The Juridical Legacy Of Pope Benedict XVI

Or imagine any state’s Attorney General who never even walked in the door of a law school, let alone got his or her degree to practice law. Pope Benedict was certainly not the first Prefect to have no educational background in Canon Law before starting his work in the Congregation he served for twenty-four years. Imagine a United States Attorney General who is not an attorney. As the highest official of the Congregation, he was immersed in Canon Law every day. This is what makes Father Hayward’s work here so interesting. Not a degreed Canon Lawyer but with twenty-four years of on-the-job training, Pope Benedict brought a most unique perspective to the Canon Law. Would his papacy of seven years bring a new perspective of Canon Law in the Church or would it interpret Canon Law in the old traditions? Father Hayward puts a clear focus on the juridical