"Dissenters from Catholic Teaching Not Being Fired Often Enough from Seminary Posts: Vatican Report"

From Life Site News
By Hilary White

ROME, January 16, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A Vatican report on the moral and intellectual life of US seminaries, begun in 2005, has said that the main problems lie with professors who overtly or subtly dissent from Catholic moral teaching. Such professors, the report said, are not frequently enough fired from their positions.

“Quite often,” the report said, “the Visitation discovered one or more faculty members who, although not speaking openly against Church teaching, let the students understand - through hints, off-the-cuff remarks, etc. - their disapproval of some articles of Magisterial teaching.” The report next says that although procedures exist to fire such dissenting faculty, these “are not invoked as often as they should be.”

The Vatican report, signed by Zenon Cardinal Grocholewski, Prefect Congregation for Catholic Education, is the result of a Vatican-led investigation of American seminaries following the explosion of the clergy sex-abuse scandals in 2001. Although written in carefully diplomatic language typical of high level Vatican offices, the report uses unusually blunt terms, especially in its criticisms of seminaries run by religious orders, such as the Jesuits or Dominicans.

What the report calls a “lack of harmony” in the formation of priests “is almost always” due to educators “being less than faithful to the Magisterium of the Church.”

While most media, including Catholic News Service, a body of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, has reported that the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education has found the US seminaries to be in “overall good health,” the document notes that in “centres of formation for religious,” “ambiguities still exist” in the problem of acceptance of homosexual activity or inclinations. The report urges seminary educators and evaluators to continue to watch candidates for signs of homosexual tendencies and “underscores” the importance of the Vatican instruction that prohibits accepting as candidates men who suffer from long-term and deeply ingrained homosexual inclinations.

In the wake of the US clergy abuse scandals that broke into the public eye in 2001, the prevalence of homosexuals in the US priesthood was widely downplayed as a cause. Despite the publication of a report that found that over 80 per cent of the perpetrators were homosexuals and their victims adolescent males, not young children, Church officials and media alike continue to insist that the crisis is purely one of “priestly paedophilia.”

In its section on intellectual formation, the report noted, “In a few seminaries, and particularly in some schools of theology run by religious [orders], dissent is widespread” especially in the area of moral theology, which includes the Church’s teaching on sexual morality. “It is not rare in religious institutes to find basic tenets of Catholic moral doctrine being called into question.”

The report agrees in the main with many faithful Catholic writers and commentators such as George Weigel, a Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, who maintained that in addition to new policies that allowed homosexuals to be accepted as seminarians, it was more general infidelity to orthodox Catholic teaching, the “culture of dissent,” that was responsible for the sex abuse scandals.

Many Catholic commentators observed that the spike in abuse cases occurred at the time when seminaries, in the wake of the Second Vatican Council and the sexual and social revolutions of the 1960s and ‘70s, ceased screening candidates according to standards based on the traditional moral teachings of Catholicism.

The report also makes mention of the acquiescence in some seminaries, again particularly those run by religious orders, to pressure to accept the concept of women’s ordination. In its critique, the report said that seminaries are hampered by “mistaken” fears of offending those “who judge the reservation of the Sacrament of Holy Orders [priesthood] to men alone as discriminatory.”

The report indicates also the decline in many seminaries, widely reported anecdotally by priests and seminarians, of the traditional Catholic devotional life. The report called it “profoundly regrettable” that many seminaries do not include such practices as the Rosary as a normal part of the day to day life of students. “Some institutes even have an atmosphere that discourages traditional acts of Catholic piety - which begs the question as to whether the faculty's ideas of spirituality are consonant with Church teaching and tradition.”

“Unless a great many seminaries introduce regular recitation of the Rosary, novenas, litanies, Stations of the Cross, and so on, the seminarians will lack an education in the sacramentals and will be unprepared for ministry in the Church, which greatly treasures these practices.”

The report, on the other hand, praised the seminarians themselves, saying, “Almost without exception, the seminarians show authentic apostolic zeal and possess a ‘Catholic’ vision of Church life.”

To read the full text of the document:
http://www.usccb.org/cclv/final_report.pdf

"Vatican finds U.S. seminaries in overall good health"

From Catholic News Agency

CNA).- The Vatican has just completed its report on the health of U.S. seminaries, which resulted from questions about the formation of priests brought on by the sexual abuse crisis. The report finds that most American seminaries are healthy and that seminarian morality has improved, particularly in regard to homosexual behavior.

The report from the Vatican’s Congregation of Catholic Institutions begins by explaining that the Apostolic Visits were intended to provide a snapshot of U.S. seminaries and religious houses of formation that focuses on the issue of ensuring the proper formation of priests.

The visits to the numerous seminaries and religious houses of formation took place between September 2005 and May 2006, with one institute being visited in July 2006. The delegations were headed by priests or bishops who were chosen through a joint USCCB and Vatican vetting process. The clergy were also joined by members of the laity who served as “resource persons.”

The apostolic visitation teams concluded that U.S. Catholic seminaries and houses of priestly formation are generally healthy but produced several recommendations on improving the discernment and education process.

"This visitation has demonstrated that, since the 1990s, a greater sense of stability now prevails in the U.S. seminaries," the report stated. "The appointment, over time, of rectors who are wise and faithful to the church has meant a gradual improvement, at least in the diocesan seminaries."

In fact, the seminary visitors found that rectors were already aware of the problems that are mentioned in the report and were working to resolve them.

The trouble spots highlighted by the report include: an “incomplete grasp” of the difference between the ordained priesthood and the priesthood of the laity; faculty who subvert the Church’s teachings; the need to screen seminary candidates for irregularities and impediments at the beginning of formation; a lack of supervision of seminarians by the rector and the bishop and a discouragement of traditional forms of piety.

One area sure to receive attention from media coverage is the area of seminarian’s moral behavior. The report sums up its findings on the matter by observing:

“The apostolic visit was obliged to point out the difficulties, in the area of morality, that some seminaries have suffered in the past decades. Usually, but not exclusively, this meant homosexual behavior. Nevertheless, in almost all the institutes where problems existed, at least in the diocesan seminaries, the appointment of better superiors (especially rectors) has ensured that such difficulties have been overcome. Of course, here and there some case or other of immorality -- again, usually homosexual behavior -- continues to show up. However, in the main, the superiors now deal with these issues promptly and appropriately."

The report, which was made public on Wednesday, is dated December 15 and is signed by Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, head of the Congregation for Catholic Education, which deals with seminaries and religious houses of formation. According to Catholic News Service, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops published it on their website to coincide with National Vocation Awareness Week, which began this past Monday.

Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, offered his reaction to the report in a letter to the U.S. bishops. "It is gratifying to read in the report that our seminaries are generally in a healthy condition that strongly promotes the formation of men for the sacred ministry in this country," he said.

"The general conclusions of the visitation are positive," Cardinal O'Malley noted. "I am sure that all bishops and religious superiors will take seriously the observations and recommendations of the congregation that will further strengthen our seminaries and houses of formation."

"Apostolic visitation deems US seminaries generally healthy, notes numerous problems"

From Catholic World News

Jan. 15, 2009 (CWNews.com) - A Vatican investigation into American seminarians, undertaken in a response to the sex-abuse scandal, has given the institutions a passing grade but taken note of many difficulties.

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has quietly posted on its web site the final report of the apostolic visitation of seminaries in the United States. Dated December 15, the report, issued by the prefect and secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education, offers a generally positive assessment of US seminaries but notes numerous problems.

The apostolic visitation stemmed from an extraordinary April 2002 meeting between Roman curial prefects and cardinals and other leaders of the American hierarchy. Issued at the height of the clerical abuse scandal, the meeting’s final communique called for “a new and serious Apostolic Visitation of seminaries and other institutes of formation must be made without delay, with particular emphasis on the need for fidelity to the Church’s teaching, especially in the area of morality, and the need for a deeper study of the criteria of suitability of candidates to the priesthood.”

The visitation’s final report observes that “an Apostolic Visitation is a blunt instrument but by no means an infallible one,” providing only a brief snapshot of life in US seminaries. Intended to assist US bishops and major superiors in fulfilling their responsibilities related to seminaries, the report chronicles developments from 2002 to 2005, when the visitations, coordinated by Archbishop Edwin O’Brien, began. Visitations were conducted in 2005 and 2006.

The report then issued conclusions in several areas.

While concluding that “in the great majority of diocesan seminaries, the doctrine on the priesthood is well taught,” the report nonetheless noted in some seminaries, students have an “insufficient grasp” of Catholic teaching and the distinction between the common priesthood of the faithful and the hierarchal priesthood is blurred. Some religious institutes speak primarily of “ministry” rather than the priesthood in a “mistaken attempt” not to offend opponents of Catholic teaching on women’s ordination.

While praising bishops and major superiors for being “interested in and supportive of” seminaries, the report urged each bishop to make the seminary “the object of his most intense and assiduous pastoral care.” Although the majority of seminary rectors are “good and holy men,” not all are leaders who are “comfortable making difficult decisions.“ Rectors need to spend more time at the seminary, while frequent personnel changes among seminary faculty need to end. Praising “most diocesan seminaries” for the unity of their faculty with the magisterium, the report nonetheless noted the presence of some faculty members who dissent from magisterial teaching; such dissenters are “out of kilter with the rest of the faculty and with the seminarians themselves.”

“Quite often,” the visitors found faculty who mocked magisterial teaching without “speaking openly against Church teaching.”

“More widespread dissent” exists in other places, “particularly in institutes run by religious,” and in these places, “there can be no possibility of a unity in direction.” Dissenting superiors and faculty members, the report observed diplomatically, need to be removed.

The report also observed that the formation of laity “really ought to take place elsewhere” than at a seminary, which exists for the formation of candidates to the priesthood. If lay formation must take place there, laity should not “routinely be admitted” to certain areas.

Praising the criteria of admission of seminary candidates, the report nonetheless found grave deficiencies in seminary formation before the four years of theology formation. “Almost nowhere” has a propadeutic year before the two years of philosophical formation been implemented. While most college seminaries-- in which students receive philosophical formation-- are “good,” seminarians, before the four years of theology formation, are at times not formed with adequate oversight and are even not looked upon fully as seminarians. The report urged bishops to take a greater role in the acceptance or rejection of priestly formation candidates and noted that in some institutes, “lack of vocations has caused a lowering of standards,” with “possible wretched consequences.”

The report took special note of moral problems, primarily associated with homosexual behavior, in some US seminaries. While the situation has improved because of “better superiors (especially rectors),” there are “still some places-- usually centers of formation for religious-- where “ambiguity vis-à-vis homosexuality persists," the document said. Commenting on the report, the Congregation for Catholic Education urges American Church leaders to pay special attention to the 2005 document from the same dicastery on criteria for admission to seminaries-- a document which states homosexual men are not appropriate candidates for priestly training. The report on the Apostolic Visitation does not take into account the public statements from several American seminary officials who, in response to the 2005 directive, announced that they would continue to accept candidates with homosexual inclinations.

The report also noted many seminaries’ “laxity of discipline” over students’ off-campus activities-- a problem avoided by Neocatechumenal Way seminaries. In some seminaries, “formation advisers” and psychologists delve into seminarians’ spiritual lives, while ascetic rules are lacking.

The heart of seminary formation, the report continued, is prayer. “In the diocesan seminaries, the liturgical norms are generally obeyed, but this is not always the case” in religious institutes. Despite this general fidelity, some of the report‘s strongest criticisms come in the area of spiritual formation. “Regrettably, very few seminaries fix periods of time for prayer,” and “some seminaries” need to do more to introduce students to classical Catholic spirituality. The report exhorted seminaries to celebrate Mass, Lauds, and Vespers every day, including on weekends. “A great many seminaries” need to introduce seminarians to the Rosary, novenas, litanies, and Stations of the Cross-- otherwise, the seminarians “will be unprepared for ministry in the Church, which greatly treasures these practices.” The report also noted faculty members who criticize the discipline of clerical celibacy.

While praising the intellectual formation seminaries offer in philosophy and theology-- with some seminaries being “truly remarkable”-- the report condemned the practice of sending students to community colleges for their philosophy classes. Criticizing widespread weaknesses in the study of Mariology, patristics, and Latin, the report noted that “even in the best seminaries,” some faculty members dissent from Catholic teaching on moral theology and the ordination of women. Dissent is widespread at some seminaries, “particularly in some schools of theology run by religious.”

Offering strong general praise for seminaries’ pastoral formation programs, the report noted that in some places, bishops ordain men against the advice of rectors, while in “a few places,” the evaluation process was suspect-- with the non-ordained, and even non-Catholics, voting whether candidates should be ordained. “Such practices are to cease.”

The report’s generally positive conclusion noted that seminary formation has gradually improved since the 1990s-- “at least in diocesan seminaries”-- because of the appointment of “wise and faithful” rectors. The bottom line, according to the Apostolic Visitation: “The diocesan seminaries are, in general, healthy.”

Final Documents of the Apostolic Visitations to United States Seminaries and Houses of Formation

I'm not sure when these were posted, but I just discovered them this morning. The first link below is the letter to US Bishops from Cardinal O'Malley, Chairman of the Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, about the final documents/report from the Congregation for Catholic Education on the 2005-2006 Apostolic Visitations to US Seminaries. The second link below is to the actual document posted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

If you are involved with vocations work, or if you are interested in the state of seminary formation in the United States, you really should take the time to read these documents.

Cardinal O'Malley's letter to US Bishops

Congregation for Catholic Education report on Apostolic Visitations to United States Seminaries