Canon 740: Common Life in Societies of Apostolic Life with Particular Reference to the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (P.I.M.E.)

Tesi di licenza in Diritto Canonico di P. George Sabu PALLIPARAMBIL.

Many forms of fraternal life in common have emerged in the Church from its foundation. One of such forms of fraternal life in common was identified and recognized in the 1917 code as“societies of men or women living in common without vows.” Since the members of these societies of common life did not have vows, they were different from the religious institutes.The 1983 code gave a new identity to this group by naming them “societies of apostolic life.” Because of the life in common and many other similarities, there still exists a lot of confusion among the faithful about societies of apostolic life. Therefore, this paper delves into the canonical obligation of common life in the societies of apostolic life in general and into the proper law regarding common life in the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (P.I.M.E.) in particular. This paper presents a historical and canonical developments of what are now knownas Societies of Apostolic Life and the obligation of common life in the code and in the particular law of P.I.M.E. Like religious institutes, societies of apostolic life have life in common as brothers or sisters to pursue the perfection of charity. However, each society has its own way of living that common life, thus, making a difference in common life from that of the religious.