Abstract
The article compares the old and new legal regimes of the dedication of churches and chapels. The old Code of 1917 spoke of the dedication of churches and distinguished between the higher degree (“consecration”), which was applicable to all cathedral, capitular, religious, and parish churches, and the lower degree (“benediction”) for other churches and chapels.
The current Code of 1983 “mixes the terminology around”; the Code reserves “consecration” for the dedication of persons, while the higher degree of “dedication” applies only to objects, including churches, and is required most specifically for cathedral and parish churches. The Code does not explain whether other churches may also be dedicated, or whether a church that underwent benediction could be dedicated.
The Code also changes the authority of persons authorized to conduct the dedication and benediction of churches.