by Brendan Daly.  St Paul’s Publications, 2015. Reviewer: Patricia Hannan 

Brendan Daly is Principal of Good Shepherd College for seminarians in Auckland, New Zealand. He is an experienced and well-qualified canon lawyer, lecturer and teacher.

This book is much more than a pastoral handbook for canonical matters. It is an historical study of where, when and why certain norms and processes arose in the Church and how these practices have developed over centuries, as the Church has expanded globally into different cultures. It is also a spiritual guide for those in ministry.

The opening anecdote for Chapter 1 illustrates simply the difference between canonical theory and practical reality. It is a lively story which gets our interest immediately and sets the style and tone for the rest of the book. Each chapter, based on wide-ranging research, gives the history of how a current canonical prescription developed originally and has been shaped by time, the 1917 Code, Vatican II Documents, the 1983 Code and recent, authoritative interpretations. This is followed by commentary by well-regarded canonists, and then a return to the underlying scriptural and theological principles, and a pastoral reflection.

There are frequent quotes from recent popes, including Pope Francis. The emphasis is not so much on legalities, though these are presented clearly, but on the spirituality of a living faith.

The book gives examples and questions arising from the lives of ordinary Catholics faced with situations that don’t fit the rules e.g. Chapter 6 is entitled, Refusing Sacraments: Another Name for Driving People Away from the Church. Daly gives examples from various countries of different ways of addressing matters. He does not make simplistic claims. He admits that in a difficult pastoral situation, canonical norms cannot solve all problems.

The book preface is by canon law professor, Frank Morrisey OMI from Saint Paul University, Ottawa. Morrisey praises Daly’s clear, legal explanations and gives special mention to the contexts in which these are presented. He writes “... in the life of the Church, the juridical has no place if it is not related to the spiritual and pastoral dimensions of ministry, all of which have Christ as their primary focus.” This aspect of Daly’s book is particularly helpful.

This book will be valuable to anyone with an interest in Church history and life, and particularly to all those in pastoral ministry.

Published in Tui Motu InterIslands Magazine. March 2015.