canon law

Example Sentences

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The group is hoping a change of canon law will bring about the zero-tolerance policy worldwide, and has spoken to experts and compiled documents that they will give to Pope Leo.

From BBC • Oct. 20, 2025

The verdict also did some legal gymnastics to make sense of the Vatican’s outdated criminal code, based on Italy’s 1889 code and the church’s canon law, requalifying or combining charges to fit into other ones.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 22, 2023

Francis remains in charge of the Vatican and the 1.3-billion-strong Catholic Church, even while unconscious and in the hospital, according to canon law.

From Washington Times • Jun. 7, 2023

To explain his stepping down, a Vatican statement at the time referred to a canon law that allowed bishops under 75 to retire for health reasons or other “grave” reasons, but did not elaborate.

From New York Times • Sep. 29, 2022

The Catholic Church has survived for centuries, not by passing on a ‘celibacy gene’ from one pope to the next, but by passing on the stories of the New Testament and of Catholic canon law.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari