SCANDAL IN THE ASSEMBLY

by Morris L. & Robert Francis West ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 21, 1970

This unusual small book by Mr. Francis (an Anglican) and Mr. West (the Morris West, a Catholic) may be accurately described in two ways: first, as a competent and amusing manual for Catholics on how to go about obtaining a separation or an annulment from the Church. This section of the book is replete with case histories and instances of the legalistic absurdities of Canon Law; and it reads like a good-humored guide through the Byzantine intricacies of an Italian bureaucracy. And that is precisely the authors' point: the Roman Curia, and particularly the Rota (or marriage court), is an Italian bureaucracy--even worse, a 16th-century Italian bureaucracy. All of which leads to the second part of the book, which is a plea for reform, for compassion within the Church, and for a re-thinking of Canon Law by virtue of which the needs of the person will take precedence over those of the institution. Along those lines, the authors (along with many respectable Catholic theologians) see no reason why the Church cannot allow divorce and remarriage in certain cases, or why marriage cases should be referred to an antique Curial machinery which seems designed to solve such cases by allowing one or both of the parties to die of old age before a verdict is rendered. Despite the authors' ability to turn an amusing phrase, this is a serious book, and it will undoubtedly be received as such. Perhaps Mr. West's fame will work a miracle where a theologian's treatise can do little.

Pub Date: May 21, 1970

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Morrow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1970

Categories: NONFICTION