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Jan. 25, 2021
Christina Gray
Catholic San Francisco
Msgr. C. Michael Padazinski, JCD, is serving as president of the Canon Law Society, the largest and oldest professional canon law association and publisher of canon law materials in the world.The pastor of St. Patrick Parish and School in Larkspur was elected to a three-year leadership role for the society in October 2019, which includes successive terms as vice-president, president and past-president.
He assumed the role of president and chairman of the board of governors at the society’s national convention in October 2020, held online for the first time in the organization’s 83-year history due to the pandemic.
Canon law is the body of norms and regulations that govern the many facets of the Catholic Church. The Canon Law Society of America is a professional association dedicated to both the study and application of those laws. Its 1,200 members include canon lawyers and other qualified individuals -- clergy and lay -- who work in ministries involving the canon law of the Catholic Church.
Msgr. Padazinski said he began his canon law career in the year 2000 under the late Cardinal William J. Levada after studying in Rome for his license and then his doctorate. He was the judicial vicar for the Archdiocese of San Francisco for about 16 years while also doing canonical work for Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone as chancellor, a role he continues.
The triple roles and responsibilities of pastor, chancellor and president of the Canon Law Society of America “complement one another,” he told Catholic San Francisco Jan. 24.
Each president can have his own “innovations and thrust and focus," but generally things are in process, Msgr. Padizinski said.
According to Msgr. Padazinski, canon law has been revised several times throughout history. The first code of canon law was promulgated in 1917 and revised by St. John Paul II in 1983 some 20 years after the end of the Vatican II council to reflect it.
A third revision of the 1983 code was issued last year, said Msgr. Padazinski, who noted that every pope is the “supreme legislator” of the code.
“Just two weeks ago, Pope Francis changed canon law to say women can be be instituted as acolytes and readers,” Msgr. Padazinski said. "This was a role that under canon law had previously applied only to men."