Opposition "charismatic – institutional" in the Church Law theory of Eugenio Corecco (1931-1995)

The opposition of the categories of institutional and charismatic leadership has become a common topic of discussion in the social science of the XX century. However, this opposition has been discussed not only in sociology and political science, but also in theology and church law. This article is devoted to the charismatic-institutional concept of Eugenio Corecco (1931-1995), a Swiss Catholic canonist, Bishop of Lugano, a participant of the legal reform process in Catholic church law in the second half of the XX century. His concept was influenced by the legal theory of the German Catholic canonist Klaus Mersdorf, the ecclesiology of the Second Vatican Council, the ideas about the charisma of the founder of the Communione e Liberazione (Communion and Liberation) movement Luigi Giussani and, finally, the reform of the 1983 Code of Canon Law. The first part of the article discuss how Corecco approaches the problem of church institutions in the modern era, critically starting from the legacy of the Church Public Law school of the XIX - early XX centuries. The second part is devoted to solving the institution-charisma problem in Corecco’s theology of law. It is shown how from the ideas of the Munich school, founded by Mörsdorf, about the Word and the Sacrament as the pillars of church legal order, the Swiss canonist comes to the idea of charisma as an essential element of church order. Referring to the canonical theory of the Protestant lawer Rudolf Sohm about the antagonism of law and the spiritual nature of the Church, Corecco suggests solving this dilemma through the term communio, which is key for the ecclesiology of the Second Vatican Council. He emphasizes that law serves church communion, therefore, along with the liturgical heritage, the charismatic experience of the past and present should be reflected in the canons of church law. In the third part, the problem of charisma is clarified in connection with a priest status and preaching in modern and postmodern society. According to Corecco, the necessary response to the crisis of church discipline in the Catholic Church of the 1960s and 1970s could be found in the attempts of canonists to rethink the relations of the episcopate, clergy and laity in the Church. In this context, he particularly emphasizes the importance of the including of charismatic element in the reformed post-conciliar Catholic theology and church law.