Pope Francis’ general audience in St. Peter’s Square, June 15, 2022. / Daniel Ibáñez/CNA.
Vatican City, Jun 15, 2022 / 06:50 am (CNA).
Pope Francis on Wednesday decreed that diocesan bishops must receive written permission from the Vatican before erecting a public association of the faithful that is later expected to become a religious institute.
The pope’s rescript, issued on June 15, states that the diocesan bishop must receive a “written license” from the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life before erecting, by decree, “a public association of the faithful with a view to becoming an institute of consecrated life or a society of apostolic life of diocesan right.”
The decision, approved on Feb. 7, goes into effect immediately.
The Code of Canon Law describes associations of the Christian faithful, which can be either public or private, as groups striving “in a common endeavor to foster a more perfect life, to promote public worship or Christian doctrine, or to exercise other works of the apostolate such as initiatives of evangelization, works of piety or charity, and those which animate the temporal order with a Christian spirit.”
It explains that “associations of the Christian faithful which are erected by competent ecclesiastical authority are called public associations.”
The new rule follows a change Pope Francis made to canon law in 2020, which required a bishop to have permission from the Holy See prior to establishing a new religious institute in his diocese.
The pope modified canon 579 of the Code of Canon Law, which concerns the erection of religious orders and congregations, referred to in Church law as institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life.
The law was changed from requiring the diocesan bishop to consult with the Vatican before giving canonical recognition to a new institute to requiring him to have written permission.
This change further strengthened Vatican oversight over the process.
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Pope Francis addresses pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square for the Sunday Angelus, Sunday, July 28, 2024. / Vatican Media
Vatican City, Jul 28, 2024 / 08:15 am (CNA).
Pope Francis on Sunday noted three gestures from the Bible account of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes which he argued are mirrored by Jesus at the Last Supper and by the faithful in each Mass.
The pope pointed out “offering, giving thanks, and sharing” as highlights of the miracle recounted in the Gospel of John, offering his reflection on the Sunday Gospel before praying the midday Angelus with those gathered under the scorching sun in St. Peter’s Square.
The temperature for the noonday prayer was already at 95 degrees as many in the crowds sheltered from the heat under colorful umbrellas.
The faithful gather in St. Peter’s Square to pray the Angelus on Sunday, July 28, 2024. Vatican Media
“The Gospel tells us about a boy who has five loaves and two fish,” the pope noted, saying that the boy’s gesture of offering, as well as our own, is an acknowledgment that “we have something good to give, and we say our ‘yes,’ even if what we have is too little compared to what is needed.”
The pope left his text to insist that Catholics are invited to offer what we have and are, even if the offering seems too insignificant and poor.
This offering is lived out in each Mass, as the priest offers the bread and wine, “and each person offers himself, his own life,” he said. This offering becomes the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.
“It is a gesture that may seem small, when we think of the immense needs of humanity,” the pope acknowledged, “…but God makes it the material for the greatest miracle there is: that in which He Himself — Himself! — makes Himself present among us, for the salvation of the world.”
Pilgrims display a sign for Pope Francis at the Sunday Angelus in St. Peter’s Square, Sunday, July 28, 2024. Vatican Media
“We can ask ourselves,” the pope suggested: “Do I truly believe that, by the grace of God, I have something unique to give to my brothers and sisters?”
Our offering is intimately linked to the next gesture, that of gratitude, the pope argued.
The pope suggested words we can pray to the Father: “All that I have is your gift, Lord, and to give thanks I can only give you back what you first gave me, together with your Son Jesus Christ, adding to it what I can.”
“Each of us can add a little something,” he insisted, inviting the faithful to reflect: “What can I give to the Lord? What can the little one give? Our poor love. Saying, ‘Lord, I love you.’ We poor people: Our love is so small! But we can give it to the Lord, the Lord welcomes it.”
Fruit of everyone’s gift
These gifts then lead to sharing, the pope explained.
“In the Mass is Communion, when together we approach the altar to receive the Body and Blood of Christ: the fruit of everyone’s gift transformed by the Lord into food for all. It is a beautiful moment, that of Communion, which teaches us to live every gesture of love as a gift of grace, both for the giver and the receiver,” he said.
The pope invited the faithful to receive Our Lady’s help to live each Mass with this attitude of faith, “to recognize and savor every day the ‘miracles’ of God’s grace.”
After praying the Angelus and giving his apostolic blessing, the pope assured his closeness to those who have suffered from landslides in Ethiopia.
Landslides hit the remote mountainous zone of Gofa in southern Ethiopia Sunday night into Monday morning, triggered by heavy rains in the region. Well over 200 people are already confirmed dead, with the United Nations projecting that the death toll could end up closer to 500.
The pope then spoke of the continuing problem of world hunger, calling the international community to take a stand against the “scandal” of “wasting resources to fuel wars large and small.”
“While there are so many people in the world suffering from disasters and hunger, we continue to build and sell weapons,” he lamented. He said this “contradicts the spirit of brotherhood of the Olympic Games that have just begun. Let us not forget, brothers and sisters: War is defeat!”
“I will not forsake you”
The pope also noted that today is the 4th World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, a celebration he initiated in 2020. This year’s theme is drawn from Psalm 71: “Do not cast me off in my old age.”
“Today’s day calls us to listen to the voice of the elderly who say, ‘Do not forsake me!’ and to respond, ‘I will not forsake you!’” the pope said.
“Let us say ‘no’ to the loneliness of the elderly! Our future depends greatly on how grandparents and grandchildren learn to live together. Let’s not forget the elderly!” he said, inviting the faithful to a round of applause for all the grandparents.
The pope concluded his weekly meeting with the faithful with his traditional good wishes for a nice lunch, and the request: “Please don’t forget to pray for me.”
Pope Francis says Mass for the Octave Day of Christmas, Jan. 1, 2015. / Bohumil Petrik/CNA.
Denver Newsroom, Dec 29, 2021 / 17:00 pm (CNA).
It’s that time of the year again when many people commit to working out every single day of the new year… […]
5 Comments
How about the Vatican require associations of ‘Catholic’ synodal participants to obtain written permission prior to printing or speaking immoral modern inanity?
Francis’ 3-year-old letter to German synod participants (which Francis says took him a month to write) is a weak weapon compared to the grave, persistent, obstinate, publicly manifest and forceful and repetitious heretical errors put out by the German synod. Their errors oppose Catholic faith and morals. The pope should excise the errors and excommunicate the perpetrators.
But the new licensing rules probably aim against any Ecclesia Dei-like associations–lest those serious sinners all fail to follow the numerous nebulosities, sensuous spirits, or Delphic interpreters associated with VCII. How dare they rear their ugly heads against false teachings and corrupt persons in the church of pharisaical hypocrites governed by One Francis!
The Pope who wants to decentralize the papacy of tradition and moral law yet still wants to control seminaries and lay associations lest they challenge a ‘synodal way’ of his imagination.
It is a good move. To set up such institutions it makes sense for the diocese to get written license from a body set up for this purpose, the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
How about the Vatican require associations of ‘Catholic’ synodal participants to obtain written permission prior to printing or speaking immoral modern inanity?
Francis’ 3-year-old letter to German synod participants (which Francis says took him a month to write) is a weak weapon compared to the grave, persistent, obstinate, publicly manifest and forceful and repetitious heretical errors put out by the German synod. Their errors oppose Catholic faith and morals. The pope should excise the errors and excommunicate the perpetrators.
But the new licensing rules probably aim against any Ecclesia Dei-like associations–lest those serious sinners all fail to follow the numerous nebulosities, sensuous spirits, or Delphic interpreters associated with VCII. How dare they rear their ugly heads against false teachings and corrupt persons in the church of pharisaical hypocrites governed by One Francis!
The Pope who wants to decentralize the papacy of tradition and moral law yet still wants to control seminaries and lay associations lest they challenge a ‘synodal way’ of his imagination.
The key element is “control”. Centralized “control” over the Bishops’ authority as descendants of the Apostles. Mickey-Mouse “control” by bureaucracy.
Franciscan “collegiality”
It is a good move. To set up such institutions it makes sense for the diocese to get written license from a body set up for this purpose, the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.