During his pontificate, Pope Francis has outlined some guidelines he considers important in the formation of seminarians.
For example, he considers the communal aspect essential. The Pope says neither almost empty nor overcrowded seminaries are good environments for formators to help men studying for the priesthood.
However, Pope Francis has also stressed other factors, such as the need to ensure that formation is both affective and effective. Fr. Fernando Prado, now the Bishop of San Sebastián, Spain, interviewed the Pope in 2018 to talk about this characteristic and consecrated life as a whole.
FR. FERNANDO PRADO
Author, “The Strength of Vocation”
He believes we must be very demanding when it comes to selecting and training future generations of the Church.
There must be a maturity not only intellectual, spiritual, religious, but also human in the candidates that will be trained.
In the interview with the Pope, Fr. Prado also touched on the question of homosexual seminarians and priests.
FR. FERNANDO PRADO
Author, “The Strength of Vocation”
What he said is that when there is a person who is homosexual and has been ordained, he asks that the person be meticulous in practicing celibacy. If he is incapable, it is better for him to leave the ministry or the religious life instead of living a double life.
Many of Pope Francis' messages in meetings with seminarians or consecrated men and women have been directed to formators. Faced with the apparent lack of vocations, he said that it is important not to accept just anyone in order to fill seminaries.
POPE FRANCIS
“Some congregations do experiment with 'artificial insemination.' 'What do they do? They receive. They say, 'Yes, come, come.' And then there are problems from within. It must be received seriously.
The Pope also speaks clearly about the so-called 'vocation crisis' in the Church. He says that God continues to call men and women even in the 21st century.
POPE FRANCIS
God continues to call. Do not come to me with the story that 'there are not so many special vocations of consecration because of this crisis in which we live.' Do you know what that is? A tall tale. Clear?
To seminarians, priests and consecrated men and women, Pope Francis recommends that they educate themselves about humanity, avoiding temptations ranging from pornography to clericalism. He stressed the importance of evangelizing and spending more time with people.
POPE FRANCIS
Do not rely only on your ability to use social media to communicate.
Many of these ideas are reflected in the document, The Gift of the Priestly Vocation, published by the then Congregation for the Clergy in 2016. It states that the formation of candidates for the priesthood must be unique, holistic, communal and missionary.
JRB
TR: KG
