Which pope promulgated the 1917 Code of Canon Law?

Which pope promulgated the 1917 Code of Canon Law?

• A. Pope Benedict XV
• B. Pope Pius X
• C. Pope Pius XI
• D. Pope John XXIII

Answer: (A)

In canon law, a code only becomes binding when the pope promulgates it. The 1917 Code of Canon Law was the Church’s first comprehensive, unified collection of Latin Church law, and it was promulgated by Pope Benedict XV in 1917. The project began under Pope Pius X, who organized the effort to draft a code, but he did not issue the final text. Benedict XV carried the work through and published the code, which then took effect the following year. Later popes, especially Pius XI, made revisions, and much later the 1983 Code under John Paul II replaced it for the Latin Church, but the act of promulgation for the 1917 Code is Benedict XV’s.

In canon law, a code only becomes binding when the pope promulgates it. The 1917 Code of Canon Law was the Church’s first comprehensive, unified collection of Latin Church law, and it was promulgated by Pope Benedict XV in 1917. The project began under Pope Pius X, who organized the effort to draft a code, but he did not issue the final text. Benedict XV carried the work through and published the code, which then took effect the following year. Later popes, especially Pius XI, made revisions, and much later the 1983 Code under John Paul II replaced it for the Latin Church, but the act of promulgation for the 1917 Code is Benedict XV’s.