A study of the canonical status of an exclaustrated member of a religious institute in the light of civil law considerations in the United States of America

Exclaustration consists in members of religious institutes living outside a religious community for a definite or indefinite period of time with the permission of legitimate authority, during which time the exclaustrated religious remain members of the institute but with some alteration of the canonical relationship between member and institute.; According to the 1983 Code of Canon Law, exclaustrated religious are free from obligations which are incompatible with their new condition of life; they remain dependent on and are subject to the care of both their religious superiors and the local ordinary of the place where they reside. What these general provisions mean in specific instances is not always clear; a number of issues have deliberately been left unresolved in the interest of subsidiarity, leaving their resolution to proper law.; The dissertation's first chapter briefly examines the relationship between active religious and institutes in terms of obedience, poverty, community life, apostolic activity, and religious garb. The second chapter traces the historical development of exclaustration up to the end of the Second Vatican Council. The third chapter examines relevant provisions of the 1983 code, which incorporate earlier developments and seek to address some of the lingering problems.; The second part of the dissertation analyzes the civil-law relationship between religious institutes and exclaustrated members for purposes of tax, contract, and tort liability, studying responsibility of religious institutes first for the actions of active members, and then exclaustrated members. The fourth chapter examines the civil-law concept of vicarious liability, according to which one entity is responsible for the conduct of another, known generally as the law of agency.; The fifth chapter studies the position of exclaustrated members as agents of their religious institutes for purposes of federal taxation. The sixth chapter examines the position of such religious as agents of their institutes for purposes of contract liability, and the seventh, for purposes of tort liability. The final chapter, as a conclusion to the study, draws together a number of civil-law and canonical concerns that it is recommended that institutes consider when structuring the relationship between the institute and an exclaustrated member.