Program of Priestly Formation 6th edition

INTELLECTUAL DIMENSION | 125

on the study of theology during the configuration stage. Philosophical insights, language, and concepts will enable him to engage with the pastoral reality of the people he is called to serve. During the discipleship stage, it is important that the seminarian begins to learn how to articulate the Christian understanding of the Creator and his creation, especially the human person, and understands how this differs from the ideologies that have shaped popular conceptions of the human person, the world, and its Creator. As a result of his studies during this stage of formation, the seminarian has the ability to understand the issues surrounding the inter section of faith and modern science, as well as the ability to articulate how faith and science can support one another. 360 In addition to manifesting sufficient philosophical competence for the later study of theology in the configuration stage, the seminarian at the completion of the discipleship stage is also able to demonstrate a working knowledge of Sacred Scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church . Given the multicultural reality of the Catholic Church in the United States of the twenty-first century, the seminarian also should possess an adequate knowledge of languages necessary for ministry; the possession of this knowledge, which was intro duced in the propaedeutic stage, deepens in this and subsequent stages. By the completion of the discipleship stage, the seminarian demonstrates the ability to communicate clearly in both the written and spoken word. He is also able to analyze modern and postmodern philos ophy relative to basic Church teaching and the perennially valid philo sophical heritage that is in harmony with it. 290.

THE CONFIGURATION STAGE

GRADUATE THEOLOGY

291. Ultimately, intellectual formation in the seminary program centers on theology as a search for “an ever deeper knowledge of the divine mysteries.” 361 This kind of theological study, which far exceeds

360 Given the complex nature of the issues surrounding the human person and the intersection of faith and science, as well as other matters, seminaries will benefit from sharing ideas at a national level through organizations such as the National Association of College Seminaries and the National Association of Catholic Theological Schools. 361 Pastores Dabo Vobis , no. 51.