The 1917 Code listed the rights of clerics (cc. 118-144), religious (cc. 592-631) and the holders of certain offices. However, there was little mention of the rights of all the faithful. There was no description in the 1917 Code of just what rights all Catholics possessed in the Church. By contrast, the 1983 Code contains several lists of rights as well as obligations. Among them are the right to work to foster the spread of the Gospel (c. 211), the right to manifest public opinion (c. 212.3), the right to receive spiritual assistance (c. 213), the right to worship according to the prescriptions of one’s own rite (c. 214), the right of association and assembly (c. 215), the right to reputation and privacy (c. 220) and the right to vindicate one’s rights in the competent forum (c. 221). In addition to the rights of all Christian faithful, the laity have the right to work to spread the message of salvation (c. 225.1), the right to educate their children (c. 226.2), the right to freedom in temporal affairs (c. 227), the right to acquire a knowledge of Christian doctrine (c. 228) and, if they are employed by the Church, the right to decent compensation (c. 231).
While most of the rights of the faithful are included in the aforementioned canons, there are many references to rights in other sections of the Code. For example: all persons have the right to embrace and observe that religious truth which they have recognized (c. 748.1); parents have the right to choose the most suitable means for the education of their children (c. 793.1); and all persons have the right to marry unless prohibited by law (c. 1058).