ABSTRACT
Managing the goods of the Catholic Church is the subject of an entire book of the 1983 Code of Canon Law. On some key points, the rules it lists have been modified from those promulgated in the first Code of Canon Law published in 1917. Such statements by the Council serve as the basis and the viewpoint for the 1983 Code of Canon Law and supplement the traditional desire, described above, to preserve the principle of sovereignty of ecclesiastical jurisdiction. This explains why canon law focuses on goods when they serve specific purposes and, in doing so, promulgates norms for acquiring these goods, for administering and disposing of them, for establishing heritage contracts, for the creation and management of so-called pious' foundations necessary for the Church's activity. This founding principle of the Church, which prevents it being considered as solely a centralized institution, finds first expression within the specific field of canon law.
