Formation needs more than a seminary, says archbishop

A VATICAN official this week urged vocations directors and those responsible for formation in the United Kingdom to work more closely together to ensure better continuity of training for priests, writes Rose Gamble.

Archbishop Jorgé Carlos Patrón Wong, of the Congregation for Clergy, was giving the keynote address at a conference for formation directors, seminary rectors and bishops with responsibility for priestly formation.

The archbishop, whose congregation is responsible for overseeing formation seminaries, vocations promotion and direction, was speaking this week at Hothorpe Hall in Leicestershire.

He said that the formation of formators was a major priority for the Congregation for Clergy. This was not restricted to those who taught in seminaries, he said, but included vocations promoters and directors because “formation and mission are closely linked”.

Priests should not leave the seminary “perfectly formed”, he said, rather they should enter ministry with a docility that encouraged life-long learning.

He also urged formators to “keep their eyes open” when interviewing potential priests and to examine candidates’ motivations for joining.

He said he asks candidates: “How is it that your generation, who have been intensely aware of sexual scandals by priests and all the negativity that surrounds priests because of these scandals, still want to be priests?”