VJERNIČKA DRUŠTVA I VOLONTERSTVO U SVJETLU ZAKONIKA KANONSKOGA PRAVA
RELIGIOUS ASSOCIATIONS AND VOLUNTEERING IN THE LIGHT OF THE CODE OF CANON LAW

Summary/Abstract: Using measures of precaution and attentiveness, the Church has always emphasised the right of the believers to form associations, but the Second Vatican Council speaks of religious associations in a completely new way. In its Decree Apostolicam actuositatem, No. 18, believers are called to perform apostolic activities. The Council text Presbyterorum ordinis, nos. 8 and 3 is about the societies that ought to be appreciated and promoted by presbyters. Code on Canon Law from 1983 directly confirms the right of the believers to associate freely and to govern societies (Can. 215) in the spirit of the II Vatican Council. In the Canons 298-329 we do not only find the call to free association, but also the spirit of legislation on religious societies. Can. 298, §1 presents the reasons why any kind of association can be established within the Church. Can. 298, §1 exposes the actual typological difference between the societies established by the Church authority, and the associations recognized by the same authority, emphasising the distinction between public (Can. 301, §3) and private associations (Can. 299, §2). All the societies should, besides according to common law, also be regulated according to their own statutes and other special regulations.

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