What God Has Joined Together: The Annulment Crisis in American Catholicism
Vasoli (retired, sociology, Univ. of Notre Dame) submits a severe critique of Catholic annulment as practiced by the Church's American tribunals. The book's running title, "Tearing Asunder," is indicative of the caustic tone underlying his thorough academic documentation. Prompted by his personal experience, the author reviews the effects of doctrinal, canonical, and pastoral developments since Vatican II and the psychologization of the system in the United States. He concludes that the scales have tipped to favor annulment based on defective consent (which precludes the existence of a valid marriage) rather than the preservation of an inviolable marriage bond as was traditionally taught. This unique study on church marriage tribunals (not on marriage in the Catholic Church) offers a balancing conservative analysis the author hopes American canonists will heed. Recommended for Catholic collections, especially those covering canon law.?Anna M. Donnelly, St. John's Univ. Lib., Jamaica, N.Y.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.