Program of Priestly Formation (Ascension)

PPF 335

Program of Priestly Formation

The social doctrine of the Church must be presented in its entirety with appropriate principles of reflection, criteria for judgment, and norms for pastoral practice. The systematic study of the social encyclicals of the popes is especially recommended. 402 Of particular importance today is the need for awareness of the ecological crisis facing the world. Seminarians must be familiar with Church teaching on the subject and be encouraged to experience an ecological conversion, “whereby the effects of their encounter with Jesus Christ become evident in their relationship with the world around them. Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience.” 403 Adequate instruction must be given in professional ethics appropriate to priesthood and priestly ministry. In the process of this instruction, “seminarians must receive a careful training in the administration of goods, to be carried out according to canonical norms, soberly, with detachment and moral transparency, along with the necessary skill.” 404 In historical studies, the core should include courses on the history of the Universal Church and the history of the Catholic Church in the United States, taught in a way that reflects the Church’s multicultural origins and ecumenical context. Among historical studies, the study of patristics and the lives of the saints are of special importance. In Canon Law, the core must include a general introduction to Canon Law and to the Canon Law of individual sacraments, including but 402 See Congregation for Catholic Education, Guidelines for the Study and Teaching of the Church’s Social Doctrine in the Formation of Priests (1988), www.humandevelopment.va/content/dam/sviluppoumano/ pubblicazioni-documenti/archivio/dottrina-sociale-della-chiesa/orientamenti/ODSI_ENG.pdf . See also Ratio Fundamentalis , no. 172. 403 Laudato Si’ , no. 217. See Ratio Fundamentalis , no. 172. 404 Ratio Fundamentalis , no. 180.

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