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Canonical mission

This check on the orthodoxy and the personal life of a theology professor can also be used to weed out women.

(Latin, missio canonica)
In the Middle Ages this was the Church certification necessary for preaching. In 19th-century Germany it was extended to teaching, as well.

No one could teach Catholic religion, from primary grades through the graduate level, without a "canonical mission" from the local bishop. The canonical-mission requirement was later incorporated into concordats between the Vatican and several German states, and the Reich itself. [...] Gradually, however, [...] the concept of a canonical mission began to be used in church-run institutions as a limitation on the academic freedom of theologians. [Paul Saunders, “A Cautionary Tale - Academic freedom, 'Ex corde,' & the Curran case - Charles Curran, Commonweal, 21 April 2000.]

And the Canonical mission can even be used to block the appointment of promising women theologians: more on that here.

E.g., Mentioned explicitly in the Austrian Concordat (1933 Art. 5.4 & 6), but the German Concordat (1933 Art. 22) only says that the bishop has veto power, without mentioning it by name.


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