13 Comments

Gnarly!

Expand full comment
Feb 17, 2022·edited Feb 17, 2022

Best thing the Church could do about "Consecrated Virgins" is to again reserve this tradition to cloistered monasteries (the type of association that they had prior to Vatican II) rather than making distinctions about whether chaste celibate devout lay women in the parishes are virgins or have ever "lived in public or manifest violation of chastity" and providing very different pastoral support for them on that basis. Parishes are full of people who are not candidates for other more formal "consecrated life" for numerous reasons of circumstances, disability, age, poverty etc but live a very similar way of life and spirituality as "consecrated virgins" and are not rejected by Jesus as brides in the one Bride Church. They are the ones who need support to find others to be "family" with and journey with in similar vocation, and few would welcome sexualized, often humiliating categorization about virginity. One of the most troubling things is it teaches clergy to view chaste celibate women as sexually new or used and value them on that basis, and believe it's meritorious to do so and teach others to do so.

Expand full comment

Thank you for the canon law explanations. It would appear not much has changed. Total authority in many of these resides with the Bishop. Totalitarianism. If the Bishop is in any way flawed, so go the rules. It needs another revision.

Expand full comment

The most surprising of these changes is to Canon 699 §2, which does not have a corresponding change in the Eastern Code (perhaps we aren't as trusted), which will enable a Major Superior to be able to essentially eject any member of a community for a "lawful reason". This certainly reduces the transparency required since they only need "confirmation". What the last couple of decades has demonstrated is that the Church at all levels is in desperate need for much greater transparency and openness in her governance. This change has the feeling of the closing of the ranks.

Also, what is a confirmation in practice? A note to the Secretary saying that x was expelled for reason y? Or just x was expelled?

I have seen religious in formation being expelled for the flimiest of of excuses, and now this may be extended to those in a permanent state - such as solemn vows. And what will it mean for those who are incardinated into those communities?

Expand full comment