Canon Law 604

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Hello! I have a friend that will soon be receiving her consecration and living her life as a virgin (sorry, don’t know any other way to word this). Being unfamiliar with it I asked her what this was and she stated that it falls under Canon Law 604. A woman choses to never marry or engage in sexual activity and this is a life long committment. I read through some questions and answers about this, but some things were not addressed. I understand that she must never have engaged in sexual activity or been married at anytime to be a consecrated virgin. But what about a woman who was once raped? She after all did not give up her virginity to a man, but was a victim of a heinous crime. I like to think she is still a virgin in a case like that. Also, I understand that this is a lifelong commitment and you MUST be sure that this is what you want. The consecration can never be revoked. But what if she DOES change her mind later, or like any other sinner, succumbs to temptation and gives up her virginity?
 
bookworm.RLB said:
But what about a woman who was once raped? She after all did not give up her virginity to a man, but was a victim of a heinous crime. I like to think she is still a virgin in a case like that.
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I would think so too. But if she has any qualms she could take the matter up with her Bishop (who consecrates her and sets the conditions of her new life) or her priest (whom she probably knows better and might be more comfortable with.
But what if she DOES change her mind later, or like any other sinner, succumbs to temptation and gives up her virginity?
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All of us are only human, and sometimes we break the vows we have given in Marriage or Holy Orders. If this happens we seek forgiveness. Could a Consecrated Virgin leave her special status in order to get married? I suppose. After all, sometimes people in Holy Orders do the same. But given the very small numbers of women who are Conscrated Virgins, I would think this unlikely, and certainly it should be part of discernment.

By the way, here is the link for the U.S. Association of Consecrated Virgins. The Vocational Resources page has some interesting newspaper stories about individual women who are Consecrated Virgins. In addition, the USACV website has links for other nations, too.
 
CVs are never permitted to be dispensed from their vows–ever. This is one reason why bishops delay consecrating anyone until they’re in their 30s.

There are many beatas in the canonization queue right now in Rome who were raped and murdered. I was surprised at how many there were.

HTH.

Blessings,
Cloisters
 
Cloisters said:
CVs are never permitted to be dispensed from their vows–ever. This is one reason why bishops delay consecrating anyone until they’re in their 30s.

There are many beatas in the canonization queue right now in Rome who were raped and murdered. I was surprised at how many there were.

HTH.

Blessings,
Cloisters
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Can you point us to where you get this from?

From reading Canon Law these vows are no more special than the temporary and permanent vows that religious take and those can be dispensed from.

As this is something spelt out in Canon Law and it does not state that they can not be dispensed from I do not see how they could not be dispensed especially by the Pope who is the supreme legislator of the Code.
 
bookworm.RLB said:
Hello! I have a friend that will soon be receiving her consecration and living her life as a virgin (sorry, don’t know any other way to word this). Being unfamiliar with it I asked her what this was and she stated that it falls under Canon Law 604. A woman choses to never marry or engage in sexual activity and this is a life long committment. I read through some questions and answers about this, but some things were not addressed. I understand that she must never have engaged in sexual activity or been married at anytime to be a consecrated virgin. But what about a woman who was once raped? She after all did not give up her virginity to a man, but was a victim of a heinous crime. I like to think she is still a virgin in a case like that. Also, I understand that this is a lifelong commitment and you MUST be sure that this is what you want. The consecration can never be revoked. But what if she DOES change her mind later, or like any other sinner, succumbs to temptation and gives up her virginity?
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Must never have engaged in sexual activity???

Where does that leave those women who may have been indiscreet in their youth but not for a good decade or so, who nonetheless are attracted to the idea of something akin to consecrated virginity?

Not referring to anyone I know of course coff coff mutter mutter
 
LilyM said:
Must never have engaged in sexual activity???

Where does that leave those women who may have been indiscreet in their youth but not for a good decade or so, who nonetheless are attracted to the idea of something akin to consecrated virginity?

Not referring to anyone I know of course coff coff mutter mutter
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Same thing for those religious who take the vow of chasity.

Nothing as the vow is for the future, it is not retroactive. It doesn’t cover the past especially if you have taken care of the past though the confessioinal.
 
I know a couple of CVs, and they’re the ones who say they can never be dispensed from their vows.

Even a “black veil” nun in perpetual solemn vows–if she leaves–is given the black veil if she returns. Her letter from the pope giving her “dispensation” states, “as far as I am able.”

Weighty stuff. That’s why it takes so long to get to perpetual profession.

Blessings,
Cloisters
 
Cloisters said:
I know a couple of CVs, and they’re the ones who say they can never be dispensed from their vows.

Even a “black veil” nun in perpetual solemn vows–if she leaves–is given the black veil if she returns. Her letter from the pope giving her “dispensation” states, “as far as I am able.”

Weighty stuff. That’s why it takes so long to get to perpetual profession.

Blessings,
Cloisters
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Permanent vows for religious are taken anywhere from 3 years to 6 years of temporary vows and they can be dispensed from by the Holy Father.

They can and are all the time. All vows can be dispensed.

Temporary vows are dispensed from by the Order’s Superior and permanent vows from the Holy Father.
 
VOWS can be dispensed.

However, a consecrated virgin is in a way like a consecrated church–there’s no other use for the building except that of a church. If the consecrated church is not to be used as such, it is to be torn down.

Consecrated virgins, therefore, cannot be dispensed from their consecration. They are not bound by vows, but by their consecration.

I have that on the word of a CV.

Blessings,
Cloisters
 
Hello. I’m a consecrated virgin and very happily so. Sisters and nuns make vows, but a consecrated virgin does not. Therefore, there are no vow(s) for a consecrated virgin to be dispensed from. Her consecration as a virgin living in the world is a sacramental, which can be conferred only by a bishop and which can never be undone. When men and women religious make vows, they are doing something from which they may later, for good reason, be dispensed. When a man is ordained a priest or a woman is consecrated a virgin, something is done to them that simply cannot be undone. Ordination and consecration are actions of God that last forever.

The vocation and life of a consecrated virgin is a blessed, happy one. I thank God anew every single day for the precious gift He has given me in consecrating me as His bride! If anyone has any questions they’d like to ask about consecrated virgins, I’ll be so glad to answer them.

Rejoicing in God’s wondrous love for all of us,

ACM
 
ACM said:
Hello. I’m a consecrated virgin and very happily so. Sisters and nuns make vows, but a consecrated virgin does not. Therefore, there are no vow(s) for a consecrated virgin to be dispensed from. Her consecration as a virgin living in the world is a sacramental, which can be conferred only by a bishop and which can never be undone. When men and women religious make vows, they are doing something from which they may later, for good reason, be dispensed. When a man is ordained a priest or a woman is consecrated a virgin, something is done to them that simply cannot be undone. Ordination and consecration are actions of God that last forever.

The vocation and life of a consecrated virgin is a blessed, happy one. I thank God anew every single day for the precious gift He has given me in consecrating me as His bride! If anyone has any questions they’d like to ask about consecrated virgins, I’ll be so glad to answer them.

Rejoicing in God’s wondrous love for all of us,

ACM
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Yet priests can be laiticized (spelling may be off here) and thereby be allowed to enter into a sacramental marriage.
 
Yes, a priest can be laicized, a process whereby he is stripped of all clerical functions and privileges, and yes, he can then enter into a sacramental marriage with a woman. Even then, he still remains a priest because the sacrament of holy orders cannot be taken away from him.

Looking back over this thread, there seemed to be a question as to why a consecrated virgin cannot be dispensed from her vow(s), so I was just trying to show that her consecration as a virgin is not the same as making vows.

Hope this doesn’t confuse things even more!

Rejoicing in hope,

ACM
 
ACM said:
Yes, a priest can be laicized, a process whereby he is stripped of all clerical functions and privileges, and yes, he can then enter into a sacramental marriage with a woman. Even then, he still remains a priest because the sacrament of holy orders cannot be taken away from him.

Looking back over this thread, there seemed to be a question as to why a consecrated virgin cannot be dispensed from her vow(s), so I was just trying to show that her consecration as a virgin is not the same as making vows.

Hope this doesn’t confuse things even more!

Rejoicing in hope,

ACM
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So a consecrated virgin can not be dispensed from her vows because she takes no vows, not becuase the vows are undispensable.

So one can safely assume that there is some route a woman can follow to be “laicized”, like in the case of a priest, so that she can later enter into a sacrament marriage.
 
David, re your first statement – “So a consecrated virgin can not be dispensed from her vows because she takes no vows, not becuase the vows are undispensable.” – exactly!

Now for your second statement – “So one can safely assume that there is some route a woman can follow to be “laicized”, like in the case of a priest, so that she can later enter into a sacrament marriage.”

My experience is that one can not safely assume anything, especially in the Church! 🙂 I honesty do not know what route, if any, a consecrated virgin could take if she wished to be “laicized” so that she could enter into a sacramental marriage. When I was preparing for my own consecration, this thought never occurred to me. Also, it was not presented to me that if I changed my mind later I could be “laicized” or whatever. The emphasis is that consecration as a virgin is a very serious, lifetime commitment and if a woman has any doubts or misgivings, then God may not be calling her to be a consecrated virgin.

As an aside, I’m not a canon lawyer so my knowledge is limited.

Rejoicing in hope,

ACM
 
There is an important difference between a sacramental such as consecration (whether of a person, or a thing such as a church), and a sacrament, such as ordination - once baptised always baptised, for example, no matter what sins are subsequently committed. A laicised priest remains a priest forever.

But something or someone that has been consecrated as a sacramental can, in principle, lose its consecration, either by desecration (in this case, if the person concerned had sex in violation of their commitment) or by being deconsecrated.

Of course, deconsecration requires permission of the appropriate authority, and in this case I suspect it is the Pope - and of course he might not agree. So your friend needs to be very sure.

Dispensation, by the way, just means a relaxation of a church law, which by definition any canon is. Whether or not vows are involved is irrelevant (although in fact the rite of consecration for virgins does seem to encourage the inclusion of a profession formula which looks awfully like a vow or promise to me, but I’m not an expert on this).
 
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