Priest Formation
The Vatican's Congregation for the Clergy issued an updated instrument for the formation of priests in 2016.
The document, 'The Gift of Priestly Vocation', was promulgated on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception and published in the Osservatore Romano.
"The gift of the priestly vocation, placed by God in the hearts of some men, obliges the Church to propose to them a serious journey of formation," the opening line of the document reads.
Updated norms
The last Ratio was published in 1970 and updated in 1985. Cardinal Stella said the new norms seek to take into account the rapid evolution in "historical, socio-cultural, and ecclesiastical contexts". He said inspiration was drawn from Pope Francis' teachings and spirituality, especially regarding "temptations tied to money, to the authoritarian exercise of power, to rigid legalism, and to vainglory".
Innovation and continuity
Cardinal Stella said the guidelines take up "the content, methods and orientation produced up to this day in the field of formation", while at the same time building on the "existing patrimony" of the Church. He said that "in the life of the Church innovations are never separate from Tradition, but, on the contrary, integrate it, and enhance it". The document, he said, draws on Pastores dabo vobis from 1992 to promote an "integral formation", that is, "the ability to unite, in a balanced way, the human, as well as the spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral dimensions, through a gradual instructional personalised course". One important innovation is the introduction of a "propaedeutic period upon entrance to the Seminary". The Ratio Fundamentalis proposes the propaedeutic stage of formation be "not less than one year or more than two" and is meant to validate the vocation of candidates.
Humanity, spirituality, discernment
Cardinal Stella said the three keywords he would choose to describe the document are: 'humanity, spirituality, and discernment.' He recalled Pope Francis' recent address to the Society of Jesus: "I am noticing," he said "the lack of discernment in the formation of priests. We are risking, in fact, becoming accustomed to 'black and white' and to that which is legal. We are quite closed, by and large, to discernment. One thing is clear, today in a certain quantity of Seminaries, a rigidity has been re- established which is not related to situational discernment."
Word for priests
The Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy concluded with a word for priests. He said, "To each one of them I would like to say above all: do not become discouraged! The Lord never offers less than his promises, and if you have called upon him, he will make his light shine upon you, whether you live in darkness, aridity, fatigue or a moment of pastoral failure. I would like to recommend to priests that they not let the healthy disquiet, which maintains their progress on the right path, be extinguished!"