Wachs Canonical Services and Advocacy, LLC

01/05/2022

Wishing you a very merry and blessed Christmas and a new year filled with God's choicest blessings. As He reaches out to each one of us this year, may you know Him in the joy of your hearts and share his love with all you meet.

12/09/2021

As we prepare this Advent to celebrate the Holiest of Nights, which gives light to the darkness, joy in the sadness, and order to the chaos, of our times, I give thanks to Emmanuel (God-with-us) for those who are in my life today - especially my wife, baby-on-the-way, and parents - and those who were in my life and have passed on (may they rest in His peace) - especially my grandparents - who inspire my faith, increase my joy, and deepen my hope - those who have made my world real and solid.

I pray that you and yours are blessed and may hear the glory of His voice in the joy of your hearts as you prepare for and celebrate during this Christmas and Holiday Season.

"To lose someone you love is the very worst thing in the world. It creates an invisible hole that you feel you are falling down and will never end. People you love make the world real and solid and when they suddenly go away forever, nothing feels solid any more.".
Matt Haig, A Boy Called Christmas

10/15/2021

Sadly, this exchange still rings all too true in our own times. The lack of due process given to an accused cleric and COVID-19 vaccine mandates are just two present and real examples.

There is and always will be a tension between the legitimate exercise of individual rights (e.g., presumption of innocence, defense of reputation, privacy, health care choices, etc.) and the safeguarding of the common good. That tension is proper, equitable, and balanced when the pursuit of truth (that which is true/real, good, and beautiful) and justice (that is, giving to each his due -- ius suum cuique tribuere) is first and foremost as well throughout and at the end of a leader's decision.

When leaders -- whether secular or ecclesiastical -- lose sight of the pursuit of truth and justice, they become "bullies" (at best) and "head-choppers", tyrants, and dictators (at worst).

When we as individuals lose sight of the pursuit of truth and justice, then our acts of charity are false, self-serving, and reckless.

"Without truth, charity degenerates into sentimentality. Love becomes an empty shell, to be filled in an arbitrary way" (Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in veritate, n. 3). "Justice is the primary way of charity, ... the minimum measure.... Charity transcends justice and completes it in the logic of giving and forgiving" (Ibid., n. 6). "Mercy without justice is the mother of dissolution;.. [and] justice without mercy is cruelty" (Saint Thomas Aquinas, Super Matthaeum, Cap. V, 1.2).

Now, more than ever, we need statesmen and men of the Church who are valiant and courageous leaders, wiling to be martyrs (defenders and witnesses to the truth), and, most importantly, saints (men and women who follow the example of God, whose justice is always true and tempered with mercy). Now, more than ever, we need men and women of faith who are and will do likewise.
www.wachscanonical.com

09/26/2021

Daily we observe the realization of the prophecies of this prophet of our times.

08/12/2021

Saint Thomas More once wrote: "Where there is no malice there can be no offense".

This basic principle of law (regula iuris) is found in canon 1321 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law (CIC). Its legal implication was strengthened in the recent revision of the Penal Code (Book VI of the CIC) promulgated by Pope Francis in his Apostolic Letter motu proprio, Pascite gregem Dei.

The Supreme Legislator revised canon 1321 to include expressly the presumption of innocence of the accused. While this was always the case, it has not, of recent, been the praxis or mentality of many officials and agents, including some Bishops, of dioceses in the handling of accusations of sexual misconduct, either with minors or adults, against clerics (bishops, priests, and deacons).

The presumption of imputability (which gives initial benefit to the "word" of the accuser) can be overturned. That is to say, it must be held in tension with the overarching presumption of innocence (which gives ultimate benefit to the "word" and reputation of the accused).

The blind eye of justice, therefore, requires the pursuit of the truth of the matter. A well-conducted preliminary investigation will produce acts and proofs (acta et probata) which must be weighed against the defense arguments and proofs (defensiones) without which the semblance of truth cannot be revealed nor the presumption of innocence upheld. Once a semblance of truth is revealed, a penal process for the determination of the truth of the matter and, if necessary and appropriate, for the imposition of penalties can be initiated. With the recent revision to canon 1341 CIC , the Supreme Legislator established that if there is a semblance a penal process must be initiated. The option to deal with the matter in a fraternal or pastoral manner remains available if, thereby, justice can be sufficiently restored, the offender reformed, and the scandal repaired.

Accordingly, the scale of justice will reveal the truth. It will determine in law and in fact (in iure et in facto) whether or not the alleged misconduct was committed with malice (ex dolo), i.e., freely, conscientiously, and deliberately and with the knowledge that one is committing an offense. If so, a just penalty can and should be imposed in accord with the law. If not, the innocence of the accused should be declared and every effort should be made to restore (if necessary) and to defend the reputation and good name of the accused.
www.wachscanonical.com

04/07/2021

While an accuser has a right to his version of the story, he or she does not have a right to the truth. Hence a good defense focuses on the facts - as they do not lie - and the just application of the law in pursuit of justice and the truth of the matter.
www.wachscanonical.com

03/12/2021

As a defense attorney, I keep this sage advice in mind as I counsel and assist my clients who have been accused of misconduct. Whether the cleric (bishop, priest, or deacon) or lay person has been falsely accused or not, that person has a past and a future. If falsely accused, the past (at times known only to God) will keep the person humble and/or will speak for itself in defense of his or her reputation and good name as we pursue the truth of the matter and a just outcome. If guilty, the truth will set the person free and the grace of conversion and the power of forgiveness, mercy, and God's unconditional love will illumine the pursuit of justice and a path toward a future filled with hope.
www.wachscanonical.com

01/11/2021

At Wachs Canonical Services and Advocacy, we are prepared to burn both ends of the candle to study your case and the Code of Canon Law in order to assure the legitimate exercise of your rights in pursuit of justice and the truth of the matter.
www.wachscanonical.com

12/24/2020

Wishing you and yours a blessed and merry Christmas and a new year filled with God's choicest blessings! May the wonder of Emmanuel - God with us - shine in the darkness of our times and fill us with joy, peace, and awe in the gift love.

12/23/2020

If you received a negative decision in the first instance of your marriage nullity process (annulment), we can help you prepare and pursue your appeal in the second instance and strengthen your argument for the nullity of your previous marriage. Call us today for your free initial consultation.

Describes the philosophy and mission of our canon lawyer regarding his canonical services of general counsel and canonical advocacy under canon law related to defense of rights and pursuit of an annulment