I have received some more messages about my first article on Canon Law and Consecrated Life in the Regnum Christi Movement and so I would like to clarify and correct what I wrote there.
To begin with, our consecration fulfills what is set down in Canon 573.1:
“Life consecrated through profession of the evangelical counsels is a stable form of living, in which the faithful follow Christ more closely under the action of the Holy Spirit, and are totally dedicated to God, who is supremely loved. By a new and special title they are dedicated to seek the perfection of charity in the service of God’s Kingdom, for the honor of God, the building up of the Church and the salvation of the world. They are a splendid sign in the Church, as they foretell the heavenly glory.”
This particular number in Canon Law not only applies to ‘consecrated life’ but also to ‘consecration of life’, which I mentioned in my second article. This can be seen, for example, in the article, “La consagración de vida en los movimientos eclesiales” (“Consecration of life in Ecclesial Movements”), in which José Echeberría says: “Associations or ecclesial movements constitute a true form of consecration of life with the assumption of the evangelical counsels from a personal and communal vocation founded in an original charism. The essential elements of can. 573.1 are fulfilled by them (Informationes SCRIS 25 (1999) 114-137).” (My translation.) Similarly, Fr. G. Ghirlanda distinguishes consecrated life from consecration of life in his article: “Carisma e statuto giuridico dei movimenti ecclesiali” (“Charism and Juridical Status of Ecclesial Movements) in I movimenti nella Chiesa Pontificium Consilium pro Laicis, Libreria Edittrice Vaticana 1999).
Given this distinction, my reference to Canon 605 in my first article was incorrect because that precisely refers to consecrated life and not consecration of life. Sorry for the confusion.
