[sinkspur]

"I think there is a doctrinaire feeling among a lot of seminarians," said O'Collins, who has been teaching 35 years and, in spite of his anxiety over the seminarians of today, is not a particular advocate of liberalism. "And a bishop sending someone here is going to pick the reliable, safe ones. ... I think pastoral experience is a great reality teacher. They can't live like that. In the pastorial situation, they've got to be wise and helpful."

A Roman Catholic seminary is the only institution in the world that can take in a man and turn out a boy.

Pastoral experience will change these young priests. They will also be serving under pastors who are tempered by life, and human encounters.

[conservonator]

Pastoral experience will change these young priests.

Maybe the delivery, but hopefully not the message. Bending the Truth to meet "realities of the world" is one of the reasons we have so many problems today.

[marshmallow]

Pastoral experience will change these young priests. They will also be serving under pastors who are tempered by life, and human encounters.

The model here is John Paul II, right?

The article is pointing out that these young men are inspired by him and seek to model themselves after his example.

We don't want pastoral experience to change that, do we?

The late Pope showed us that piety and contemplation are compatible with pastoral zeal. The whining of the seminary faculty is essentially the "Martha" complaint of the gospels. They seem convinced that too much prayer and communion with God will ruin these young men.

It is they who are out of step.