(Archbishop of Mombasa, Kenya)
I want to contribute with this intervention to the common reflection on the issue of Formation of Priests which is one of our most important duties as Bishops. I refer here to the numbers 27 to 29 of Instrumentum Laboris and to the intervention of His Eminence Cardinal Laghi who insisted on the need to train competent formators for priests.
1. The Catholic University of Eastern Africa in Nairobi has a programme in Spirituality that seems very appropriate for those who are or will be in charge of formation of priests.
2. Secondly, we have to be most careful in the recruitment and selection of candidates to priesthood. Every element has to be taken into account: family background, school certificates, opinion from their own parishes and Small Christian communities as well as the recommendation from their Parish Priests and Parish Councils.
3. Priestly formation is not just academic instruction. Therefore, I want to underline some elements that are key factors in the process of formation of priests today as they are mentioned in the document Pastores Dabo Vobis of His Holiness Pope John Paul II, namely, emphasis on integral formation, intellectual formation, spiritual and pastoral formation.
4. Diocesan Vocation Directors and the Bishop should be in permanent contact with the Senior Seminarians keeping them in prayer but also keeping them informed about the life of the diocese and sharing with them fraternally from time to time in an informal way which allows for social contacts. Personal and friendly contacts between Seminarians and Formators play an important role in knowing deeply who has a real priestly vocation and who is rather to be advised to seek the will of the Lord in other ways of life.
5. Those candidates who show already during the time of their formation an inclination to drinking or to women should be advised in time to leave the Seminary without waiting up to the last minute. Generally speaking, a young Seminarian who at the moment prescribed for the information on his Ordination is not ready, should be advised to leave, unless there is an exceptional reason.
6. There is also a pastoral care of those who leave the Seminary. Special financial assistance and help in order to obtain a job will lead the young man to leave the Seminary in a more peaceful way.
7. The case of late vocations deserves particular attention. They would be encouraged and welcomed. However, they should be also scrupulously scrutinised. Mature candidates offer many advantages but they have also some limitations because it is not easy to change the attitudes of a mature person.
8. There is need to redefine authority and communion in the life of the seminary and to restructure the relationship between them. Authority must be understood as a service in the building of communion. At the same time Seminarians should be also formed in the exercise of authority and leadership as a service for the community.
Original text: English
