The Canon Law: Letter & Spirit : A Practical Guide to the Code of Canon Law [Hardcover]

Gerard Sheehy (Editor), Francis G. Morrisey (Editor), Canon Law Society of Great Britain & Ireland (Corporate Author), Canadian Canon Law Society (Corporate Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1996

Incorporates the various developments & interpreta-tions, official and otherwise, which have occurred since the Code was promulgated. It attempts to in-corporate the practical wisdom which has been gain-ed over the 12 years of working with the new Code.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1060 pages
• Publisher: Michael Glazier (January 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814655165
• ISBN-13: 978-0814655160
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,718,445 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb canonical resource in every respect., December 5, 1997

By 

Edward Peters - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Canon Law: Letter & Spirit : A Practical Guide to the Code of Canon Law (Hardcover)

A detailed and extensive, but still quite readable, commentary on all 1,752 canons of the 1983 Code of Canon Law. Already highly-regarded by practicing canon lawyers, this book is finding an increasing audience among laity who appreciate its accessible language and obvious commitment to accuracy. Written some ten years after the new Code went into effect, this book benefits by having allowed some post-Vatican II dust to settle and by being able to watch how some of the newer canons were going to be applied in actual Church life. I consider this work one of staples of canonical practice, and I use it on a nearly daily basis.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pastoral and Scholarly, July 17, 2001

By 

Patricia M. Dugan "Patricia M. Dugan" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Canon Law: Letter & Spirit : A Practical Guide to the Code of Canon Law (Hardcover)

This is a Commentary on the revised Code of Canon Law, which was promulgated by the Roman Catholic Church in 1983. This particular Commentary is a joint endeavor by the Canon Law Society of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Canadian Canon Law Society. The writers are some of the finest canonists in the English speaking world. Their approach is both pastoral and scholarly. That is, every commentator makes an educated and obvious effort to provide practical answers to contemporary problems of the Christian Faithful today. This is not the first Commentary on the revised Code, but that has its advantage. It includes the benefit of twelve years of public reaction to the Code, once it was enacted to succeed the previous Code of 1917. The word "Catholic" means universal. To provide an organized and comprehensive Commentary on such a Code is a work of staggering proportion. These professional and learned Societies have completed this work and made a tremendous contribution to Catholic Church intellect.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Commentary in the footsteps of Vatican II, October 5, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Canon Law: Letter & Spirit : A Practical Guide to the Code of Canon Law (Hardcover)

This is an excellent commentary and translation of the 1983 Code of Canon Law. Prepared under the auspices of the Canon Law Society of Great Britain and Ireland, it contains all the canons of the 1983 Code in a fresh English translation (approved by eight Bishops' Conferences worldwide) and a canon-by-canon commentary with footnotes and cross-references. The translation is accurate and clear, and the commentary is good, easy to understand and practical.

This volume is not overly verbose, unlike some commentaries, yet it packs in a lot of material to help even the lay-reader understand and apply the canon in his/her life/situation. It is a highly practical and pastoral commentary, that seeks to help the reader understand the canons in the light of the tradition of the Catholic Church enunciated through the teachings of Vatican II. Strong theology and ecclesiology permeates through the entire commentary, and in my opinion, it does a far better job than other American commentaries I have read. A fresh approach of this commentary is its views of canon laws as guides on the path to salvation, rather than as the ecclesiastical counterpart to civil laws aimed at restricting freedom.

Pope John Paul II described the 1983 Code as "the final document of Vatican II." This commentary can be described as permeating with the authentic teachings and thoughts of Vatican II. You need not agree with all the commentaries of the canons, but it has done an overall excellent job with providing a scholarly and faithful interpretation of this venerable tradition of the Catholic Church called Canon Law.