Excommunication and the Catholic Church: Straight Answers to Tough Questions (English Edition)

Excommunication. To our modern ears, the very word evokes something dark and foreboding, something out-of-place in contemporary society. Many associate excommunication with the medieval Church, with the Inquisition and witch-hunts, and think it has no place in our more enlightened, tolerant times. Yet this ecclesiastical discipline is as relevant today as it was five hundred or a thousand years ago, an unfortunate last resort in combating the rebellion the Church faces in every age from some of her members. In this intriguing book, canon and civil lawyer Edward N. Peters offers a compelling presentation of excommunication based on the current Code of Canon Law, answering some of the most commonly-asked questions about this most serious canonical penalty.