Sui iuris

From Free net encyclopedia

Sui iuris is a Latin phrase that literally means “of one’s own right”. It is usually spelled "sui juris" in civil law, which uses the phrase to indicate legal competence, the capacity to manage one’s own affairs (Black's Law Dictionary, Oxford English Dictionary). The English word “autonomous” is derived from the Greek words that correspond to Latin "sui iuris".

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Examples of Roman Catholic ecclesiastical use

"The Eastern Catholic Churches are not 'experimental' or 'provisional' communities; these are sui iuris Churches, fully recognized by the universal Catholic Church, with the firm canonical base of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches promulgated by Pope John Paul II." [1]
"The hierarchs of the Byzantine Metropolitan Church sui iuris of Pittsburgh, in tile United States of America, gathered in assembly as the Council of Hierarchs of said Church, in conformity with the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, ..." [2]
"It would likewise be helpful to prepare a Catechetical Directory that would 'take into account the special character of the Eastern Churches, so that the biblical and liturgical emphasis as well as the traditions of each Church sui iuris in patrology, hagiography and even iconography are highlighted in conveying the catechesis' (CCEO, can. 621, §2)" John Paul II [3]
"On behalf of the Kyrgyzstan Catholics I would like to express our gratitude to the Holy Father for his prayers and for all that he has done for us: ... and for the creation of the new 'missioni sui iuris' in Central Asia, in a special way — for the trust placed on the 'Minima Societas Jesu', to which he entrusted the mission in Kyrgyzstan." [4]
"...[T]he rays originating in the one Lord, the sun of justice which illumines every man (cf. Jn 1:9), ... received by each individual Church sui iuris, has value and infinite dynamism and constitutes a part of the universal heritage of the Church." "Instruction for Applying the Liturgical Prescriptions of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches", issued January 6, 1996 by the Congregation for the Eastern Churches [5].