Program of Priestly Formation (Ascension)

PPF 68

Admission into a Formation Program

to their formators. The applicant should be alert both to signs that seem to confirm that call and to counterindications. As the applicant and then seminarian journeys through the stages of formation, there should be a growing sense of confirmation of that call. Applicants must undergo a thorough screening process appropriate to the admission processes. Personal interviews with the applicants, evaluations from their pastors and teachers, records and evaluations from a previous seminary or institute of consecrated life or society of apostolic life if applicable, 108 academic records, standardized test scores, psychological evaluations, and criminal background checks 109 are all components of an effective admission program, and they are weighed together with an assessment of the applicant’s motivation. Those who do not fulfill minimal thresholds for admission must not be admitted. It is the responsibility of the vocation director of the ecclesiastical entity to provide the admissions board with a summary of the results of the screening process. It is his responsibility to provide to the rector of the seminary, in a timely and complete fashion, the results of the screening process used by the ecclesiastical entity. Such provision is to be made only with the applicant’s previous written consent. In the event that further consultation is needed in a particular case, additional release forms must be obtained. Applicants from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds should be given every encouragement. An effort must be made by vocation directors and seminaries to honor every vocational stirring. Propaedeutic programs and seminaries are responsible for ensuring the possession of adequate resources to serve the formative needs of such applicants. Formation requirements should not be lessened, but necessary adaptations may be made to enable admission into the

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108 See Ratio Fundamentalis , no. 198. 109 See Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People , art. 13.

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