A Practical Guide to the Code of Canon Law
The 1983 'Code Of Canon Law' has been described by Pope John Paul II as "the final document of the Second Vatican Council". In this, the Holy Father was encapsulating precisely what this Code is: a revision of the earlier 1917 Code which takes fully into account the doctrinal, pastoral and practical teachings of the Council, while at the same time retaining, as did the Council, the essence of the age-old law and tradition of the Church.
This volume brings this understanding into the daily life of the Church, at all its levels: to Bishops in their pastoral ministry, to priests in parishes and other such pastoral areas, to teachers and students in seminaries, to members of religious institutes and societies, not least to the laity who remain firmly at the heart of the Church's mission.
The book incorporates the various developments and interpretations, official and otherwise, which have occurred since the Code was promulgated, stretching out to all who would wish to know what Canon Law really means.