Posted on 08/30/2006 6:14:30 AM PDT by NYer
WASHINGTON (CNS) – A new Program of Priestly Formation has been issued for use in all U.S. Catholic seminaries.
It places more emphasis on the human formation of seminarians, and especially on formation for celibacy, than did the fourth edition of the program, which had been in effect since 1992.
The 98-page revised version of the program, the fifth edition, has been posted on the Web site of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, www.usccb.org.
The Program of Priestly Formation has governed seminary formation in the United States since the bishops issued the first edition in 1971.
The new version, reflecting the bishops' recent response to the scandal of clergy sexual abuse of minors, says explicitly for the first time that no seminary applicant is to be accepted if he has been involved in sexual abuse of minors.
It also incorporates stricter norms, adopted by the bishops in 1999, on evaluating an application for seminary admission from someone who previously left or was dismissed from a seminary or a formation program for religious life.
The bishops adopted the fifth edition of the program by a nearly unanimous vote, 231-3, at their June 2005 meeting in Chicago.
Last November Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Catholic Education, informed Bishop William S. Skylstad of Spokane, Wash., USCCB president, that his congregation had studied the new edition and approved it for a period of five years. Bishop Skylstad's decree promulgating the document was dated Aug. 4, the feast of St. John Vianney.
In his letter Cardinal Grocholewski wrote, "The text is most appropriate. Of special benefit, in fact, will be the increased requirements for philosophical studies to a minimum of 30 credits and the lengthening of the pre-theology period to a minimum of two calendar years."
Fifty years ago most priesthood candidates entered the seminary in high school or college and received the philosophical and other academic prerequisites for graduate theological studies in a college seminary setting. In the past two or three decades, however, more and more seminary applicants have come in with college degrees that included little or none of those prerequisites.
As a result, pre-theology programs have become an increasingly important part of the academic programs of seminaries, and in fact many of those had already become two-year programs before the new norms were adopted.
Like the 1992 edition, the new program speaks of four dimensions of formation that seminarians must develop and integrate as they prepare to become priests: intellectual, pastoral, spiritual and human.
Those dimensions of formation were outlined by Pope John Paul II in his 1992 apostolic exhortation, "Pastores Dabo Vobis" ("I Will Give You Shepherds"). Previous editions of the U.S. Program of Priestly Formation discussed the intellectual, pastoral and spiritual development of priesthood candidates but did not specifically address issues of human development.
The fourth edition of the program, adopted only a few months after the papal document, incorporated elements of human development as well, but the fifth edition enters into that area far more deeply. For example, formation for celibacy was treated under spiritual development in previous editions; in the new edition the main treatment of celibacy comes under the heading of human development.
That section focuses especially on the concrete skills, behaviors, attitudes and supports men need in order to form an effective, mature commitment to a chaste life of celibacy.
When the bishops voted on the fifth edition, it was widely known that the Vatican was preparing to issue a statement on the question of whether homosexually oriented applicants should be accepted into the seminary or ordained to the priesthood.
With that in mind, at the Vatican's suggestion the bishops adopted a norm that says, "With regard to the admission of candidates with same-sex experiences and/or inclinations, the guidelines provided by the Holy See must be followed."
Last November the long-expected Vatican document was released. It said bishops "cannot admit to the seminary or to holy orders those who practice homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called 'gay culture.'"
In addition to norms for seminary admission and seminary formation, the Program of Priestly Formation includes norms for seminary governance, administration and faculty; the role of the bishop in priestly formation; and the relationship of seminary formation to the ongoing formation of priests after ordination.
The new norms spell out more fully the canonical obligations of bishops and seminary personnel to assure that candidates for the priesthood are free of any legal barriers to ordination.
For the first time the norms also make specific reference to conditions for the acceptance of married applicants. In the Latin Church this takes account of cases in which the Vatican has permitted married former non-Catholic ministers who become Catholic to be ordained to the priesthood. In the Eastern Catholic churches it takes account of a partial relaxation of former rules that forbade married priests in areas where the Latin Church is dominant.
"An applicant for the priesthood must testify that he is not married or, if he is married, he has the approval of the Holy See," the new document says. "If an Eastern Catholic candidate is married, a certificate of marriage is required along with the written consent of his wife and the approval of the Apostolic See."
Sort of like obeying a rule out of fear
OR
Obeying a rule because you want to in your heart.
And judging from some of the sermons and statements issued by the USCCB, there are men who have been in the priesthood 30 or 40 years or more who still lack these prerequisites of basic Catholic knowledge.
This is why you can't have liberals, non-Catholics, and space-cadet illuminati eggheads from Harvard and Yale running Catholic higher education, making decisions on curriculum relating to Catholicism. Only real Catholics, educated by real Catholics, should be in Catholic classrooms and lecture halls. Or seminaries.
** Only real Catholics, educated by real Catholics, should be in Catholic classrooms and lecture halls. Or seminaries.**
Bump that thought!!
A real Catholic never would have approved an ultramodernist StarTrek spaceship design for a Catholic cathedral! And certainly never would have approved hundreds of millions of dollars in Catholic funds for such a monstrosity. Only liberal kooks into deep highweirdoness do things like that.
That is why some of us believe in the auto da fe as a means of dealing with said bishops .... ;-)
Not really... 10:1 they dodged actually stating the policy, so it would be easier to mischaracterize. Think: Is it easier to say, "With regard to the admission of candidates with same-sex experiences and/or inclinations, the guidelines provided by the Holy See must be followed," or, "No gays."
The USCCB will fight for homosexuals in the seminaries to their dying breath. It is the only issue to them.
USCCB bishops believe in banning homosexuals like the Democrats believe in the free market: They have to say it yo get their appointments, but everybody who works to keep them in place understands it's a wink.
Well there it is ... I wouldn't complain if the USCCB were completely disbanded, and all of its 'functions' abandoned, its assets liquidated and given to the poor, its employees forced to find useful work.
According to Lifesite.net, it was Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony, Rochester Bishop Matthew Clark, and Bishop William Lori, of Bridgeport, Connecticut who contradicted the document in an official statement. mash here
This is actually happening less in at least two diocese I am familiar with, Detroit and St. Paul/Minneapolis.
Now that is truly good news! We have a few more years before that happens here, if ever.
Clark of Rochester....that figures.
Do we HAVE to wait until he hits 75?
Ugh. I think many in the L.A. Diocese are asking the same question about Mahony too.
You have my condolences and prayers for strength!
This is GREAT news! If you expect them to live chastely, you'd better teach them how to do that well.
Oh dear, is Rochester your diocese? Matthew Clark and Howard Hubbard (my bishop in Albany) attended seminary together and have remained good friends. Both were appointed at the recommendation of Archbishop Jean Jadot, who intentionally chose them to fulfill his agenda of ordaining homosexuals and women. They are only a few months apart in age.
You have my TOTAL empathy and sympathy!!
I'm sure I gave you this link but, if not, here it is.
STILL PROUD OF BISHOPS HE GAVE US - Archbishop Jadot at 93.
It is the diocese I grew up in and was married in.
We've spent the past few years in the Syracuse diocese and the Scranton diocese (so the kids can receive good instruction)
But it is sad to watch what is going on at "home"
It would be nice to go back home, but we can't do that right now.
I think I missed it the first time around.
Before moving to Albany, a Long Island neighbor, familiar with the Albany diocese, tried to prepare me for what I would find. At the time, I thought he was exaggerating. He wasn't. After joining FR, I slowly began to see a similar pattern in other diocese around the US, from the postings of other freepers. That's when I went surfing, hoping to find an explanation as to how these bishops had been chosen. Finding the article on Archbishop Jadot solved the mystery. Rochester, Albany, Minneapolis, Los Angeles ... all of these bishops (and Cardinal) had been carefully selected and placed in those positions for a clear purpose. Now we must wait for them to retire.
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