The Institute of the Good Shepherd

The Institute of the Good Shepherd is, in its canonical status, a Society of Apostolic Life of Pontifical right (which means it comes immediately under the jurisdiction of the Holy See rather than of a local diocese). It is a priestly society in that, at least in the initial foundation, it appears to be primarily an institute for priests. The statutes do allow for religious brothers in the institute, though.

This page describes the Institute - in French and I have not had time to translate. The statutes of the Institute can be downloaded from a link at the very bottom of this page - also in French. This link has come to me via the comments in response to my earlier post asking about the charism of "traditional Catholicism".

1. It is interesting that the first paragraphs of the Institute's homepage describes an understanding of the Institute in terms of Jesus' words: "I know my sheep and my sheep know me".

Mais parce que le Christ-Seigneur envoie ses prêtres vers vous, fidèles ou non, comme le Père l’a envoyé vers nous tous, il est juste que cette connaissance réciproque du Pasteur et des brebis passe par ces amis qu’Il s’est choisis de toute éternité. C’est pourquoi, dit l’Apôtre, « nous nous acquittons d’une ambassade auprès de vous » et notre ardent désir sera toujours de vous communiquer l’espérance fondée sur cette science suréminente et de Jésus-Christ. L’Institut du Bon-Pasteur est d’abord et restera toujours l’organe de cette mission primordiale : « Répandre parmi les nations la bonne odeur de Jésus-Christ ».

Because Christ the Lord sent his priests to you, faithful or not, just as the Father had sent Him to us all, it is right that this mutual knowledge of Shepherd and the sheep reaches by way of those friends that he has chosen from all eternity ....The Institute of the Good Shepherd is firstly and remains always the organ of this primordial mission: "To spread among the nations the goodness of Jesus Christ".

This thought is also expressed in the statutes (see I.3). What I find interesting is that this, first of all defines a charism that is not as a matter of essential principle connected to the extraordinary form of the Roman rite. There is a reference to the traditional faith towards the end of this paragraph:

La polémique n’est pas de notre goût, nous lui préférons la défense doctrinale de la foi traditionnelle, celle qui procure la vie éternelle

Polemic is not to our taste; we prefer the doctrinal defense of the traditional faith, that which leads to eternal life.

2. The statutes define the books as in force in 1962 as the "particular rite", the "proper rite" (French "rite propre") of the Institute in all its Liturgical acts. The wording of the statutes describes this as the "traditional Roman rite". See statutes I.2. Within the historical development and the approval of the Institute, it would appear that the celebration of the (what we now would know as) the extraordinary form as a matter of right rather than of concession is important. The statutes are dated 8th September 2006 - that is, pretty much a year before Summorum Pontificum. The "QFP"s (French equivalent of FAQs) towards the bottom of the home page are revealing. The statutes allow the Institute to establish "personal parishes" - ie parishes of their own right - celebrating exclusively the extraordinary form; and the Institute see this as being a mission to increase access to the extraordinary form given to them by the Holy Father in his approving their statutes; and, against the criticism that they have accepted a kind of ghetto-isation of the extraordinary form rather than a complete freedom for it, they argue that it is step along the way to a complete freedom.

Now, does a mission with regard to the extraordinary form belong to the charism of the Institute? Or is it a task undertaken, clearly related to the charism, but not of its essence? This question is of significance if, as I have been arguing, "traditional Catholicism" post-Summorum Pontificum cannot define itself by way of attachment to the extraordinary form. I do think it is important that the Institute does try to define a charism that is not dependent on the liturgical form celebrated.

3. It is very interesting, very interesting, very interesting to read the statutes of the Institute of the Good Shepherd in the retrospective light of the provisions of Summorum Pontificum and its accompanying letter. The reference that I think Pope Benedict XVI makes to the "Gregorian rite" in his letter seems to indicate that term as used in the statutes. One suspects that, were the statutes being approved post-Summorum Pontificum the terminology of "extraordinary form of the Roman Rite" would be used instead of that of the "traditional Roman rite", and this would be referred to as the "proper form of the rite" used by the Institute. And the caution exercised in Summorum Pontificum's reference to celebrants of the extraordinary form not of principle excluding celebration of the ordinary form (even though they may in practice always celebrate according to the extraordinary form) appears to be a balance to the exclusive celebration of the extraordinary form established in the statutes. These statutes do very much look like a kind of trial run for the strategy underlying Summorum Pontificum. It will be very interesting to see how the statutes are amended, if at all, when the five year experimental period expires in 2011.

The comment at this post gives some background on the foundation of the Institute of the Good Shepherd, by priests who had previously been members of the Society of St Pius X.