The official Vatican system complains of "domination, submission" for religious

Brazilian Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, the Vatican's leading man on consecrated life, criticized what he said was a state of "domination" that men often hold over women in the Catholic Church and stressed the need for a deeper renewal of religious life at all levels.

"In many cases, the relationship between consecrated men and women represents a sick system of relationships of submission and domination that takes away the sense of freedom and joy, a misunderstood obedience," said Braz de Aviz in a recent interview.

Braz de Aviz is the prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.

Speaking with SomosCONFER, the official publication of the Conference of Spanish Religious, an umbrella organization for religious congregations in Spain, Braz de Aviz noted that in some communities the authorities are "too centralized", preferring relationships with legal or tax entities and who are "small" capable of a patient and loving attitude of dialogue and trust. "

However, this is not the only issue that Braz de Aviz addressed in his reflections, which were part of a larger review of religious life in light of Pope Francis' push to renew structures aimed less at following obsolete models and more on 'evangelization.

Numerous scandals within religious communities and lay movements, a shortage of vocations to the priesthood and religious life, greater secularization and greater pressure on the abuse and exploitation of consecrated women, have all contributed to an internal crisis in life religion that many are just starting to grapple with.

In numerous countries in Europe, Oceania and the Americas, there is a shortage of vocations to the consecrated life, which "has aged a lot and is hurt by a lack of perseverance," said Braz de Aviz.

"Those who leave are so frequent that Francis spoke of this phenomenon as" bleeding ". This is true for both the male and female contemplative life ", he affirmed, noting that numerous institutes" have become small or are disappearing ".

In light of this, Braz de Aviz affirmed that the change in age, which Pope Francis often refers to as the "age of change", has led to "a new sensitivity to return to following Christ, to a sincere fraternal life in community , a reform of systems, overcoming abuses of authority and transparency in the possession, use and administration of assets ".

However, "old and weak gospel models still resist a necessary change," to testify to Christ in the context of the modern world, he said.

In light of the numerous scandals that have broken out in recent years that have involved priests, bishops and founders of consecrated communities and lay movements, "many consecrated men and women at this moment in history are trying to identify more precisely the core of the founder's charism,", Braz de Aviz said.

Part of this process, he said, means identifying the cultural and religious traditions "of other times" and allowing oneself "to be guided by the wisdom of the Church and her current Magisterium".

To do this, he said, it requires that consecrated persons have "courage", or what Pope Francis calls parrhesia, or audacity, to "identify with the journey of the whole Church".

Braz de Aviz also referred to a sense of "exhaustion" that many religious sisters, in particular, experience and which was the subject of an article in the July edition of the women's monthly extract of the Vatican newspaper, Donna, Chiesa, World.

In an article highlighting the stress and even trauma that women religious often face, Sister Maryanne Lounghry, a psychologist and member of a personal care commission recently established by the International Union of Superiors General and the Union of Superiors General, which represents women and men respectively religious, the aim of the commission is to "build resilient communities" and to break down barriers in talking about "taboo" topics such as abuse of power and sexual abuse.

One of the things Lounghry said the commission is doing is writing a "code of conduct" so that consecrated persons understand their rights, limitations, obligations and are more prepared for the tasks they take on.

Speaking in particular of religious sisters, who are often exploited and stuck in conditions that reflect something akin to no-vacation, no-pay domestic servitude, Lounghry said that “It is vital that a sister knows what she can ask for and what cannot be asked of. she".

"Everyone", he said, "must have a code of conduct, a letter of agreement with the bishop or the pastor", because a clear agreement leads to greater stability.

“A secure job for a year gives me peace and quiet of mind, as well as knowing that I can't be sent to the other side of the world at any time or when I can go on vacation,” he said, adding, “if I don't know the limits of my commitment, on the other hand, I am unable to restrain the stress. Not being in control of your life, not being able to plan, undermines mental health. "

Lounghry suggested creating standards, such as a salary, a fixed vacation every year, decent living conditions, Internet access, and a gap year every few years.

"Having to always negotiate, to feel unheard of, is difficult," he said. "With clear rules, they prevent abuse and you have clear ways to deal with" abuse when it occurs.

He also stressed the need for clear standard rules within convents or monasteries on issues such as travel or study, to avoid favoritism.

All of this, Lounghry said, will help create a more confident environment that will allow sisters who have been abused to come forward more easily.

“It's hard to tell when a sister has been sexually abused; it's a daily reality, but we don't talk about it in shame, "he said, insisting that" a sister should be sure that the congregation will be able to help her maintain her ability to recover, with understanding and sharing. "

A separate article written by Sister Bernadette Reis, who works in the Vatican Press Office, noted that a decline in the number of women accessing consecrated life recently is also due to a change in social factors that once made consecrated life more attractive, today they are obsolete.

Girls no longer have to be sent to convents to receive education and young women no longer depend on religious life to offer them study and professional opportunities.

In his interview, Braz de Aviz said that in the context of the modern world, "the practice of many behaviors must change" in order to establish a "dynamic" time of formation for those who engage in consecrated life.

He also insisted that formation is an ongoing process, stating that the gaps in initial or ongoing formation "have allowed the development of personal attitudes little identified with consecrated life in the community, so that relationships are contaminated and create loneliness and sadness".

“In many communities there has been little development of the awareness that the other is the presence of Jesus and that, in relationship with him loved in the other, we can guarantee his constant presence in the community,” he said.

One of the first things that Braz de Aviz said he had to re-propose in the formation process is "how to follow Jesus", and then how to train the founders.

"Rather than transmitting models that have already been created, Francis pushes us to create vital processes marked by the Gospel that help us to enter into the depths of the charisms given to each one", he said, underlining that Pope Francis also often stressed that all vocations are called to an "evangelical radicalism".

“In the Gospel this radicality is common to all vocations”, said Braz de Aviz, adding that “there are no disciples of the 'first class' and others of the 'second class'. The evangelical path is the same for everyone “.

However, consecrated men and women have the specific task of living "a lifestyle that anticipates the values ​​of the Kingdom of God: chastity, poverty and obedience in Christ's way of life".

This, he said, means that "We are called to greater fidelity and to enter with the whole Church in the reform of life proposed and implemented by Pope Francis".