An Introduction to Canon Law (Revised) Paperback – July 1, 2004

In comparison to  A Concise Guide to Canon Law; A Practical Handbook for Pastoral Ministers  and  Surprised By Canon Law: 150 Questions Laypeople Ask About Canon Law , this is basically what the title indicates: an introduction rather than like these other two resources. It is meant for someone who will later be pursuing further studies in Canon Law, or someone who needs to understand the basics of it, maybe like those who pursue Master's Degrees in Religious Studies and will be working in a parish as a Pastoral Associate or some like capacity, assisting the Pastor. It is meant to give a sufficient understanding of the history and the "why" behind Canon Law, as well as a summary of the diverse sections of the law as it is published.James A. Coriden has been involved in commentaries on Canon Law for some times now. He is an author of several books and since 1985 has been one of the three general editors of  Code of Canon Law: A Text and Commentary , Code of Canon Law a Text and Commentary, Study Edition , and also of the later  New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law  that came in 2000.You will find that this book will read very much like the above commentaries on the various sections like the Church Hierarchy, including things like Parishes and Pastors; or the functions of the Church, specifically "Sanctifying" or "Governing." It is not quite as technical in its explanations as these commentaries. It does not need to be, for the purpose it serves. It also has about twenty pages of case studies, which provide for students to work out solutions and apply the code to various real-life situations.It makes a good textbook for use in a university, seminary, or even a parish in adult education classes. It is a welcome addition to anyone's library who just wants to know more about how the Church administrates itself. It also provides actual Code #'s, should one want to delve into the Code itself.

This is a very concise and helpful introduction to Canon Law. It is not easy to find many introductory books in English. This is probably, as far as American publications go, the best one out there.It is an easy read and it would also be worth while to keep this book on one's shelf for reference. Considering the depth of the Code of Canon Law, Father Coriden was always to the point and quite balanced. Here and there you can perceive some of the ecclesiastical laws or matters that he takes issue with as well as a little bit of extra emphasis on the sections of the Code that deal with a subject that he is quite interested in: the various rights of the faithful. He has another book on this subject and is intent on emphasizing and writing about what he terms a "bill of rights" for the baptized. He also does things such as go out of his way only to refer to priests as "presbyters".But again, for a handy introduction to Canon Law, this book has to be one of the best there is out there and I cannot imagine anyone who purchases it not being satisfied.

Coriden is an excellent teacher. He writes directly and succinctly. When I first studied canon law in the mid-90's, I made use of an earlier edition, but this updated version reads very nicely. I had given consideration to using it in a canon law course that I am teaching. This textbook is not a canon by canon expository, although it does, at least cursorily, follow the schema of the 1983 Code of Canon Law. It is thematic in its approach, with more attention given to those elements of ecclesiastical law that are applicable to everyone, i.e., rights and duties, and elaborates nicely on the three munera of teaching, governing, and sanctifying, with a useful overview of temporal goods, general norms, sanctions/penal law, and procedural law.I would recommend this Introduction to anyone who wants to examine the Church's legal tradition as it applies to today's world.

There are two audiences that I could imagine for this book, the lay member of the Church who is interested in Canon Law and the seminary crew. The book straddles both of those worlds well.Dr. Coriden hits the basic, enduring principles and uses tractable arguments and logical examples to make the point, but he does not get into excessive detail.The seminary crowd will no doubt eventually want to dig deeper, but the Introduction will serve nicely as a foundation and framework for more detailed study.In service,Rich

Reading and carrying textbooks on an iPad is so much lighter and convenient than carrying a number of books. The content of this text was excellent. However, there was one major drawback. There were no page numbers on the digital edition. When page numbers were assigned I was frantically trying to locate the assigned reading on my digital edition. I had to order the print edition just to alleviate my frustration. Otherwise, the text was excellent.

Good book, comprehensive, will have my class use it as a text book.

Great introduction to canon law. Good explanations and easy to read. We're using this in our canon law class and it has been very helpful.

I teach canon law to laity and men studying for the permanent diaconate. They really find this text interesting and easy to understand. It is wonderful to have the text in a format that can be read on a tablet.

Ecclesiology somewhat on the progressive side of things but not too extremely so. Good beginners intro, nice use of actual canons, a care to explain practical implications esp. as regards parochial and diocesan life. But need to be aware of theological school of the author, which opinions he sometimes expresses quite pointedly. So, would need to compliment this with more theological canon law texts.

A useful book for my Canon Law class at the seminary