J
JReducation
Guest
I saw this and I think that it deserves an explanation that will put this into the proper context of Catholic Traditions.
In addition, Bl. John Paul II, in Vita Consacrata, calls the religious to make a preferential option for the poor when selecting their apostolates. In an area where there is a large sector of poor people and there is a limited number of religious, they are going to make the option for the poor.
They are Franciscans, not diocesan priests. Diocesan priests serve everyone. That’s why they’re called diocesan. They serve all of the people of the diocese where they are. Religious are called so, from the word, regula, which means rule. They serve according to their rule. This may be a target population. For example, the Christian Brothers only serve students. The Alexians only serve the sick and so forth.
Bishops have the authority to welcome an order into their dioceses. They can also deny the order admission into their dioceses. No priest of the any order may hear confessions outside of his religious house, without the permission of the bishop. No priest of any order may hear the confessions of the laity, even in his house, without the permission of the bishop. No order may run a parish without the permission of the bishop. The bishop is responsible for the laity.
The Rule of Exemption kicks in once the bishop gives these permissions. The bishop may not enter the house or property of exempt religious without their permission, not even their schools or colleges. He may not interfere in their internal matters, nor may he discipline religious. The bishop may never ask religious to do anything that is contrary to their statutes or to the orders of the superior. He has to go through channels. The superior can politely decline to do what the bishop requests. If the bishop says that the Capuchins should pay less attention to the Mexicans and more attention to the Polish, the superior can politely decline. The religious superior is the highest ranking authority. The religious owe the bishop respect and they must obey him as described in their constitutions.
For example, the Franciscan rule says that the friars may never contradict a bishop, question a bishop, say anything that a bishop does not allow you to say in his diocese or do anything that a bishop does not allow. However, all of these things have to be agreed upon when the community first arrives. Succeeding bishops cannot change those agreements. Bishops cannot ask religious to leave their dioceses. Only the pope can do that. He can deny them entrance, but not suppress them.
Those religious who work for the bishop must comply with his policies. That’s common sense. If the friars work in a diocesan owned ministry, they must comply with the policies of the diocese. If they work in their own ministry, they make the policies within the parameters of the agreement between them and the bishop when they first arrived. No one can change the rules of the game without consultation.
When the bishop welcomes a religious community to his diocese, he commits the laity of his diocese to support them and to cooperate with them. He has the canonical authority to do this and canon law requires that the lay faithful cooperate. They don’t have to like the religious, but they must cooperate with them out of respect and justice to their bishop. The religious must fulfill whatever promises the superior made when they arrived. Even if the bishop and the superior change, the agreements remain in place. No one can say, “I never agreed to that.” It does not matter. Until a new agreement is made, everyone, religious, bishop and laity are bound by the original agreement. In dealing with diocesan clergy, there is more flexibility, because they are part of the diocese. They can change as the bishops change.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
It is not that you or others don’t matter. It is part of Catholic tradition that every religious community has a charism and a mission. The charism of the Franciscan family was always to live and work among the poor. From its early days in 1209 when it was formally approved, the friars lived with lepers and farmers. They did not serve the merchants, the aristocrats, nor did they live among them.
In addition, Bl. John Paul II, in Vita Consacrata, calls the religious to make a preferential option for the poor when selecting their apostolates. In an area where there is a large sector of poor people and there is a limited number of religious, they are going to make the option for the poor.
They are actually following the Holy Father’s orders to the entire Franciscan order, which he gave at the Chapter of Mats in April 2009. They are to make a preferential option for the poor and to align themselves with those whom society rejects and those who are not welcome: the immigrant, the unborn, the elderly, the disabled, the homeless, the hungry, the political prisoner, the sick and other vulnerable and marginalized members of society.
They are Franciscans, not diocesan priests. Diocesan priests serve everyone. That’s why they’re called diocesan. They serve all of the people of the diocese where they are. Religious are called so, from the word, regula, which means rule. They serve according to their rule. This may be a target population. For example, the Christian Brothers only serve students. The Alexians only serve the sick and so forth.
This is extremely important to clarify. I think that many lay people do not know this. The Council of Trent created the Rule of Exemption. Under this rule, orders such as the Jesuits, Carmelites, Dominicans, Franciscans, Benedictines, Cistercians, Augustinians, Salesians and several others do not answer to the bishops. They answer directly to their major superiors. Their major superiors answer to the general chapter. The general chapter answers to the Holy Father.
Bishops have the authority to welcome an order into their dioceses. They can also deny the order admission into their dioceses. No priest of the any order may hear confessions outside of his religious house, without the permission of the bishop. No priest of any order may hear the confessions of the laity, even in his house, without the permission of the bishop. No order may run a parish without the permission of the bishop. The bishop is responsible for the laity.
The Rule of Exemption kicks in once the bishop gives these permissions. The bishop may not enter the house or property of exempt religious without their permission, not even their schools or colleges. He may not interfere in their internal matters, nor may he discipline religious. The bishop may never ask religious to do anything that is contrary to their statutes or to the orders of the superior. He has to go through channels. The superior can politely decline to do what the bishop requests. If the bishop says that the Capuchins should pay less attention to the Mexicans and more attention to the Polish, the superior can politely decline. The religious superior is the highest ranking authority. The religious owe the bishop respect and they must obey him as described in their constitutions.
For example, the Franciscan rule says that the friars may never contradict a bishop, question a bishop, say anything that a bishop does not allow you to say in his diocese or do anything that a bishop does not allow. However, all of these things have to be agreed upon when the community first arrives. Succeeding bishops cannot change those agreements. Bishops cannot ask religious to leave their dioceses. Only the pope can do that. He can deny them entrance, but not suppress them.
Those religious who work for the bishop must comply with his policies. That’s common sense. If the friars work in a diocesan owned ministry, they must comply with the policies of the diocese. If they work in their own ministry, they make the policies within the parameters of the agreement between them and the bishop when they first arrived. No one can change the rules of the game without consultation.
When the bishop welcomes a religious community to his diocese, he commits the laity of his diocese to support them and to cooperate with them. He has the canonical authority to do this and canon law requires that the lay faithful cooperate. They don’t have to like the religious, but they must cooperate with them out of respect and justice to their bishop. The religious must fulfill whatever promises the superior made when they arrived. Even if the bishop and the superior change, the agreements remain in place. No one can say, “I never agreed to that.” It does not matter. Until a new agreement is made, everyone, religious, bishop and laity are bound by the original agreement. In dealing with diocesan clergy, there is more flexibility, because they are part of the diocese. They can change as the bishops change.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
