A little bit about canon law translations. All four English translations bear the appropriate approvals, but the 1993 and 1999 translations are the most current and commonly used today. There will be differences in translations, as your friend noted in the email. Aside from checking the credits to see what edition is being used, one can quickly go to Canon 750. If that canon only has one paragraph, it is an older and outdated translation. If it has two paragraphs, it reflects the additions to law made in the second Latin edition. The Latin official document came out in 1983 and was revised to clear up printing errors in the early 90's, but used the same copyright date of 1983. There were also some changes/additions to the law (eg: Canon 750) reflected in the later Latin version. There are several English translations that reflect these two different Latin originals. The Vatican website uses the Canon Law Society of America's (CLSA) 1999 translation. There is also the Canon Law Society of Great Britain and Ireland's (CLSGBI) 1983 translation, the CLSA 1984 translation, and the CLSGBI 1993 translation (this is used in the Navarre commentary with some edits, and is also used in all the English speaking countries "under the Crown".
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