ADDENDA: PROPER LAW AND THE FORMATION GUIDE

The Formation Guide is part of the Proper Law of the Institute. As members of a Religious Institute, our identity is defined, and our rights and obligations are set out in Ecclesiastical Law.

Ecclesistical Law

There are three categories of ecclesiastical law - Universal, Particular, and Proper.

Universal Law is promulgated by the Pope for the Universal Church and applies to all Christ’s faithful. Universal law for all religious is found in the Code of Canon Law, Canons 573 to 709.

Particular Law is promulgated by a particular Bishop or Conference of Bishops and applies only in a particular diocese or country. eg. Holydays of obligation, laws of fasting.

Proper Law is promulgated by the legitimate authority ( eg. a General Chapter) of a group within the Church and applies only to the members of that group. (eg. The Marist Brothers)

The Proper Law of our Institute comprises, first and foremost, the Constitutions. Other elements of Proper Law are in The Statutes, The General Chapter Statutes, the General Chapter Rules of Procedure, the Vade Mecum, and, of course, the Formation Guide. The concept of Proper Law is new in the Church and derives from Vatican Council II.

Religious Life in Vatican II

Vatican Council II was the first Council of the Church to treat comprehensively religious life. One of its most significant insights is found in Perfectae Caritatis 2:

"It is for the good of the Church that institutes have their own proper characters and functions. Therefore the spirit and aims of each founder should be faithfully accepted and retained, as indeed should each institute’s sound traditions, for all these constitute the patrimony of an institute."

ECCLESIASTICAL LAW AND RELIGIOUS INSTITUTES

This insight has been translated into the Code of Canon Law -

c 578 . The intention of the founders and their determination concerning the nature, purpose, spirit and character of the institute which have been ratified by competent ecclesiastical authority as well as its wholesome traditions, all of which constitute the patrimony of the institute itself, are to be observed faithfully by all.

This became a significant principle of the development of Church Law concerning religious life. Hence, the Church has legislated that "for individual institutes there is acknowledged a rightful autonomy of life, especially of government..." (c 586 §1) and that " the competent authority of the Church...(is) to take care that institutes grow and flourish according to the spirit of the founders and wholesome traditions" (c 576).

PROPER LAW OF THE INSTITUTE

One of the ways in which the Church tries to ensure that this principle is, in fact, operative in the life of a religious institute is through Proper Law, which, as already mentioned, is an entirely new term in ecclesiastical law.

c 587 - §1.In order to protect more faithfully the particular vocation and vision of each institute, its fundamental code or constitutions must contain, besides what must be observed according to c 578, fundamental norms about governance of the institute and the discipline of members, the incorporation and formation of members, and the proper object of sacred bonds.

2. A code of this kind is approved by the competent authority of the Church and can only be changed with its consent.

3. In this code spiritual ad juridical elements are to be suitably joined together; however, norms are not to be multiplied unless it is necessary.

4. Other norms established by the competent authority of the institute are to be suitably collected in other codes, which can moreover be fittingly reviewed and adapted according to the needs of places and times.

From this it emerges that there is a hierarchy in Proper Law. Clearly, the fundamental code is the Constitutions. Secondly , there are other codes which can be fittingly reviewed and adapted. Thirdly, Proper Law contains both spiritual and juridical elements. Fourthly, norms are not to be multiplied unnecessarily.

The Formation Guide as one of the so-called "other codes" is part of our Proper Law.

THE GENERAL CHAPTER AND PROPER LAW

The Church places the obligation of developing Proper Law for the whole Institute on the General Chapter.

c 631 - §1. The General Chapter....Its foremost duty is this: to protect the patrimony of the institute mentioned in c 578, and promote suitable renewal in accord with this patrimony, to elect the supreme moderator, to treat major business matters and to publish norms which all are bound to obey.

This canon is translated into the Proper Law of the Institute in Constitutions 139. In fact, to help institutes, the Church has stipulated in some seventy canons of the Code of Canon Law, matters which must be developed in their Proper Law. A glance at the references in our own Constitutions reveals how we have done this.

THE FORMATION GUIDE

One of those specific matters concerns the formation of the members of an institute.

c 659 - §1. In individual institutes after first profession the formation of all members is to be continued so that they may lead more fully the proper life of the institute and carry out its mission more suitably.

2. Therefore, proper law must define the program of this formation and its duration, keeping in mind the needs of the Church and the circumstances of human persons and times to the extent that this is required by the purpose and character of the institute.

The principal response of our Institute to this injunction is found in Chapter 6 of the Constitutions. As that chapter makes clear however (C 95.1), the Institute’s programme of formation is further elaborated in the Formation Guide.

THE OBLIGATIONS OF PROPER LAW

As religious, we "have as our highest rule of life the following of Christ as proposed in the gospel and expressed in the Constitutions of the Institute" (c 662) We therefore follow the spirit and prescriptions of our Proper Law, of which, the Constitutions certainly forms the fundamental part.

This is not the place to enter into an analysis of Law, its obligations, and appropriate interpretation. However, a couple of comments may be helpful.

Law exists to protect some value. Ecclesiastical law must always remain fully integrated with, and dependent on, religious and human values. Clearly, not all the values promoted and supported by ecclesiastical laws are equal. As has already been noted above, there exists a genuine hierarchy among them. The temptation to rely solely on what is in print and is clear can be a serious one. Equally, the task of interpreting and applying wisely, is a delicate one.

With regard to Proper Law there are principles to help our interpretation.

For example, we should remember that the name of any book of Proper Law expresses its nature and purpose. Our present concern is The Formation Guide. That is what it is. It presents a programme to guide the implementation throughout the Institute, of that true Marist formation which is defined in Chapter 6 of the Constitutions.

We should recognise that any such text is not uniform with respect to literary form. There are, for example, statements based on dogma, others based on theological opinion. There are spiritual exhortations, there are affirmations borrowed from empirical science, notably psychology. There are also juridical statements based on Canon Law and the Constitutions, but clearly, not every one of its sentences presents a prescriptive norm. If we don’t acknowledge these different literary forms, we are reduced to a position of absurd legalism which has no place in the application of ecclesiastical law.

SUPREME LAW OF THE CHURCH

Ecclesiastical Law is "to be applied with due regard for canonical equity and having before one’s eyes the salvation of souls, which is always the supreme law of the Church" (c 1752)

Equity is an ancient concept in law which acknowledges that sometimes, and in a specific case, a higher ethical value must take precedence over the strict application of the letter of the law.The Church herself acknowledges that the salvation of souls is such a value.

Hence, legalism or literalism have no place in the application and interpretation of ecclesiastical law. Hence too, the concept of dispensation forms part of ecclesiastical law.

( eg. Constitutions 130 - ...the Brother Superior General...can, for a time, dispense a Brother, a community, or a Province from particular points of discipline of the Constitutions.)

We do well to remember that The Formation Guide is our specific response in the Proper Law of the Institute to the demand of the Church that we define our program of formation, "keeping in mind the needs of the Church and the circumstances of human persons and times to the extent that this is required by the purpose and character of the institute" (c 659, 2).

The spirit of such a carefully nuanced prescription is reflected in our own Statute 103.3. Speaking of the Post-Novitiate formation it says -

"When circumstances are such that other arrangements have to be made, the Brother Provincial and his Council will examine what is the best way to achieve the objectives aimed at in each stage".

Conclusion

All Law is historically and culturally conditioned. It does not stand alone, but must be understood in the context of the whole system. We need to distinguish the essentials which are needed to uphold a value and protect the mystery, from the accidentals that are no more than historical accretions.

The acceptance of such facts, and the fact that there are many literary forms in any Ecclesiastical Law (including our own Proper Law) has a liberating effect on our appreciation of the role of law in our community. It eliminates the fear that the law may strangle the mysteries.

Finally we should remember in our approach to Ecclesiastical Law, that it is "the salvation of souls, which is always the supreme law of the Church" (c 1752)