I remember the publication of the Code of Canon Law in Rome in 1983. Ed Koroway (now "Father") rushed me a copy hot off the press which I gratefully received in the tea room at the English College. (I had a small part later in helping him with the Latin for his defence of a doctoral thesis on latae sententiae excommunications in the new code - information I have always retained.)
In class that week, Fr Reginald Foster was snarling about a mistake in the sequence of tenses in the introduction. Our course with Fr Ghirlanda on the Lex Ecclesiae Fundamentalis was a dead letter because the LEF was not, in the event, promulgated.
Archbishop Coccopalmerio has said on the occasion of the canonical jubilee that the Code is like a "large and complex painting". Well that is one way of putting it. In any case, congratulations to canonists everywhere. Thank you for releasing the rest of us from this drudgery. I spent a short time as defender of the bond in the second instance tribunal but managed to get out of it in favour of teaching theology to the permanent deacons-to-be. This was a relief not only to me but also to the canonists of the diocese.
3 comments:
Father, how interesing. Are you able to recommed a good English text on Canon law - something of an overview or key principles? In Rome recently I got overwhelmed by all those huge tomes in the bookshops near the Vatican, and I don't want something that will take months to read - the booksellers themselves are not really in a position to recommend, not having read the code themselves. Thanks.
:-D I bet if one says something like: "Well, now, they wouldn't be here if there wasn't some sort of defect in the marriage" would get you out of the "defender of the bond" job really quickly.
Sort of like telling a judge if you get called in to jury duty: "You're honor, I'm sure I'll be a fine juror, because I can spot the guilty people "just like that!"
The trick is not to smile before the door hits you in the tush and the judge and bailiff can still see you.
catholiclawyer - I'm afraid I don't know of a good introduction to Canon Law. Most of the large tomes are commentaries on the code, presumably. Quite useful but they don't go into how the code came about which, I think, would be of interest to you.
GOTO - in my case it was "if you want me to do this job, can I drop the other one?" which got me freed up.
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