El Sostenimiento Económico de la Iglesia Católica en España. Nuevo Modelo ed. by Jorge Otaduy, Diego Zalbidea (review)

Chapter eight concerns the administration of goods in institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life. After recalling general principles on temporal goods in light of the vow of poverty and on the patrimonial capacity of these institutes and societies, this final chapter presents the specific legislation applicable to religious institutes and to individual religious in the matter of temporal goods. The book concludes with a select bibliography of three pages indicating works in various languages, and an appendix on the law on the fabrique in Quebec. The author explains that his work does not address rotal decisions concerning temporal goods nor the legislation of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. This work provides a rich wealth of information for those who wish to have a thorough understanding of the Latin Church’s legislation on temporal goods: their acquisition, retention, administration, and alienation. Though some may prefer a “canon-by-canon” commentary, canonists and others involved in the care of ecclesiastical goods will find refreshing and enlightening the systematic or thematic approach chosen by this author, who is evidently well-versed in legislation on the temporal goods of the Latin church. John A. Renken Professor of Canon Law Saint Paul University Ottawa, Ontario, Canada EL SOSTENIMIENTO ECONÓMICO DE LA IGLESIA CATÓLICA EN ESPAÑA. NUEVO MODELO edited by Jorge Otaduy and Diego Zalbidea. Pamplona: Ediciones Universidad de Navarra, S.A., 2008. El Sostenimiento Económico de la Iglesia Católica en España contains the proceedings of a 2007 church finance symposium at the University of Navarra. It will be of special interest for those who want to see how the Catholic Church is navigating Spain’s transition from an authoritarian dictatorship under Franco (1939–1975), when the Church enjoyed an especially privileged status, to a parliamentary monarchy (established 1978) that increasingly resembles other modern liberal secular democracies in Europe. book reviews 259 260 the jurist Under Franco the state heavily subsidized the Catholic Church (the “established” church at the time). After Franco’s death and the fall of his regime, the Vatican negotiated a new concordat with Spain and agreements that would have implications for Church finance. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 affirms the separation of church and state, but recognizes the role of the Roman Catholic faith in Spanish society. Signs of the redefined role of the Church in Spain are government measures to reduce and ultimately eliminate any direct subsidies to the Church. The elimination of state subsidies obviously poses enormous challenges for re-structuring Church finance in a country with a very long tradition of reliance on the civil government as a very significant source of revenues to fund Church operations and projects. The overarching theme of El Sostenimiento Económico de la Iglesia Católica en España concerns the means by which the Church in Spain will arrive at a system of self-finance following a very long history of state subsidies. It is an extremely interesting study for those interested in the question, whether with respect to Spain, or how the Church might negotiate such a tradition in any given country. El Sostenimiento Económico de la Iglesia Católica en España contains eight articles by well-known canonists from the Spanish-speaking world: Isidoro Sánchez (“General Criteria and the Interpretation of Agreements Concerning Economic Matters”); Rafael Navarette (“What is Meant by Self-Finance?”); Antonio Vallanueva (“The Tax System and Church Finance in Spain”); Mauro Rivella (“The Italian Model”); Francisco Azcona (“Social Behavior in Relation to Church Finance Without a Profit Motive”); Fernando Barriocanal (“Current Situation and Future Perspectives on Church Finance”); José Mariá La Porte (“Institutional Communication on Economic Matters in the Church”); and Ana Gutiérrez (“Final Relation: Evaluation of the New System in Spain”). El Sostenimiento Económico de la Iglesia Católica en España makes interesting reading in its own right for those concerned with Church temporal goods, and could easily provide select readings in Spanish for any course on the subject. Its research value will be greater for those working in the European or South American spheres of Church activity, rather than in the English-speaking world, and will be...