Sodales praedictae Piae Unionis imponendi facultate gaudent. Voluit insuper Sanctitas Sua ut nominatio Praesidis pro diversis regionibus Piae Unionis Cleri pro Missionibus Revmo P. D. Cardinali Praefecto reservetur eique facultas sit immutandi Statuta Piae Unionis prout diversitas regionum in quibus erigitur exegerit.

Datum Romae ex Aedibus S. Congregationis de Propaganda Fide, die et anno quibus supra.

G. M. CARD. VAN ROSSUM, Praefectus.

C. LAURENTI, Secretarius.

L.IS.

REVIEWS AND NOTES

Marriage LEGISLATION IN THE NEW CODE OF CANON LAW. By Very Rev. H. A. Ayrinhac, S.S., D.D., D.C.L. Benziger Brothers.

THE author, in the following passage in his Foreword, touches briefly on the object which he had in view in writing the present volume: Canonists will, no doubt, give us, before long, scientific commentaries on the New Code of Canon Law. Meanwhile, it was thought that a brief explanation, incomplete and fragmentary though it be, of that part of the Code which concerns the sacrament of Marriage might be of some service to the busy parish clergy who have to apply the law without delay.'

One's expectations are not unduly raised by this unpretentious announcement; all the greater, therefore, are the surprise and pleasure which one experiences on reading this undoubtedly useful commentary. It is not, indeed, a scientific treatise, in the style, for example, of Gasparri's or Wernz' classical work on Marriage; but to describe it as an incomplete and fragmentary explanation of the new legislation on this subject is much too modest an estimate. As a matter of fact, the author does not confine himself at all to explanation. He gives us very frequently a brief historical survey of the subject under consideration, with a view, no doubt, to explanation, but still quite interesting for its own sake. Where the discipline is changed, too, he indicates in how far this is the case a most useful matter, especially for those who had lived under and administered the pre-Code laws. Nor is it fair to describe his comments as fragmentary. Brief they are in most cases, no doubt; yet, they generally manage to hit off the salient points of the situation. Sometimes, indeed, greater completemess is desirable. For example, we were disappointed not to find some reference to the difficulties arising from the change in the meaning of public and occult impediments. How are the powers of the Sacred Penitentiary to grant matrimonial dispensations affected? What interpretation is to be given to the casibus occultis of Canon 1045, § 3? Such are some of the questions which the change suggests, and which we should like to see raised and answered. Again, the author does not raise the very nice point as to whether Canon 1045, § 1, is a modification of Canon 81, or merely a particular application of it; in other words, whether in addition to impossibility of approaching the Holy See and danger of delay, another condition contained in the clause quoties impedimentum detegatur cum omnia parata sunt ad nuptias, is also required in order that the Ordinary may use the faculties conferred in this section. In commenting on Canon 1056, which

forbids the exaction of fees on the occasion of granting matrimonial dispensations, he makes no reference to the banns. In common parlance the latter are spoken of as impedient impediments to marriage, but in the Code they are not put in the section on impediments at all. The question, then, arises-a very practical one for this country at least— whether they are affected by the prohibition in Canon 1056. But the author can scarcely be blamed, especially considering the limited object which he had in view, for not discussing all possible points; we have called attention to these few omissions only on account of their very practical bearing.

Whilst, generally speaking, we agree with the author's comments, we have, however, noticed a few errors. Thus, on page 95, he states that 'it is a general principle that, through seizure by the superior, the inferior loses the power he might have in the case, unless there would be a grave and urgent cause for him to act.' Canon 204 makes it clear that he does not lose the power, but that it would be unlawful for him to use it. Again, on page 103, he declares that 'formerly the rule was that any error in the supplica obreption or subreption, if due to bad faith, always rendered the dispensation invalid, even when the error was of minor importance, provided it would have some bearing on the dispensation.' We quite agree, as far as written law was concerned; but there were a great number of modern canonists who held that, in accordance with the stylus Curiae, only substantial errors, whether they were in good or bad faith, invalidated rescripts. On the following page the impression is conveyed that the Normae Peculiares regarding capacity to obtain papal rescripts are still in force. The truth is that they are modified considerably by Canons 2265, 2275, and 2283. But these and a few other slight mistakes which have come under our notice are merely accidental matters; they do not at all interfere with the utility of the commentary as a whole. In all sincerity, therefore, we congratulate the author, and in the same spirit we recommend his work especially to the parish clergy, for whom it was primarily intended.

J. KINANE.

THE BEDROCK OF BELIEF. By Rev. William Robinson, S.J. Herder.

Two of Father Robinson's volumes were noticed in a previous number of the I. E. RECORD. The present volume completes his course of apologetics. Last in point of time, it is first in point of order and importance; for it meets the rationalist with his own weapon of pure reason, and establishes those truths of natural religion which form the substructure of revelation. Thus, the necessity of religion; the existence of a personal, oinnipotent, self-existing Supreme Being; the nature and endowments. of man, his duties to his Creator, and the eternal reward or punishment consequent on his conduct during life, are questions that are treated of in turn. Solidity with truth, rather than originality as to matter or method or presentation' is the author's aim-and achievement.

D.

COMPENDIUM THEOLOGIAE MORALIS. By Rev. Aloysius Sabetti, S.J., and Rev. Timothy Barrett, S.J. London: B. Herder, 68 Great Russell Street, W.C.

IT is unnecessary to discuss the general merits of this work. So many have already borne witness to the author's clearness in exposition, to his completeness, and to the orderly way in which he has arranged his subject, that further testimony would be out of place. The extraordinary fact that this book, notwithstanding its scientific character -and the limited public to which it appeals, has already reached its twentyseventh edition is perhaps the highest tribute that could be paid to its excellence.

The special feature of the present edition is its accommodation with the new Code of Canon Law, and it is this alone which requires a note from the reviewer. This compendium of Moral Theology has not been a stereotyped work. During the years covered by its manifold editions new legislation was frequently published, new problems in the domain. of morality sometimes arose, and the promptness with which modifications and solutions were embodied in the work explains, in some measure, its popularity. The author's task on the present was incomparably more difficult than on any previous occasion. Hitherto, isolated points only were affected, whereas the new Code has introduced modifications in almost every department of Moral Theology. But, even though due allowance has been made for the magnitude and difficulty of the task, the manner in which it has been accomplished is rather disappointing. The author has done little more than to incorporate the pertinent canons of the Code in their appropriate places. No doubt, even this much will be very useful, especially for those priests for whom this handbook is a kind of vade mecum; but the excellent way in which new developments were hitherto embodied and explained led one to expect something more. The author, indeed, ventures upon an occasional comment, and when he does, his remarks are usually illuminating. With some of his conclusions, however, we cannot agree. Thus, for example, on page 82, he states that it is probable that material heretics and schismatics are not bound by ecclesiastical laws, the primary object of which is the personal sanctification of the individual; to our mind, Canon 12 clearly implies that baptized persons, without distinction, are subject to all ecclesiastical laws, irrespective of their character. Again, to give another illustration, his comment on Canon 522, p. 747, is that, when nuns and sisters are outside their convent, they can enter any church or oratory, even semi-public, and make their confession to any confessor approved for the confessions of women. Apart altogether from the controversy regarding the significance of the phrase, ad suae conscientiae tranquillitatem, the statement is misleading: it implies that the semipublic oratories within the convents themselves are not privileged.

The author, too, occasionally loses sight of certain dispositions which would help to throw light on the matter under discussion. Thus, Canon 731, § 2, forbids the administration of the Sacraments to heretics and schismatics, even though they are bona fide in error and even though

they ask for the Sacraments, unless they have previously rejected their errors and have been reconciled with the Church; yet, although it is quoted in page 559, no account is taken of it in page 713, where the author deals with the question of absolving a material heretic who is in danger of death. The same failure to take cognisance of the new dispositions is shown in the treatment of another very practical question. The Code indicates pretty clearly that peregrini are bound by the local reservations of the place in which they are, yet the author discusses the matter without any reference whatever to these indications.

As we have already indicated, we are concerned in this review mainly with the revision of this compendium in accordance with the dispositions of the new Code of Canon Law; and the trend of our remarks is to show that this revision is not as perfect as it might be, or as the author's previous record in the department would lead one to expect. The work as a whole is unimpaired in value, and we confidently anticipate for it a continuance of the popularity it has hitherto so deservedly enjoyed.

J. KINANE.

THE TRUE APOSTOLATE. From the French of Dom J. B. Chautard, by Rev. Ferreol Girardey, C.SS.R. Herder.

DOM CHAUTARD's sole object in The True Apostolate is to inspire apostolic workers, lay and cleric, with the spirit of their mission. Consequently he confines himself to the task of urging the absolute necessity of the interior life and showing the means by which that life is to be preserved and fostered. The original French edition of the True Apostolate met with a most cordial reception. Within four years of its first appearance in 1912, 50,000 copies were sold; Pius X and many members of the Hierarchy recommended it to the clergy and religious; and our present Holy Father, Pope Benedict XV, praised it for its solid doctrine and wise counsels. A book so approved merits a place in every spiritual library. Father Girardey has given us the Trappist-Abbot's work somewhat condensed' (to use his own words) in English dress.' We suggest the word basis' or foundation' as a substitute in the headings pp. 77-97 and elsewhere in the text, e.g., pp. 73, 74, and 77. Some other quaint expressions also require to be rewritten,

A LIFE OF ST. FRANCIS XAVIER. By M. T. Kelly. Herder.

THE life of St. Francis Xavier is a romance and a miracle.. Handsome, gifted, and ambitious, the young Spanish noble up to the age of twenty-five had his heart filled with the desire of attaining to high dignity in the Church. But a brief association with St. Ignatius in Paris, and the latter's frequent repetition of 'Dom Francesco, what doth it profit a man?' opened Xavier's eyes to the vanity of earthly glory and won him to the poverty and self-sacrifice of an apostle. Thenceforth, like another St. Paul, he counted everything as loss in