Resumen de La vita religiosa come attuazione della sequela radicale di Cristo secondo il NT.
The article takes up the debate, immediately following Vatican II, concerning the true biblical foundations of religious life with regard to what is essential and perennial, that is, as a project of life. After a rapid summary of the reasons which have led to the present theological rethinking about the consecrated life, and an examination of the way in which Scripture was used in the past in order to prove the biblical foundation of its constitutive elements, the article goes on to reconsider the problem in the light of the serious findings of modern exegesis. It comes to the conclusion that, of the three vows, only that of consecrated chastity finds its origins directly and explicitly in the NT (Mt 19,10-12). It follows from this that the biblical foundation of religious life is to be seen in the radicalism of its life project, which consists in following Christ. In consequence of this latter, the article first of all presents the fact and its comprehension in the prepaschal phase. It subsequently goes on to outline the theological explications immersed in the post-paschal experience of faith.
