''The Jurist: Studies in Church Law and Ministry'' or simply ''The Jurist'' is a

peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...

academic journal An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the ...

and the only journal published in the United States devoted to the study and promotion of the

canon law of the Catholic Church The canon law of the Catholic Church () is "how the Church organizes and governs herself". It is the system of religious laws and canon law, ecclesiastical legal principles made and enforced by the Hierarchy of the Catholic Church, hierarchical ...

. It was initiated in 1940 to serve the academic and professional needs of Catholic church lawyers. It originally focused on the canon law of the

Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

, but came to include Eastern Catholic canon law as well.

History

The first issue appeared on January 6, 1941. Initial responses to the journal were favorable, as it was declared "We applaud its present performance and while we look forward to the improvement which its initial effort promises and which maturity will bring" and "the first issues warrant the belief that the scholars of the United States will make valuable contributions to the study of Canon Law". Until 1976, the journal was a quarterly publication, but since then it has been issued twice yearly; beginning with volume 71, the journal has been published by The Catholic University of America Press for the School of Canon Law. The

editorial board The editorial board is a group of editors, writers, and other people who are charged with implementing a publication's approach to editorials and other opinion pieces. The editorials published normally represent the views or goals of the publicat ...

consists of the faculty of the School of Canon Law at

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, the only such school in the United States. The journal is published in print and online at Project MUSE.

Scope

Initially the journal focused largely on issues of Latin church law both in terms of its history, medieval and modern, and contemporary practice. However, within the past few decades since the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

, it has broadened its horizons and audience. For it also explores questions of interest to theologians,

Eastern Catholic The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of ...

church lawyers, civil lawyers, diocesan planners and diocesan finance and personnel officials. Recent issues have contained the decisions of the Apostolic Signatura in Latin and English translation.

Editors

Previous editors included Jerome Daniel Hannan, Frederick R. McManus (1959-1989), James H. Provost, Thomas J. Green, and Kurt Martens. The current editor is William L. Daniel.

References

Academic journals established in 1941 Academic canon law Law and religion journals American law journals Biannual journals English-language journals Academic journals published by university presses of the United States Catholic University of America academic journals Catholic University of America School of Canon Law Peer reviewed law journals Catholic studies journals {{Catholic-Church-journal-stub