The Religious House: From the Common Life to the Protection of the Ecclesiastical Good. Canonical Itineraries

Abstract

The mode of this contribution covers a rather vast and declinable topic under various aspects. Starting from the proper value of the house for a religious institute, and above all from its importance of pursuing the purposes of consecrated life in general and of the institute in particular, it analyzes what is intended in canon law as a common life and what the needs are resulting from it for individual members and communities. Since religious Institutes are experiencing processes of reorganization and restructuring in every part of the world, processes that require care, attention and discernment, it will emphasize how fidelity to the foundational charism and the consequent spiritual patrimony of each Institute is the first criterion for evaluating decisions and interventions that are carried out in the Institutes, at any level, and also with reference to the specific good of the religious house. Finally, it will further demonstrate how the religious house has considerable importance also as an ecclesiastical good to be protected and valued, always respecting its nature and its purpose, by briefly examining some magisterial documents governing the topic, and in particular those issued by the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.