Program of Priestly Formation 6th edition

64 | PROGRAM OF PRIESTLY FORMATION

140. During this stage, the primary formator of the newly ordained cleric is the pastor of the parish where the deacon is assigned, or the bishop or major superior may delegate another priest of the diocese, institute, or society to fulfill this task. The pastor—who should be an exemplary model of the priesthood, 194 aware of his formative task and of his duty to accompany the transitional deacon—should ensure that there are oppor tunities for discussion of pastoral situations and opportunities for priestly fraternity that will help the deacon transition well to active ministry and ongoing formation. In this way, the deacon may experience the life of clerical ministry in an environment of openness and dialogue with the pastor, who should accompany him personally and directly regarding his ministerial experiences. This would be accomplished through fraternal and formal exchanges between the deacon and the pastor, such that the preparedness of the deacon for entrance into full priestly life can be evaluated. The trust which has been established and strengthened throughout his years of seminary formation allows him to trust his brothers in ordained ministry, the pastoral team responsible for guiding and evaluating him, and above all his diocesan bishop or the competent authority of his institute of consecrated life or society of apostolic life, whose decisions he accepts with docility. The formation of the deacon in this stage is essentially different from the formation he received in the seminary, in that it involves the accompaniment of the newly ordained cleric to appreciate his new status in the Church as an official representative and a public figure: incorpo rating, again, all of the human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral forma tion he has received preceding his entrance into the clerical state. In the vocational synthesis stage, the deacon focuses directly on the needs of the people he is called to serve. He applies what he has learned to pastoral situations and recognizes where he needs and desires ongoing growth. The deacon also seeks to become more integrated into the presbyterate and local Church to which he belongs or in which his institute of consecrated life or society of apostolic life is located. Though the vocational synthesis stage takes place outside the seminary, in some dioceses it may be desirable that deacons be accompanied 141. 142. 143.

194 See Ratio Fundamentalis , nos. 75, 77.