Vatican issues document on obedience in religious life

Welcome:

The Vatican has issued a new document underlining the importance of obedience in religious life.

Entitled "The Service of Authority and Obedience," the 50-page document from the Congregation for Religious takes the form of an Instruction. It was presented to the superiors of male and female religious orders on May 28 at an assembly held in the Salesianum in Rome.

.... The document from the Congregation for Religious explicitly takes up the question of "difficult obedience," which arises when the individual religious finds the superior's directions "particularly hard to carry out." It also considers situations in which the superior's orders might cause conflicts in the individual's conscience.

Obedience can "give rise to difficult moments," the Vatican document acknowledges. Nevertheless the Instruction observes that religious should reflect on the fundamental role of obedience as a path to understanding God's will. The exercise of religious authority can also be difficult for the superior, the document notes. Everyone in religious life is called to embrace obedience "not just as a passive and irresponsible execution of orders, but as a conscious shouldering of commitments." (CWNews)

CNA has coverage here: "The Instruction seeks to recall, above all, that obedience in religious life can give rise to difficult moments, to situations of suffering in which it is necessary to refer back to the Obedient One par excellence, Christ."

Now there's an example for all of us.