Congress to review CCEO on it's 20th anniversary

VATICAN CITY, 7 OCT 2010 (VIS) - This morning in the Holy See Press Office, a press conference was held to present a forthcoming congress marking the twentieth anniversary of the publication of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (aka 'Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium'). The congress is due to take place on 8 and 9 October.

Participating in today's press conference were Archbishop Francesco Coccopalmerio, president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts; Archbishop Cyril Vasil S.J., secretary of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches; Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta Ochoa de Chinchetru, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, and Fr. Michael J. Kuchera, dean of the Faculty of Eastern Canon Law at the Pontifical Oriental Institute.

In his remarks Archbishop Coccopalmerio explained how the congress is being organised by the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts in collaboration with the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Pontifical Oriental Institute. The meeting, he said, will be divided into three sections each of which will deal with one of three major themes: the historical evolution of Eastern Canon Law, the legislative activity of the Eastern Churches, and the ecumenical aspects of Eastern Canon Law.

The congress will be attended more than four hundred participants, including experts, canon lawyers, professors and students. Representatives from the Orthodox world will also be present, as will members of other Churches and of non-Christian confessions.

The congress will come to an end on Saturday 9 October when the participants are due to be received in audience by the Holy Father.