Abstract
Within the development of the studies of religion by the social sciences, a place ought to be given to a scientific approach to the administrative aspect of religious organizations. Yet this is an aspect of the Catholic Church to which very little attention has been paid so far; various lawyers and historians have underlined its importance.
An approach from the point of view of the administrative science would make it possible to give the necessary importance to the methods of management and to the administrative proceedings. It would then be possible to envisage the social reality of an institution as an 'administra tive fact'. But this is only feasible if the starting point is a pluridisci plinary approach which would transform the administrative science into a science of synthesis (law, ethics, sociology, social psychology, political science).
The study of the functioning of religious organizations and its repercus sion on their internal functions offers great scientific possibilities, especially at a time when the Catholic Church is passing through profound changes. In order to do this, it is necessary to create some adequate concepts which cannot be the same as those used for the study of other institutions.
Some steps in this direction have been undertaken both at the level of the universal Church, as well as the diocesan level. The scientific and practical results of the development of such studies can be of great importance. This, for instance, would allow one to situate the Church's efforts for adaptation and reorganization within an appropriate theore tical framework.