Power over the Body, Equality in the
Family:
Rights and Domestic Relations in Medieval Canon
Law
(Grand Rapids, MI: William Eerdmans, 2004).
Reviewed in the American Historical
Review, Vol.
111, No. 1 (February 2006)
Review by Jacqueline Murray
Charles J. Reid, Jr. provides an
introduction to the development of Western legal
perspectives on issues pertaining to what might broadly
be termed family law. The author meticulously traces
the origins of some legal concepts from their
foundations in Roman law through their subsequent
refinement through the interpretative lens of Christian
theology and canon law. Many modern perceptions of
individual rights and social institutions have
developed out of the innovations and interpretations of
the medieval canonists, who worked to reconcile Roman
legal principles with Christian beliefs and values. In
particular, the twelfth and thirteenth centuries were
rich in legal scholars who endeavored to compile,
study, systematize, and rationalize law, as it had
evolved over a thousand years of inconsistent
application and interpretation. The results of these
efforts provided the foundation of Western
jurisprudence that endured for centuries, vestiges of
which are still visible in Western societies.
. . .
As a work that traces
the various layers of development and interpretation of
law, this is an excellent study. The research is
meticulous and fully acknowledges the conflicting and
complicated influences that contributed to producing
the complex system of medieval canon law. There is,
however, an implicit, and occasionally explicit,
suggestion that the values of the medieval canonists
might have been more respectful and preferable to the
individualistic laws at work in liberal democracies
today. This may leave some readers uneasy. Setting that
uneasiness aside, Reid has presented a faithful and
careful examination of how medieval ideas on these
topics evolved. Whether they are relevant or have a
place in contemporary society is a question that each
reader will grapple with individually.
Peace in a Nuclear
Age:
The Bishops' Pastoral Letter in
Perspective
(editor) (The Catholic University of America Press,
1986).
Reviewed in the New York Times,
December 28th, 1986
Review by Karen Sue Smith
This volume of 24 essays, drawn mainly
from Roman Catholic academics and policy consultants,
is neither the first nor will it be the last commentary
generated by the 1983 National Conference of Catholic
Bishops' pastoral letter, "The Challenge of Peace:
God's Promise and Our Response," which rejected the
quest for nuclear superiority and called for
"progressive disarmament." "Peace in a Nuclear Age"
will rank among the most scholarly and most unsettling
of responses. It is intellectually vigorous, even when
it is predictable (yes, the pacifists and the just war
proponents are still at it), and its 426 pages are
crammed with information, including two sets of data
used to support conflicting claims about whether United
States defense expenditures are rising in relation to
social spending. These essays demonstrate how
contemporary Bible scholars, ethicists and weapons
strategists define terms, ask questions and develop
positions. The section on public policy is unevenly
weighted. Four writers allege that the bishops have
failed to consider seriously the Soviet threat, to
which the lone voice of the Rev. J. Bryan Hehir - the
bishops' chief foreign policy adviser - is raised,
explaining in passing that the bishops' attitude toward
the Soviet Union is one of "cold realism." The reader
deserves a wider range of viewpoints. Lest one take
sides prematurely, read the pastoral letter along with
the commentary. It is one-third the length.