Program of Priestly Formation 6th edition

INTELLECTUAL DIMENSION | 139

and the standards of the Christian life on the basis of the sacred text.” 411 While the homily is reserved to a priest or deacon, 412 seminarians should be afforded opportunities to preach outside of Mass and receive proper assessment. Examples of these opportunities could include seminar ians giving reflections in their pastoral assignments to parish groups like youth groups or fraternal organizations, as well as offering meditations at communal devotions. 413 Where appropriate, seminarians should be able to demonstrate a capacity for bilingual preaching. The core curriculum should include an introductory course in ecumenism that treats of the Catholic Church’s commitment to the prin ciples of ecumenism, the fundamental role of ecumenical dialogue, and current ecumenical issues. In addition, ecumenism should be fully inte grated into other courses, thus permeating the theological curriculum. Issues concerning interreligious dialogue should also be discussed. 414 Seminarians should learn about the religious traditions present in the United States. Studies in pastoral theology are required, should include treat ment of the principles and criteria for pastoral action, and should provide for theological reflection where seminarians are involved in supervised pastoral placements. 415 Pastoral studies should include training in pastoral counseling, in which seminarians are to learn how to address concerns brought to them by parishioners for whom they can reasonably offer counsel and how to make appropriate referrals for issues beyond their competence. 344. 345. 411 Praenotanda of the Lectionary for the Mass (1981), no. 24. 412 CIC, c. 767 §1; CCEO, c. 614 §4. The 1997 interdicastery document Instruction on Certain Questions Regarding the Collaboration of the Non-Ordained Faithful in the Sacred Ministry of Priest , §1, states, “The practice, on some occasions, of entrusting the preaching of the homily to seminarians or the ology students who are not clerics is not permitted. Indeed, the homily should not be regarded as a training for some future ministry” ( www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/laity/documents/ rc_con_interdic_doc_15081997_en.html ). 413 See CIC, c. 766; USCCB, “Complementary Norms, Canon 766 - Lay Preaching” (2002). 414 See Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms of Ecumenism (1993). See also Second Vatican Council, Unitatis Redintegratio and Nostra Aetate (1965); St. John Paul II, Ut Unum Sint ; Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, The Ecumenical Dimension of the Formation of Those Engaged in Pastoral Work (1997) and “The Gifts and the Calling of God Are Irrevocable”: Rom 11:29 (2015); and Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Dialogue in Truth and Charity : Pastoral Orientations for Interreligious Dialogue (2014). 415 See Pastores Dabo Vobis , no. 57; Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, The Theological Formation of Future Priests , nos. 102-106.