Pastoral Formation Research Articles

Thomas Aquinas in Pastoral Formation

Abstract: The thought and pedagogical methodology of St. Thomas Aquinas can and should inform priestly pastoral formation. To this end, the article begins by sketching the main elements of priestly ministry, aided by Thomas and the Second Vatican Council. It outlines modern systematic and magisterial approaches to priestly pastoral formation. For all of the surveyed sources, Jesus Christ is the model for priestly ministry and the focus for priestly formation. The article then presents how pastoral formation was a motivating force for Thomas in his writing and preaching. The author theorizes Thomistic helps for pastoral formation today. Thomas gives theological principles that are of fundamental importance for fruitful pastoral life. The most important is that all theology and pastoral practice flow from a unified, godly perspective. But Thomas's principles must be developed for pastoral practice. As such, the author proposes how theologians and seminary formators can further expand upon and implement Thomas's insights.

Thomas Aquinas and the Theological Education of Seminarians

Abstract: Thomas Aquinas continues to be a valuable resource in the theological and pastoral formation of seminarians. Not only his writings but also his personal example of faith and prayer provide a foundation to sustain them throughout their priestly vocation.

The Catechist in the Community of the Church — a Witness of Faith and a Mistagogue

English translation. The original article can be found here
 While establishing the lay ministry of the catechist, Pope Francis expressed his hope that, as was the case in Christian antiquity, the catechist—because of the tasks entrusted to him—would be simultaneously a witness of faith, a master and a mystagogue, a companion and an educator who teaches on behalf of the Church. The aim of this article is to highlight the mystagogical dimension of the education of catechists preparing to enter the ministry in parish communities, and to present the related directions of pastoral activities carried out in the Church of Katowice as part of the Archdiocesan Centre for Pastoral Formation. The main research problem concerns the nature of the formation of catechists serving in parish communities and their specific competences. The study uses the methods of analysis and synthesis. The analysis of catechetical documents, carried out in the light of chronologically (sequentially) complementary guidelines concerning catechists' formation enabled to distinguish the mystagogical elements of the theological-pastoral formation of catechists. The article emphasises the postulate expressed in the Catechetical Directory for the formation of catechists as “witnesses of faith and mystagogues” and the lay ministry of the catechist established by Pope Francis, as a possibility and necessity for the formation of two types of catechists that complement each other through their competences: the school catechist—a teacher of religious education, and the catechist who undertakes ministry in the parish community. Pastoral initiatives supporting the formation of parish catechists conducted in the Archdiocese of Katowice are presented as an example of catechetical-pastoral implementation of the postulated activities. They serve as an inspiration for activities in other formation centres.

Confessional Lutheranism and German Theological Wissenschaft: Adolf Harless, August Vilmar, and Johannes Christian Konrad von Hofmann by James Ambrose Lee II

Reviewed by: Confessional Lutheranism and German Theological Wissenschaft: Adolf Harless, August Vilmar, and Johannes Christian Konrad von Hofmannby James Ambrose Lee II Mark Mattes Confessional Lutheranism and German Theological Wissenschaft: Adolf Harless, August Vilmar, and Johannes Christian Konrad von Hofmann. By James Ambrose Lee II. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2022. xii + 307 pp. This study examines the defense of theology as an academic discipline within the German university offered by three leaders in the Neo-Lutheran confessional awakening, Adolf Harless, August Vilmar, and J. C. K. von Hofmann. While theology had long enjoyed a privileged position in the university as a forum for pastoral formation, its status within the academy increasingly came under scrutiny in the early nineteenth century as the natural sciences gained ascendency, providing the paradigm of rationality (7). Historically, university-trained civil servants, such as lawyers, doctors, and ministers, tended to support the status quo. In response, many Enlightenment figures, critical of both church and state, did their thinking outside the academy. For these thinkers, knowledge was increasingly viewed as "science," the systematic ordering of a discipline into a whole that not only gets results but also supplied methods for public scrutiny (24–25). Hence, theology was increasing legitimated not on the basis of its ability to offer truth but instead because clergy helped promote morality in public life. For Kant, since the university existed to support the state, the discipline of theology was justified because it was useful for social stability, but not because it could deliver truth. In response, with the renewal of interest in confessional theology in Germany early in the nineteenth century, Neo-Lutheran theologians tried to find ways to present theology as a science. They appealed to the philosopher Schelling who advocated that the natural sciences implicitly assumed a larger, living unified body of knowledge, a "primordial knowledge," a supposition of the "absolute," as the ground for their intelligibility (45). They could also appeal to Schleiermacher who sought a covenant between theology and science (66) by affirming God as the transcendental ground who guaranteed the correlation of thought and being (77). Harless, Vilmar, and von Hofmann rejected rationalistic theologies which accommodated to reason alone as the ground of truth. [End Page 214]Instead, each appealed to an experience of dependence upon God as the basis for life, as well as the forgiveness of sins, and new birth. They argued for a churchly theology, but also, in the case of Harless and von Hofmann, that theology is a science. Harless, like Schelling, saw theology as a science because it offered an overarching unity, beholden to both experience and the confessions, which could join its various parts into a single, organic body (125). He developed an "encyclopedia" approach to theology which neither deduced its system of truth from a general principle nor merely proof-texted from the Bible (136), but instead linked its various topics on the basis of an inner logic which anticipated a teleological fulfillment of created beings in God, as mediated through Christ (137). In contrast, Vilmar was not inclined to accommodate to empirical views of science and disowned the designation of theology as a science. Unlike science which moves from particular observations to general laws, Vilmar posited that theology begins with its distinctive "object" and then considers how the individual parts relate to it (159). Vilmar understood theology to be grounded in the actual events or facts ( Thatsache) of Jesus's ministry, but that the reality of these events had a trans-historical character, since they continued in the witness of the church (162). While Vilmar would advocate an "unscientific theology" (192), his proposal was deeply enmeshed within the debate concerning the relation between religion and science in his day. Von Hofmann argued that science could not be reduced to a mere cognitive act because truth was not the sum of all knowledge. Instead, truth existed for the common good (205). Not surprisingly, von Hofmann was opposed to any reduction of truth to the natural sciences (209). The essence of Christianity is to present the fellowship between God and humanity realized in Jesus Christ (215). Theology's vocation is to unfold, in a comprehensive and systematic way, this relationship as...

Wymiar misyjny formacji w Wyższym Seminarium Misyjnym Księży Sercanów w Stadnikach

Formacja do prezbiteratu w Wyższym Seminarium Misyjnym Księży Sercanów w Stadnikach uwzględnia istotny element formacji charyzmatycznej i pastoralnej, jakim jest formacja do misji. Jest to konsekwencją charyzmatu Zgromadzenia Księży Najświętszego Serca Jezusowego, który zaangażowanie w misje traktuje jako jeden z ważnych wymiarów pracy apostolskiej i formę głoszenia miłości Najświętszego Serca Jezusowego. Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie różnorodnych wymiarów formacji misyjnej kandydatów do kapłaństwa, a także ukazanie jej owoców. The missionary dimension of formation at the Major Mission Seminary of the Priests of the Sacred Heart in Stadniki: Formation for the priesthood at the Major Mission Seminary of the Priests of the Sacred Heart in Stadniki includes a main element of charismatic and pastoral formation, which is formation for missions. This is a consequence of the charism of the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which treats involvement in missions as one of the important dimensions of apostolic work and a form of proclaiming the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The aim of the article is to present various dimensions of the missionary formation of candidates for priesthood, as well as to show its fruits.

White Supremacy as Counter-Telos: Pastoral Formation in the White Habitus

Abstract This paper develops a model of pastoral formation that acknowledges the relentless formative pull of whiteness and centers the work of dismantling white supremacy. It critiques three related framings of pastoral formation: excellence in ministry, pastoral imagination, and Christian practical wisdom. These framings orient pastoral formation around an a-contextual telos or goal, an approach that ultimately reinforces markers of white normativity. Teleological framings of pastoral formation need not be abandoned altogether, but they do require a more nuanced reckoning with white normativity. The paper offers a preliminary re-framing of pastoral formation as a process that requires an ongoing negotiation of the terms of pastoral formation even as practitioners deepen their pastoral expertise, wisdom, and imagination.

Walking on Hot Coals: A Phenomenological Study on Dealing with Temptations in the Seminary

The seminary life for Catholic seminarians includes aspects of their human, spiritual, academic, and pastoral formation. While staying in the seminary, they may encounter different kinds of temptations that can hinder them from pursuing their priestly vocations. This research explored the diverse temptations diocesan priests experienced when they were still seminarians. This study then explored the diverse ways of managing these temptations for the research participants. Using the transcendental phenomenology design, the researchers interviewed ten priests to explore their experiences on how they dealt with their experienced temptations. After the data analysis, six themes surfaced on temptations: family-related temptations, sexuality, deviation from the seminary structure, the temptation to isolate from the community, the envy of life outside the seminary, and doing things inconsistent with the priestly vocation. To cope with their temptation, they employed strategies such as: cultivating self-discipline, prayer, and reflection, being faithful to the mandates of the priestly vocation, living in the seminary formation process, and adjusting to community life. Thus, the research participants completed their seminary formation and were ordained as Roman Catholic priests.

The Rev. Thomas A. Lynch (1966–2022)

The Rev. Thomas A. Lynch (1966–2022) Michael P. Morris Click for larger view View full resolution The Reverend Thomas A. Lynch, a priest of the Archdiocese of New York and a longtime member of the American Catholic Historical Association, died on April 28, 2022, after a long illness. Father Lynch was 55. Born in the Bronx, New York, Father Lynch earned bachelor’s degrees in Spanish and philosophy from Manhattan College, the Bronx. In 1988, the future-Father Lynch entered Saint Joseph’s Seminary, Dunwoodie, Yonkers, New York, earning an M.Div, as well as an MA in theology (Church history). Ordained to the priesthood by the late John Cardinal O’Connor on May 9, 1992, Father Lynch was assigned as parochial vicar to Holy Family Church, the Bronx. The cardinal assigned Father Lynch to graduate studies at the Catholic University of America beginning in the fall of 1994, where he studied under Msgr. Robert F. Trisco and Nelson H. Minnich. Father Lynch focused his studies and research upon Francis Cardinal Spellman (1889–1967), sixth archbishop of New York. In 1998, Cardinal O’Connor appointed Fr. Lynch professor of Church history and later director of pastoral formation at Saint Joseph’s Seminary until 2006. From 2006 to 2007, Father Lynch served as administrator of Nativity Church, New York City. Father Lynch was subsequently assigned as pastor of Our Lady of Angels Parish, the Bronx, Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, Scarsdale, New York, [End Page 836] and in 2020, named pastor of Holy Family-St. Gregory the Great Parish, New York City. In July, 2012, the Bishop of Raleigh, the Most Reverend Michael Francis Burbidge, appointed Father Lynch to the Historical Commission of the Cause for the Beatification and Canonization of the Servant of God Father Thomas Frederick Price. Father Price was the first native-born priest ordained for service in North Carolina and later became a co-founder of the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America (Maryknoll). He died in China in 1919. Father Lynch attended meetings of the commission in Raleigh and at the Maryknoll headquarters in the State of New York and contributed to the work of the commission that was completed when the diocesan phase of the Cause was concluded in March, 2018. All the findings were submitted to the Congregation (now Dicastery) for the Causes of Saints. Father Lynch possessed that unique gift of combining scholarship with pastoral solicitude. Beloved among the priests and people of the Archdiocese of New York and beyond, Father Lynch formed countless future New York priests and guided souls with mercy, quiet kindness, and an intense joy, even in the midst of great suffering. Father Lynch is survived by five brothers. His mother Margaret Lynch died on April 30, 2022—two days after the death of Father Lynch. Father Lynch was buried in the family plot at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Hawthorne, New York. “May you live in peace this day, may your home be with God in Zion, with Mary, the virgin Mother of God,with Joseph, and all the angels and saints.” (Prayer of Commendation, Pastoral Care of the Sick: Rites of Anointing and Viaticum, 1983). [End Page 837] Michael P. Morris Hyde Park, New York Copyright © 2022 The Catholic University of America Press

The formation of presbyters for the work with non-believers in Poland

The article presents the ways of preparation of priests for the work with nonbelievers. The author enumerates the dimensions of the priestly formation: human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral. Human and spiritual formations require deepening of the presbyters’ spirituality as well as the formation of the humanistic attitude which is the basis for establishing and leading a dialogue with non-believers. The implementation of intellectual formation requires studying the contemporary philosophical currents which constitute the basis of the current cultural changes as well as of the social transformations. In the pastoral formation presbyters are to gain new pastorals skills which are adequate to the current challenges as well as deepen the skills of making proper use of the pastoral experience which they had gained.

The American College of St Maurice at Münster, 1867–1879: the formation of Catholic clergy for the United States between seminary education and academic studies

ABSTRACTThe American College of St Maurice at Münster in Westphalia was founded in 1867 to train priests for the Catholic missions in the United States. This paper outlines the history of this short-lived educational institutions (1867–1879), with particular focus on the 68 seminarians, who attended this theological seminary for their pastoral formation, accompanied by scholarly studies in theology and philosophy at the Academy of Münster. This educational concept and history of the American College is considered against the background of the scholarly dispute about the dogma of papal infallibility and the Prussian Kulturkampf, that eventually led to the closure of the American College in 1879. Finally, attention is paid to the pastoral ministry of the alumni and the situation of the German Catholics in the United States. The alumni of the American College became a particularly sought-after group of priests, not only due to their religio-cultural background, but also with regards to their broader pastoral and academic formation that helped to meet the challenges ahead.

Paul and the Ancient Celebrity Circuit: The Cross and Moral Transformation

Paul and the Ancient Celebrity Circuit: The Cross and Moral Transformation

What ritual teaches about life, humor and ageing. Or vice versa?

ABSTRACT Reflective practice, based on narrative case studies, highlights the need for practitioners to observe and integrate their own lifecycle rituals and thus become more open to collaborative ritual-making. This paper reviews 40 years of texts and research that have resourced and informed ritual practice that addressed later life, ageing, life review, spiritual reminiscence and dying. The pastoral and spiritual care formation of the author owes much to patients and parishioners who joined with him in the communitas of liminal moments where ritual transforms and transcends the hierarchy of caregivers in the community of caregiving.

A Logotherapeutic Approach to Pastoral Counseling Education for Catholic Seminarians

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.

The Normative Dimension of the Pastoral Formation of Seminarians

DARIUSZ LIPIEC – ks. dr hab. teologii pastoralnej, prof. KUL; kapłan diecezji siedleckiej, pracownik naukowo-dydaktyczny w Instytucie Teologii Pastoralnej i Katechetyki Katolickiego Uniwersytetu Lubelskiego Jana Pawła II. Członek Towarzystwa Naukowego KUL, Polskiego Stowarzyszenia Pastoralistów, Polskiej Akademii Nauk, PosT-Netzwerks der mittel- und osteuropaeischen Pastoraltheologinnen und Pastoraltheologen. Autor monografii Duszpasterstwo niewidomych i słabo widzących w Polsce. Studium pastoralne, redaktor i współredaktor kilku dzieł zbiorowych, autor kilkudziesięciu artykułów z zakresu teologii pastoralnej, a zwłaszcza organizacji duszpasterstwa, apostolstwa świeckich i duszpasterstwa niepełnosprawnych.

Model of theological education and pastoral formation: A Pentecostal perspective

This paper seeks to outline and evaluate four models of theological education in the history of the Church. It then focuses on recent developments in theological education in Ghana that exposes the tension and challenges among the various models. After this the paper introduces a fifth model which is being developed at the Pentecost Theological Seminary in Ghana.

Seminary Formation: Recent History, Current Circumstances, New Directions by Katarina Schuth

Reviewed by: Seminary Formation: Recent History, Current Circumstances, New Directions by Katarina Schuth Gregory J. Fairbanks Seminary Formation: Recent History, Current Circumstances, New Directions. By Katarina Schuth. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2016. 212pp. $24.95. Seminary Formation: Recent History, Current Circumstances, New Directions by Katarina Schuth, is an update of an earlier work. The author has spent most of her professional life in seminary formation, and is recognized as an expert in the sociology of religion. Schuth begins with setting the historical context of seminary formation with the themes developed in Optatam Totius (Decree on Priestly Training). During the years immediately following the Council, the U.S. Bishops issued successive versions of the Program for Priestly Formation (PPF, now in its fifth edition), updating seminary training. Schuth notes that the direct references to Vatican II documents in each edition has decreased with more references to post-conciliar documents such as Pastores dabo Vobis (John Paul II, 1992). Among the emphases that have shifted are the lessening of service-oriented pastoral formation and the centrality of the historical critical method of exegesis for Sacred Scripture, and a re-introduction of the centrality of Thomas Aquinas. She observes that the changes have corresponded to a generational shift of bishops and faculty who were not involved with the Council and its reception. The leadership of seminaries have changed over the past fifty years, with increasing numbers of staff and the growing importance of governing boards. Accreditation agencies, such as the Association of Theological Schools, have both increased an ecumenical viewpoint and focused attention on structure and finances. As the Vatican II generation has retired, the makeup of faculties has shifted to more diocesan priests and laity (men and women), and fewer religious (order priests and sisters). The student bodies of seminaries have become increasingly international, as the population has shifted and fewer young American Catholics practice their faith. Human and Spiritual formation, parts of the four pillars of seminary formation identified by the PPF, have developed quite a bit since [End Page 102] Vatican II, especially in light of Pastores dabo Vobis, as well as the sexual abuse crisis, the change in the age and ethnic makeup of seminarians, the flux of seminary faculty and administration, and the changing roles of priests as their numbers decrease. Seminaries mostly have dedicated staff for each area of formation and treat the Human and Spiritual dimensions with increased attention. The Intellectual and Pastoral dimensions have also developed and grown. The number of required academic credit hours has increased, as have the number of hours spent on supervised pastoral ministry practica. In the final section of the book, Schuth and several other authors offer their perspectives on the current and future needs for seminary formation. She observes the ongoing centrality of a pastoral mandate in seminary formation since Vatican II and recommends a constant review of seminary formation for the current context, including the growth of the secular culture and an honest appraisal of what has alienated so many Catholics who have left the faith, as well as an evaluation of ministerial effectiveness. A generation gap among the clergy is also recognized, both in terms of perception and implementation of ministry. Schuth, and even more the other contributors, note with concern an increase of clericalism among seminarians and younger priests. She recommends seminarians and lay ministers ought to be taught together the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for authentic collaboration, particularly as called for in Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord (USCCB, 2005). A focused approach in all levels of seminary formation is needed to achieve this goal, which should include ongoing faculty development. Finally, she recommends maintaining admission standards, despite the insufficient number of candidates. After the author, five more veteran seminary officials offer their recommendations on the needs of seminary formation. These include commentaries by religious order men and women, priests and laity. As a sociologist, Katarina Schuth offers a meticulously studied summary of the U.S. seminary system over the last fifty years in a succinct, accessible manner. The evaluations and recommendations offered in the final section make for the most interesting reading for those concerned for seminary life. The recommendations offered...

Seminary formation: a case study from the Pontifical Beda College, Rome

This case study account reviews issues related to seminary formation and education at the Beda College, Rome, including Fundamentals of Formation, Community Life, Organizing Formation, Intellectual Formation, Spiritual Formation, Pastoral Formation, and the challenges arising in these fields.

End of Life Care and the Chaplain’s Role on the Medical Team

This article depicts a chaplain’s role in various learning and teaching situations, including end-of-life care and cases requiring cultural competency and gender preferences. The cases exemplify and underscore the difference between the role of a chaplain and the imam, as well as the necessity to have imams and both male and female chaplains in the hospital. It also describes the training, education, pastoral formation, pastoral identity, and roots of pastoral care in the Islamic tradition. The article explores the challenges of this new profession and advocates having a Muslim chaplain available in the hospital to serve Muslim patients, families, and the non-Muslim staff.

Teaching Our Story: Narrative Leadership and Pastoral Formation – Edited by Larry A. Goleman

Teaching Our Story: Narrative Leadership and Pastoral Formation – Edited by Larry A. Goleman

The Guard Plume

The Guard Plume Marlene Marburg (bio) At Sherbrook forest, I found a feather. It wasprayer and plume, like frondless bracken.A male lyrebird feather, spellbinding as an icon. In dreams and lore,it is enhanced communication, and wasconsolation to my friend with whom we prayed for voice and life to burstloud and green from hurt and shame.And parrots and kookaburras joined us to open the thwarted throat, song strongand scaling to a sacred whisper.The guard plume had been trampled before time but she held the curve and curl, seeingthe whole and graceful bird dancingunguarded on the mound. [End Page 310] Marlene Marburg Marlene Marburg is currently engaged in doctoral research at the Institute of Christian Spirituality and Pastoral Formation (Melbourne College of Divinity) on the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius. She is a poet, spiritual director and formator at Campion Centre of Ignatian Spirituality. marlene@marburgfc.com.au Copyright © 2010 The Johns Hopkins University Press