Mandate
The Eastern Canonical Commission is a “Commission for Implementation” (cf. Episcopalis communio, art. 21), presided over as such by the Secretary General of the Synod and composed of members appointed by the same Secretary General, having consulted the Dicastery for Legislative Texts (cf. Praedicate Evangelium, art. 178 and art. 84, § 2).
In order to ensure both the necessary scientific competence and adequate interdicasterial cooperation, the initial group of members of the Commission has been selected from among the Eastern-rite consultors of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts and of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches. Some of these are already members of Study Group 1, established by Pope Francis in 2024 to examine “some aspects of the relationship between the Eastern Catholic Churches and the Latin Church”.
In the short term, the task of the Commission is to prepare draft normative texts in order to give effect to the juridical proposals advanced during the 2021-2024 synodal journey, in particular those enumerated in the Synthesis Report (2023) and in the Final Document (2024), as well as those identified in the course of the work of the aforementioned Study Group 1.
The work of the Commission will be coordinated by the Secretary of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, the Curial body responsible, among other matters, for the updating of the current Eastern legislation (cf. Praedicate Evangelium, art. 178).
20 January 2026