Folia Theologica et Canonica 3. 25/17 (2014)

RECENSIONS

RECENSIONS

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and law. Therefore, the necessary human reflection on these principles does not depend on the human community, cultural circumstances, or a particular historical age. The active and continuous presence of the two categories in the human society is objectively indispensable for the operability of the human community. The above indicated facts clearly underline the created entity of the World, which radically signs the indispensability of God’s existence for the mankind. Those norms which were created by God and are within the created World oblige the human activity.

This volume distributed into seven basic units. The author speaks on the actuality of the question in the first chapter based on an outline of the most current canon law history research (1-7). Chapter II analyses the development of the concept of sin and crime within the Catholic theology and canon law. It is organized in minute detailed form into nine sub-topics (9-74). Chapter III places the stress on the description and interpretation of ecclesiastical theory of sin and crime, explaining it on the basis of the first Code of Canon Law (1917) and the auxiliary canonical literature to it (75-77). Chapter IV turns toward the concept of the current Code of Canon Law (1983) where the author gives special attention to description of crime within the Code, particularly the normative, objective, and subjective elements of it (79-86). The imputability of the subject of penalized action is getting one of the most analyzed fields within any penal system, which is obviously true concerning the canonical penal law system too. This question therefore is in the focus of Chapter V (87-114). There is an extraordinary unique Chapter in this monograph (i.e. VI), dealing with those sins which do not fall under the canonical category of crime. This part observes its topic through the administration of sacraments and sacramentals, moreover through the peculiarities of canonical process law (115-124). The author articulated his conclusions into eight very clear brief and balanced paragraphs, giving a complete moral, legal, theological and canonical argumentation in order to support his circumspect answers (125-128).

That methodology which is used by Peter Card. Erdő throughout his preeminent new book is remarkable, because he makes analysis on the basis of the canonical sources, canonical legislation, canonical administration and interpretations of these by the most important authors of science history of canon law. He gives particular stress on the biblical and patristic background too. The author refers to the most eminent canon lawyers of the history to prove his concept. Among them we must indicate Hostiensis, Alfonso de Castro, Martin de Azpil- cueta, and Fransisco Suárez. Nevertheless, Peter Erdő clearly expresses his own point of view based on the above indicated sources and authors.

The contents of this volume is enriched the table of abbreviation (129-130) and a detailed bibliography distributed into literature (131-139) and sources (141-143). Peter Card. Erdő by this volume which is a well-balanced, logical clear-out work, shows again why those values are indispensable which have