The Common Law Concept of the Use Gensium

For most of the church's history, there was what was a Roman law concept of sort of the the use gensium. That is, it doesn't get rid of or seek to supplant the wider understanding of the basic natural law principles of justice and equity. It simply articulates them in a more particular way for their own circumstances. The fathers of Vatican Council one say we should have a code because the civil law tradition of sort of promulgated laws developing in various places. And so Pius the 10th who says, okay, well, if we're going to have a code, we'regoing to have to sort through everything that we have. So they put together a commission