Canonical Administrative Law (J.C.D.)

Program Overview

The Doctor of Canon Law (J.C.D.) in Canonical Administrative Law concerns the ordinary exercise of authority: appointments, permissions, decrees, statutes, precepts, parish erections and mergers, and the review of decisions that aggrieve someone. Most church governance is administrative rather than judicial, which is precisely why it needs canonists who know what a valid administrative act requires. Students study singular administrative acts and the conditions of their validity, decrees and precepts, rescripts, privileges and dispensations, the offices and the canonical rules for conferral and loss, the powers of the diocesan bishop and of the parish priest, consultative and deliberative bodies, and the erection, modification, division, and suppression of parishes and juridic persons. The program then turns to remedies: the duty to give reasons, hierarchical recourse, the role of the competent dicastery, and the contentious-administrative jurisdiction of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura. Praedicate Evangelium and the structure of the Roman Curia are studied for what they mean in practice for a diocese seeking a decision. Graduates serve as chancellors, vicars, canonical advisers, and drafters of diocesan statutes and policies. The dissertation typically examines an administrative practice — how a diocese consults before closing a parish, how decrees are motivated, how recourse actually functions — and proposes improvement grounded in law.

Core Courses

• JCD 801 — General Norms and the Structure of Church Law (6 credits)
• JCD 812 — Singular Administrative Acts (6 credits)
• JCD 824 — Offices, Appointment, and Governance Structures (6 credits)
• JCD 836 — Juridic Persons, Parishes, and Reconfiguration (6 credits)
• JCD 848 — Recourse and Administrative Justice (5 credits)
• JCD 860 — Doctoral Research Design in Canon Law (4 credits)
• JCD 899 — Doctoral Dissertation in Canonical Administrative Law (24 credits)

Admission Requirements

• Master's degree or ecclesiastical licentiate in canon law, theology, ministry, or law
• Experience in tribunal, chancery, diocesan, religious institute, or church governance work
• Statement of purpose describing canonical interests and intended service to the church
• Reading ability in Latin, or willingness to develop it during the program
• Current curriculum vitae or ministry profile
• Official transcripts from prior institutions when available
• Writing sample, canonical opinion, or research paper when requested