Under Church law, no one is permitted to harm illegitimately the good reputation which a person possesses, nor to injure the right of any person to protect his or her own privacy.
This obligation arises from natural law. Calumny, denunciation, insults, slander and the spreading of rumors are contrary to this right.
The right to one's privacy is protected without unlawful invasion. This could become a critical issue in the matter of candidates for the priesthood or religious life and in the use of psychological testing (Canons 241-642).
The basic right appears in Church law under six other canons: 483, 1352, 1361, 1390, 1455 and 1598.
The right to a good reputation is at risk as the Church confronts the issue of sexual misconduct by clergy and other Church personnel. Authorities are often accused of proceeding too slowly when accusations of sexual abuse, particularly of a minor, arise. Church authorities must move expeditiously, yet with caution to protect both the accuser and the accused.
Editor's note: This series about the rights and obligations of the Christian faithful, as set forth in canon (Church) law, has been written especially for the Catholic News Herald by Mercy Sister Jeanne-Margaret McNally. Sister Jeanne-Margaret is a distinguished authority on canon law, author of the reference guide "Canon Law for the Laity," and frequent lecturer at universities and dioceses. A graduate of The Catholic University of America with multiple degrees including a doctorate in psychology and a licentiate of canon law (JCL), she is a psychologist for the Tribunal of the Diocese of Charlotte and a judge in the Metropolitan Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Miami.