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Editorial Six Habits of Highly Effective Dioceses Why are some dioceses better at attracting vocations than others? In Tim Drake’s recent story “Vocations Surge,” the Register provided some answers to that question. BY The Editors January 28- February 3, 2007 Issue Posted 1/23/07 at 8:00 AM Based on what we learned, here are six questions successful dioceses all answer “Yes.” 1. Is the Eucharist the center of vocation efforts? We found that the promotion of Eucharistic adoration for vocations is a decisive factor in attracting candidates. The reason is simple: It’s a vocations strategy that came from Christ himself, when...

WASHINGTON, August 30, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Officially promulgated on August 4, a new 98-page Program of Priestly Formation has been issued by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) after being approved by the Vatican.  Replacing the fourth edition of the norms guiding priestly formation in all seminaries published in 1992, the fifth edition has taken seriously the scandal of priestly sexual abuse.  Speaking of a proper formation in sexuality, the document states, "As we have recently seen so dramatically in the Church, when such foundations are lacking in priests, the consequent suffering and scandals are devastating."In the...

by Archbishop Charles Chaput Other Articles by Archbishop Charles Chaput Common Sense for an Uncommon Calling 12/9/05 The Vatican’s new instruction on the admission of candidates to seminary and the priesthood has fewer than 1,500 words. That works out to about an average Sunday homily. And like many of the best homilies, it seeks to apply common sense and the wisdom of the Church to problems of the day. But we live in a culture where common sense can be rare. Thus, nobody should be surprised at the pre-emptive criticism and anxiety already directed at a Church document that deals with...

[...]the Instruction issues a ringing condemnation of tactical subterfuge -- i.e., lying about one's sexual disorder: "It would be gravely dishonest for a candidate to hide his homosexuality in order to proceed, despite everything, towards Ordination. Such a deceitful attitude does not correspond to the spirit of truth, loyalty, and openness that must characterize the man called to serve Christ and his Church as a priest." Granted, these words are formally directed at men who are only aspirants to the priesthood, but undeniably they cut much deeper. Those bishops who have "deeply-rooted homosexual tendencies" are not few in number, and...

The Instruction tacitly dismisses the tendentious claims that homosexuality is innate, or unchangeable, or changeable only in rare circumstances. While it acknowledges the disorder can be deep-seated in some persons, it maintains that it may also be just an adolescent hang-up one can leave behind. Here the Church's moral wisdom rescues her from the errors of politicized academic fashion. To treat adult homosexuality (except in rare cases) as a self-indulgent prolongation of juvenile weakness and infatuation may rattle some gay ideologues, but it's more realistic and more charitable than the standard APA account. In summary form, the Church is saying,...

This issue, as discussed in the media and in cyberspace, is another example of a Tower of Babel - like the ID discussion. People are talking in different languages, and are often not honest about it. Here's the bottom line for me, and why I wrote, weeks ago, that the "who you are" question in regard to vocation discernment and this issue is secondary to "what you believe and what you will vigorously and enthusiastically teach." Already, the discussion has taken a sharp turn into Self-Pity and Oppression land. The self-identified "gay priests" have been trotted out, the sensitive have...

Nov. 22 (CWNews.com) - The following is an unofficial translation by CWN of the full Vatican document. Congregation for Catholic Education Instruction concerning the criteria of vocational discernment regarding persons with homosexual tendencies, considering their admission to seminary and to Holy Orders Introduction Following the teaching of Vatican II and, in particular, the decree Optatam Totius on priestly formation, the Congregation for Catholic Education has published different documents to promote an adequate formation integral of future priests, offering guidance and precise norms regarding their several aspects. In the meantime also the Synod of Bishops in 1999 reflected on the formation...

ROME, Sept. 21 - Homosexuals, even those who are celibate, will be barred from becoming Roman Catholic priests, a church official said Wednesday, under stricter rules soon to be released on one of the most sensitive issues facing the church. The official, said the question was not "if it will be published, but when," referring to the new ruling about homosexuality in Catholic seminaries, a topic that has stirred much recent rumor and worry in the church. The official, who has authoritative knowledge of the new rules, spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the church's policy of not...

Beginning early next month, teams of specially appointed Vatican investigators will visit Chicago area Catholic seminaries to determine whether priests are being trained properly and to what degree homosexuality is present on campus. The Vatican has ordered "apostolic visitations," as the inspections are formally known, of all 229 seminaries and houses of formation for priests in the United States. The visitations have been anticipated for several years and are, in part, a response to the clergy sex abuse scandal that has rocked the American church since 2002. While some church leaders insist the visitations are meant to examine how well...

Investigators appointed by the Vatican have been instructed to review each of the 229 Roman Catholic seminaries in the United States for "evidence of homosexuality".

Investigators appointed by the Vatican have been instructed to review each of the 229 Roman Catholic seminaries in the United States for "evidence of homosexuality" and for faculty members who dissent from church teaching, according to a document prepared to guide the process. The Vatican document, given to The New York Times yesterday by a priest, surfaces as Catholics await a Vatican ruling on whether homosexuals should be barred from the priesthood. In a possible indication of the ruling's contents, the American archbishop who is supervising the seminary review said last week that "anyone who has engaged in homosexual activity...

WASHINGTON, August 23, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Catholic News Service has announced that Rome is set to start its long-awaited "apostolic visitation," or systematic investigation and evaluation of the formation offered to prospective priests in seminaries. With many bishops studiously ignoring what has become the ecclesiastical equivalent of the elephant in the drawing room, Rome may be planning to force the issue at last. The last Vatican-led visitation was seven years in duration beginning in 1981. The report given to Pope John Paul II, according to some observers, amounted to a whitewash in which the theological and moral dissent being taught...

Three years after the clergy sex abuse crisis rocked the Roman Catholic church, a Vatican-directed evaluation of all U.S. seminaries is scheduled to begin late next month. Archbishop Edwin O'Brien, the U.S. coordinator for the review, said 117 bishops and seminary staff will visit more than 220 campuses, working in teams of three for smaller programs or four for the larger ones, Catholic News Service reported Monday. The visits are one result of the abuse crisis that hit the American church with full force in 2002. The study will give special attention to schools' preparation for the celibate life and...

Today I received official notification that the Apostolic Visitation of US Seminaries and Houses of Formation will occur at SHMS October 16-21, 2005. On the evening of October 15th, all formation personnel and resident priests are to be available to the Visitors beginning with Dinner at 5:30 p.m. To quote the letter: "This time with the community...includes initial introductions and acclimation to the host institution." Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz, Bishop of Lincoln, is Chair of the Visit.

Nearly a year after learning he had been selected to shepherd the Phoenix faithful, Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted has been elected chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Priestly Formation. The Phoenix bishop was selected by his peers during last month’s biannual bishops’ meeting in Washington, D.C. Bishop Olmsted, who is currently a consultant to the priestly formation committee, will officially begin his three-year term as chair during the U.S. bishops’ meeting in November 2005. He succeeds Bishop John C. Nienstedt of New Ulm, Minn. “The future of the Church very much depends on our young people, our young people...

Vienna, Sep. 16 (CWNews.com) - Austria's controversial bishop at the center of a scandal involving his seminary on Thursday denied reports that he would soon resign. A spokesman for Bishop Kurt Krenn of St. Poelten said media reports of Vatican pressure on Krenn to resign on health grounds were wrong. The Austrian Catholic news agency originally reported Krenn's impending resignation last week and Vatican sources confirmed to Catholic World News on Monday that while Krenn's resignation was not yet office, an announcement was expected soon. At the time, Michael Dinhobel, a spokesman for the bishop, told Austrian reporters that he...

Dialing for young adults Six answer God’s call, move toward vocational lifeBiosBy Mary MooreThe Catholic SunGod called, and six answered.Six young people from the Phoenix Diocese will be leaving Arizona at the end of the summer to explore religious and diocesan vocations.Amber Timmer is one of six young adults entering into religious life who was acclaimed at Café Fiat on August 20.“Praise God from whom all blessings flow,” exclaimed Fr. Don Kline, diocesan vocations director. “Is there any doubt God is doing great things in the Diocese of Phoenix?”The packed crowd at Café Fiat answered with loud applause as...

Why is it that homosexuals seem to have a distinct proclivity to denigrate whatever it is they have their way with?Our earliest record of homosexuals having their way with others is the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Today we’re watching them have their way with the institutions of marriage and education. They’re also attempting to have their way with other various institutions such as the Boy Scouts and the military.We’ve seen what happens to children when they have their way with them. We've seen the resulting debauchery when they have their way with amusement parks (Disney), art galleries and parades....

The article by Malcolm Gay begins: "One thing is clear: 2003 was without a doubt the Year of the Queer…. The year’s crowning moment came on November 2, when the Episcopal Church ordained Gene Robinson as its first openly gay bishop…. But this…didn’t appear out of thin air. Its intellectual and physical roots have been growing just beneath the surface for years. In seminaries across the country, at both the parish level and within whole dioceses, homosexuals have been preaching, studying, and remaining sexually active…. ‘What’s the difference between a Jesuit rec room and a gay bar?’ asked former Jesuit...

Springtime Decay by David L. Sonnier As soon as I heard of Ken Jones' Index of Leading Catholic Indicators,1 I had an intense desire to purchase a copy. The 113-page paperback book contains statistics relating to all aspects of Catholic life: Catholic education, religious orders, Catholic practice and belief, seminarians, nuns, and diocesan priests. Having read the Index, my compliments go out to Mr. Jones. Like myself, Mr. Jones is the father of seven young children, so I understand the sacrifice it was for him to take the time to bring this important information together. He has done an excellent...