A Guide To Formation Advising For Seminary Faculty

"Recent Vatican guidelines for seminary formation call for professional accompaniment of seminarians throughout their formation to become Catholic priests. This book explains in concrete detail how to do this through the entire formation process. Written by a veteran formator at a Roman Catholic seminary, it offers a practical guide to formation advising as a ministry of accompaniment, participation, and evaluation. Formators will also find explanation of the evaluation process with a style sheet and examples of written evaluations. The handbook contains an index and an annotated bibliography on all the major topics a formation advisor comes across"--

"Recent Vatican guidelines for seminary formation call for professional accompaniment of seminarians throughout their formation to become Catholic priests. This book lays out what these seminarians should expect from the entire formation process. Written by a veteran formator at a Roman Catholic seminary, it offers a practical guide to formation advising from the point of view of the men who will experience it. It includes a guide to and an example of the self-evaluation that is part of this process. The book contains an index and an annotated bibliography on the main areas of formation relevant to seminarians"--

"Recent Vatican guidelines for seminary formation call for professional accompaniment of seminarians throughout their formation to become Catholic priests. This book lays out what these seminarians should expect from the entire formation process. Written by a veteran formator at a Roman Catholic seminary, it offers a practical guide to formation advising from the point of view of the men who will experience it. It includes a guide to and an example of the self-evaluation that is part of this process. The book contains an index and an annotated bibliography on the main areas of formation relevant to seminarians"--

After almost twenty-seven years of his pontificate, what was John Paul II’s legacy regarding the ministerial priesthood? What answers did he give to the questions still surrounding this reality today? Nilson Leal de Sá, CB, examines the pontiff’s twenty-seven letters of Holy Thursday addressed annually to the priests. Unlike some papal documents, which are drafted by many hands, these letters to priests were born of a personal initiative, wherein the pope spoke ab imo pectore (from the depths of his heart), giving a little of himself and his thought. Cardinal Georges-Marie Cottier, theologian emeritus of the Pontifical House and a connoisseur of the texts of the Holy Father, has confirmed that “the Letters of Holy Thursday were written by John Paul II himself.” Leal de Sá has sought in the diversity of the letters of Holy Thursday the major points of the thought of John Paul II on this important topic. The first chapter dwells on the sources of his teaching and emphasizes his use of the Word of God, Tradition, and the conciliar Magisterium. These foundations are the basis of the second chapter, which highlights the priestly identity in the life of the Church. Finally, the third chapter elucidates the specific mission of the priest. The Priesthood, Mystery of Faith presents itself as a real and stimulating synthesis of John Paul II’s thought about the ministerial priesthood in a systematic way. It renews us in the appreciation of the inestimable gift that God makes to the whole Church through the sacrament of the Holy Orders.

Taking on a still-controversial topic, a diverse group of experts, including victims and clergy, offers reflections on the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, examining what the church has done—and what it still needs to do—to protect children. Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church: A Decade of Crisis, 2002–2012 is a thoughtful, multidisciplinary commentary. Beginning when the scandal first broke in Boston in 2002, this first-of-its-kind work offers a wide range of opinion, both positive and negative, on what has been done in the ensuing ten years to stop and prevent such abuse. Through the contributions here, readers can delve into the world of the church hierarchy and into the minds of abusive priests and their victims. The book presents the views of leading academics and psychologists, but also allows the church to speak. First-person insights from victims are shared, as in a chapter written by a woman abused by a clergy member as an adolescent. She explains what happened, the resulting trauma, how she healed, and what she thinks needs to be done to prevent future abuse—a subject that still makes headlines and stirs debate.

There are now over 250 theological seminaries in the United States and Canada. Leading these diverse institutions is a difficult task that combines elements of executive management, academic prowess, master storytelling, and spiritual discipline. Apart from informal mentoring relationships, however, there has been no resource specifically designed to impart collected presidential wisdom. Douglass Lewis, Lovett Weems, and the four dozen other presidential contributors to this volume -- a project of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada -- together possess hundreds of years of combined experience in institutional leadership. They pass along sage advice on everything from boards and enrollment to facilities and institutional advancement, with special discussions of women in leadership, Canadian schools, and the challenges of university-based programs. Any person in administration at a seminary recognizes that leadership in theological education presents a unique set of challenges. "A Handbook for Seminary Presidents" aims to make this task easier and more fulfilling not only for the presidents themselves but also for deans, faculty, support staff, and all who seek to effectively prepare the next generation of Christian leaders. Contributors: Daniel Aleshire Harold W. Attridge Albert Aymer Rebekah Burch Basinger Michael Battle Maxine Beach Charles E. Bouchard C. Samuel Calian Cynthia Campbell John Canary Robert Cooley Vincent Cushing Marvin Dewey David Draper Ward Ewing Frederick J. Finks Dorcas Gordon Thomas Graves Heidi Hadsell Adolf Hansen Martha Horne James Hudnut-Beumler ByronKlaus Christa Klein Steven Land Robert Landrebe Robert F. Leavitt G. Douglass Lewis David Maldonado Kevin Mannoia David McAllister-Wilson William McKinney Laura Mendenhall Ron Mercier Donn Morgan Richard J. Mouw David Neelands Anthony Ruger Donald Senior Jean Stairs Brian Stiller Susan Thistlethwaite David L. Tiede Timothy Weber Kent M. Weeks Louis Weeks Lovett H. Weems Jr. Edward Wheeler Craig Williford Wilson Yates