THE future role of all religious orders in the Church lies in the ability to recognise that some level of change is inevitable.
How each order faces up to its future direction is going to be different.
One of the major factors is surely the lack of vocations to a religious life in many Western countries.
Unless there is an honest appraisal of the contribution each order can make under changing circumstances, the future is likely to be bleak.
Many religious congregations have already reassessed their future role and are actively pursuing a new direction.
For others the process is yet to happen.
Rather than being feared, change should be embraced as an opportunity to serve God better in a contemporary world.
