right and wrong. But then the question might be asked, in our cur rent coronavirus pandemic, it seems that Catholics What Is the Sunday Obligation? are not attending Mass because either: 1. There are The obligation to keep the Sabbath day holy is a mat a medical condition or are at an age when attending ter of divine law, as it was given to us directMass would be dangerous for them. Since ly by God in the Ten Commandments. This divine law is reflected in our ecclesial law, specifically in canon 1246 which tells us that: “On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are obliged to participate in [i.e., attend in person] the Mass.” Attending Mass on Sunday is obviously one way to keep the Lord’s day holy, and so this specific means of observing the Sabbath is one which the Church Do you have a question about canon law that you would like to see answered here? Email jcooper@dowr.org with "Courier question" in the subject line. a Catholic in either of these situations would not be obligated to attend Mass anyway, what is the point of having an official dispensation? The short answer is: peace of conscience for the faithful. The period of time when all public Masses were cancelled was a difficult (we might even say traumatic) time for sincere Catholics everywhere, and a dis pensation from the Sunday obligation was a reassurance that God actively thinks it’s a good idea to was not displeased with anyone for require of all Catholics. However, not attempting the impossible. since this is a matter of merely eccle Further, in this time when public sial law, a bishop of a diocese can disMasses are resuming in a limited way, it pense this obligation for his own people for a has become necessary for many Catholics to sufficiently serious cause. discern whether it is safe and prudent for them to

But what the bishop cannot dispense from—even return to community liturgical prayer in their par if he wanted to for some reason!—is God’s own law of ishes. Knowing that there is currently no obligation keeping Sunday holy. Therefore, even when Catholics to attend Mass will hopefully give everyone an extra are dispensed from the requirement to attend Sunday sense of freedom in determining the best choice for Mass, we are still obligated, under pain of sin, to find themselves and their families.

no public Masses to attend, or 2. Because they have