First Things: Letters From the Synod-2019: #6 by Xavier Rynne II
The conversation at Synod-2019 drinks more deeply from the wells of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Margaret Mead than from the living waters of biblical revelation.
Friday, October 18, 2019
What Future for (Latin) Seminaries?
CWR: Seminaries and formation: One priest’s perspective and suggestion by Fr. John Chalny, STD
Carrying out the formation of priests in a monastic setting might seem counterintuitive. However, it is less so than it seems.
The proposals given in the essay make sense in so far as the priesthood remains reserved to celibate men in the patriarchate of Rome. But the masculinity crisis needs to be addressed first.
The description given in the essay may fit older, especially Boomer, priests:
But among the younger priests, even those who are more conservative/traditional often there is something missing to their masculinity. I have seen some exceptions to this and perhaps not unsurprisingly many of those candidates for the priesthood have served in the military or had a job that helped them develop masculine virtue. Perhaps "priestly" gravitas should just reflect being a mature man, rather than an affectation for the sake of preserving status and a formal distance from the laity.
Carrying out the formation of priests in a monastic setting might seem counterintuitive. However, it is less so than it seems.
It is old news, I think, that our current seminary system is often inadequate and lacking. The seminaries designed after the Council of Trent served their purpose, but society and the Church’s self-understanding about its relationship with society are quite different today. This difference was already visible in many churchmen writing during the mid-twentieth century, and became macroscopically obvious during and following the Second Vatican Council. Liturgical and educational experiments ensued, often with disastrous results. Today, the pendulum has swung back toward more traditional proposals in many places, while in other places a reaction to the reactionaries has kept things more “liberal” and “open”, fluffy and formless. To this observer, both options seem ill-equipped to guide the flock without harming and dispersing it, either through excessive action or through paralyzed inaction.
The proposals given in the essay make sense in so far as the priesthood remains reserved to celibate men in the patriarchate of Rome. But the masculinity crisis needs to be addressed first.
The description given in the essay may fit older, especially Boomer, priests:
Many parishes and communities approve of their priest because he is “one of the guys”. So, in some locales, priests aim to become enthusiastic about football and hunting and beer. In other company, they might also take up golfing and learn about the finer points of coffee preparation.
But among the younger priests, even those who are more conservative/traditional often there is something missing to their masculinity. I have seen some exceptions to this and perhaps not unsurprisingly many of those candidates for the priesthood have served in the military or had a job that helped them develop masculine virtue. Perhaps "priestly" gravitas should just reflect being a mature man, rather than an affectation for the sake of preserving status and a formal distance from the laity.
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