The Dicastery for Consecrated Life
With the promulgation of the apostolic constitution “Praedicate Evangelium,” the structures of some Vatican structures change: the new Dicastery modifies the previous name of Congregation, whose history, objectives and “mission statement” we have presented in recent months
It is an authentic galaxy, consecrated life in the Church. Ancient orders, more recent institutes, female and male communities, all united by the “red thread” of the Gospel lived sine glossa, in the light of a specific charism. The Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life has the task of holding the strings of this variegated macrocosm, even in the most delicate aspects concerning the internal life of individual institutes. Cardinal João Braz de Aviz has led the dicastery for eleven years. Valuable is the collaboration and communion of Archbishop-Secretary José Rodríguez Carballo and the work of some 40 officials, who are expressions of the various forms of consecrated life, and with the support of a mission budget that in the official figure for 2021 amounts to 3 million euros. To Vatican media, the Cardinal presents the work of the Congregation.
Charged with promoting and regulating all its forms and expressions, the Congregation has its finger on the pulse of the situation of consecrated life in the world.
What is its status today in an increasingly secularized cultural context incapable of understanding the value of integral and definitive choices?
A large and beautiful mosaic of consecrated life emerges from our observatory. We cannot give an unambiguous assessment because the realities are really so diverse. While it is true that in some societies and cultures secularization seems to diminish the meaning of a life given forever to others and to the Lord, it is also true that there are cultures and societies in which the values of communion and definitiveness still have a relevant weight. This is why the nuances are many and also increase because of the mobility of consecrated persons from one continent to another. The overall look is one that sends back hope and sharing because there are many consecrated persons in the different forms of consecrated life who live their lives with joy. All in all, consecrated life enjoys good health. We have said it and we confirm it that The pontificate of Pope Francis and the very person of a pope who comes from the religious world has given a push toward a new awareness and openness, even in the secularized contexts in which so many consecrated persons live. Precisely in many of these contexts, consecrated life appears as a true prophecy.
Alessandro De Carolis – Vatican City
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