The Catholic Church possesses a well-ordered, complete and up-to-date juridical system. Is this a sign of strength or of weakness? Of greatness or of spiritual poverty? Most people are so badly informed about the legislation of the Church that they are unable to begin to discuss such questions. This book dispels the mystery that has come to shroud the subject by providing a comprehensive survey of the Church’s law as it is today. An introductory chapter describes the reasons for the existence of canon law and its originality, and defines the commoner legal terms it uses. The first par of this book traces its growth and characteristics, discusses dispensations and annulments describes who is subject to canon law and how the code for the Eastern Churches differs from that governing the West. The second part covers the organization of the society of the Church at all levels, the individual status of Catholics, the penal law, the punishment of crime, the relations between Church and State, canon law and the administration of the sacraments, its function in the process of canonization and what its role is likely to be in the future.