RINNOVAMENTO CONCILIARE E REVISIONE DELLE COSTITUZIONI MINORITICHE

Abstract

This study intends to present a reflection on the reception of Vatican II in the constitutions of the Franciscan family, paying particular attention to: 1) the organizational practices of the capitular Congress’, of which we find a statistical analysis of the issues covered  2 ) the development of the comparison between the different hierarchical levels - simple religious, intercapitular commissions, provinces, minister generals 3 ) linguistic changes, 4) debates about the hermeneutics applied to new texts. It has been established that the renewal of Franciscan religious life anticipates the conciliar event, not only as to the need for an ‘aggiornamento’ of the rules, but also sometimes in relation to the same criteria of the ‘aggiornamento’. In the next stage of the article it will be noted that after the publication of the constitutions, issues emerged which were related not so much to content as to continuity of the tradition. Language itself tends to reproduce inter-obbedential  differences and spiritual practices within the different groups in the Franciscan family.