The Church's canon law on marraige has tended to be a labyrinth left to the initiated working in seminaries or tribunals. Yet more and more demands are being made of parish priests and marriage counsellers for an accurate knowledge of at least the essentials of such teaching.
The New Code may offer greater clarity than the Old, but the canons are still not self-explanatory. Ladislas Örsy's outstanding gift in this commentary on the canons is to make them accessible. Each of the 111 canons on marriage in the New Code is dealth with individually and with reference to its wider import, technical terms are explained, historical and theological connections are made where necessary, and all in a concise and intelligble language. Additional valuable aids are a brief introductory historical survey and an appendix on problem areas and disputed questions, both sections illustrating the historical nature of the laws, how they have evolved in the past and how they are still evolving.
In short, this revised edition has to find a place in any parish library or Catholic marriage guidance centre, and should act as a vademecum for any priest or counsellor concerned with the care of marriage in the Church today.
‘ . . . will be of the greatest assistance to persons involved in pastoral ministry to couples … and to Catholics who are sincerely interested in learning more about what the Church teaches on marriage.’ Francis G. Morrisseyomi, Ottawa, in Doctrine and Life.
