A Handbook On Canon Law

The Church is a reality at once charismatic and institutional. Any real understanding of its nature requires a knowledge of the role that law plays in its life. This Handbook on Canon Law is intended as an introduction to the law of the Church for those approaching the subject for the first time and presents a complete panorama of Western canon law to help the student better study and understand juridical texts like the Code of Canon Law. Consequently the Handbook basically follows the structure of the  Code, with copious references from texts of the Second Vatican Council, the Holy See, and of national bishops' conferences. It also gives other canons relevant to the material at hand. A basic bibliography lists further resources for the study of canon law.

Jseoph T. Martin de Agar is Professor at the Faculty of Canon Law of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, where he teaches state law on ecclesiastical matters. Prof. Martin de Agar is also an ecclesiastical judge in the Appellate Court of the Roman Vicariate and Consultor of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. He received his doctorate in Civil and in Canon Law from the University of Navarra, where he also began his teaching career in 1975.

Imprimatur: John Claude Cardinal Turcotte, archbishop of Marianopolitanus, March 26, 1999.