Monthly Archives: January 2018

This brief paragraph kicks off a subsection that deals with Catholic educational institutions. The Aparecida bishops begin here with a succinct statement on the mission of the Church: 331. The primary mission of the Church is to announce the Gospel in … Continue reading →

The last theme of Chapter Six, The Formative Itinerary of Missionary Disciples (begun at paragraph #240) is Catholic Education. We’ll look at these sections through #346 to cover the topic. In this post, the Aparecida bishops introduce the issue: 328. … Continue reading →

Many Catholic commentators have spoken often these days about ongoing formation and the problem with the graduation model. Lamentably, clergy can be star exhibits on how to treat a sacrament as a graduation event. The Aparecida bishops seem to be … Continue reading →

The Aparecida bishops acknowledge that living as part of a faith community is demanding. I don’t know that seminaries are the best place to accomplish the laundry list below. I’ve bullet-pointed the list of expectations of bishops of their clergy. … Continue reading →

Some words on academic training in seminaries: 323. At the same time, the seminary must offer a serious and deep intellectual formation in the field of philosophy, the human sciences, and especially in theology and missiology, so that the future … Continue reading →

322. In the entire formation process, the seminary environment and the formation pedagogy must foster a climate of healthy freedom and of personal responsibility, and avoid creating artificial environments or imposed paths. The candidate’s option for the priestly life and … Continue reading →

The Aparecida bishops aim to ordain a mature person: 321. Special attention must be devoted to the process of human formation toward maturity, so that the vocation to the ministerial priesthood of the candidates becomes in each of them a … Continue reading →

The Aparecida bishops’ examination of seminary formation concludes with a note advocationg a deeper connection with the Blessed Mother: 320. Throughout formation, an effort shall be made to develop a tender and filial love for Mary, so that each candidate … Continue reading →

One cannot argue against the comprehensive formation urged here: 319. There must be a seminary formation plan that offers seminarians a true comprehensive process—human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral—centered on Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd. It is crucial that during the … Continue reading →

318. The contemporary situation requires greater attention to formation programs in seminaries, since young people are victims of the negative influence of postmodern culture, especially the mass media, bringing with it the fragmentation of the personality, inability to take on … Continue reading →

The presumption is that seminary candidates aren’t or might not be emotionally mature. One question: are seminaries really the ideal place for developing such maturity? Granted, all of us have some growing up to do. A healthy and integrated person … Continue reading →