This article comes in the wake of numerous comments from concerned people, both inside and outside the Institute of the Incarnate Word, who seek to understand what may happen if the Vatican decides to dissolve it.
What does a canonical dissolution mean?
The dissolution of an institute of consecrated life is an extreme measure that is taken only when it is considered that the aims of the institute have been irreversibly distorted or that it has become harmful to its members or to the Church itself. According to the Code of Canon Law (canon 584), it is for the Holy See alone to dissolve an institute of pontifical right. It should be noted that the IVE, so far, has not been erected as an institute of pontifical right, so its eventual formal dissolution would follow a different procedure, although equally supervised by the Holy See. In some cases, reform has been chosen (as happened with the Legionaries of Christ); in others, suppression has been inevitable.
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