The National Directory for the Formation, Ministry, and the Life of Permanent Deacons in the United States (Ascension)

NDPD 187

National Directory for Permanent Deacons

Discernment of Readiness for the Aspirant Stage of Formation

187 Assessment of readiness at the application level is accomplished in a vari ety of ways. Common resources are letters of recommendation by those who know the applicant; a self-assessment prepared by the applicant, usually as an autobiographical statement; an interview with the commit tee on admission, and a review of his pastoral experience, especially not ing any experience with the poor and the marginalized. Intellectual read iness is often assessed on the basis of prior experience through academic transcripts from schools attended and through evidence of participation in a lay ecclesial ministry formation program, parish adult education programs, or similar adult religious training. 188 The diocese’s committee on admission must develop a procedural pro cess to review the application dossier of each applicant. Because admis sion into the initial stages of formation occurs through two distinct but unified processes—(1) acceptance into the aspirant stage; (2) admit tance into the candidate stage of diaconal formation 23 —the committee should nominate to the diocesan bishop only those applicants whom they have judged as possessing the necessary qualities for entrance and successful completion of the aspirant stage. Upon reviewing the recom mendation, vote, and rationale of the committee, the diocesan bishop is the one who decides whether to admit the applicant into the aspi rant stage. If an applicant is judged not to be ready but to be a suitable aspirant in the future, the director of formation should convey to the applicant various options for how he might prepare himself to achieve the basic entrance requirements. It is also essential for the director of formation to keep frequent contact with these potential candidates. V. ADMISSION INTO THE ASPIRANT STAGE OF FORMATION

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BNFPD, nos. 40, 45.

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