In the first study of its kind Mary McAleese subjects to comprehensive scrutiny the Roman Catholic Church’s 1983 Code of Canon law as it applies to children. The Catholic Church is the world’s largest non-governmental organisation involved in the provision of education and care services to children. It has over three hundred million child members world-wide the vast majority of whom became Church members when they were baptised as infants. Canon law sets out their rights and obligations as members. Children also have rights which are set out in the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child to which the Holy See is State Party. The impact of the Convention on Canon Law is examined in detail and the analysis charts a distinct and worrying sea-change in the attitude of the Holy See to its obligations under the Convention since the clerical sex abuse scandals became a subject of discussion at the Committee on the Rights of the Child, which monitors implementation of the Convention. Mary McAleese wins Europe’s richest theology prize for her study of canon law. The former President of Ireland Mary McAleese has won one of the Catholic world’s most prestigious prizes, the Alfons Auer Ethics Award, from Tübingen University in Germany for her doctoral thesis on Children’s Rights and Obligations in Canon Law.

Scientific Essay from the year 2012 in the subject Theology - Practical Theology, , language: English, abstract: In the aspect of the Council and the new code, the parental rights had been settled and it seemed to be absolutely clear what these rights and obligations had been. However, as this essay would like to show, there remained many questions opened. The major thing that kept us puzzle through our previous doctoral research as well was that how parental rights and duties can be exercised if the parents get divorced, or there is a partner of life (cohabitation) and also when one or both parents remarry. In these cases, the duties and the rights must be handled more precisely. We do think that the Code does not count on these in every detail. The problem might be that the CIC itself would not account for civil divorce and re-marriage. It only speaks about “legal” separation. However, in the case of a successful nullity case and positive decision, we must account for remarriage, or partnership where the duties and right must also be exercised, and the children must get the proper education.

In the first study of its kind Mary McAleese subjects to comprehensive scrutiny the Roman Catholic Church's 1983 Code of Canon law as it applies to children. The Catholic Church is the world's largest non-governmental organisation involved in the provision of education and care services to children. It has over three hundred million child members world-wide the vast majority of whom became Church members when they were baptised as infants. Canon law sets out their rights and obligations as members. Children also have rights which are set out in the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child to which the Holy See is State Party. The impact of the Convention on Canon Law is examined in detail and the analysis charts a distinct and worrying sea-change in the attitude of the Holy See to its obligations under the Convention since the clerical sex abuse scandals became a subject of discussion at the Committee on the Rights of the Child, which monitors implementation of the Convention.

Doctoral Thesis / Dissertation from the year 2002 in the subject Theology - Miscellaneous, grade: cum laude, Pazmany Peter Catholic University and American National College (Regnum-M educational Co. / Kirchenrecht), language: English, abstract: Many would consider Codex Iuris Canonici to be the best choice of triggering out a new, acceptable, modern legislation in the Catholic Church1, the origin source of maintaining the unique spells of Christ, of which faithful had to be given an up-to-date book of church disciplinae. However, in many fields the duties and rights are somehow violated, even do obstacles lie in front of them. The intent purpose of this essay, therefore, is to deal with obstacles lying before the acceptable fulfillment of duties of the christian believers in the field of catholic education. When our dealing with the topic of catholic education, canons 793-821 are put into view. We would not, however, state that all duties are violated, and that the purpose of the editors of the code has not reached its aims. Our wish is to highlight those fields in the civil legislations where, practically proved, there are some significant obstacles preventing the faithful from giving the most proper education to their offspring. Thus, we cannot apart from drawing the historical as well as legal backgrounds to make out obvious and provable evidences. (c) Talabér János doktori értekezés, Doctoral Essay: ABSTRACT (c)

For many the law of the Church, canon law, has little meaning; it appears remote both from the Gospel and from the life of most people in the Church. Yet, it can impinge on them at times if a parish priest urges that a baptism be deferred, where a dispensation is needed for marriage or where there is a query about nullity of marriage. Recently, the scandals over clerical sexual abuse of children have drawn wider attention to the need for law also in the Church. At a time when it is popular to assert 'rights' of all sorts ― an identification of authentic rights and of corresponding duties in the Church, as well as mechanisms to ensure that these are respected in practice in a systematic way ― justice and law in the Church cannot be neglected. This book seeks to root the Church's law in the values of the Gospel, in particular in the justice which should guide the lives of those called to follow Christ and in the baptism by which they are incorporated into him and into his Church. The 'canon' or measure of how we should treat one another as members of the People of God and participate in our common mission in the service of that Gospel, according to our particular vocations and functions, is the focus of canon law. No law can replace the Gospel or the Holy Spirit, but canon law is an instrument of justice in the service of the Church and of its mission. The revision of canon law, which led to the Code of Canon Law of 1983 for the Latin Church, sought expressly to reflect the key teachings of the Second Vatican Council. That Code, beyond the general norms for understanding and applying its laws as a whole, centres upon the People of God in our common, diverse and complementary forms of living the Gospel, upon the Church's broad teaching function, and upon its sanctifying function, especially through the sacraments. It attends also to the temporal goods of the Church, for which there are responsibilities of stewardship, to penal law and sanctions and to procedural law ― the latter designed to ensure that practical implementation of the Church's law which is essential if its affirmations concerning justice and mission are not to remain vacuous. This book attempts to provide a theological and juridical introduction and explanation of these various aspects of the Church's life. The schematic presentation of 'key canons' is designed to enable the reader to understand the principal elements of a specific section and to see how those canons can be broken down so that their inter-related parts may be read, analysed and applied. The Code of Canon Law, then, can be seen as a valuable instrument in fulfilling the Church's mission for those with a passion for justice, rooted in the Gospel of Christ.