Under the new regulations, went on the cardinal, the Issr, as in the past, will be "related" to the ecclesiastic faculties of theology but "the study of theology and the study of religious science as stated in the introduction to the new Vatican document goes in two separate directions": on one side, there are the ecclesiastic academic centres "which offer their students a full and integral knowledge of the whole of theology", with a view to priesthood, while the purpose of the Issr is to "promote the religious education of lay and consecrated people, for a more deliberate and proactive participation in evangelisation work in the current world, while also boosting the undertaking of professional jobs in ecclesial life and the Christian involvement in society; training students in different lay ministries and ecclesial services; qualifying teachers of religion in schools of every kind and level, except university-level institutes". Now, courses at the Issr last five years, as opposed to the four years of the old regulations (in one cycle only), divided into two cycles: a three-year cycle, at the end of which the student gets a bachelor’s degree in religious science, and a two-year cycle, at the end of which the student gets a diploma in religious science.
