The book The Canon Law: Letter & Spirit: A Practical Guide to the Code of Canon Law (1995) was prepared by an editorial board on behalf of the Canon Law Society of Great Britain and Ireland in association with the Canadian Canon Law Society.
The editorial board was chaired by Mgr Gerard Sheehy, based at Archbishops's House in Dublin, a priest, a barrister-at-law, and a consultant to the Vatican's Council for the Interpretation of the Laws of the Church.
Other editorial board members included Father Donal Kelly of the Ossory diocese; Father Aidan McGrath, a Franciscan priest based in Belfast and president of the Canon Law Society of Great Britain and Ireland; and Mgr Ralph Brown, vicar general of the Westminster archdiocese.
The book's consultant editor was Father Francis Morrisey, professor of canon law at Saint Paul University, Ottawa, and also a consultant to the Vatican's Council for the Interpretation of the Laws of the Church.
The contributors were experts in relevant areas of canon law from Ireland, the UK and Canada.
The book is essentially a commentary and translation of the 1983 Code of Canon Law, a revision of the 1917 code and described in 1983 by Pope John Paul as "the final document of the Second Vatican Council". It contains all the canons of the 1983 code in a new English translation (approved by eight Bishops' conferences worldwide) and a canon-by-canon commentary with footnotes and cross-references.
The aim of the book, as stated in it, was "to incorporate the various developments and interpretations, official and otherwise", which had taken place since the 1983 Code of Canon Law was published.
It also attempted to incorporate "the practical wisdom" accumulated in the 12 years between the 1983 Code of Canon Law and 1995. "While keeping the specialist clearly in mind, it aims to stretch out to all who would wish to know what Canon Law really means, and particularly the extent to which it can help to bring their lives into harmony with the mind of Christ," it said.
The book carried Cardinal Connell's imprimatur, dated November 4th, 1995. As it explained, "the Nihil obstat and Imprimatur are a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free from doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil obstat and Imprimatur agree with the contents, opinions or statements expressed."
