The Holy Father’s envoy to the Philippines posed a challenge to Canon lawyers to make church laws comprehensible to every faithful.

In his homily for the second day of the 29th Canon Law Society of the Philippines (CLSP) National Convention on February 28, the Apostolic Nuncio of the Philippines, Archbishop Charles John Brown told the participants that as Canon lawyers, their job is “to invoke and use God’s justice, to be part of His process of healing humanity, and to cooperate in God’s work of redemption and restoration.”

“Always we do these things in the spirit of prayer, realizing that only by praying can we really penetrate and understand the depth of your vocation as Canon lawyers, the depth of your vocation as participating in… going forth of the Word: to heal, to redeem, to restore,” he added.

Archbishop Brown recognized their duty as “noble and important task to which all of you are called” and assured them of his prayers for their work as Canon lawyers.

Joining Nuncio’s Mass were Antipolo Auxiliary Bishop Nolly Buco, chairman of the Episcopal Commission on Canon Law of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), Novaliches Bishop Emeritus Antonio Tobias and Malolos Bishop Dennis Villarojo.

This year’s CLSP National Convention was hosted by the Diocese of Malolos from February 27 to March 2, 2023 with a theme “Sanctions in the Church: The Recent Reform of Book VI of the 1983 Code of Canon Law, at may sub-theme na From Pastor Bonus (1988) to Praedicate Evangelium (2022): The Shepherd’s Heart of Pope Francis and the Reorganization of the Roman Curia.“ (Lem Leal Santiago/RCAM-AOC | Photo File by RCAM-AOC)