Vatican to prepare document on Seminarians

(Aug.20,2009): The Vatican is aiming to prepare a brief and a very clear document on the formation of seminarians, as one of the elements to close the Year for Priests. This was affirmed by Archbishop Jean-Louis Bruguès, secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education, in an interview with the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano on Wednesday
Archbishop Bruguès explained that the preparation of the document will imply a meeting of the congregation's permanent commission, made up of members of various dicasteries, who deal with the formation of future priests. He said the congregation wants to send a message to priests that “ priesthood is an honour and they should be happy to be priests."
Archbishop Bruguès added that a good number of the youth who apply to the formation centers in nations such as Italy, Spain, France, Germany and the United States, have a high level university education, but they lack general culture, and above all, a Christian culture. The archbishop recommended compensating for this lack with a preparatory year at the beginning of seminary formation, especially the spiritual dimension, which runs the risk of being forgotten in a secularized society.
The congregation oversees 2,700 seminaries, 1,200 Catholic universities and 250,000 Catholic schools around the world.