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  • El ordenamiento canónico. Aspectos centrales de la construcción del concepto by Javier Hervada
  • William L. Daniel, Judge, Vice-Chancellor
El ordenamiento canónico. Aspectos centrales de la construcción del concepto, by Javier Hervada. Pamplona: EUNSA, Instituto Martín de Azpilcueta, 2008. Pp. 1-209.

Professor Hervada wrote this text in 1960, and it was finally published in 1966 with the addition of only a few footnotes. The present book is effectively a second printing of that book, not a second edition since it has not been altered. It is a treatise on the concept of the canonical system, a classic text emanating from the School of Pedro Lombardía, to whom the book is dedicated. It is not an exegetical pursuit (i.e., an explanation of a certain canon or institute) but a systematic one: it is an articulation of the fundamental nature of the whole canonical order.

The author prepares the reader for his presentation by means of a rich Chapter One, in which he explores the relationship between divine law and human law, as well as the notion of the juridical norm, illustrating a divergence between traditional authors and contemporary doctrine. In an incisive yet balanced manner, he identifies the causes of this divergence (especially diminished recourse to classical principles and increased reliance [End Page 694] on developments in civil legal doctrine) and acknowledges the genuine accomplishments of contemporary thinkers.

In Chapter Two where his own thought unfolds, the author, drawing upon philosophical notions of law, convincingly demonstrates that the canonical system is not something external to the life of the Church; it is the very structure of the Church. It unifies the Church by orienting her toward a common end: the salus animarum. The author then spends Chapter Three dwelling on this end, providing a digest of the pertinent thought of prominent scholars (Fedele, D'Avack, Robleda, Bidagor, Ciprotti, et al.).

In the final chapter the author persuasively proposes that the canonical system has 13 principal characteristics: fullness, integrity, exclusivity, Roman-ness (romanidad), universality, dynamism, institutional corporality, functional inequality of members, equality of means, publicity, maximalism, unity with variety, and realism. The author's explanation of these marks, to which this review cannot here do justice, shows that his conclusions are at once marvelously rooted in canonical tradition and imbued with the ecclesiology of the Second Vatican Council.

This book is enthusiastically recommended to all scholars of canon law, since it is instrumental in refining and deepening one's sense of the canonical system, providing each norm with its proper perspective. How can one aptly and thoroughly weigh or understand a given norm without fully appreciating its relationship to divine law and its scope vis-à-vis the ultimate end of the Church? Indeed, the author's reflections impel the conscientious reader to devote due attention to these fundamental aspects of comprehending and working with the canonical system.

The reader is left wishing that the author had cited any developments made in this area since 1966; instead he chose to preserve the book's original context. This lacuna, though, does not compromise the excellence of the study; rather it will likely inspire scholars to continue this investigation in light of the methodology employed and the contributions made by Hervada in this work.

This reviewer celebrates this portion of the legacy of Prof. Hervada, the intellectual father of many canonists. [End Page 695]

William L. Daniel, Judge, Vice-Chancellor
Diocese of Winona
Winona, MN
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