Lay Associations
From The Catholic Guide
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Public & Private Associations of the Faithful
Vatican II confirmed the right of the lay faithful to establish, govern and to become members of associations (Apostolicam Actuositatem). Then, the 1983 Code of Canon Law simplified and redefined the structures of the various forms of pious associations which the laity can belong to into Public and Private structures:
Associations of the faithful which are erected by competent ecclesiastical authority are called Public Associations (Canon 301§3). In the decree of erection, the ecclesiastical authority specifically grants public juridic personality onto the association and grants it a mission by which it formally acts in the name of the Church (Canon 313). Only the Holy See, a conference of bishops or a diocesan bishop has the authority to erect a Public Association of the Faithful (Canon 312). Only a Public Association can receive a mission to teach Christian doctrine in the name of the Church, promote public worship or pursue a purpose which by nature is reserved to ecclesiastical authority (Canon 301§1).
Private Associations, on the other hand, are a group of laity with a common mission/vision, freely united by private agreement, with the intent to attain the aims mentioned in canon 298§1:
In the Church there are associations which are distinct from institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life. In these associations, Christ's faithful, whether clerics or laity, or clerics and laity together, strive with a common effort to foster a more perfect life, or to promote public worship or Christian teaching. They may also devote themselves to other works of the apostolate, such as initiatives for evangelisation, works of piety or charity, and those which animate the temporal order with the Christian spirit.
Private Associations of the Faithful are the most flexible and less restrictive means for the Christian faithful to pursue a common purpose as a group. While ecclesiastical authority maintains a certain degree of vigilance over private associations, the guidance and direction of the association comes from the members in accord with their statutes (Canon 321). A Private Association can receive private juridic personality after the competent ecclesial authority has reviewed and approved the association's statutes and issued a formal decree granting juridic personality (Canon 322). While this is the most structured of private associations, Canon 322 explicitly mentions that the approval of statutes by competent authority does not change its private nature into a public one.
Secular Institutes
A secular institute is an organization of individuals who are consecrated persons – professing the Evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience – while living in the world, unlike members of a religious order who are cloistered. It is one of the forms of consecrated life recognized in Church law (cf. the Code of Canon Law, can. 710-730).
Canon 710: A secular institute is an institute of consecrated life in which the Christian faithful living in the world strive for the perfection of charity and work for the sanctification of the world especially from within.
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