Suppressed
It can happen.
New or experimental religious orders, even dwindling established orders have been, and can be suppressed by the diocesan Bishop or the Vatican. A religious congregation has to be viable and have an apostolate, along with enough members to qualify for any canonical status, of which there are several degrees or designations; such as “pious association” to a “public association” and onto a full-fledged religious order.
That is not to say a group of faithful cannot become a private non-profit organization, nevertheless they would not have canonical status, nor would they be permitted to wear a habit in public, or claim to be a Roman Catholic religious community.
The Worcester diocese has recently rescinded recognition of a Carmelite group in existence since 1971. “Chancery officials said the group was too small to spiritually sustain itself and there was little possibility of growth. One official said the community’s membership was down to three individuals.” - Source The group had diocesan status and permission from the Discalced Carmelites to wear the Carmelite habit. I knew of the group when I lived in Boston, at a time when several “new” orders were being “founded” - some without permissions, others with.
Likewise, in the Midwest there are numerous religious foundations of hermits and contemplatives scattered throughout the region, many with very few members. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of these are not eventually reigned in as well - either by inclusion into established orders, thus losing their autonomy, or disbanded as the Carmelites in Massachusetts have been. Oddly enough, there is a local woman working very hard to have one group suppressed here.
Normally, it seems to me the most stable of the new communities are those founded at the Bishop’s request with a specific need in mind; for example, the Sisters of Life, or groups begun by an experienced religious or priest; as is the case with the CFR’s begun by Fr. Benedict Groeschl, or the Missionaries of Charity, founded by Mother Teresa.
August 16th, 2008 at 11:51 am
I wasn’t aware that someone was trying to suppress a community locally. Is it a good community?
(Because I can think of some not-so-good ones that SHOULD be suppressed!) lol
August 16th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Not sure where Worcester is (not being in America). Is this the same group as Valparaiso, NE?
August 16th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
I know the Teresian Carmelites very, very well, and when I heard about the article in the Worcester Telegram and Gazette, I instantly phoned the prior, Bro. Dennis. The community had definitely NOT disbanded. They are, and contintue to be, a PRIVATE association of Christ’s Faithful. The 1983 Code clearly states that such associations are constituted and established by the membership itself, not by the Ordinary, who is only able to recognise their existence in his diocese. Unfortunately, in the case of many new communities in the USA, this has been misunderstood by Bishops and their advisors, who see such recognition as in some way conferring canonical status, which it decidedly does not. Since the bishop cannot establish a private association, he is also powerless to dis-establish it.
Furthermore, the Gazette article states that the reason for withdrawing recognition was the declining numbers in the community itself. In the first place, this is not true. The community is an association of vowed religious and lay members. While the number of vowed members has decreased, the number of lay members has spiked! But the statement by the Diocese begs another question: If they applied this same criterion to the number of applicants to the priesthood for the Diocese or the postulants to the Sisters of Mercy, what would they conclude is the next logical step for the Worcester Presbyterate or the various other established communities in that jurisdiction? Will they close them up too?
In fact, anyone who has known the Teresians as long as I have will acknowledge that their relationship with the Diocese has reflected a certain resitance from the very beginning on the part of the Diocese to proceed with the process of canonical establishment of the community. Even when the number of the community’s religious were greater than they are today, the diocese was never very supportive, and often hostile, at least in terms of how its delegates related to the community. This is the lot of almost every other new community, past and present. The exceptions to the rule are the CFRs and the Ann Arbor Dominican Sisters, and this probably has to do with the high profile the founders (Fr. Benedict Groeschel and Mthr. Assumpta Long) enjoyed prior to the establishment of their communities.
The phenomenon of New Religious Communities really took off in the 70s and 80s, but their experience was the same: Chanceries established adversarial relationships with them almost from the get-go. This was often explained under the rubric of “testing them”, but in my own experience it had more to do with ideological differences between the communities themselves and their diocesean overseers, very often members of “renewed” communities that saw in these new forms of religious life a challenge to their own ideas and theologies on the direction religious life should take.
Ordinaries, too, were often just not interested. Before the utter collapse of religious life in the US, they saw these communities as redundant and bothersome. With the amount of work on their plate, this was often something they considered they just didn’t have time for. After the sexual scandals of the 90s, they were able to add to their list of reasons why they didn’t want to bother the concern that such new communities could pose an additional jeopard to the Diocesan finances in the event of a lawsuit.
On the other hand, in europe, and particularly in France, the number of new communities is SOARING. This is because Bishops there, unlike here, are very supportive of new communities. They understand that NUMBERS is not an issue, and that the investment of energy and interest in a new community is what often makes the difference. After all, Jesus told the first bishops “Feed my sheep” not “Count them”.
August 16th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Dear Father, Thank you very much for your comment, it is very helpful in understanding the status of new communities. Since I have experienced first hand some irregularities of various “new” communities and problems with members - as well as founders, I am not the best person to speak in the support of not a few.
Your support of this particular community is very encouraging.
August 16th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
Julie yep - it is a very good community. The people speaking against it may have mental health issues.
August 16th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Mark - sorry- Worcester is near Boston, MA. Not much of a town, and the group is not associated with the one you mention.
August 17th, 2008 at 6:17 am
Re: Mark’s comment; one learns something every day. I live about 60 miles from Valparaiso, NE, and had no idea there was a community of Carmelite nuns there (I Googled it to find out more about them). That’s nice to know, maybe they give retreats or something.
August 17th, 2008 at 6:54 am
Worcester (pronounced /ˈwʊstah/) is a city in the state of Massachusetts in the United States of America. A 2006 estimate put the population at 175,898, making it the estimated second-largest city[1] in New England, after Boston
August 17th, 2008 at 9:18 am
Melody:
I think I featured them on the Traditional Vocations blog.
August 17th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
The one some want to suppress…it isn’t Sisters in Jesus the Lord, is it? They are a WONDERFUL new community!
August 17th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Julie - not them either. No one you would ever be interested in.