There are phrases that, within a religious institution, say much more than they seem to say.
One of them appears in the document drawn up to establish the position of the Institute of the Incarnate Word and of the Servants of the Lord and of the Virgin of Matará on questions concerning its founder. There it is stated that the members accept and abide by the provisions that the Holy See legitimately adopts, “even if we personally do not share” their content.
Read out of context, the phrase might seem moderate. No one is obliged to immediately understand all the decisions of authority. Religious obedience does not require shutting down one’s intelligence or renouncing all personal opinions. A religious can go through a period of bewilderment, pain, or even incomprehension in the face of an ecclesial decision.
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