The Bishops on Priest Formation

[HagiaSophia]

The new Program of Priestly Formation will replace the 1992 edition of that program if the Vatican approves it. It sets norms for seminary admissions and seminary formation.

Reflecting the increased awareness of the horror of child sexual abuse, the new program for the first time explicitly orders the rejection of any seminary applicant and expulsion of any seminarian who has molested a child or shows inclinations to do so.

It also devotes extra attention to ensuring that seminarians are well-rounded human beings as an integral part of achieving their mature commitment to chaste celibacy before ordination. For the first time it explicitly addresses questions of sexual orientation, saying that when the Vatican publishes its expected norms on the admission of homosexually oriented men to the seminary or priesthood, U.S. seminaries will follow those policies.

catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0503613.htm

 

[HagiaSophia]

An speaking of formation…here’s a story on a real piece of “work”…

“The disgraced former head of the national seminary at Maynooth, Monsignor Micheál Ledwith, has told students that “there is really no such thing as good or bad” and “there is no God waiting to punish you".

Last Thursday, the Catholic Bishops, who are the trustees of the college, finally published the long-awaited McCullough report into the handling of allegations that Ledwith sexually harassed seminarians.

Senior counsel Denis McCullough was asked three years ago to investigate media reports that the complaints were ignored. He was not asked to report on the truth of the allegations…"

sbpost.ie/post/pages/p/story.aspx-qqqid=5761-qqqx=1.asp