Program of Priestly Formation 6th edition

Preface

1. The documents of the Second Vatican Council 1 form an essential resource for the program of priestly formation along with the Council’s specific treatment of priestly formation found in Optatam Totius ( Decree on the Training of Priests ) . The teaching of the Second Vatican Council estab lishes the normative understanding of the presbyteral office. As authentic articulations of the Church’s faith, these documents along with Ratio Fundamentalis Sacerdotalis Institutionis ( The Gift of the Priestly Vocation, 2016), the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis ( I Will Give You Shepherds , 1992), the Code of Canon Law (1983), the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches ( 1990), and the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1997) shape this current Program of Priestly Formation . Other documents of the Holy See pertaining to priestly forma tion and treating specific aspects of seminary programs also contribute to this edition of the Program of Priestly Formation, 2 along with documents published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the Bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations (CCLV) identifying particular concerns and giving specific directions in light of needs and experiences in the United States. 3 The Bishops’ The Holy See has given direction on the teaching of philosophy (1972), theology (1976), canon law (1975), mutual relations between bishops and religious (1978), liturgical formation (1979), social com munications (1986), pastoral care of people on the move (1986), Oriental Churches (1987), social doctrine (1988), Mariology (1988), patristics (1989), formation in religious institutes (1990), marriage (1995), ecumenism (1998), Fraternal Life in Community (1994), and the interrelation of theology and philosophy (1998). The Congregation for Catholic Education has also commented on other aspects of formation, notably celibacy (1974), Sapientia Christiana (1979), and spiritual formation (1980). Additional documents of the Holy See that were issued following the promulgation of the Program of Priestly Formation , fifth edition, include Congregation for Catholic Education, Instruction Concerning the Criteria for the Discernment of Vocations with Regard to Persons with Homosexual Tendencies in View of Their Admission to the Seminary and to Holy Orders (2005); Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Minimum Profile of Formation for Former Protestant Ministers Who Desire to Be Ordained Catholic Priests (2007); Congregation for Catholic Education, Guidelines for the Use of Psychology in the Admission and Formation of Candidates for the Priesthood (2008); Congregation for Catholic Education, Decree on the Reform of Ecclesiastical Studies of Philosophy (2011); and Pope Francis, Veritatis Gaudium (2017). 3 These include documents, for example, on spiritual formation (1983), liturgy (1984), and pastoral for mation (1985). Additional documents are Preaching the Mystery of Faith: The Sunday Homily (2013), Guidelines for the Use of Psychology in Seminary Admissions (2015), and Guidelines for Receiving Pastoral Ministers in the United States (2014). 2. 1 Among these, of special importance are Lumen Gentium , Christus Dominus , and Presbyterorum Ordinis . 2