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Tendenzen und Desiderate im Ordensrecht. Zwei Jahrzehnte nach der Promulgation des Codex Iuris Canonici

Summary: Twenty years after the promulgation, and the entry into force, of the Code of Canon Law, this article essays a balance sheet of the developments in religious life and in the law of religious life. There is a review of the source material appearing subsequent to the Code, notably the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, “Vita Consecrata”. This review yields the conclusion that the Apostolic See has paid special attention to both initial and continuing formation, but that there has been no innovation concerning the substance of the ordering of religious life. There follows a discussion of canonically relevant matters concerning religious life that have in recent years figured repeatedly in debate, at least in the European and North American environments (such as leadership in clerical religious institutes; new meaning of individual forms of consecrated life; new forms of consecrated life; the relationship of religious communities to the dioceses; the question of temporary membership in religious institutes; older candidates for membership). The presentation of these matters is bound together with the author’s own reflections on possible solutions. Finally there is an overview of recognisable tendencies in the law of religious life, together with some suggestions.