I wanted to follow-up on a posting I made a few weeks ago on interjurisdictional Canon Law. I mentioned how I was going to purchase Volume 1: Introduction to Interjurisdictional Canon Law for the Independent and Ecumenical Catholic Churches by Archbishop Anthony Scuderi. I was interested in the series as I knew the Interjurisdictional Canon Law program was out of my price range as well as my time commitment. The books in the series are so expensive that I decided I would read the first one to determine if these were worth the expense. I must say that they are not. I posted a scathing review on Amazon as many in the ISM movement lack time and finances.
We ISM members need to have quality resources at reasonable prices and this book does not live up to the expectation. Maybe the other books in the series improve and speak about what I hoped would be covered; the first book was so frustrating that I am not going to pick up any others in the series. I am copying my Amazon review below. I am very harsh in this review, but I hope it prompts someone to think carefully about spending limited resources on the book. Moreover, I would love for other people to become interested in the topic and start publishing books that are higher quality. So here is my Amazon review:
I rarely write reviews of any sort but I am disgusted with this book. I wanted this book to increase my knowledge of the Independent Sacramental Movement and Independent Catholicism. What I hoped for was a text that discussed the importance and need for Canon Law in ISM communities and provide guidance as to how to develop a Code of Canon Law and structures that support a Code of Canon Law. This book certainly does not fulfil my expectations. This book kept repeating each jurisdiction is different and that each jurisdiction has their own presiding bishop and or primate who promulgates the laws. Fine, but provide me with some substance rather than ripping off sociologists speaking of mores and customs.
This book went into obscure details such as the liturgy of the hours in Eastern traditions. While that is nice, I would read this information in a liturgical book rather than a Canon Law book. Moreover, the book cites a lot of internet sources such as Wikipedia to explain the Liturgy of the Hours. Again, I am confused as to why the author spends so much time on something that is dealt with in rubrics and liturgical law rather than canon law.
Finally, I want to speak about the quality of the work itself. I found the author repeating himself over and over on very basic points and never getting to the real substance. For instance, on page 65, I read about Boniface the VIII making a new collection of decretals of March 3, 1298. Then two pages later, I read about how Boniface VIII published a similar code on March 3, 1298. I had to go back two pages to see if we were returning to this same topic despite the author acting like it is the first time it is being addressed. The book does not appear to be proofread or clearly organized. For instance, Chapter 5 begins with What is the Difference between Civil, Divine, Natural, Positive and Ecclesiastical Law? Right under this question the author writes: What is meant be the concept of Time? (pg 107). The author then spends several pages speaking about time and only later goes into the differences between the types of law.
This book repeats itself, and there are plenty of mistakes. For instance, pages 157-158 speak about how laws of a church are binding to members of that denomination and no other. The author then writes: “For example the laws of the Episcopal Church are binding only to the members of the Roman Catholic Church…”
I am so frustrated in the amount of money I paid for a subpar book. Honestly, I was expecting far more and I am not willing to spend the money on the other books in the series to see if they improve. For my purposes, I will find Roman Catholic and Orthodox church law books and use these as resources. While the theology is not aligned with the Independent Sacramental Movement, there is greater substance and quality. I wanted to like this book but found it more disappointing than the rigid structures of law found in Roman Catholicism.
Comentarios