Background Check

  • Thread starter Thread starter caritas1732
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
C

caritas1732

Guest
Dear all, for the background check for a candidate into seminary, what things usually appear on there?

Will there be any information of where have the candidate lived before?

Or information about the person’s parents marital status, jobs, etc?

thank you!
 
I really don’t know, and I suppose I wouldn’t be surprised if seminaries aren’t very forthcoming about how they conduct background checks.

I’m wondering why you’re asking…if there is something in your background that could be a concern, it’s probably be best to provide the information directly to your spiritual/formation director, sooner rather than later.

I would anticipate a school of formation frowning upon discovering something of concern that a candidate never mentioned.
 
Be at peace as you would be able to discuss issues with the vocation director.
The discernment of your vocation will be careful and will consider all that is required to assess a true understanding of you and your vocation.
If God is calling you, God will help you through all that is to come.

Jesus if You are calling caritas to the priesthood, bless him with every grace that he needs, and give right judgement to anyone who will discern his vocation with him.
The first priests, Your 12 apostles had their imperfections, and most even abandoned you at the cross but You forgave them. If there is any sin or mistake in caritas’ life, please likewise forgive, and as You made priests and saints of the eleven who remained to You after resurrection, please make a priest and a saint of caritas, if to be a priest is divine will.

Your parents’ jobs are irrelevant. You are the person who will be a priest or not. You are you, not your parents. I think in an earlier post you asked if your parents’ divorce would prevent your acceptance. Not at all.

I knew a priest, an only child whose parents were lifelong atheists. Their lack of faith was no impediment, nor was the fact that he was an only child. I can’t think his choices were easy for them, but he answered God’s call as the individual that each of us is
 
caritas1732 said:
Dear all, for the background check for a candidate into seminary, what things usually appear on there?

Will there be any information of where have the candidate lived before?

Or information about the person’s parents marital status, jobs, etc?

thank you!
Click to expand...
There will no doubt be a security check, criminal check, cross reference with any sex offenders who have the same DOB as you (in which case you will need to do a fingerprint check). You will at some point need to have in depth psych evaluations and interviews with a psychologist. They will ask for references, and a letter of recommendation from your pastor. You will also have to sign off on a form stating that you have no impediments (canonical or otherwise) to ordination.

And they will also want to know where you have lived.

There may be variations to all this, but I would imagine these are all now standard.
 
In my diocese,*** everyone***, has to have a criminal background check.
Actually, many places of employment are required by law to run CBC’s on perspective employees. It is part of the process at the skilled nusing facility where I work.

Usually, you must supply your picture ID/Proof of birhtdate, SS#, citizenship status, any aliases and all residences in the past 7 years. You are also asked to list any convictions- misdemeanor and felony.
 
TriciaF said:
Be at peace as you would be able to discuss issues with the vocation director.
The discernment of your vocation will be careful and will consider all that is required to assess a true understanding of you and your vocation.
If God is calling you, God will help you through all that is to come.

Jesus if You are calling caritas to the priesthood, bless him with every grace that he needs, and give right judgement to anyone who will discern his vocation with him.
The first priests, Your 12 apostles had their imperfections, and most even abandoned you at the cross but You forgave them. If there is any sin or mistake in caritas’ life, please likewise forgive, and as You made priests and saints of the eleven who remained to You after resurrection, please make a priest and a saint of caritas, if to be a priest is divine will.

Your parents’ jobs are irrelevant. You are the person who will be a priest or not. You are you, not your parents. I think in an earlier post you asked if your parents’ divorce would prevent your acceptance. Not at all.

I knew a priest, an only child whose parents were lifelong atheists. Their lack of faith was no impediment, nor was the fact that he was an only child. I can’t think his choices were easy for them, but he answered God’s call as the individual that each of us is
Click to expand...
AMEN to that Prayer!!

May the SACRED HEART BLESS YOU CARITAS!!
 
TriciaF said:
Jesus if You are calling caritas to the priesthood, bless him with every grace that he needs, and give right judgement to anyone who will discern his vocation with him.
The first priests, Your 12 apostles had their imperfections, and most even abandoned you at the cross but You forgave them. If there is any sin or mistake in caritas’ life, please likewise forgive, and as You made priests and saints of the eleven who remained to You after resurrection, please make a priest and a saint of caritas, if to be a priest is divine will.
Click to expand...
Ahh thank you for the beautiful prayer Tricia! Made my mind at ease! 🙂 never committed any felonies or misdemeanors in my life xD
 
For your personal file, you are obliged to state your DOB and addresses, and present baptismal information and your Church and all usual information. State your experience and times you assisted in the Church. All this is routine information. On insistence that you obtain a criminal record check, refuse in conscientious objection. State your grounds. If they insist, stand your ground and find yourself a canon lawyer and take it to your Conference of Bishops.

Just a thought on the criminal processes.

It is a sad statement in our generation that such processes are condoned for the purpose of determining past wrongs, perhaps an accepted process in the secular world, but no place in a Church. They reflect a community outside the model of Corinth and the gospels, where the common good also included true forgiveness.

But it is true the issues dig deeper into the heart of Catholicity, it’s substance and courage, and what it truly means. The entity’s, now nations, are larger, have requested God’s permission to be recognized in singular form in order to act out a collective conscience. But God makes it clear he will not dilute his laws, that he will expect the same demands he does on individuals. He insists that it be subject to Church teachings (Mater et Magistra). So we see it is the student who owes the teacher proof of upholding laws and justice, firstly God’s, then civil.

But ever since the event of 2 Cor 2, 6 which addressed unambiguously the responsibility and conduct of collectives in such cases, they have been served notice, where after a sentence is complete, no more restrictions and punitive measures are to be applied. The second message is that the community, after a condign punishment as run it’s course, can only focus on closure.

The important thing to remember now is that communities can sin collectively, and any past offender who has paid his debt can now appeal to a supreme justice which will now back him in such a case. The sinning entity, uncaring in it’s assault to God’s Authority(proven in one case by it’s character to not end capital punishment), is in a state of compounding it’s sinful position. The demands it places on it’s now restored citizens to relive the past in order to determine if an extension of restrictions can be applied, force citizens into a conscientious objection, in that scripture forbids a person to assist an entity carrying out it’s unsanctioned deeds.

In your case I would give standard information as to address and such, but plead conscientious objection on demands that call for you to append yet another contribution to an entity’s weakness in it’s trust in God. You do owe the Church the following written statement,

“I do solemnly swear that if ever there was a case of my being charged in a civil court of law for a crime, that I have paid my debt to society, carried out the sentence to the full, as so proscribed by the judge, who represents the community and victim.”

This is as far as the interest the Church can go on the matter.

Incidentally, before I close. The issue isn’t really the Church’s but the state’s. If the offender is that much of a risk, we pay our justice systems to ensure they are restrained. So the Church itself should launch a protest in society’s behalf. The Church’s job is not to provide mop up for the state.
 
It’s mainly an issue (though not the canonical impediment part)
 
TrueLight said:
That’s probably as far the application is going too. 😛
Click to expand...
Yep. Pretty much.

Refusing to submit to criminal record check = you being refused as a candidate. It’s that simple really.

Everyone who ministers in my diocese (even volunteers) must submit to a criminal record check, or they can’t volunteer.
caritas1732 said:
Dear all, for the background check for a candidate into seminary, what things usually appear on there?
Click to expand...
The usual vital statistics (birth, baptism, confirmation, parish, etc).
caritas1732 said:
Will there be any information of where have the candidate lived before?
Click to expand...
Yes. The reason (I believe at least) is to see what sort of stability the person has in their life. If someone has moved around and never lived in one place too long (without a good reason), then a bishop might question how they will live in the Seminary for 4-10 years (depending on the seminary and when you’re entering with what academic background) and a parish for a long-term.
caritas1732 said:
Or information about the person’s parents marital status, jobs, etc?
Click to expand...
If I remember right, mine had parents marital status and their religion. Those are things that might have to be addressed in the person’s Human Formation depending on the circumstances, or be factors that affect their life in such a way to be significant.
 
Interesting, but I’m curious.

So we have evidence of collusion between the Church and the state at the expense of the faithful. On the one hand the Church ignoring Paul’s emphasis that all in
regards to ensuring closure are to be practiced, and at the same time, not following it’s own commands by ensuring condign punishment is applied by all concerned. What other non-doctrinal practices does your diocese adhere to?.

Are confessions safe in your diocese? Where is your diocese?

Since crimes are crimes against God firstly, and crimes do not diminish in time in the eyes of God, how does your diocese reconcile Paul’s “murderous” crimes as acceptable to Doctorship, therefore the Church, and, John Smith’s misdemeanor, which is on record for 50 years(itself an issue with the Church in regards to the state.(unconditional forgiveness)?. Let’s take it further, then you do not accept Augustine’s admission to a post by implication, since he admits to sexual excesses.

Would you agree to a trial for him in absentia? (a la Neurembourg) Very possible. 😉

How you reconcile the Church’s acceptance of a document list from an entity *student * nation who is adamant in refusing instruction of God’s Authority, the Church, on the issue of capital punishment? Is this murderous disposition and merciless attitude suddenly raised to a virtue? Is the Church excused from the warnings in Sirach and Wisdom on social interrelations?. Can individuals model the Church in this respect?

Should we, or should we have accepted such documents, say from the Taliban or Gestapo of the past? What’s the difference?

Actually, I know of two cases where each person have won their case on very near the same grounds.

So candidate priests fight it, you can win, God is with you.

From Essential Norms, good precautionary points on due process and description on what constitutes finality.

americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=3638

Is the hard work of Sister Helen Prejean swept under the table, who tries to warn the Church of the corruption that is occurring in the due process system? Does this final unreliable summary of corruption seem more tantalizing to the your diocese, or is her warning taken for what it was meant, a message to stay clear.?

Thanks for the help 🙂
 
curlycool89 said:
Yep. Pretty much.

Refusing to submit to criminal record check = you being refused as a candidate. It’s that simple really.

Everyone who ministers in my diocese (even volunteers) must submit to a criminal record check, or they can’t volunteer.
Click to expand...
They also have to have a vulnerable persons check done as well, which goes above and beyond checking to see if someone has a criminal record. Though, it should be noted, just because someone in Canada doesn’t have a criminal record, doesn’t mean they haven’t been convicted of a criminal offence. The Courts have so many options available to them to keep people from having a criminal record, even if it’s a serious offence. People really like to hide behind “we did a criminal record check, and nothing came up” as sufficient “due diligence”. Ha!
 
Deo_Gratias42 said:
They also have to have a vulnerable persons check done as well, which goes above and beyond checking to see if someone has a criminal record. Though, it should be noted, just because someone in Canada doesn’t have a criminal record, doesn’t mean they haven’t been convicted of a criminal offence. The Courts have so many options available to them to keep people from having a criminal record, even if it’s a serious offence. People really like to hide behind “we did a criminal record check, and nothing came up” as sufficient “due diligence”. Ha!
Click to expand...
It’s at least better then it was before (where it was just anyone who volunteered was invited in).

There’s only so much DD (due diligence) you can do (I’ve worked in regulatory, and specifically dealing with DD issues and DD requests). The legal requirement is to do reasonable DD, and the industry-wide standard for working with children is to get a criminal record (with vulnerability) check. We also do Intervention Checks with child services to see if there’s a history of that in my diocese.

Anything more then that does follow a bit of a cost-benefit analysis. If you really wanted to go for “as sure as you can be”, you could require all volunteers to undergo a long psychiatric exam, but that would be ridicules and over the top (not to mention costly).

At a certain point, there does need to be a little bit of faith in people (as hard as that is in this day and age), while still taking some precautions (like the criminal record check).
 
Deo_Gratias42 said:
They also have to have a vulnerable persons check done as well, which goes above and beyond checking to see if someone has a criminal record. …
Click to expand...
What’s actually involved in a vulnerable persons check? Does a vulnerable persons check primarily get “hits” on arrests and charges that didn’t result in conviction (e.g. you were arrested for shoplifting in Calgary and were found not guilty at trial, and were arrested for Aggravated Mopery with Intent to Creep in Toronto but the prosecutor declined to file charges due to lack of evidence), or does it involve investigative interviews with family members and neighbors (e.g. “Your brother is applying to enter seminary. Do you think he’s a violent man? Do you think he’s likely to commit a crime?”) and inquiry into open or closed police investigations that didn’t result in arrest (e.g. someone “tipped off” police that you were smuggling narcotics from New York to Halifax and the police bugged your phone for a few months, then, when they failed to detect any evidence of illegal activity because you weren’t actually smuggling, closed the investigation without ever notifying you)?
 
They will probably ask about siblings too. Name, age/dob, address, religion.

All this is just to get as complete a picture of who you are as possible.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top