The specific legal implementation of the model regulations of the Catholic (arch)dioceses of Germany for the granting of the Missio Canonica and the temporary ecclesiastical mandate to teachers for Catholic religious education in the German dioceses

Abstract

On 23 January 2023, the Standing Council of the German Bishops' Conference adopted a model ordinance of the Catholic (arch)dioceses of Germany for the granting of the Missio Canonica and provisional ecclesiastical authorisation to teachers for Catholic religious education, which does not constitute a law of the DBK, but rather a recommendation to the 27 diocesan bishops to follow the model ordinance when issuing revised Missio ordinances. This article examines the formal and substantive implementation of the model ordinance on Missio Canonica and ecclesiastical authorisation in the 27 German dioceses and highlights similarities as well as regional differences in the implementation of the model ordinance and in comparison with earlier ordinances.