Kenrick School of Theology awards its graduates with two master’s degrees: an M.Div. and an M.A. in theology. Part of the process in earning these degrees involves doing either a master’s thesis or a comprehensive exam. Each option requires about the same amount of writing: 50-80 pages. The difference is that in the thesis all those pages are focussed on a single topic while with the comprehensive exam those pages are distributed accross five different questions (so there are more questions but less writing for each than in the thesis). After the written portion is completed, there is an oral defense of the writing regardless of the option taken.

I am planning to opt for writing the thesis, and now I have a topic. One of my interests is Canon Law (Church law). I have decided to focus on Canon Law, specifically the issues regarding formally leaving the Catholic Church. The current Code of Canon Law (the 1983 Code) references this topic in three canons: 1086, 1117, and 1124. All of these canons deal with the Sacrament of Matrimony. Certain marriage laws do not affect those who have formally left the Church. While my thesis is still in its preliminary stages, I am planning to focus on the history behind dispensing from particular marriage laws, the history of the idea of formally leaving the Church, the ecclesiological aspects of formally leaving the Church, and the practical issues regarding it.

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