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«I give you a wise and discerning heart»
The Intellectual Dimension of the Formation of Candidates to the Priesthood
Rome, 3-7 February, 2020
In the recent Apostolic Constitution Veritatis gaudium on universities and ecclesiastical faculties, Pope Francis says that “today we are not only living in a time of changes but are experiencing a true epochal shift, marked by a wide-ranging ‘anthropological’ and ‘environmental crisis’” (n. 3). Thus the training of candidates to the priesthood requires of the Church today a pedagogy fully open to the integration of different aspects of formation. In the 2016 Ratio fundamentalis on priestly formation we read that “John Paul II’s Pastores Dabo Vobis… explicitly sets out an integrated vision of the formation of future clerics, taking equal account of all four dimensions that involve the person of the seminarian: human, intellectual, spiritual and pastoral” (Introduction, n. 1).
Every aspect of formation has an intellectual side to it, and this is essential in knowing God and others, in understanding oneself as well as the practical outworkings of the Church’s mission. It is difficult to transmit to future generations what has not been consciously lived and assimilated. When the intellectual dimension of formation is fully integrated with the rest, the future priest will have “a wise and discerning heart” (1 Kg 3:12).
The SIXTH STUDY WEEK is addressed to formation staff involved in training candidates to the priesthood, especially the “coordinators of intellectual dimension” of formation (Ratio fundamentalis, n. 141) and those involved in teaching. The objective is to provide them with the skills necessary to integrate the intellectual dimension of formation with other aspects of formation of candidates to the priesthood.
In addition to the morning discussions led by experts of proven competence, participants will be able to take part in the afternoon workshops which deal with practical issues involved in formation.
The sessions will be held in the Italian language, but simultaneous translation into English and Spanish will be available.
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