West's Encyclopedia of American Law | Canon Law Society of America

The Canon Law Society of America is a non-profit research association of canon lawyers that helps the Roman Catholic Church to address contemporary issues and internal conflicts within the framework of the church's system of CANON LAW. The society drafts opinions on topics at the request of bishops and other persons within the church.

Canon law is the set of rules a church or religion establishes for itself in order to make administrative and ecclesiastical (religious) decisions. The Roman Catholic Church has an elaborate body of canon law that has been evolving since the fourth century and which has played a historical role in the development of public law.

The Canon Law Society of America helps Catholic decision makers, especially bishops and tribunal judges, to evaluate and set policy. The church's tribunal courts were the model for secular court...