Justice in the Church: A Fundamental Theory of Canon Law by Carlos José Errázuriz M. (review)

The book is an interesting collection of contributions on the theme of the conference, religious liberty and reciprocity. What is then the central question? This question is summarized in the Introduction, where the allocution of John Paul II to the diplomatic corps in 1985 is quoted: “Christians , in Europe, feel frustrated when they welcome believers of other religions , giving them the possibility to worship; but Christians are forbidden to worship in the countries of origin of those migrants where the majority religion has been made the religion of the state.” Because of the complexity of the problem and the various and varied approaches throughout the book, it makes this collection unique and worthy of further consideration. The contributions are very rich in content, and interdisciplinary (that is, theological, philosophical, and juridical) in nature. The advantage of a collection like this is that each contribution, although part of a larger framework, can be read separately. The text is highly recommended to any reader with an interest in religious liberty and the relations between church and state. Kurt Martens School of Canon Law The Catholic University of America Washington, D.C JUSTICE IN THE CHURCH: A FUNDAMENTAL THEORY OF CANON LAW by Carlos José Errázuriz M. Trans. Jean Gray. Montreal: Wilson & Lafleur, Ltée, 2009. In this recent work, Carlos José Errázuriz M. endeavors to develop a method for understanding the relationship between theology and canon law in the life of the Church. It is a challenging task, since the role of canon law was neither the subject of an extensive debate at the Second Vatican Council nor one that has been widely considered since. But Err ázuriz has embraced the topic fully in an effort to present a “fundamental ” understanding of justice. Jean Gray and Michael Dunnigan translated Errázuriz’s work into English so that his presentation could be more readily grasped and embraced by a wider audience. Gray and Dunnigan should also be commended for their work. The book is divided into two major parts: The first part deals with the relationship between the Church and her juridical dimension (1–105). This first part is divided into two chapters. The first chapter addresses book reviews 453 454 the jurist historical anti-juridical theories of law and the Church’s response to them (3–46). The second chapter speaks to juridical theories in the context of the teachings of the Second Vatican Council. Errázuriz presents three theories of the nature of canon law that have been presented since Vatican II: the theological trend addressing the scholarship of Klaus Mörsdorf and Eugenio Corecco (71–88); the pastoral trend reflecting on the teaching of Peter Huizing and Ladislas Örsy (89–96); and the juridical trend describing the ideas of Pedro Lombardía and Javier Hervada (96–105). The second part of the book embodies the majority of the text (107–324), which Errázuriz entitles “Towards a Fundamental Theory of Canon Law.” Part II is divided into three chapters that speak to canon law and what is considered to be “just” in the Church (109–164), while also suggesting the static nature of this principle (165–252). He concludes with a final chapter that presents a “dynamic” vision of what should be considered to be just in the Church (253–324). Errázuriz should be commended for his efforts to give meaning to the various approaches to justice in the Church. His work helps to promote a more unified method for understanding the laws of the Church. In pursuit of his task, Errázuriz does not attempt to present a systematic, canon by canon, analysis of the laws of the Church, a format with which practicing canonists are very familiar. Rather, Errázuriz approaches his task from a perspective of pursuing justice in the Church, while reflecting on the relationship between theology and canon law with regard to issues such as the juridical effects of baptism (174ff), the Church hierarchy (220ff), and canonical penalties and sanctions (279ff). These are but a few of the canonical issues that Errázuriz embraces. The reader’s juridical understanding of these and numerous other canonical issues to which Err ázuriz speaks would...