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Exegetical Commentary on the Code of Canon Law ed. by Ernest Caparros

2007; The Catholic University of America Press; Volume: 67; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/jur.2007.0000

2326-6236

Edward N. Peters,

Family and Matrimonial Law

EXEGETICAL COMMENTARY ON THE CODE OF CANON LAW. Prepared under the Responsibility of the Faculty of Canon Law, University of Navarre. English edition edited by Ernest Caparros. Montreal : Wilson & Lafleur/Midwest Theological Forum, 2004. Five volumes bound as eight. The days when individual authors like Bachofen, Jone, or Regatillo could stay abreast of the whole sweep of canon law, or when pairings of scholarly giants such as Vermeersch-Creusen or Abbo-Hannan could manage the task, are gone. Specialization has come to western canonistics and, especially since World War II, a division of labor among canonical scholars has gained permanence. If the fact that the 1917 code was developed by a single guiding genius made plausible the production of great commentaries thereon by scholars working alone, the world-wide collaboration that marked (if imperfectly) the realization of the 1983 code portended that commentaries on that new law would necessarily draw on many authors. In 1996, the pan-textual Comentario Exegetico al Codigo de Derecho Canonico, supervised by the canonical faculty at the University of Navarra, made its appearance in eight volumes to favorable, if perhaps somewhat fewer than might have been expected, reviews. The relatively small number of reviews that the Spanish Comentario Exegetico received was, I think, simply because review copies of an eight volume work would be scarce; and because few, if any, individual authors would attempt a comprehensive review of a text assembled by more than one hundred scholars and practitioners from several countries. In any event, ten years and two slightly revised Spanish editions later, the Comentario Exegetico now makes its appearance in English as the Exegetical Commentary on the Code of Canon Law, and it is a magnificent achievement. It is, of course, beyond the ability of this reviewer to assess comprehensively these 8,000 pages, and I do here but briefly introduce the work to the English-speaking canonical community. Those already familiar with the Spanish Comentario Exegetico will immediately recognize that the many strengths of the original have been incorporated into the English Exegetical Commentary. These include presenting the original Latin and English (revised from the original British English translation) texts of all the canons of the 1983 code, the official fontes of the same, and, very helpfully, suggesting crossreferences with the law. The commentary on each canon runs from half a page in length to ten pages or more, and is individually signed. The physbook reviews 541 542 the jurist ical layout (text size, paper and binding quality, margin width, etc.) is splendid. As is true of all pan-textual commentaries on the 1983 code, the quality of the remarks on each canon varies according to the skill of the author , but anyone familiar with the international panoply of learned persons writing on canon law today will immediately recognize in the Exegetical Commentary many names worthy of deference. Moreover, even those less well-known authors have offered (in my opinion, formed as I have used the set over the last year or so) consistently useful remarks. I especially appreciate their guidance to European commentaries and sources of particular law, though, like mostAnglo-Americans using continental legal texts, I would have preferred more and fuller footnotes. In any case, every consultation I have ever made in the Exegetical Commentary has been of real benefit. An index volume of over 700 pages presents authentic text and translations of Divinus perfectionis Magister, Spirituali militum curae, Pastor bonus, Universi dominici gregis, the 1999 General Regulations of the Roman Curia, and the 1994 Norms of the Roman Rota. These documents are followed by authentic interpretations through 1999, implementing legislation of English-speaking nations through the late 1990s (though one might wonder why Spanish-speaking, or at least Spain particular legislation was not included), correlating tables for the three twentieth century Codes of Canon Law, and an extensive analytical or topical index. Listing for sale at the US cost of $1,200 (I have seen offers through canonical societies to acquire it for less), this great work is not likely to find its way into personal libraries very quickly. All the more reason, then, that institutions, particularly arch/diocesan chanceries (to say nothing of academic libraries), should secure...