THE CARE OF VOCATIONS

A Serious Duty

81. But if many pastors are preoccupied about the decrease of vocations, they are no less disturbed when it is a question of handling the young men who have already entered the seminary. We are aware, venerable brethren, how arduous this labor is and how many great difficulties it presents. But the carrying out of so serious a duty will give you the greatest consolation insofar as, as Our predecessor Leo XIII said: "From the cares and solicitude imposed by the training of priests, you will have results most ardently to be desired and you will experience that your episcopal office will be easier in its exercise and much more fruitful in its results".⁷²

82. We deem it opportune, therefore, to give you some rules suggested by the necessity, greater today than ever, of training holy priests.

A Healthy and Calm Environment

83. In the first place, it is necessary to remember that pupils in minor seminaries are adolescents separated from the natural environment of their home. It is necessary, therefore, that the life the boys lead in the seminaries correspond as far as possible to the normal life of boys. Great importance will be given to spiritual life, but in a manner suited to their capacity and their degree of development. Everything must be carried out in a healthy and calm atmosphere. Nevertheless, even here it must be observed that "the just measure is moderation" in order that it may not happen that those who have to be trained to sacrifice and the evangelical virtues "live in sumptuous houses with attendance paid to their taste and comfort".⁷³

Developing a Sense of Responsibility

84. Particular attention must be paid to character formation in each boy by developing in him the sense of responsibility, the capacity to use his judgment concerning men and events, and the spirit of initiative. For this reason, directors of seminaries must use moderation in the employment of coercive means, gradually lightening the system of rigorous control and restrictions as the boys grow older, by helping the boys themselves to stand on their own feet and to feel responsibility for their own actions. Directors should give a certain liberty of action in some kinds of projects habituating their pupils to reflect so that the assimilation of theoretical and practical truths may become easier for them. Let directors have no fear in keeping them in contact with the events of the day which apart from furnishing them with the necessary material for forming and expressing a good judgment can form material for discussions to help them and accustom them to form judgments and reach balanced conclusions.

85. In this way young men are put on the path of honesty and loyalty, of esteem for firmness and uprightness of character and aversion for falsehood and every kind of duplicity. The more sincere and upright they are, the better can they be known and guided by their superiors who must judge whether they are called by God to undertake the burdens of the sacred ministry.

Not Too Much Isolation from the World

86. If young men -- especially those who have entered the seminary at a tender age are educated in an environment too isolated from the world, they may, on leaving the seminary, find serious difficulty in their relations with either the ordinary people or the educated laity, and it may happen that they either adopt a misguided and false attitude toward the faithful or that they consider their training in an unfavorable light. For this reason, it is necessary that the students come in closer contact, gradually and prudently, with the judgments and tastes of the people in order that when they receive Holy Orders and begin their ministry they will not feel themselves disorientated -- a thing that would not only be harmful to their souls but also injure the efficacy of their work.

Intellectual, Literary, and Scientific Training

87. Another serious duty of Superiors is the intellectual training of students. You have in mind, venerable brethren norms and prescriptions given by this Apostolic See on this subject and We Ourselves from Our first meeting with the students of the seminaries and colleges of Rome at the beginning of Our pontificate have recommended these directives to all.⁷⁴

Not Inferior to That of The Laity

88. In the first place We urge that the literary and scientific education of future priests be at least not inferior to that of laymen who take similar courses of study. In this way, not only will the seriousness of the intellectual training be assured but the choice of subjects also will be facilitated. Seminarians will feel themselves freer in the choice of their vocation and there will be warded off the danger that, through lack of sufficient cultural preparation which can assure a position in the world, one or the other student may feel himself in some way driven to take a path that is not his by following the reasoning of the unfaithful steward: "To dig I am not able, to beg I am ashamed".⁷⁵ If, then, it should happen that some student about whom good hopes were formed for his entering the Church should leave the seminary, this would not be a source of preoccupation, because later on the young man who succeeds in finding his path, would not be able to forget the benefits received in the seminary and by his activity would be able to make a notable contribution to the work of the Catholic laity.

Philosophical and Theological Training

89. In the intellectual training of young seminarians -- although other studies especially those relating to social questions, so necessary today, should not be overlooked -- the greatest importance must be given to philosophical and theological teaching "according to the method of the Angelic Doctor"⁷⁶ brought up to date and adapted to meet modern errors. Study of these subjects is of maximum importance and usefulness both for the priest himself and for the people. The masters of the spiritual life state that the study of the sacred sciences, provided they be imparted in the right way and according to correct systems, is a most efficacious help in preserving and nourishing the spirit of faith, checking the passions, and maintaining the soul united to God. It must be added that the priest who is the "salt of the earth" and "the light of the world"⁷⁷ must labor mightily for the defense of the Faith by preaching the Gospel and confuting the doctrinal errors opposed to it which are disseminated today among the people by every possible means. But these errors cannot be efficaciously fought if the unassailable principles of Catholic philosophy and theology are not thoroughly known.

The Scholastic Method

90. In this connection, it is not out of place to recall that the method of teaching which has long been in use in Catholic schools is of particular efficacy in giving clear concepts and showing how doctrines entrusted as sacred deposit to the Church, teacher of Christians, are organically connected and clear. Today, there are not lacking those who, departing from the teachings of the Church and overlooking clarity and precision of ideas, not only depart from the correct method of our schools but open the way to errors and confusion, as sad experience shows.

91. In order to prevent wavering and uncertainty where ecclesiastical studies are concerned, We, strongly exhort you, venerable brethren, to watch carefully that the precise rules laid down by this Apostolic See for such studies be faithfully received and translated into action.