This is excellent news, though one wishes that the Holy Father had gone further and not left this as a subject or special approval from the Curia. As a priest and canonist I know once expressed, it isn't very coherent to insist that governance in religious orders must be tied to Holy Orders, when abbesses and other female major superiors…
This is excellent news, though one wishes that the Holy Father had gone further and not left this as a subject or special approval from the Curia. As a priest and canonist I know once expressed, it isn't very coherent to insist that governance in religious orders must be tied to Holy Orders, when abbesses and other female major superiors have been exercising governance in their communities for over 1500 years. The real reason for the law preventing lay brothers from holding leadership in institutes consisting of both priests and brothers is a clericalist aversion to the thought that a priest might be under obedience to someone who is not also a priest.
Hmmm, if you think that priests have been clerical, wait until you see the laity. I suspect that the type of layperson that ends up in these positions will expect considerably more deference than those who have consented to Holy Orders.
I think that this decision is completely crackers. It's not so much that I think that governance should be tied to Holy Orders, but religious communities with particular charisms are self-governing institutions, or they have no coherence. A lay superior of an order of priests is fundamentally external to the charism of the order. It would be far better to let those orders that have dwindled to nothing just disappear.
I don't think you understand the decision, then. It does not mandate lay superiors for every order, it is for a few exceptional cases. Of course an order comprised solely of priests is not going to get a lay superior, as they have no laymen to assume the role.
> I suspect that the type of layperson that ends up in these position
When we start talking about a layperson who ends up in a position then I inevitably think of St. Francis; or, I suppose, of St. Philip Neri's years as a layman; or, the story of St. Ambrose being rather suddenly made bishop. Those of us whose name does not begin with St,. though, I admit, are a serious risk and I ought to pray the Litany of Humility more myself.
This is excellent news, though one wishes that the Holy Father had gone further and not left this as a subject or special approval from the Curia. As a priest and canonist I know once expressed, it isn't very coherent to insist that governance in religious orders must be tied to Holy Orders, when abbesses and other female major superiors have been exercising governance in their communities for over 1500 years. The real reason for the law preventing lay brothers from holding leadership in institutes consisting of both priests and brothers is a clericalist aversion to the thought that a priest might be under obedience to someone who is not also a priest.
Hmmm, if you think that priests have been clerical, wait until you see the laity. I suspect that the type of layperson that ends up in these positions will expect considerably more deference than those who have consented to Holy Orders.
I think that this decision is completely crackers. It's not so much that I think that governance should be tied to Holy Orders, but religious communities with particular charisms are self-governing institutions, or they have no coherence. A lay superior of an order of priests is fundamentally external to the charism of the order. It would be far better to let those orders that have dwindled to nothing just disappear.
I don't think you understand the decision, then. It does not mandate lay superiors for every order, it is for a few exceptional cases. Of course an order comprised solely of priests is not going to get a lay superior, as they have no laymen to assume the role.
> I suspect that the type of layperson that ends up in these position
When we start talking about a layperson who ends up in a position then I inevitably think of St. Francis; or, I suppose, of St. Philip Neri's years as a layman; or, the story of St. Ambrose being rather suddenly made bishop. Those of us whose name does not begin with St,. though, I admit, are a serious risk and I ought to pray the Litany of Humility more myself.