In Veritatis Gaudium (Part II,2 Art.60), Pope Francis emphasizes the need in studies of Ecclesiastical Law for a “careful setting forth both of the history and texts of ecclesiastical laws and of their disposition and connection, as well as their theological foundations”.

The online Center for Historic-Systematic Theology and Canon Law (CTCL) wants to take up this desideratum and functions as a virtual "umbrella" for digital humanities projects (Gratian-Encyclopedia) and "open access" publications (Fundamenta Canonica) in this field of studies. As primarily digital "space", it especially invites scholars to discuss crucial questions on the interlink between Historic-Systematic Research and Canon Law (CTCL-Symposium), helping the church to better understand its legal dimension, the application of Ecclesiastical Law and its cultural implementation. Therefore, it wants particularly emphasize the study of

• its historical fundaments and sources (Gratian-Encyclopedia-Project).
• its theological justification, philosophical and legal foundations, as well as the interior coherence and systematic of its legal texts (Fundamenta Canonica).
• questions on the cultural implementation of Canon Law and special topics surrounding the above-mentioned areas (CTCL-Symposia).