Guide to Ongoing Formation for Priests

116 | GUIDE TO ONGOING FORMATION FOR PRIESTS

presbyterate, the listening must include priests from different cultures. The diocese is recommended to include priests from the various cultural groups of the presbyterate on any board or consultation for planning ongoing formation. Emotional Well-Being, Psychological Evaluation, and Therapy: Psychological testing and therapy are culturally bound. If these tools are employed for priests who arrive in the United States from another country or who belong to a cultural subgroup within the United States, special care is necessary to avoid the pitfalls that may occur when a man is evaluated in a language other than his first language or is evaluated by a professional who lacks knowledge of his culture of origin. In such cases, it is possible to pathologize cultural attitudes. Evaluations might also be skewed, or therapy may not be as effective. Whenever possible, a priest should receive evalu ation and care in his first language. When not possible, the evaluator or therapist at least needs familiarity with the man’s culture of origin. Special Note: While fraternity is a foundational factor for ongoing formation, and the diocese needs to build bridges across cultural divides, these points do not mean that a program should avoid culture or language-specific programming. Drawing together priests of a particular group for fraternity and formation can be an excellent tool promoting the overall goal of fraternity and effective ministry. Those who minister in another culture or find themselves a minority in a dominant culture need bonds with other priests who face similar challenges if they are to thrive in the wider environment. When planning intercultural competency programs or culturally aware general programming, the ongoing formation leadership needs to consider the cultural landscape of the local parishes and clergy. Of course, those in leadership need to understand the effects of their own cultural atti tudes and have some sense of the worldview of the major cultures present in a given diocese. Among local communities and clergy, resources of exper tise or lived experience may exist. For example, a long-serving international priest from Latin America might assist newly arriving priests in their first years of ministry. An effective pastor might be trained in the gifts and chal lenges of culture to serve as a mentor to a promising international priest. Small groups of the laity might serve as an ongoing support group for an 299. 300. CULTURE AND PLANNING 301.