Religious Life in the Vatican II Era: “State of Perfection” or Living Charism?

Abstract

Religious life has consistently played a prophetic role in the church; its post-Vatican II era is no exception. The failure of dialogue between those leaders whose ecclesiology is described as traditionalist and those labeled progressive continues to wound the Body of Christ. This article argues that it is in and through the dialogical living of their charism in service of the global church and society of the 21st century that religious offer healing and hope in and through their prophetic, ecclesial witness.