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The Harm of Knowledge for Its Own Sake
92. If, with so much solicitude, We have, in the discharge of Our Apostolic office, recommended solid intellectual training among the clergy, it is easy to understand how much We have at heart the spiritual and moral training of young clerics without which even outstanding knowledge can bring incalculable harm on account of arrogant pride which easily enters the heart. Therefore, Mother Church primarily and anxiously wishes that in seminaries solid foundations be laid for the holiness that the minister of God must develop and practice all his life.
Clerics Must Seek the Interior Life
93. As We have already written regarding priests, we now insist that clerical students be deeply convinced of the necessity of striving to acquire those ornaments of the soul which are the virtues and, after acquiring them, to preserve them with the desire of increasing them.
94. In the course of the day, following the more or less uniform program, clerics perform the same spiritual exercises. There is ready danger that the external exercises of piety may not be accompanied by an interior movement of the soul, a thing which can become habitual and even grow worse when, outside the seminary, the minister of God is often carried away by the necessary performance of his duties.
95. For this reason, let every care be given to the training of future clerics for the interior life which is the life of the spirit and according to the spirit. Let them do everything in the light of divine Faith and in union with Christ, convinced that there is no other kind of life possible for him who one day must receive the priestly character and represent the Divine Master in the Church. For seminarians, the interior life is the most efficacious means of acquiring the priestly virtues, of overcoming difficulties and carrying out salutary resolutions.
Their Directors Must Instill in Them the Ecclesiastical Virtues
96. Those who are responsible for the moral training of seminarians must always aim at making them acquire all the virtues the Church demands in priests. Of these virtues We have already spoken in another part of this Exhortation and, therefore, there is no reason to return to the subject here. But We cannot refrain from indicating and recommending among all virtues that aspirants to the priesthood must firmly possess those upon which the moral structure of the priest is built, as upon solid pillars. Particularly Obedience
97. It is necessary that young men acquire the spirit of obedience by accustoming themselves to submit their own will sincerely to that of God manifested through the legitimate authority of the superiors. Nothing can be lamented more in the conduct of the future priest than that it is not in conformity with the Will of God. This obedience must always be inspired by the perfect model, the Divine Teacher Who on earth had but one single program "to do thy will, O God".78
98. From the seminary on, the future priest must learn to give filial and sincere obedience to his superiors in order to be always ready later on to obey his Bishop docilely according to the teaching of the invincible Athlete of Christ, Ignatius of Antioch: "Obey ye all the bishop as Jesus Christ obeyed the Father".79 "He who honors the bishop is honored by God". "He who does anything without the Bishop's knowledge, serves the devil".80 "Do nothing without the bishop, keep your body like the temple of God, love union, flee discord, be an imitator of Jesus Christ as He was an imitator of His Father".81
99. Every care and solicitude must be used to have the young soldiers of the sacred army appreciate, love, and preserve chastity, because the choice of the priestly state and perseverance in it depend in great part on this virtue. Being exposed to greater dangers, chastity must be solidly possessed and proved at length. Let seminarians, therefore, inform themselves about the nature of ecclesiastical celibacy, of the chastity that they must observe and of the obligations it brings with it,82 and let them be warned of the dangers they may meet. Let them take heed to defend themselves against these dangers from a tender age, having recourse faithfully to the means offered by Christian asceticism for bridling the passions, because the more strongly and efficaciously they control them, the further the soul will progress in the other virtues and the surer will be the fruit of their priestly ministry. Hence, whenever young seminarians show evil tendencies in this regard and, after a due trial, show themselves incorrigible, it is absolutely necessary to dismiss them from the seminary before they receive Holy Orders.
Devotion to the Blessed Sacrament
100. These and all the other priestly virtues can be easily acquired and firmly possessed by seminarians if from the beginning they have acquired and cultivated a sincere and tender devotion to Christ Jesus present "truly, really, and substantially" in our midst in the most august Sacrament, and if they make of Him the inspiration and the end of all their actions and their aspirations. And, if to devotion to the Blessed Sacrament they unite filial devotion to the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, full of trust and abandonment to the Mother of God and urging the soul to imitate her virtues, then the Church will be supremely happy, because the fruit of an ardent and zealous ministry can never be wanting in a priest whose adolescence has been nourished with the love of Jesus and Mary.
101. Here We cannot refrain from strongly urging you, venerable brethren, to take particular care of the young priests.
102. The passage from the sheltered and tranquil life of the seminary to the active ministry may be dangerous for the priest who enters the open field of the apostolate if he has not been prudently prepared for the new life. You should realize that the many hopes placed in young priests may fail if they are not gradually introduced to the work, wisely watched, and paternally guided in the first steps of their ministry.
103. We approve, therefore, the gathering of young priests when possible for some years in special institutions where, under the guidance of experienced superiors, they can develop their piety and perfect themselves in sacred studies and be put on the path toward that form of the ministry more closely corresponding to their temperaments and aptitudes.
104. For this reason We would like to see institutions of this nature established in every diocese or, according to circumstances, for a number of dioceses together.
105. In Our own Beloved City, We Ourselves did this when, on the 50th anniversary of Our priesthood, We erected the St. Eugene Institute for young priests.83
106. We exhort you, venerable brethren, to avoid so far as it is possible placing still inexperienced priests into full pastoral activity or sending them into places far removed from the See of the diocese or from other larger centers. In this situation -- isolated, inexperienced, exposed to dangers, lacking prudent advisors, -- they themselves and their ministry would certainly suffer harm.
107. It is particularly recommended that young priests live with some pastor and his assistants, for, in this way, with the guidance of older people, they can more easily adjust themselves to the sacred ministry and perfect the spirit of piety.
108. We remind all pastors of souls that the future of newly ordained priests is to a great extent in their hands. The burning zeal and the generous resolutions with which they are animated at the beginning of their ministry can be spent and certainly weakened by the example of their seniors if these latter do not shine with the splendor of virtue or if, under the pretext of not changing old customs, they show themselves inclined to idleness.
109. We approve and strongly recommend what is already the wish of the Church84 that the custom of community life be introduced and extended among the priests of the same parish or of nearby parishes.
110. If the practice of community life brings with it some sacrifice, there is, however, no doubt that great advantages derive from it. In the first place it daily nourishes the spirit of charity and zeal among the priests. Then, it gives an admirable example to the faithful of the detachment of the ministers of God from their own interests and from their families. Finally, it is a testimony of the scrupulous care with which they safeguard priestly chastity.
111. Moreover, priests must cultivate study as Canon Law wisely prescribes: "Clerics must not suspend their studies, especially those of a sacred nature, after having received the priesthood".85 The Code, besides requiring that examinations be undergone "every year for at least three years"86 where new priests are concerned, also prescribes that the clergy should hold meetings several times a year "to promote knowledge and piety".87
112. To encourage these studies, sometimes rendered difficult by the precarious economic conditions of the clergy, it would be most opportune if Ordinaries, according to the splendid tradition of the Church, were to restore dignity and efficiency to cathedral, collegiate, and parochial libraries.
113. Despite the despoiling and destruction they have undergone, many ecclesiastical libraries often possess a precious heritage of parchments, of books in manuscript or print, "eloquent testimony of the activity and influence of the Church, of the faith and generous piety of our ancestors, their studies and their good taste".88
114. These libraries must not be neglected receptacles for books but living structures with a room for reference and reading. Above all, however, let them be up to date and enriched with works of every kind, especially those relating to the religious and social questions of our times, so that teachers, parish priests, and particularly young priests may find there the doctrine necessary for diffusing the truth of the Gospel and for fighting error.