It will be up to the Holy See to approve the...

Alessandro De Carolis – Vatican News

Every charism, even if it flourished in a given territorial context, is by its nature a universality character and, therefore, as the Pope says in the 2014 Letter to Consecrated People, every experience of consecrated life “as a gift to the Church, it is not an isolated or marginal reality, but it belongs to it intimately, it is at the very heart of the Church as a decisive element of its mission ”. This is the horizon on which Francis’ decision to amend the Code of Canon Law No. 579, sanctioned by the Apostolic Letter in the form of Motu proprio, is placed. authentic charism.

The new canon 579

Substantially, even giving the diocesan bishop the power to “erect institutes of consecrated life by formal decree” in his area of ​​competence, the new norm now requires that the choice of bishop be made with “prior written authorization from the Apostolic See”, while previously at the same point, canon 579 said “as long as the Apostolic See has been consulted”.

Avoid reckless approvals

“A clear sign of the authenticity of a charism – affirms Francis in the Motu proprio – is his ecclesiality, his ability to integrate himself harmoniously in the life of the Holy People of God for the good of all” and “the discernment about ecclesiality and the reliability of the charisms is an ecclesial responsibility of the Pastors of the particular Churches ”.

At the same time, the Pope emphasizes Council’s Decree surpass me in love, it should be avoided that “useless institutes or lacking sufficient vigor do not appear recklessly”.

Discernment and judgment

Therefore, continues Francis, “it is the Apostolic See’s responsibility to accompany Pastors in the process of discernment that leads to the ecclesial recognition of a new Institute or a new Society under diocesan law” and recalls that the Apostolic Exhortation Consecrated life affirms that the vitality of the new Institutes and Societies “must be assessed by the authority of the Church, which is responsible for the appropriate examination, both to test the authenticity of the inspiring purpose and to avoid the excessive multiplication of similar institutions, with the consequent risk of damaging fragmentation into groups that are too small ”.

The new Institutes of consecrated life and the new Societies of apostolic life, he concludes, “must be officially recognized by the Apostolic See, the only one that is responsible for the final judgment”.