7. The permanent diaconate in institutes of consecrated life and in societies of apostolic life

17. The institution of the permanent diaconate among the members of institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life is regulated by the norms of the Apostolic Letter Sacrum diaconatus ordinem. It establishes that “Institution of the permanent diaconate among religious is a right reserved to the Holy See, which alone is competent to examine and approve the votes of general chapters in the matter”.(²²) The document continues: “Whatever is said...is to be understood as applying to the members of other institutes professing the evangelical counsels”.(²³)

Each institute or society which has obtained the right to re-establish the permanent diaconate assumes the responsibility of guaranteeing the human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral formation of its candidates. Such an institute or society must commit itself therefore to preparing its own formation programme which incorporates the specific charism and spirituality of the institute or society and, at the same time, is in harmony with the present Ratio fundamentalis, especially as regards intellectual and pastoral formation.

The programme of each institute or society should be submitted for examination and approval to the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life or the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Congregation for the Oriental Churches for territories where they are competent. The competent Congregation, having obtained the opinion of the Congregation for Catholic Education as regards intellectual formation, will approve it, firstly ad experimentum, and then for a specific number of years, so as to guarantee periodic revisions.