Canon 575

1. The competent authority for erecting or approving associations of the Christian faithful is for associations and their

confederations: (1) the eparchial bishop for eparchial associations, but not the administrator of the eparchy, excepting those

associations whose erection has been reserved to others by apostolic or patriarchal privilege; (2) the patriarch after consultation with his permanent synod, or the metropolitan after consultation with the two eparchial bishops senior in episcopal ordination, for associations open to all the Christian faithful of

any patriarchal or metropolitan Church sui iuris and which has

its principal headquarters with the territorial boundaries of the

same Church; (3) the Apostolic See for other types. 2. For

the erection of any branch of any non-eparchial association, the

written consent of the eparchial bishop is required; however, the

consent given by an eparchial bishop for the erection of a house

of a religious institute also allows for the erection in the same

house or church attached to it, of an association proper to the

institute.