The Granholm Situation — State Which State is a State
Owing to the fact my parents are down for a visit, I’m a little behind on things. But I wanted to reply to the following piece posted by Greg Popcak over on HMS Blog. Basically, it concerns the petition prepared by the St. Joseph Foundation for those who would like to see Governor-Elect Granholm in Michigan placed under interdict for her reported tolerance with regard to the act of butchering innocent children in the womb.
Chuck Wilson is one of most honest people I have ever worked with, and his integrity and orthodoxy is beyond reproach. I support both him and the St. Joseph Foundation, as they render a valuable service to the Church. One of Chuck’s strengths is that he is very open to (and listens to) contrary opinions when controversial issues arise, and thus I feel comfortable voicing my reservations about this initiative which, to be honest, I would love to support if in my opinion the following canonical technicality was not involved.
Basically, from what I recall from canonical tradition, each state making up the United States of America is considered a state under canon law, and not merely some minor political division like a province in Canada. The Governor is thus considered the head of state.
Now canon 1401 specifically states: “The Church has its own an exclusive right to judge: 1* cases which refer to matters which are spiritual or linked to the spiritual; 2* the violation of ecclesiastical laws and whatever contains an element of sin, to determine guilt and impose ecclesiastical penalties.” This is pretty self-explanatory, however, a problem arises when we look at canon 1405 which specifically states: “$1. In the cases mentioned in canon 1401, the Roman Pontiff alone has the right to judge: 1* Heads of State.”
In short, by the time Cardinal Maida could get the canonical machinery going, Granholm will have likely been sworn in as Governor of Michigan. This mean she will be head of state and the Archdiocese of Detroit will lack absolute competency to hear the case, since it would be reserved to the Holy Father alone. I hate it when these types of procedural techinicalities get in the way, but I that’s unfortunately the case. Therefore, albeit a long-shot, it would be best to take this one to Rome from the start.