Canon 17 CIC 1983 and the Hermeneutical Principles of Bernard Lonergan

Canon 17 Cic 1983 suggests an hermeneutical approach to the interpretation of ecclesiastical laws.The author presents a concise summary of traditional canonical interpretative doctrine, new theories of interpretation elaborated during what he calls the intercodal period (between announcement in 1959 that the 1917 Codex Iuris Canonici would be completely revised and the promulgation of CIC 1983), and commentaries on interpretative doctrine and c. 17 since promulgation of the new Code, as background for a consideration of the hermeneutical principles of Bernard Lonergan and their potential usefulness in the interpretation of canon 17 itself.