A Critical Evaluation of CCEO Title XII: Monks and Other Religious- Strengths and Weaknesses: Suggestions for Possible Prospective Changes

Abstract

The author analyses the canonical treatment of religious life in the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (CCEO). It highlights that CCEO rightly restores the primacy of Eastern monasticism, giving it a distinct juridical status compared to the Code of Canon Law (CIC) of the Latin Church. The study praises CCEO’s clarity in defining various typologies of consecrated life and its emphasis on pneumatology, rightful autonomy, and the proper structure of monastic institutes. However, it critiques the CCEO for overemphasizing monasticism at the expense of apostolic religious institutes, lacking norms on apostolates, formation, and Societies of Apostolic Life. The article concludes by urging revisions to the Title XII of CCEO to better address contemporary apostolic needs while preserving the Eastern spiritual and monastic heritage.