'Be Not Afraid!'
by Cardinal Raymond L. Burke, D.D., J.C.D.
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On July 16, 2006, I approved the statutes of a new association of the faithful in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. The name of the association is Ecclesia Domestica, Latin words which signify "Domestic Church" or "the Church in the home," referring to the Christian family, the first cell of the life of the universal Church. The members of Ecclesia Domestica are home-schooling parents who wish to work together to promote home schooling and to assist one another in the Catholic education of their children at home.
In approving the statutes of Ecclesia Domestica, I also issued the decree making it a public association of the faithful. Since the establishment of Ecclesia Domestica as a public association of the faithful, there have been questions regarding what being a public association of the faithful means for the members themselves and for the whole archdiocese.
Associations of the faithful
The Church recognizes the work of the Holy Spirit among the faithful, inspiring various joint efforts to promote the Christian life, in general, and to promote specific aspects of our life in Christ, for example, the Sacred Liturgy, Catholic education, works of charity and Christian witness in the various fields of human activity and endeavor. Included are associations of Catholic doctors, lawyers or businessmen. The faithful are, in fact, encouraged to form associations among themselves for the sake of living the faith more deeply and spreading the faith to others more effectively.
The faithful may form associations on their own without any intervention of Church authority. At the same time, an association of the faithful, by definition, always shows respect for Church authority and works to promote the unity and strength of Church life. The use of the name, Catholic, by an association is governed by the competent Church authority (canon 300). If the association uses the name Catholic, it means that the members and the whole association are obedient to the magisterium. It also means that the members of the association respect those who are members of other Church associations and seek the harmony among all those working for the Church.
By definition, the members of an association of the faithful join the association freely. In other words, the Church does not compel all home-schooling families to join Ecclesia Domestica, but they are free to join and to leave the association, according to their own desires.
Private or public association
What is the difference between a private association of the faithful and a public association of the faith? A private association exists in virtue of a private agreement among its members. A private association may or may not be recognized by the local Church authority, according to the wishes of the members. If the association wishes to be recognized as a private association of the faithful, then it must submit its statutes for review by the competent Church authority (canon 299, §§1-3).
A public association of the faithful is established by the competent Church authority. Some associations of the faithful must be public because of the nature of their apostolate, namely the handing on of Christian doctrine "in the name of the Church" or the promotion of the Sacred Liturgy or "purposes whose pursuit is of its nature reserved" to Church authority (canon 301, §1). Because the association of home-schooling families exists primarily for the handing on of the faith and its practice to the children, including prayer and worship, it is most fittingly a public association of the faithful.
Who is the competent Church authority? For associations which are universal and international, it is the Holy See. If the association is national in scope, it is the conference of bishops of the nation. If the association is diocesan, it is the diocesan bishop (canon 312, §§1-3). Ecclesia Domestica, which exists to serve home-schooling families in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, who freely choose to belong, therefore, rightly approached me to be erected as a public association of the faithful.
Rights and responsibilities
All associations of the faithful, public and private, must have "their own statutes which define the purpose or social objective of the association, its seat, government, and conditions required for membership and which determine the manner of its acting" (canon 304, §1). The statutes protect both the nature of the association and the rights of those who join. Without statutes, the association can be wrongly used for purposes other than those for which it was erected or can be operated without respect for all the members.
Because they are in the Church, associations of the faithful are "subject to the vigilance of competent ecclesiastical authority that is to take care that the integrity of faith and morals is preserved in them and is to watch so that abuse does not creep into ecclesiastical discipline" (canons 305, §1; and 323, §§1-2). The vigilance of Church authority over associations of the faithful does not, in any way, diminish their freedom to pursue their stated purposes but guarantees that their activities are carried out in the communion of the Church.
A public association of the faithful becomes a juridic person in the Church and receives a mission from the Church to achieve "the purposes it proposes to pursue in the name of the Church" (canon 313). As a result, the competent Church authority approves the statutes and any revision of the statutes of a public association (canon 315), confirms the moderator elected by the members or appoints the moderator, if the statutes so provide, and appoints the chaplain after consultation with the principal leaders of the association (canon 317). By contrast, a private association of the faithful names its moderator without the confirmation of Church authority and chooses its spiritual adviser with "the confirmation of the local ordinary" (canon 324, §§1-2). The complete Church discipline regarding associations of the faithful, private and public, is found in canons 298-329 of the Code of Canon Law.
Conclusion
I hope that the above gives some clearer idea of the esteem in which the Church holds associations of the faithful. I hope that it also helps you to understand why I was pleased to erect a public association of the faithful for Catholic home schoolers in the archdiocese on July 26 last year.
I conclude by drawing your attention to three norms of Church law, which pertain to associations of the faithful formed by the laity. First of all, the Church urges all of the faithful to esteem such associations, "especially those which propose to animate the temporal order with the Christian spirit and in this way greatly foster an intimate union between faith and life" (canon 327). Secondly, the Church urges the leaders of associations of the faithful "to take care that their associations cooperate with other associations of the faithful where it is expedient and willingly assist various Christian works, especially those in the same territory" (canon 328). Finally, the Church reminds the moderators of associations of the faithful "to take care that the members of the association are duly formed to exercise the apostolate proper to the laity" (canon 329).
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