doctrines. This shift in some ways assumes the political and legal
background of recognition. With regard to this second issue, it needs
to be asked whether the canonical legislation of the churches has any
resources of its own that are comparable to modern international law.
The short answer to this question is no, but with some Catholic
qualifications. The legislation of the Protestant churches has followed
national legal guidelines that are not theological by nature. Some
particular issues, like the local recognition of marriages, may have
played a role, but they do not change this bigger picture. The Roman
Catholic church, on the other hand, has a distinctive religious legis-
lation that is both consistent and global.
The Catholic canon law employs the termrecognitioto describe a
process in which the church authority examines a church document
before it is used. For instance, liturgical books and decisions of a local
synod may undergo this kind of examination. The term thus resem-
bles the Latin word as it is employed in the revision of manuscripts.
Purely technically, the process of such recognition resembles the
secular process of ratification of treaties. Theoretically,recognitiois
a process which excludes mistakes and inadequacies rather than one
which introduces or approves new matters.^248
When the Second Vatican Council usesrecognitio, recognitus,
recognosco, it adopts this canonical understanding in some respects.
At the same time, the issue is complex and not without consequences
for our study. TheConstitution on the Sacred Liturgy, for instance,
frequently speaks of‘recognizing’the liturgy. In many such passages,
it clearly assumes a substantive renewal and sometimes even a radical
change.^249 Likewise, when theDecree on the Pastoral Office of the
Bishopsspeaks of‘recognizing’various church issues, it often has
considerable renewals in mind. For instance, the revision of the
canon law is itself described in terms ofrecognoscendoin §44.^250
We return to this issue below in more detail.
The process of positive approval in canon law is calledapprobatio,
through which the relevant authorities approve matters of church
(^248) So Rhode 2004, 390–1.
(^249) Sacrosanctum concilium, 4, 23, 25, 31, 38, 50, 62–7, 71–7, 79–82, 91, 107, 128.
For a closer analysis, see section 3.6 in this volume.
(^250) Cf.Christus Dominus,21–3, 31–2, 38, 40, 44 and the closer analysis given
below. Other Vatican II passages includePerfectae caritatis,3,7,11;Gravissimum
educationis, 11;Presbyterorum ordinis,8–10;Lumen gentium, 30;Optatam totius,
1, 14, 17;Apostolicam actuositatem,1;Gaudium et spes, 86.
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