Program of Priestly Formation 6th edition

Human Dimension

181. The foundation and center of all human formation is the Word made flesh. In his fully developed humanity, he was truly free and with complete freedom gave himself totally for the salvation of the world. 226 Pastores Dabo Vobis expresses the Christological foundation of human formation: “The Letter to the Hebrews clearly affirms the ‘human char acter’ of God’s minister”: “he comes from the human community and is at its service, imitating Jesus Christ ‘who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin’ (Heb 4:15).” 227 The basic principle of human formation is found in Pastores Dabo Vobis : the human personality of the priest is to be a bridge and not an obstacle for others in their meeting with Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of the human race. As the humanity of the Word made flesh was the instru mentum salutis , so the humanity of the priest is instrumental in mediating the redemptive gifts of Christ to people today. 228 The disciple of Jesus Christ is a person who is free to be who he is in God’s design: someone who does not—in contrast to the popular culture—conceive or pursue freedom as the expansion of options or as individual autonomy detached from others, but who rather overcomes every form of self-promotion or emotional dependency. 229 So that the seminarian might act with interior freedom rather than simply demonstrating a “veneer of virtuous habits,” human formation seeks to help the seminarian grow in interior maturity. 230 As Pastores Dabo Vobis emphasizes, human formation is the “necessary foundation” of priestly formation. 231 182.

226 See Jn 10:17-18; Mk 10:45. 227 Pastores Dabo Vobis , no. 5.

228 From this foundation would stem those particular human qualities identified by St. John Paul II in Pastores Dabo Vobis , no. 43: “These qualities are needed for them to be balanced people, strong and free, capable of bearing the weight of pastoral responsibilities. They need to be educated to love the truth, to be loyal, to respect every person, to have a sense of justice, to be true to their word, to be genuinely compassionate, to be men of integrity and, especially, to be balanced in judgment and behavior.”

229 See Veritatis Splendor , no. 34. 230 Ratio Fundamentalis , no. 41. 231 Pastores Dabo Vobis , no. 43.