societas perfecta

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A societas perfecta (“perfect community” or “perfect society”) is in political philosophy , Catholic ecclesiology and Catholic canon law a self-sufficient or independent community in the sense that it has all means and conditions necessary to achieve its (comprehensive) goal owns and is not subject to any superordinate community. This independence has essentially been attributed to the polis (city-state), state, and church throughout the history of the term's usage .

Aristotle

The starting point for the development of the term was the political philosophy of Aristotle , who described the polis consisting of several villages as a “perfect community” (κοινωνία τέλειος), “which, in a sense, has complete self-sufficiency ”. The goal of the polis is the good life; it exists by nature.

scholasticism

The idea of ​​"perfect communion" was taken up again in medieval philosophy. In direct reference to Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas calls the state ( civitas ) a perfect community ( communitas perfecta ).

Questioned by the (Protestant) Enlightenment

In the natural law tradition of the Age of Enlightenment , such as B. in Pufendorf , only the state has the essential characteristics of a societas perfecta , to which the church must therefore be subordinate. Protestant doctrines wanted to "subordinate the church to the state jurisdiction in the manner of any private association".

Teaching assumption of the societas perfecta concept

In Catholic philosophy and theology, the character of a societas perfecta was increasingly ascribed to the church . The reciprocal independence of church and state thus given secured the church (theoretically) freedom from the increasing demands of the state to interfere in church affairs.

The climax of this development was the adoption of this doctrine of the two “perfect societies” (church and state) by the ecclesiastical teaching office by Pope Pius IX. and especially Leo XIII. In his encyclical Immortale Dei , Leo XIII. 1885 in relation to the church from:

“[…] It is a perfect society of its own kind and of its own right, since it possesses everything that is necessary for its existence and effectiveness in accordance with the will and by virtue of the grace of its founder in itself and through itself. Just as the goal to which the Church strives is by far the most sublime, so her violence is also far superior to all others, and it must therefore neither be regarded as inferior to civil violence, nor be subordinated to it in any way. "

Two powers correspond to the two perfect societies, the church and the state:

“One is responsible for caring for divine concerns, the other for human concerns. Each is the highest in its kind: each has certain limits within which it moves, limits that result from the nature and the immediate purpose of each of the two powers. "

So while the harmonious relationship between state and church is fundamentally secured through the clear delimitation of their areas of responsibility , there must be an order between the two powers in cases in which these areas overlap. To clarify this order, Leo compares the relationship between state and church with the relationship between body and soul .

Until the Second Vatican Council , the doctrine of the two perfect societies was in that of Leo XIII. determined version in Catholic theology and Catholic church law.

Post-conciliar positions

theology

The teaching is no longer explicitly mentioned in the Second Vatican Council. In modern, post-conciliar Catholic theology, it hardly plays a role anymore, except as a negative background foil.

Whether the council itself gave up the doctrine of the two perfect societies is disputed. In any case, Pope Paul VI. directly related to them even after the council. In the Motu proprio Sollicitudo omnium ecclesiarum on the tasks of the papal legates (1969), he briefly summarizes the teaching:

“It cannot be denied that the tasks of church and state belong to different orders. Church and state are perfect societies in their respective areas. That means: They have their own legal system and all the necessary means. They are also entitled to apply their laws within their respective areas of responsibility. On the other hand, it must not be overlooked that both strive for the well-being of the same person, namely the person who is called by God to achieve eternal salvation. "

Canon Law

In the new canon law of the CIC 1983 , the doctrine of the societas perfecta is not explicitly mentioned. In can. 113 § 1 CIC / 1983, d. H. in the determination / assertion that the Catholic Church and the Apostolic See “by virtue of divine ordinance have the character of a moral person”, saw a reflection of the societas perfecta teaching.

The original aim of the societas perfecta teaching is to defend the autonomy of the church from the “state claim to omnipotence”.

The post-conciliar “bad economic situation ” of the societas perfecta theory is likely to be based on different perspectives: The designation of the church as societas perfecta is legally and ecclesiologically underdetermined from a conciliar point of view and should not sufficiently determine the theological legitimation of canon law from an internal perspective . In external relations to the respective state, however, it persistently brings the church's claim to the concept of having legal autonomy independent of the state, which in turn is an expression of the fact that the Catholic Church (also) sees itself as legal.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Aristotle, Politics 1252b, 27–30.
  2. ↑ On the translation of civitas with “state” at this point, cf. Nicholas Aroney: Subsidiarity, Federalism and the Best Constitution: Thomas Aquinas on City, Province and Empire . In: Law and Philosophy . Vol. 26 (2007), pp. 161-228.
  3. ↑ Sum of theology I – II q 90 a 3.
  4. ^ Gregor Bier: Introduction to Canon Law. In: Clauß Peter Sajak : Practical Theology. Module 4. Schöningh, Paderborn 2012 (UTB; 3472), ISBN 978-3-8252-3472-0 , p. 170.
  5. ^ Leo XIII .: Circular Immortale Dei . In: Human and Community in Christian Vision . Freiburg (Switzerland) 1945, pp. 571–602, paragraph 852.
  6. ^ Leo XIII .: Circular Immortale Dei . In: Human and Community in Christian Vision . Freiburg (Switzerland) 1945, pp. 571–602, paragraph 857.
  7. ↑ See ibid. Paragraphs 858–860.
  8. ↑ Quoted from Listl: Church and State . P. 227.
  9. ^ So Gregor Bier: Introduction to Canon Law. In: Clauß Peter Sajak : Practical Theology. Module 4. Schöningh, Paderborn 2012 (UTB; 3472), ISBN 978-3-8252-3472-0 , p. 170.
  10. ^ Ulrich Rhode : Canon Law. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2015 (textbooks theology; vol. 24), ISBN 978-3-17-026227-0 , p. 29.
  11. ^ So Ulrich Rhode : Canon Law. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2015 (textbooks theology; vol. 24), ISBN 978-3-17-026227-0 , p. 29.
  12. ↑ Cf. Gregor Bier: Introduction to Canon Law. In: Clauß Peter Sajak : Practical Theology. Module 4. Schöningh, Paderborn 2012 (UTB; 3472), ISBN 978-3-8252-3472-0 , p. 170.

swell

  • Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde, State - Society - Church, in: Writings on State - Society - Church III, Freiburg 1990, pp. 113–211
  • Joseph Listl, Church and State in Modern Catholic Canon Law, Berlin 1978