Priestly Identity and Formation in PDV and in College General

Living the Present ... Priestly Identity and Formation in Pastores Dabo Vobis and in College General by Michael Teng and Steven Selvaraju (with the help of our brother seminarians). Pastores Dabo Vobes (PDV) is a ground-breaking document on priestly formation in the circumstances of the present day. Other than affirming the importance of spiritual, intellectual and pastoral formation, it also emphasizes human formation as foundational. Michael and Steven, in this article, draw out the salient points of the document and describe some of the changes that have taken place in the seminary since then. The 1990 Synod of Bishops on The Formation of Priests in the Circumstances of the Present Day was particularly well-informed. (We remember answering some questions in preparation for the Synod when I was in my Initiation year in 1989.) Most participating Bishops (including His Grace Soter Fernandez) had direct experience as rectors, professors or spiritual directors in seminaries. This is clear in the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis (PDV). There was a need for theological clarity about the nature of the priesthood, the identity and ministry of the priest. Who is a priest and what does he do? It will dictate how a candidate for the priesthood should be educated. Is it enough to distinguish the ordained priesthood from that of all baptized believers in the one, unique, eternal, unrepeatable, unchangeable, indivisible, untransferable Priesthood of Christ (which is shared by both the laity and the clergy)? The theology of the priesthood is what a seminary is about, where the formation program facilitates learning from priest-formators as well as offering a sound theological understanding of the priesthood. The necessity of seminaries was reaffirmed - but what type? The Trent type, existing in 'splendid isolation' from the the world is unthinkable today. The Vatican II type is geared to the mission of the local Church. IN PASTORES DABO VOBIS PDV presents a framework to encourage and properly direct change. Let us take a closer look at the document. We will first review what has been identified as problems, obstacles and challenges we are up against - the context in which the document is set. We will then focus on the theology of priesthood found in PDV and try to relate it to formation. The context: Present Day Realities The first personal and social problem is rationalism as a reductive concept of science which renders human reason insensitive to an encounter with revelation and with divine transcendence(n.7b). There is individualism understood as a desperate defence of personal subjectivity leading to loneliness. Attempts to escape may take the form of hedonism or materialism. Although philosophical materialism has declined, there is a practical and existential atheism which denies a spiritual and religious dimension in life. Associated problems: are an errant sexuality which obscures or distorts the true meaning of human sexuality and social injustice in the form of an inhuman capitalism which increasingly widens the gap between the rich and the poor(n.7e). Within the Church, one major root problem is plain ignorance of the faith, resulting in three related problems - relativism, extremism and subjectivism. Religious relativism hinders the unity of the faith and ecumenical dialogue; an unavoidable pluralism is not relativism. Extremism and one-sidedness in a priest who must be 'all things to all people" will weaken the effectiveness of his ministry. Subjectivism leading to a partial or conditional membership in the Church would be intolerable in a priest(n.18). Another serious problem in the Church is the scarcity of priests resulting in overwork, discouragement or lack of confidence in the priesthood itself. The Priest As Head And Shepherd Of His People The identity and ministry of the priest have been examined by theologians, the magisterium, Vatican II, and the popes. It is standard to say that the priest must be another Christ, a living and transparent image of Christ. In a real sense, such must be the ideal of all the People of God since by faith, baptism and confirmation, they share in Christ's priestly, prophetic and kingly service. What then marks out the ordained priest in his resemblance to Christ? In the words of PDV, "the priest is configured to Christ as head and shepherd of his people"(n.12b). As head of the Church, His Body, Christ exercises an authority and power of service over her. As Shepherd of the Church, His flock, Christ exercises compassion toward her. As both head and shepherd, Christ expresses pastoral charity for the Church in a total gift of self. This is best seen in the spousal love of Christ the Bridegroom for His Bride the Church(n.22c). It is the image of Christ the Bridegroom, then, which explains the priest's configuration to Christ as Head and Shepherd of the Church. The interrelation of these three images is the refined theology of priesthood in PDV. Compassion Of The Good Shepherd And Spousal Love Of The Bridegroom This compound imagery deserves some attention. It may be easier to understand how Christ relates to the Church as both Bridegroom and Shepherd i.e. how the compassion of the Good Shepherd is related to the spousal love of the Bridegroom. How does Christ relate to the Church as both Bridegroom and Head? The Church herself is both Christ's Body and His Bride. PDV uses patristic imagery: just as Eve was taken from the body of Adam to become his bride, so the Church is the bride who proceeds like a new Eve from the open side of the Redeemer on the Cross(n.22c). And when Christ relates to the Church as her Head, He does so with the love of the Bridegroom. Christ the Head's authority of service, then, merges with Christ the Bridegroom's spousal love for the Church. Insofar as the priest is configured to Christ, his authority and love must coincide in the same way. From this compound bond flows the identity and ministry of the priest that is authentic and harmonious. The source of the priest's pastoral charity and spousal love for the Church must be and will only be found in his love for Christ. This is the understanding of the priesthood presented in PDV. What is needed in the priest to live out the implications of that intimate bond? Briefly, the priest must develop the spousal character of Christ the Bridegroom, since he is called to live out Christ's love for the Church, his bride. The priest must develop the qualities of leadership to share in Christ's Headship of His body the Church. The priest must develop the heart of Christ the Good Shepherd, seeking after the lost sheep of his flock. It would appear that priestly formation is basically character formation - the character of Christ the Head, Shepherd and Spouse. Human, Spiritual, Intellectual And Pastoral Formation PDV provides guidelines for molding the identity of candidates for the priesthood. Priestly formation is treated under four headings - human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral. These can only be stated here in summary fashion. Human formation is directed toward affective maturity in relationships and sexuality; it includes education for responsible love, friendship, responsible freedom and the moral conscience. Spiritual formation deals with the importance of spirituality to the identity and ministry of the priest. It consists in living intimately united to Christ as well as a search for Jesus in prayerful listening, meditation, reading of the scriptures and silence. Intellectual formation is about the proper study of philosophy and dedication to the truth, the human sciences, and theology as a science of faith. Problems in this area are addressed - the relationship between theology and the magisterium, pastoral considerations, evangelization and inculturation. Pastoral formation unifies and gives direction to the whole formation process. Human, spiritual, and intellectual formation is geared to a pastoral finality which involves reflection, discernment and legitimate application. It should give the candidate an experience of the Church as mystery, communion and mission. Most importantly, the indispensable agent of formation is the candidate himself, with the help of the Holy Spirit, since only the human person can shape himself as a free intelligent agent. IN COLLEGE GENERAL Attempts at implementing PDV Slightly over a year after the promulgation of PDV (25 March, 1992), the formators and seminarians of College General got down to the task of finding ways and means by which this post-synodal document could be made more relevant to our lives here in the seminary. Together with the Bishop of Penang and the President of the Seminary Commission, Rt. Rev. Anthony Selvanayagam, we spent a day dedicating ourselves to this important task. Many things were said and shared on that day. But words in themselves, however well-intentioned, are not enough. Its fruits must be seen in the willingness of the Bishops, the formators and the seminarians to implement what had been discussed and shared. Indeed much has happened since that day. The up-dating of the seminarian proforma, in which the important aspect of human formation has been included, the introduction of a psychological assessment both for potential candidates and for those intending to continue their studies in theology, and the inclusion of a thirty-day retreat after the third year of theology are some of the more evident signs that has emerged in recent years. More positive than these however have been the signs which are less evident. In the past few years we have seen a greater sense of rapport, trust and openness between formators and seminarians and among seminarians themselves. There is a sincere desire on the part of all to want to make things work, to want to create a truly caring and authentic community. Growing realization of responsible self-formation Another encouraging sign is the growing stress and realization of responsible self-formation. Indeed at the end of the day it is this that really counts as far as formation to the priesthood is concerned. No amount of guidance or supervision on the part of the formators here would be of much help if the seminarian himself is not willing to take the initiative to be responsible to form himself first. Self-formation is the best form of human formation. This is true for all of us. This means that the time has come for us to take responsibility for our own actions and to stop putting blame on the hierarchy, on the formators, our fellow seminarians and on the various structures that form part and parcel of the priestly formation for all our misgivings and frustrations. This also means that seminarians must be trusted with a certain amount of freedom. True, it is a common complaint among many senior priests and lay people that the seminarians of today are given far too much freedom. The question here is not whether we are given too much or too little. It is a matter of just how we exercise it in our daily lives. Freedom can be misused but then again it is freedom freely given which allows an individual space and time to grow. Human Formation: the basis of all priestly formation True human formation challenges us to grow into the true human persons whom God has created us to be. Indeed it is not just a call for priests but for all men. But as future priests, we are challenged to go one step further. We are called to, "cultivate a series of human qualities, not only out of proper and due growth and realization of self, but also with a view to the ministry". Hence, future priests are called to become "balanced people, strong and free, capable of bearing the weight of pastoral responsibilities, to be educated to love truth, to be loyal, to respect every person, to have a sense of justice, to be true to their word, to have genuine compassion, to be men of integrity and especially to be balanced in judgement and behaviour." (2nd. Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on Priestly Formation, Optatam Totius 11) Such is the demand made on all priests. In this sense, the onus is not only on the seminarians alone. Priests too, whether they be formators or not, have a vital role to play in priestly formation. How they live out their humanness in the context of an active and demanding ministry will go a long way in helping a seminarian form himself. On the part of the seminarian, he has to integrate in himself a harmonious balance of the human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral aspects of formation. Unbalanced human formation may result from an over-emphasis of any one of these. For too long the emphasis has been on the spiritual and the intellect. PDV is an attempt to re-emphasize the need for human formation, an aspect that has for a long time been seen as unimportant and even "unpriestly". CONCLUSION The Bishops, formators and seminarians of College General are aware of the significance of PDV. Each in his own way is attempting to contribute towards the implementation of the many values as advocated by this document in the seminary and in their daily lives. It is hoped that we do not become complacent after our initial efforts, but rather continue to strive and persevere in assuring that the seminary produces priests who are truly and wholly human in the image of the God-man, Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.

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