Author Description

This is not a book on marriage; but only on those cases where marriage appears to be but is not. It is directly concerned with the law of the Catholic Church, but in the first edition I introduced comparisons with the law of England. I have been asked to introduce comparisons with American Law as well, because its historic connection with Church Law is considerably less than England’s. As each of the fifty States has its own marriage law, and it would have been impossible to study them all, I chose that of New York. New York’s Marriage Law was not taught in the Sydney University Law School in my day, as any American who chances on this book will guess. But its rules, like those of England, are stated here only in their general form, exceptions or modifications not being mentioned where they would not affect the principle. The subject of the book is Church Law.