Source: http://www.clsadb.com/document/e0301dbb-ff32-474c-94cc-d2d3fe9a8213
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 18:16:07+00:00

Document:
Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Instruction implementin the apostolic constitution Vultum Dei quaerere on women’s contemplative life, Cor orans, 1 April 2018.
In fact, Pope Francis, by promulgating the Apostolic Constitution Vultum Dei quaerere, on June 29, 2016, to help the contemplatives reach the aim of their specific vocation, invited reflection and discernment on the precise content11 tied to consecrated life in general and to the monastic tradition in particular, but he did not intend to abrogate Sponsa Christi Ecclesia that was derogated only in some points12 As a consequence, the two pontifical documents are to be held as normative in force for monasteries of nuns and must be read in a unitary vision.
12. Monastic Congregation means a structure of government, erected by the Holy See, among several autonomous monasteries of the same Institute, under the authority of a President, who is the Major Superior according to law,20 and of a general chapter, that in the monastic Congregation is the supreme authority, in accordance with the Constitutions approved by the Holy See.
15 The monastery sui juris is a religious house which enjoys legal autonomy: its Superior is a Major Superior,21 its community is permanently established for the number and quality of the members; by law it is the place of the novitiate and of formation, is considered a public juridical person, and its assets are ecclesiastical goods.
26. In choosing the place for the foundation, the necessary conditions must be ensured to guarantee the nuns the possibility of an adequate sustenance, of regularly conducting contemplative life in the monastery,26 and of favoring relations among the monasteries.
29 The monastery of nuns is founded with a capitular decision of the community of an autonomous monastery or with a decision of the Federal Assembly, and the sending of at least five nuns, at least three of them of solemn vows, with the prior written consent of the diocesan Bishop29 and the authorization of the Holy See.
41 The erection of a monastery of nuns cannot proceed if prudence does not indicate it can adequately provide for the needs of the community34 and there is no certainty in regard to the stability of the monastery.
45 When the number of professed members of solemn vows reaches five, the community of said monastery loses the right to the election of its Superior. In this case, the Federal President is obliged to inform the Holy See in view of appointing the ad hoc commission37 and whoever has the right to preside over the elective chapter, subject to authorization from the Holy See, will proceed to the appointment of an Administrator Superior, after having heard the members of the community individually.
59 The local Superior of the affiliated monastery is a nun of solemn vows, named ad nutum by the Major Superior of the autonomous monastery or by the Federal President,42 with the consent of the respective Council, having heard the nuns of the community of the affiliated monastery Said local Superior is constituted legal representative of the affiliated monastery.
71 A monastery of nuns is only suppressed by the Holy See after having acquired the opinion of the diocesan Bishop45 and, if it seems opportune, having heard the opinion of the Federal President, of the religious Assistant, and of the religious Ordinary, if the monastery is associated according to the norm of can. 614 CJC.
72. The assets of the suppressed monastery, respecting the will of the founders and donors, follow the surviving nuns and go, in proportion, to the monasteries that receive them, unless otherwise provided by the Holy See46 which may dispose, in individual cases, of a portion of the assets to be given to charity, to the particular church within whose boundaries the monastery is located, to the Federation, and to the Fund for the nuns.
73 In the event of the suppression of a totally extinct monastery, when there are no surviving nuns, unless otherwise provided by the Holy See,47 the destination of the suppressed monastery's assets, in compliance with canon and civil law, go to the respective higher juridical person, that is, to the Federation of monasteries or to another structure of communion among the monasteries equal to it or to the female monastic Congregation.
3. The diocesan Bishop in reference to the communities of monasteries entrusted to his special vigilance according to the norm of law49 present in his own particular church.
76. Each female monastery is entrusted to the vigilance of a single authority, since the regime of simultaneous and cumulative double dependence, that is, of the Bishop and of the regular Superior, present in various canons of the Code of Canon Law of 1917, is no longer present in the Code of Canon Law.
88. The Holy See has the exclusive competence to erect, suspend, unite, and suppress the Federations73 of monasteries of nuns.
93. Pursuant to the provisions of the Apostolic Constitution Vultum Dei quaerere, all monasteries must initially enter a Federation.75 A monastery, for special reasons that are objective and motivated, with the vote of the conventual Chapter can ask the Holy See to be exempted from this obligation. The granting of such dispensation is reserved to the Holy See. A monastery, for objective and motivated reasons, with the vote of the conventual Chapter can ask the Holy See to no longer belong to a Federation. The Holy See must make an appropriate discernment before granting the exit from a Federation.
95. Several Federations of the same Institute, with the approval of the Holy See, can constitute a Confederation among them76 to give a unitary direction and a certain coordination to the activity of the single Federations.
109. Unless otherwise provided by the Holy See,80 the Federation President disposes of the proceeds from the alienation of the assets of the totally extinct monasteries belonging to the Federation, as established by this Instruction.
110. The President of the Federation, elected by the Federal Assembly in accordance with the Statutes of the Federation for a period of six years, is not a Major Superior and, in the exercise of her service, acts on the strength of what the present Instruction attributes to her81 in accordance with the universal and proper law.
117. The Federation President, in particular, watches over initial and ongoing formation in the monasteries to see if it is in conformity with the charism proper to the Institute, so that every community may be a beacon that illumines the journey of the men and women of our time.84 At the end of the visit, she will inform the Holy See about the real possibilities that the monastery has or does not have of guaranteeing initial formation.
118. The formation of the formators and their collaborators is entrusted in part to the monasteries and in part to the Federation, therefore, the President of the Federation is called to strengthen formation at the federal level85 and to require the participation of those who exercise the service of formation; if this does not happen, she will refer the matter to the Holy See.
119. The President of the Federation provides the formation foreseen by the Federal Assembly for those who are called to exercise the service of authority86 and requires their participation; if this does not happen, she will refer the matter to the Holy See.
120. The President of the Federation, having heard the opinion of the Federal Council, chooses the most appropriate places to hold the specific formative courses for the formators and their collaborators, as well as those who are called to exercise the service of authority, establishing the duration of these courses in such a way that they are not detrimental to the needs of the contemplative life87 and of the community.
121. When an autonomous monastery no longer possesses a real autonomy of life,88 it is the responsibility of the Federation President to report the matter to the Holy See.
129 The Federal Council gives its consent to the choice of the Federal Formator who carries out and coordinates initial formation in common.90 Likewise, for serious reasons, it expresses its consent for the removal of the Federal Formator.
131. The Federal Council gives its consent for the request for the extension of the indult of exclaustration for a nun of solemn vows, to be requested from the Holy See.92 Before presenting the matter to the Federal Council, the Federal President must obtain the written opinion of the Major Superior of the nun professed with solemn vows asking for the extension of the indult, expressed collegially together with the Council of the monastery, with the consent of the local Ordinary where the nun will have to live, and having acquired the opinion of the diocesan Bishop or of the competent religious Ordinary.
140. With the cessation of the office of the Federal President, by death or in other ways provided by law,94 the first Councilor convenes, within one month of the office's vacancy, the Extraordinary Federal Assembly, to be celebrated within two months of the convocation. In this case, the Federal Councilors and the Federal Financial Administrator are elected again.
148. The Federal Formator98 is appointed ad nutum by the Federation President with the consent of the Federal Council. The Federal Formator may be removed from her office for serious reasons, by the Federation President with the consent of the same Council.
156. Starting from the wordings of the Code,99 it is affirmed that the separation from the world characterizes the nature and purpose of the religious Institutes of consecrated life and corresponds to the Pauline dictate of not conforming to the mentality of this century,100 fleeing from every form of worldliness.
For the religious life, the cloister is a common obligation for all Institutes101 and expresses the material aspect of separation from the world – which, however, does not exhaust its scope – contributing to create in every religious house an atmosphere and an environment favorable to recollection, necessary for the life of each religious Institute, but particularly for those dedicated to contemplation.
159. The community of the monastery of nuns, placed as a city on the mountain top and a light on the lampstand,102 even in the simplicity of its life, visibly depicts the goal towards which the whole ecclesial community walks, ardent in action and dedicated to contemplation, it advances along the paths of time with eyes fixed on the future recapitulation of everything in Christ.
167. Each monastery is obliged to maintain its primarily or predominantly contemplative physiognomy with all solicitude, engaging in a special way to create and live an area of external and interior silence in prayer,105 in asceticism, and fervent spiritual progress, in the careful celebration of the liturgy, in fraternal life in common, in regular observance, and in the discipline of separation from the world.
176. The limitation in the Instruction Verbi Sponsa111 has been repealed; for just cause the Major Superior, according to the norm of can. 665, §1 CJC, with the consent of her Council, may authorize the absence from the monastery of a nun with solemn vows for not more than a year, after hearing the diocesan Bishop or the competent religious Ordinary.
181. During the canonical visit, the Visitators are required to verify the observance of all the elements proper to the contemplative life as described in the Constitution Vultum Dei quaerere115 with particular reference to the aspect of separation from the world.
183. The papal cloister, established in 1298 by Boniface VIII, is that "in conformity with the norms given by the Apostolic See”116and excludes external works of apostolate.
186. A real separation from the world, primarily marked by silence and solitude,119 expresses and protects the integrity and identity of wholly contemplative life, so that it may be faithful to its specific charism and to the sound traditions of the Institute.
202. Entry into papal cloister is permitted, except for special indults of the Holy See, to Cardinals who may bring with them someone accompanying them, to Nuncios and Apostolic Delegates in places subject to their jurisdiction, to Visitators during the canonical visitation, to the diocesan Bishop,120 to the competent religious Ordinary, and to other persons at the judgment of the Major Superior and for a just cause.
207. This type of cloister, "appropriate to the proper character and defined by the Constitutions"122 is approved by the Apostolic See that approves the Constitutions or another code of the Institute's own law.
208. To the expressions papal cloister and constitutional cloister, known from the Code of Canon Law, St. John Paul II in the post-synodal apostolic exhortation Vita Consacrata123 added a third one, monastic cloister.
209. Before Vita Consacrata this expression had been used to define the cloister of the monks,124 more rigorous than that common to all religious,125 but less rigid than the papal one and comparable, in some respects, to the constitutional cloister of nuns.
223. Both the candidates and the nuns must bear in mind that in the formation process, it is not so much a matter of acquiring concepts, as "of knowing the love of Christ that goes beyond all knowledge.”129 All this makes the formation process last a lifetime and every nun always feels she is in formation.
254. Activated during this time is “a serene discernment, free from the temptations of numbers and of efficiency.”154 Moreover, in each monastery special attention must be paid to spiritual and vocational discernment, ensuring candidates a personalized accompaniment and promoting appropriate formation itineraries,155 paying particular attention so that formation is truly integral — human, Christian, and charismatic — and touches all the dimensions of the person.
264. The Lord Jesus taught that whoever undertakes an important action must first carefully consider whether there “is enough for its completion.”159 For this reason, those who think of beginning the journey of contemplative life must spend a certain time in reflection regarding their real ability and to first make a personal verification of the authenticity of their call to the contemplative monastic life.
269. The postulancy is a necessary stage for proper preparation for the novitiate,160 during which the candidate confirms her determination to be converted through a progressive passage from secular life to contemplative monastic life.
283. The novice is guided by the formator to cultivate an authentic devotion to the Virgin Mother of God, model and patron of every consecrated life,161 and to take her as the example of a consecrated woman.
289. In each monastic community, the path of initial and ongoing or continuous formation, as well as the formation of the Superior of the monasteries,162 of the formators,163 and of the financial administrators, will be modulated according to the charism and law of the Institute, keeping in mind the Guidelines published by the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, as a continuation and completion of the present Instruction.
• The present Instruction does not only concern future things164 but it applies in the present to all monasteries of Latin rite nuns from the moment of its publication.
• The provisions of the Apostolic Constitution Vultum Dei quaerere for all the monasteries concerning the obligation to enter a Federation of monasteries also applies to other structures of communion such as the Association of monasteries or the Conference of monasteries.
• This obligation also applies to monasteries associated with a male institute or united in an autonomous monastic congregation.
• Individual monasteries must comply with this within one year of the publication of this Instruction, unless they have been legitimately dispensed.
• Once the time has passed, this Dicastery will assign monasteries to Federations or to other existing structures of communion.
• The decisions that, after appropriate consultation and prior discussion in the Congress of the Dicastery, will be taken by this Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life towards a monastery of nuns relating to the call for an apostolic visit, to the commissioning, to the suspension of autonomy and to the suppression of a monastery will be presented on a monthly basis to the Roman Pontiff for approval in a specific form.
2 Cf. Perfectae caritatis (= PC), 7; can. 674 CJC; Francis PP., Apostolic Constitution Vultum Dei quaerere (= VDq). De vita contemplativa monialium, in AAS CVIII (2016), p. 838, n. 5.
3 Cf. PIUS PP. XII, Apostolic Constitution Sponsa Christi Ecclesia (= SCE). De sacro monialium instituto promovendo, in AAS XXXXIII (1951), pp. 5-23.
4 Cf. Statuta generalia monialium (= SGM), art. VI, in AAS XXXXIII (1951), p. 17.
5 Cf. SCE, p. 12; SGM, art. VII, in AAS XXXXIII (1951), pp. 18-19.
6 Cf. SCE, pp. 10-11.
7 Cf. SCE, p. 12; SGM, art. VII, in AAS XXXXIII (1951), pp. 18-19.
9 Cf. SCE, pp. 6-11.
10 Cf. SCE, pp. 8-9.
15 VDq, art. 14, §1.
16 VDq, art. 14, §1.
17 VDq, art. 14, §1.
19 VDq, art. 9, §4.
20 Cf. can. 620 CJC.
21 Cf. can. 613, §2 and 620 CJC.
22 Cf. can. 586, §1 CJC.
25 Cf. can. 610 CJC.
26 Cf. can. 610 CJC.
27 Cf. can. 607, §3 CJC.
28 Cf. can. 667, §§2-3 CJC; cf. VDq, 31.
29 Cf. can. 609, §1 CJC.
30 Cf. can. 609, §2 CJC.
31 VDq, art. 8, §1.
33 VDq, art. 8, §1.
34 Cf. can. 610, §2 CJC.
35 Cf. VDq, art. 8, §1.
36 Cf. VDq, art. 8, §2.
37 Cf. VDq, art. 8, §2.
38 Cf. can. 634, §1 CJC.
39 Cf. can. 636 CJC.
40 Exemption approved in specific form by the Holy Father.
41 VDq, art. 8, §2.
42 Cf. VDq, art. 8, §3.
43 VDq, art. 8, §2.
44 Cf. VDq, art. 8, §1; John Paul II, Consecrated Life. Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the Consecrated Life (= VC) Roma, 25 March 1996, 36-37.
45 Cf. can. 616, §1 and §4 CJC.
46 Cf. can. 616, §2 CJC.
47 Cf. can. 616, §2 CJC.
48 Cf. can. 614 CJC.
49 Cf. can. 615 CJC.
50 Cf. VDq, art. 9, §4.
51 Cf. can. 625, §2 CJC.
52 Cf. can. 628, §2 n. 1 CJC.
53 Cf. can. 637 CJC.
54 Exemption approved by the Holy Father in a specific form.
55 Cf. can. 688, §2 CJC.
56 Cf. can.699, §2 CJC.
57 Cf. can. 586 CJC.
58 Cf. can. 591 CJC.
59 Cf. can. 678, §1 CJC.
60 Cf. can. 392; can. 680 CJC.
61 Cf. can. 394; can. 673; can. 674; can. 612 CJC.
62 Cf. can. 683, §2 CJC.
63 Cf. can. 1320 CJC.
64 Cf. can. 609 CJC.
65 Cf. can. 567 CJC.
66 Cf. can. 630, §3 CJC.
67 VDq, art. 6, §2 CJC.
68 Cf. can. 616, §1 CJC.
69 Cf. can. 687 CJC.
70 Partial derogation from can. 667, §4 CJC approved by the Holy Father in a specific form.
72 Cf. VDq, art. 9, §2.
73 Cf. can. 582 CJC.
74 Cf. VDq, 30; art. 9, §3.
75Cf. VDq, art. 9, §1.
76 Cf. can. 582 CJC; VDq, art. 9, §4.
77 Cf. VDq, art. 9, §4.
78 Cf. VDq, 30; art. 9, §3.
79 Exemption approved by the Holy Father in specific form.
81 Cf. VDq, art. 9, §3.
82 Exemption approved by the Holy Father in a specific form.
83 Cf. VDq, art. 2, §2.
85 Cf. VDq, art. 3, §3.
86 Cf. VDq, art. 7, §1.
87 Cf. VDq, art. 3, §4.
88 Cf. VDq, art. 8, §1.
89 Cf. VDq, 9, §3.
90 Cf. VDq, art. 3, §7.
91 Exemption approved by the Holy Father in a specific form.
92 Exemption approved by the Holy Father in a specific form.
93 Cf. VDq, art. 8, §7.
94 Cf. can. 184, §1 CJC.
95 Cf. VDq, art. 3 §7.
96 Cf. VDq, art. 7 §1.
97 Cf. VDq, art. 3 §3.
98 Cf. VDq, art. 3 §7.
99 Cf. can. 607, §3 CJC.
101 Cf. can. 667, §1 CJC.
103 Cf. Jn 13:34; Mt 5:3.8.
105 Cf VDq, 33; art. 12.
109 Exemption approved by the Holy Father in a specific form.
110 Exemption approved by the Holy Father in a specific form.
111 “It should be noted that the norm of can. 665, §1, on permanence outside the Institute, does not regard enclosed nuns,” Verbi Sponsa, n. 17, §2.
112 Exemption approved by the Holy Father in a specific form.
113 Exemption approved by the Holy Father in a specific form.
114 Cf. can. 686, §1 CJC.
116 Can. 667, §3 CJC.
117 Cf. SCE, art. IV, n. 1-2; Inter praeclara, VI – X.
120 Cf. can. 667, §4 CJC.
122 Cf. can. 667, §3 CJC.
124 Cf. can. 667, §2 CJC.
125 Cf. can. 667, §1 CJC.
131 Cf. VDq, art. 3, §3.
132 Cf. can. 661 CJC.
135 Cf. VDq, 3, §1.
138 Cf. VDq, art. 3, §1; 7, §1.
150 VC, 69; Starting afresh from Christ, 15.
154 Starting afresh from Christ, 18.
156 Cf. VDq, art. 3, §6.
157 Cf. VDq, art. 3, §5.
158 Cf. VDq, 3, §7.
160 Cf. can. 597, §2 CJC.
161 Cf. can 663, §4 CJC.
162 Cf. VDq, art. 7, §1.
163 Cf. VDq, art. 3, §3 e §4.
164 Cf. can. 9 CJC.

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