Abstract
Viktor Frankl, MD, PhD is one of the most widely known and highly respected professors of psychiatry and neurology of the twentieth century. In this article, we adapt and apply some of his profound insights for Catholic pastoral counseling education. Pastoral counseling is a very important aspect of the general pastoral formation of Catholic seminarians. The goal of any pastoral counseling course should be twofold. First, it should give seminarians a basic knowledge of mental illnesses to understand their parishioners better. Second, it should offer them concrete techniques to be used in the context of pastoral counseling. Seminary classes in pastoral psychology and counseling sometimes lack a consistent, coherent theoretical foundation, or may attempt to teach techniques inappropriate for use by future parish priests. This paper presents a logotherapeutic approach for the formation of seminarians in pastoral counseling. This approach is congruent with the pastoral sphere as the focus is on meaning and the life of the spirit.
Highlights
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the predominant priestly formation model in the Catholic Church in the United States was essentially monastic, with relatively little in the way of distinctly pastoral formation
As early as the 1920s, American Protestants, despite a much briefer clergy formation program, had begun to consider ways to better equip future clergymen in pastoral care, including ministry for those dealing with psychological issues [3]
The goal of the Council was to expose Protestant seminarians for extended periods of time to those suffering from serious illnesses, primarily in psychiatric hospitals [5]
Summary
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the predominant priestly formation model in the Catholic Church in the United States was essentially monastic, with relatively little in the way of distinctly pastoral formation. The Reverend Seward Hiltner, PhD, DD, a Presbyterian minister and a professor at the Princeton Theological Seminary, was another important figure in applying modern psychology to the work of the clergy. His 1949 book, Pastoral Counseling, was the first English language work with that title [8]. The Second Vatican Council’s “Decree on Priestly Training” encouraged both the study of the sciences, including psychology, as well as the promotion of “strictly pastoral training.” [11] Currently, Catholic seminaries, guided by the fifth edition of the Program of Priestly Formation (PPF), incorporate a substantial amount of dedicated formation in pastoral ministry [12]. How might a Catholic seminarian be best formed in pastoral counseling?
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