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  • Tendances actuelles de la jurisprudence matrimoniale dans les tribunaux d'Église ed. by Marc Aoun and Jeanne-Marie Tuffery-Andrieu
  • John P. Beal
Tendances actuelles de la jurisprudence matrimoniale dans les tribunaux d'Église, edited by Marc Aoun and Jeanne-Marie Tuffery-Andrieu. New York, NY: Peter Lang, 2012. Pp. 1-176. Pp. 1-563.

This collection contains eight papers originally presented at the Journée d'études organized by the Institute of Canon Law and the Center for Politics, Religion, Institutions and Society: European Mutations (PRISME) of the University of Strasbourg on November 27, 2009. Jean-Georges Boeglin, judicial vicar of Strasbourg offers a brief historical sketch of the emergence of the office of judicial vicar or officialis in canon law, with particular reference to the Archdiocese of Strasbourg. Frans Daneels, Secretary of the Apostolic Signatura, provides an overview (in Italian) of the efforts of the Signatura to monitor and moderate the jurisprudence and procedural practice of tribunals throughout the world. Anne Bamberg, Professor at the Institute of Canon Law at Strasbourg, traces the ongoing efforts in church law and Rotal jurisprudence to insist on the need for "moral certainty" as that concept was magisterially enunciated by Pius XII in his allocution to the Roman Rota in 1942 and to overcome a tendency initiated by the American Procedural Norms of 1970 to "water down" the notion of moral certainty by equating it with a mere preponderance of the proofs.

Elie Haddad, Archbishop of Sidon in Lebanon and president of the appellate court for Greek-Melkite Catholics in Lebanon, reflects on the Eastern orthodox application of the principle of oeconomia to deal with the tragedy [End Page 670] of broken marriages and regrets the absence of a similar principle to temper the rigidity of Catholic canon law. Henri Moreau, judicial vicar of Paris, illustrates the real distinction between sections 2 and 3 of canon 1095 by commenting on a recent Rotal decision in a case originating in Paris in which the judges held that a psychic anomaly present at the time of consent but insufficient to undermine the party's discretionary capacity was enough to invalidate consent since, in its eventual full-blown form, it rendered him incapable of assuming the obligations of marriage for a lifetime. Didier Schweizer, Officialis of Metz, and Vincent-Marie Meyer, defender of the bond at the tribunal of Strasbourg, reflect on their years of experience in tribunal work and, from somewhat different perspectives, explain why the culture of our day has led tribunals to examine marriage cases more and more frequently on the grounds of the incapacities sketched in canon 1095. Jean-Luc Heibel, Professor at the Institute of Canon Law at Strasbourg, summarizes recent canonical literature on the pastoral function of the marriage tribunal. These essays are preceded by a brief introduction by Marc Aoun and end with a concluding reflection by Jeanne-Marie Tuffery-Andrieu, both of the University of Strasbourg.

Like most collections of papers f rom symposia, these essays are not heavy with footnotes and do not represent "cutting edge" scholarship. They are, nevertheless, valuable for the insights they provide on tribunal practice from a distinctly non-North American perspective. After years of hearing European complaints about North American tribunal practice, those who labor in tribunals will find it refreshing to know that European canonists struggle with the same issues we do and to know that they too are concerned to make the marriage tribunal a locus for pastoral care. American judicial vicars would be well advised to read Frans Daneels' contribution before submitting their next report of tribunal activity to the Apostolic Signatura or requesting an indult f rom the requirements of the Code for a judge or defender of the bond. It was a relief to hear two European authors with extensive tribunal experience, Didier Schweizer and Vincent-Marie Meyer confirming the North American sense that the incapacities listed in canon 1095 are the grounds that best fit the marriage cases coming into our tribunals at the present time. Henri Moreau's analysis of a recent Rotal decision on the incapacity to assume the obligations of marriage perpetually because of alcoholism is rich with hints for...

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