Diocesan-Right Institute is an institute erected by a diocesan bishop that has not received a decree of pontifical approval and remains under the bishop's special care according to law.[1]
Erection and oversight
A diocesan bishop may validly erect an institute only after the consultation with the Apostolic See required by current canon law. Until formally approved by the Holy See, the institute is of diocesan right. The bishop of the principal house exercises the special oversight assigned by law, while other diocesan bishops retain authority over houses and apostolates in their territories.[2]
Diocesan right does not mean temporary, local in charism, or less authentically Catholic. Some institutes remain diocesan; others later receive pontifical approval after stable development.
Autonomy and communion
The institute governs its internal life through its constitutions and superiors within the bishop's lawful competence. Its status should be distinguished from a private association still discerning whether to become an institute.
References
- 1.Code of Canon Law, canons 573–606 — Latin Church norms on consecrated life and its forms
- 2.Authenticum charismatis — Francis on consultation before diocesan erection of an institute