By What Authority?: A Primer on Scripture, the Magisterium, and the Sense of the Faithful by Richard R. Gaillardetz (review)

306 the jurist The greatest strength of Ius Ecclesiarum Vehiculum Caritatis is also its greatest weakness. This is a scholarly work that requires readers conversant in several languages and familiar with the rich canonical traditions of the Church, particularly the Eastern traditions. For professors, graduate students, and those particularly interested in the Eastern code, this book is a must for one’s library. For the majority of canon lawyers, however, it is not a ready-reference to keep at arm’s length when confronted with pastoral questions involving Eastern Catholics. Even though the various papers delve into these types of issues and handle them expertly, the overall academic nature of the text appeals to a relatively small audience. Ten years is embryonic for any body of law. This is all the more true in the case of the CCEO which as a single, unified code of law had no predecessor . The acts of the anniversary symposium found in Ius Ecclesiarum Vehiculum Caritatis will rightly find their way into the rich history of the Eastern canon law. The erudite authors offer a wise assessment of the state of the CCEO ten years after its promulgation and sow the seeds for its future development. Michael A. Souckar Archdiocese of Miami Miami, Florida BY WHAT AUTHORITY?: A PRIMER ON SCRIPTURE, THE MAGISTERIUM , AND THE SENSE OF THE FAITHFUL by Richard R. Gaillardetz. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2003. Richard Gaillardetz is the Margaret and Thomas Murray and James J. Bacik Professor of Catholic Studies at the University of Toledo and the author of Teaching with Authority: A Theology of the Magisterium in the Church (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1997). In the work under review , he provides a wider audience with an introduction to selected issues regarding the relationship of Christian faith to the sources of Christian doctrine. After a brief introduction summarizing the Second Vatican Council’s conception of divine revelation as gradual and symbolic personal communication rather than dictation, successive sections of the book examine issues concerning the authority of Scripture and tradition, the authority of the Church’s teaching office, and the authority of the believing community. Nine chapters consider such topics as the varying Christian understandings of biblical inspiration and inerrancy, the formation of the biblical canon in its ancient historical context, the relationship of Scripture and tradition, distinctions between understandings of doctrines and dogmas, the exercise of church teaching authority, the importance of the sensus fidelium and the sensus fidei and conflicts between the Church’s official magisterium and the thought of individual theologians. Relevant teachings of the Second Vatican Council are stressed throughout. Each chapter concludes with a short account of one to four disputed questions for further discussion and a wisely chosen bibliography. Readers are thus directed to further literature, including Gaillardetz’earlier book and several works of Francis A. Sullivan for more technical treatment of complex matters. By what Authority? provides a balanced and informative treatment of the major issues concerning its selected topics, with frequent reference to the varying conceptions of revelation which underlie divergent positions. There is some repetition, and some examples, such as the references to Christ’s human freedom as no longer significant (98–99, 123), are open to dispute. The boxed summary on papal teaching (80) omits the category of encyclicals addressed to the bishops of a given region. On the whole, however, Gaillardetz has achieved his established goals, and his book will prove helpful to its envisioned audience. John P. Galvin School of Theology and Religious Studies The Catholic University of America Washington, D.C. VETERA ET NOVA. Cuestiones de Derecho Canónico y afines (1958–2004). Segunda edición remodelada by Javier Hervada. Pamplona : Navarra Gráficas Ediciones, 2005. Most canonists and other jurists know some writings of Javier Hervada in canon law, natural law, and the general theory of law. Although most of the texts are in Spanish or Italian, the Code of Canon Law Annotated (cc. 204–231, 1055–1062 and 1141–1165) and the Exegetical Commentary (Prologue I, written with Lombardia, and cc. 294–297) contain Hervada’s English contributions. He ranks as one of the leading scholars in canon law and law in general at the...