The Role of Canon Law in the Catholic Tradition and the Question of Church and State

1. Theological Foundations The early Christians had a complex relationship with law. The evangelical traditions were critical of the described observance of the Mosaic law, and we hear in the gospel, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others” (Matt 23:23).1 At the same time, Jesus is explicit that he did not come to abolish the law and is clear in saying, “Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished” (Matt 5:17–18