The Basic Plan for the Ongoing Formation of Priests

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A Statement of the U.S. Catholic Bishops

The Basic Plan for the Ongoing Formation of Priests, which was prepared by the Bishops' Committee for Priestly Life and Ministry, was first reviewed by the body of bishops during and subsequent to their General Meeting in November 1999. The plan was also reviewed by the diocesan directors for the continuing education of priests in each of the thirteen episcopal regions of the United States, with the assistance of the National Organization for the Continuing Education of Roman Catholic Clergy. In June 2000, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops approved the plan as a set of guidelines for the development of local programs for the ongoing formation of priests. The plan was then reviewed by the Congregation for the Clergy and is authorized for publication by the undersigned.

Monsignor William P. Fay
General Secretary
NCCB/USCC


Copyright © 2001, United States Catholic Conference, Inc., Washington, D.C. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright holder.

Excerpts from Vatican II: The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents, New Revised Edition, edited by Austin Flannery, OP, copyright © 1996, Costello Publishing Company, Inc., Northport, N.Y., are used with permission of the publisher, all rights reserved. No part of these excerpts may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without express written permission of Costello Publishing Company.

Scripture texts used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, copyright © 1991, 1986, and 1970 by the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. 20017 and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All rights reserved.

Appendix excerpted from the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Program for Priestly Formation, Washington, D.C.: United States Catholic Conference, 1992, pp. 7-11. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

Table of Contents

Foreword

The Commitment of the Bishops of the United States to the Ongoing Formation of Priests

Part One: The Basic Plan

1. Introduction: A Document about Transformation and Formation
   
2. Introduction: The Organization of a Basic Plan of Priestly Formation
   
3. General Description: Ongoing Formation as the Integration of Priestly Identity and the Tasks of Priestly Ministry for the Sake of Mission
   
4. Essential Characteristics of Ongoing Formation
   
5. Priestly Identity: Who I am
   
6. Priestly Service or Ministry: What I Do
   
7. Priestly Mission: For What Purpose
   
8. The Context for Ongoing Formation for Priests in the United States at the Beginning of the Twenty-First Century
   
9. The Programs, Resources, and Practices to Foster Ongoing Formation
   
10. Human Formation
    
11. Intellectual Formation
    
12. Pastoral Formation
    
13. Spiritual Formation
    
14. The Responsibility for the Ongoing Formation of Priests
    
15. Accountability

1. A Good Beginning: Ongoing Formation in the First Years of Priesthood
   
   Introduction
   Event
   Tasks and Challenges
   Spiritual Concerns: Temptations, Graces, Discernment
   Programmatic Responses to Transition into Priesthood
   Accountability
   Conclusion
2. Priests in Transition: Ongoing Formation and Changes of Assignment
   
   Introduction
   Event
   Tasks and Challenges
   Spiritual Concerns: Temptations, Graces, Discernment
   Programmatic Responses to Transitions in Priestly Ministry
3. Priests as Pastors: Ongoing Formation and the First Pastorate
   
   Introduction
   Event
   Tasks and Challenges
   Spiritual Concerns: Temptations, Graces, Discernment
   Programmatic Responses to the First Pastorate
   Conclusion
4. Priests at Midlife: Ongoing Formation After a Certain Number of Years
   
   Introduction
   Event
   Tasks and Challenges
   Spiritual Concerns: Temptations, Graces, Discernment
   Programmatic Responses for Priests at Midlife
5. Priests Growing in Wisdom and Grace: Ongoing Formation and Senior Clergy
   
   Introduction
   Event
   Tasks and Challenges
   Spiritual Concerns: Temptations, Graces, Discernment
   Programmatic Responses for Senior Clergy

1. Introduction
   
2. Facing Divisions and their Consequences
   
3. The Nature of Presbyteral Unity: Biblical and Ecclesial Foundations
   
4. Practical Possibilities for the Formation of a Presbyterate
   
5. Conclusion

Foreword

We recognize the jubilee time of the new millennium as a special opportunity for conversion and spiritual renewal for the Church in general, and for our priests in particular. With that in mind, we offer this Basic Plan for the Ongoing Formation of Priests. We hope that this ratio fundamentalis or basic plan will provide an impetus for ongoing formation and a catalyst for program development.

This document seeks to complement the directions set out in the apostolic exhortation I Will Give You Shepherds (Pastores Dabo Vobis) (PDV) of His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, and in The Directory on the Ministry and Life of Priests (DMLP) developed by the Congregation for the Clergy. This Basic Plan for the Ongoing Formation of Priests can complement and follow up the Program of Priestly Formation currently in use in the United States.

We propose this document for the ongoing formation for priests as a guide for the next ten years. We are mindful that the majority of those who will make up our presbyterates in the next ten years are already priests, and thus, will benefit from the directions in this document.

We recognize the special and unique formational needs of members of religious congregations. This document is aimed more specifically to members of diocesan presbyterates. We invite those responsible for the ongoing formation of members of religious congregations to study this document and to make useful applications where possible. We hope that the episcopal conference will periodically renew this plan.

We are grateful to many people for their work in developing this document. I would like to express our thanks to the members of the Priestly Life and Ministry Committee who have spent many hours in reviewing this work. They are as follows: Bishop Francis J. Christian, Bishop John R. Gaydos, Bishop George H. Niederauer, Bishop William S. Skylstad, Bishop Arthur Tafoya, and Bishop Paul A. Zipfel. Consultants to the committee are the following: Very Rev. Frederick P. Annie, Rev. Msgr. Timothy Dyer, Very Rev. Robert F. Guay, Rev. William D. Hammer, Rev. Charles Latus, Rev. Frank Reale, SJ, Rev. Kevin J. Spiess, Rev. Francis Tebbe, OFM, and Rev. Donald Wolf. I would like to thank the other readers and members of the National Organization for the Continuing Education of Roman Catholic Clergy (NOCERCC) for their participation in our consultations. I wish also to extend special thanks to Bishop George Niederauer and the members of the writing committee for the document. These members are Rev. Louis Cameli, Very Rev. Frederick P. Annie, Very Rev. John Canary, Rev. Noah Casey, OSB, Rev. Clete Kiley, Ms. Mary Ann Pobicki, Rev. Stephen Rossetti, Rev. Francis Tebbe, OFM, Rev. Edward Upton, Rev. Raymond Webb, and Rev. Donald Wolf. I want to acknowledge the particular work of Rev. Louis Cameli who has served as the principal writer and as the general editor of the document. I want to thank Rev. Clete Kiley, the executive director of the Secretariat for Priestly Life and Ministry, for developing this project and keeping it on track. Finally, I want to express our gratitude to the Raskob Foundation for a generous grant that has made this project possible.

It is our hope that this document will be studied by bishops, priests, and seminarians throughout the United States. We call upon individual presbyterates, through their priests' councils, to give special attention to the implementation of the principles contained here. We also call upon national organizations, such as NOCERCC, and the various centers for ongoing formation throughout the country to develop programs, conferences, retreats, symposia, and convocations that carry the principles outlined here forward to implementation. For our part, we as bishops commit ourselves anew to this important work of ongoing formation.

Most Rev. Richard Hanifen
Bishop of Colorado Springs
Chairman, Bishops' Committee
for Priestly Life and Ministry


The Commitment of the Bishops of the United States to the Ongoing Formation of Priests

We, the bishops of the United States, have heard the words of our Holy Father Pope John Paul II: "The entire particular Church has the responsibility, under the guidance of the Bishop, to develop and look after the different aspects of her priests' permanent formation" (PDV, no. 78).

We understand, again in light of the Holy Father's words to us, that our responsibility for the ongoing formation of priests is rooted in our sacramental relationship with our respective presbyterates: "The Bishop's responsibility is based on the fact that priests receive their priesthood from him and share his pastoral solicitude for the People of God. He is responsible for ongoing formation, the purpose of which is to ensure that all his priests are generously faithful to the gift and ministry received, that they are priests such as the People of God wishes to have and has a ‘right' to" (PDV, no. 79).

In obedient response to the Holy Father's express wishes, we commit ourselves to supplying the necessary personnel, time, and finances to make the ongoing formation of priests an effective reality in the life of our dioceses. We will do our best in our respective dioceses. We will also join forces regionally and nationally, when that kind of collective and collaborative effort and investment will better serve the purpose of ongoing formation for priests.

We commit ourselves to reminding our priests of the importance of ongoing formation. We will encourage them in their efforts, and we will call them to accountability in the name of the Church. Furthermore, we will support our priests by informing the entire people of God that the prayer and study of their priests is not something added on to their work but rather is integral to their ministry.

Finally, we commit ourselves to participating in the process of ongoing formation. The Holy Father has said, "The Bishop will live up to his responsibility, not only by seeing to it that his presbyterate has places and times for its ongoing formation, but also by being present in person and taking part in an interested and friendly way" (PDV, no. 79).

Through the intercession of Mary, mother of priests and the great "sign of certain hope and comfort to the pilgrim people of God" (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church [Lumen Gentium] [LG], no. 68), we ask God's blessings on all our priests. May they grow in wisdom and grace and, through a new evangelization, draw all people to the Lord Jesus Christ in whose name and person they act and exist.


Part One: The Basic Plan

A. Introduction: A Document about Transformation and Formation

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Cor 3:17-18)

This plan of ongoing formation for priests in the United States includes two parts. The first treats ongoing formation in a "synchronic" way, noting that there are elements or dynamics of ongoing formation that are the same at every moment of priests' lives. In Pastores Dabo Vobis, Pope John Paul II notes, "Permanent or ongoing formation, precisely because it is ‘permanent,' should always be a part of the priest's life. In every phase and condition of his life, at every level of responsibility he has in the Church, he is undergoing formation" (PDV, no. 76).

The second part of the plan proceeds "diachronically" or longitudinally, identifying the different formational tasks appropriate in the different ages and special moments of priestly ministry and life. Specific attention will be given to the newly ordained, priests in transition, priests entering their first pastorate, priests in midlife, and priests in the third age. A final section considers the formation of an entire presbyterate.

Both the synchronic and diachronic parts of the plan are inspired by and seek to be faithful to the documents of the Second Vatican Council, other significant church documents—especially Pastores Dabo Vobis: On the Formation of Priests in the Circumstances of the Present Day (1992), the Directory on the Ministry and Life of Priests (Congregation for the Clergy, 1994), The Church in America (Ecclesia in America): On the Encounter with the Living Jesus Christ: The Way to Conversion, Communion, and Solidarity in America (EA) (1999), and The Priest and the Third Christian Millennium: Teacher of the Word, Minister of the Sacraments, and Leader of the Community (Congregation for the Clergy, 1999)—as well as documents that have originated since the Council from the bishops of the United States, such as The Continuing Formation of Priests: Growing in Wisdom, Age, and Grace (National Conference of Catholic Bishops [NCCB], 1984). NOCERCC has also provided valuable documents with a specific emphasis on the American context, such as the Handbook for the Continuing Formation of Priests (1994). At the same time, this plan is not simply a repetition of what is contained in previous documents. Rather, it seeks to focus the many elements contained in previous documents and apply them to the situation of priests in the United States at the beginning of a new century.

This plan of ongoing formation assumes the documents mentioned above. It also assumes the process of initial formation as described in the Program of Priestly Formation (PPF) (NCCB, fourth edition, 1992), which is the authoritative standard established by the U.S. bishops for seminaries in this country. This basic plan for the ongoing formation of priests elaborates chapter six of the Program of Priestly Formation, "The Continuing Formation of Priests" (nos. 549-572).

Finally, the basic plan of ongoing formation for priests assumes an authentic doctrinal understanding of the ministerial priesthood. At various points in the text, references and citations are provided that give indications of that doctrinal understanding, such as the doctrinal syntheses of Pope John Paul II found in Pastores Dabo Vobis. A more fully developed synthesis appears in the appendix to this document. There the reader can find a compact and clear doctrinal understanding of the ministerial priesthood as it appears in the Program of Priestly Formation, which represents the common doctrinal point of departure for both primary and ongoing formation.

The unifying thread for both parts of the plan is the grace and the task of integration, which fosters the living synthesis of priestly identity and priestly service. Integration is at the heart of ongoing formation, as priests grow in bringing together who they are and what they do. Their growth is really a growing integrity or connectedness of their ministry and their life. To use integration as a unifying focus of the plan simply follows the overall aim of Vatican II's Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests (Presbyterorum Ordinis) (PO), which by the very deliberate phrasing of its title identified priestly ministry as shaping and giving rise to a new way of life. Similarly in Pastores Dabo Vobis, Pope John Paul II, speaking of the profound meaning of ongoing formation, affirms, "Ongoing formation helps the priest to be and act as a priest in the spirit and style of Jesus the Good Shepherd" (no. 73).

C. General Description: Ongoing Formation as the Integration of Priestly Identity and the Tasks of Priestly Ministry for the Sake of Mission

Programs, resources, and practices do not constitute ongoing formation. They are necessary instruments but always in service to the larger purpose and direction of formation. It is tempting, however, in an American context with its stress on practicality to identify formation with programs. Thus, it is important from the onset to identify the essence of ongoing formation.

Following the footsteps of Vatican II's Presbyterorum Ordinis and John Paul II's Pastores Dabo Vobis, we can define ongoing formation in this way: It is the continuing integration of priestly identity and functions or service for the sake of mission and communion with Christ and the Church. Each element of this definition bears careful examination.

To say that ongoing formation is "continuing" simply identifies it as a life-long task or process. That is why documents often speak of "permanent" formation. It truly is co-extensive with life itself. We never stop growing or being transformed.

For many, the word "integration" may be either vague or seem to reduce spirituality to psychological processes. In the context of ongoing formation, integration is quite specific and spiritual. It signals the movement toward a unity of life that draws together and dynamically relates who we are, what we do, and what we are about (our purpose or mission). As a movement toward a unity of life, the aim of integration is to find the unum necessarium, "the one necessary thing," of the Gospel and to live centered in it.

"Priestly identity" is something given sacramentally. It is also something consciously appropriated. In both dimensions, priestly identity shapes existence or the way of being in the world. It enables priests to say to themselves and to others who they are.

The "functions" of our lives are the tasks and operations that belong to us because of the responsibilities that have been given to us and that we have assumed. "Priestly functions" means the service that priests offer, the activities of their ministry.

Finally, "mission" names the purpose and direction given to priests that shapes and orders their commitments and responsibilities. The mission of priests is directly linked to the mission of the Church, which in turn depends entirely on the mission of Jesus Christ.

This brief examination of the particular components of the definition of ongoing formation can help us understand its importance and meaning. To identify ongoing formation as the continuing integration of priestly identity and function for the sake of mission and communion set us in a holistic context that touches many aspects of priestly ministry and life, which we will consider shortly in greater detail. Before that, in order to fill out the picture of ongoing formation itself, it helps to note some of the qualities or characteristics of ongoing formation for priests.

D. Essential Characteristics of Ongoing Formation

Ongoing formation follows the pattern of faith and God's action in its different dimensions. Ongoing formation is, first of all, personal. It belongs to individuals as their own responsibility to foster their own integration. At the same time, ongoing formation is ecclesial and social, and that is true in at least two ways. It unfolds in a context of the community of faith as well as the more defined community of the presbyterate with its bishop. Although formation has to do with an individual's growth, the community they serve—the Church—benefits greatly from the growth of its priests.

Ongoing formation begins with and is sustained by commitments made by priests and by the Church they serve. Without a deliberate or intentional decision to engage the process and without the willingness to support it, ongoing formation cannot happen. This means that the proper resources of time, personnel, and finances must be allotted.

Finally, although ongoing formation is essentially a process that unfolds in the ministry and life of priests, it does have a programmatic side. Planning, programs, various practices, and events serve as instruments, not to make formation happen, but to help it emerge in the course of ministry and life.

This preliminary sketch of ongoing formation allows us to examine the elements of identity, function/service, and mission in greater detail. Then, we can note the programs engaged by priests and supported by the Church that foster the process of integration of identity and function for the sake of mission.

E. Priestly Identity: Who I Am

Identity is constituted by everything that shapes our existence or way of being in the world and enables us to say who we are. Priests have a complex identity, which corresponds to the way they exist in the world. If they only filled a specific religious role in society, their identity would be quite simple. In fact, priests exist in the world in three principal ways that are interrelated. Priests exist as human beings. They also exist as believing Christians or disciples of Jesus Christ in his Church. Finally, they exist in a unique sacramental mode, as part of the order of presbyters in the Church.

The complexity of priestly identity gives rise to the differentiated programmatic dimensions of formation, designed to address the human, intellectual, pastoral, and spiritual aspects of priestly existence and identity. Later, we will consider these programmatic responses to the complex identity of priests. First we need to explore more deeply the different dimensions of priestly identity.

A Growing, Developing Human Being
Priests are, first of all, human beings whose very humanity ought to be a bridge for communicating Jesus Christ to the world today (cf. PDV, no. 43). Their humanity reflects a complex make-up, the different dimensions of what it means to be human. Each dimension needs recognition and attention. Here we list the essential dimensions:

• Physical: Priests are embodied persons, whose living and functioning depend on the health and full functioning of their bodies.
  
• Psychological: The humanity of priests is especially prominent in their psychological capacities, which are cognitive, affective, and value-directed. The cognitive capacity includes the ability to perceive or gather information, to understand, and to make judgments. The affective capacity includes the ability to feel and to connect with other human beings and the world through feeling. The value capacity includes the ability to cultivate attitudes that can direct commitments, actions, and patterns of behavior.
  
• Sexual: The sexuality of priests links both physical and psychological life. Sexuality represents a passion, an energy, and a direction for connecting, belonging, and giving life—in other words, for intimacy and generativity. Physical, psychological, and spiritual dimensions of life converge in human sexuality.
  
• Cultural: Priests in the United States exist in a cultural or, more accurately, a multicultural context. Culture provides the social tools for understanding the world, for shaping and working in it, and finally, for expressing its realties. In other words, culture provides a framework for exploring the human understanding of the world and acting in it—the stuff of science, technology, and the arts. In all of this, culture enables people to connect and collaborate with each other. Culture, however, is not only a tool that people use to shape the world, but the collective values and attitudes that shape people. It can be identified with the spirit of the age or the nation that continuously transmits cues for behavior, ideals to be pursued, and values to be cultivated. Culture, in this sense, can exercise a positive or negative influence in shaping life.
  
• Social: Priests live in a social order. They come from families, generally connect with some form of community, and are part of a larger society. Within society, they have a socially defined role. With other citizens or members of society, they are participants in political life through which people seek to live together peacefully and to prosper.

• Growing Faith: A growing faith gives evidence of a growing relationship with a loving God and an insight into the revelation of God in Jesus Christ, accompanied by a greater practical wisdom of what that revelation means for living.
  
• Growing Love: Progress in the spiritual life has always been identified with a growth in caritas, the love of God, and linked to that, the love of others. Growing love or caritas is manifested in a progressive attachment to Jesus Christ, a greater willingness to share in his paschal mystery, a more authentic worship of God in spirit and truth, and an expanding and deepening compassion for others.
  
• Growing Hope: Hope in God enables us to trust in the promised future that God gives us. In the course of our earthly journey, growing hope is clear from the ever-more practical, direct, and generous ways that gospel values lead us to take action in the world to open a way for God's kingdom, God's future promise.

• Being Conformed to Christ: Through sacramental ordination priests are conformed to Jesus Christ, and this makes all the difference. In a single, compact paragraph in Pastores Dabo Vobis, John Paul II offers this synthesis:
  
  

  In the Church and on behalf of the Church, priests are a sacramental representation of Jesus Christ, the Head and Shepherd, authoritatively proclaiming his Word, repeating his acts of forgiveness and his offer of salvation, particularly in Baptism, Penance and the Eucharist, showing his loving concern to the point of a total gift of self for the flock, which they gather into unity and lead to the Father through Christ and in the Spirit. In a word, priests exist and act in order to proclaim the Gospel to the world and to build up the Church in the name and person of Christ the Head and Shepherd." (PDV, no. 15)

  The identity of priests is connected with their specific sacramental existence in relationship to Jesus Christ and the Church.
  
  
• In a Presbyterate in Communion With its Bishop: The sacramental relationship with Jesus Christ and the Church is not the individual possession of "the" priest. Priests exist as priests in a presbyterate gathered with its bishop. They draw their priestly identity as well from this presbyteral existence. John Paul II expresses it in this way: "By its very nature, the ordained ministry can be carried out only to the extent that the priest is united to Christ through sacramental participation in the priestly order, and thus to the extent that he is in hierarchical communion with his own Bishop. The ordained ministry has a radical ‘ ' and can only be carried out as ‘a collective work'" (PDV, no. 17).
  
• In a Life of Chaste Celibacy: In the Western church, priestly existence in relationship to Christ and to the Church has found expression in the discipline of chaste celibacy for her priests. Chaste celibacy is a way of being or existing as priest in relationship to Christ and the Church, and so it gives rise to a new identity. The christological and ecclesiological foundations for this practice (and implicitly the eschatological implications) are evident in this passage from Pastores Dabo Vobis: "The Church, as the Spouse of Jesus Christ, wishes to be loved by the priest in the total and exclusive manner in which Jesus Christ her Head and Spouse loved her. Priestly celibacy, then, is the gift of self in and with Christ to his Church and expresses the priest's service to the Church in and with the Lord" (no. 29).

1. Realization of the Need for Ongoing Personal and Professional Development: As all sectors in society have paid more attention to the need for ongoing professional development, so, too, priests have taken advantage of a variety of opportunities to enhance such ongoing personal and professional formation. In some instances, a too narrow concept of priestly ordination as capping years of seminary preparation, rather than as a beginning of a life of ever-expanding priestly service, has impeded this necessary journey of growth.
   
2. Divisions in Presbyterates: Presbyterates find themselves divided along a number of lines, such as age, theological perspectives, formational background—whether native-born or foreign-born—and ministerial focus. There is great urgency in developing presbyteral unity, something we will consider in greater detail later, because it belongs to the prayer of Jesus "that they may all be one . . . that the world may believe" (Jn 17:21). Presbyteral unity is instrumental in bringing faith to the world. Ongoing formation brings priests together not simply to rally around a common task but to proceed in faith with the mission of unity. Ongoing formation serves the unity of presbyterates especially by regrounding priests in their common faith vision and by offering them a common vocabulary of communication.
   
3. Diminishing Numbers of Priests, More Complex Circumstances for Priestly Service: The lessened numbers of priests is a documented fact of life. That may change for the better or the worse. The fact remains that this is our reality now. It is not, however, simply a matter of fewer priests. It is also the fact of far more complicated circumstances in the Church in the United States. Complications stem in part from the happy circumstance of increasing numbers of Catholics. Some of that increase stems from immigration, especially of those who speak Spanish. Catholics in the United States have arrived in many ways. Some find themselves affluent, well educated, and comfortable. In large numbers, other Catholics are quite poor, marginalized, and even oppressed in our social structures. Some Catholics have great voice in the direction of this nation, while others are unheard. The combination of fewer numbers of priests with ever more complex circumstances of the Church in the United States presses the urgency of ongoing formation of priests. Formation can be a vehicle to understand and address the complexity and, at the same time, be a means to cultivate a necessary apostolic flexibility among priests.
   
4. The Counterpoint of Current Cultural Sexual Mores, Values, and the Commitments of Priests: There is a dramatic contrast between the current American cultural climate of sexuality and the standards and values of the Church, especially as these are embodied in priests' celibate commitment. In a previous age, priests might expect the culture not to understand their celibate commitment but to respect it—perhaps, at times, even to admire it. Today the former social support for celibacy is gone. Highly publicized cases of priests' sexual misconduct have cast a shadow of incredibility on the professed values enshrined in the celibate commitment. All this suggests an urgent need for ongoing formation that enables priests to interiorize their commitment at a deep level and learn how to live with less cultural support than existed in the past.
   
5. International Priests and Multiculturalism in the United States: We are a nation of immigrants, and foreign-born priests have been a part of the landscape of the Church in the United States for generations. There seems to be, however, a growing dependence on international priests precisely at a time when Catholicism is solidly established in American life. Similarly, even priests born in the United States find themselves compelled by pastoral necessity to learn a foreign language, especially Spanish, to serve the people under their care. The integration of international priests and the welcome of new Catholic immigrants underscores the need for ongoing formation for priests, who must come to terms with each other and with recently arrived populations in a new way.
   
6. Social Shifts and Realignment of Church Resources: In the last twenty-five years the United States has been marked by notable shifts in the economy, moving, for example, from a manufacturing-based economy to one driven by information technology. Demographic shifts have taken place and continue to do so in the major cities. Rural areas have also experienced major transitions. All this represents a remarkable quantity of social change, and it has had implications for the organization of the Church's mission. The closure of parishes, for example, has been an extraordinarily painful experience for many dioceses and priests. The future seems to hold more social change in store and, with it, a need for more realignment of church resources. This immensely complicated and delicate task will summon all the talents, wisdom, and spiritual patience that priests have to offer. Again, ongoing formation seems essential to meet future challenges.
   
7. Social Engagement of the Church in Matters of Justice, Life, and Reconciliation: The Catholic Church in the United States has a voice and a responsibility to speak on behalf of justice issues, life issues, and national reconciliation. The American tendency to privatize religion and to separate it, at least implicitly, from public life creates some resistance to hearing the voice of the Church. There are Catholics as well who are convinced that the Church should stay out of public discourse on social matters. In fact, the enormous weight of these issues and the call to be faithful to prophetic witness underscore the urgency of ongoing formation for priests who must exercise leadership.
   
8. The New Evangelization: Pope John Paul II has set a pace for the Church entering a new millennium. He has called for a new evangelization, primarily targeted at reclaiming those who are Catholic Christian in name but weakly or loosely connected with faith and Church in fact. In an American context, sociologists have documented that large segments of our population, including our Catholic population, are attracted to the spiritual journey but reluctant to establish ties with institutional religion. The challenge facing the Church and, particularly, its priests is to link the spiritual quest of people with the faith traditions of the Catholic community of faith. This integral approach to a new evangelization in the United States demands a clarity of theological vision and a depth of spiritual commitment that priests can only summon in themselves if they are studying and praying well, if they are engaged in ongoing formation.
   
9. Fluidity and Polarization in the Post-Vatican Church: The process of conciliar renewal is short by historical standards and seemingly incomplete. In the United States, the years after the Council until now have been marked by a certain fluidity in liturgical practice, catechesis, and ecclesial organization. This indeterminateness seems to have generated vocal reactions in church life that want either the restoration of a pre-Vatican II Church or the complete dismantling of the Church and its re-assembly as an entirely new reality. The majority of Catholics seem to identify themselves with a quiet, faithful middle ground. The concern for a deeper assimilation of the renewal called for by the Council, however, will remain for the foreseeable future. Renewal will require leadership, much of which must come from priests, that is, theologically formed and spiritually sustained. This prospect highlights the need for ongoing formation.
   
10. Sharing Many Ministries and Retrieving the Core of Priestly Identity: As the Catechism of the Catholic Church indicates "the laity can also feel called, or be in fact called, to cooperate with their pastors in the service of the ecclesial community, for the sake of its growth and life. This can be done through the exercise of different kinds of ministries according to the grace and charisms which the Lord has been pleased to bestow on them (Catechism, no. 910). These many kinds of ministries have been a blessing for the postconciliar Church. At the same time, priests retain a unique and irreplaceable identity and function in the Church, even as many others who are not ordained assume responsibilities in and for the Church in the world. If this expansion of ministry is to develop authentically, priests will need to contribute to it with their leadership, encouragement, and expertise. At the same time, they must be sufficiently secure in their own identity, so that new ecclesial developments do not pose a threat to them. If priests are to contribute to the encouragement of ministries in the Church and retain a secure sense of themselves, they will depend in great measure on the mechanisms of ongoing formation. Especially to be valued will be the development of skills of collaboration with growing parish staffs and the skills of consensus building in working with parish groups, such as pastoral councils.

• The human life cycle (psychology)
  
• Gender differences and communication (anthropology)
  
• A profile of the United States or the local population (sociology)
  
• Unexamined assumptions of contemporary life (philosophy)
  
• Expressions of human experience in literature, art, drama, and film (fine arts)
  
• Science that shapes our life (science)
  
• Diversity and democracy in the United States (political science)
  
• Information technology (computer science)

1. The Faith Convictions That Ground Priests' Mission and Ministry: Throughout the course of their priestly ministry, priests must revisit and study what they are doing, how they are representing Christ, and why. If priestly ministry is not merely the exercise of professional expertise but a true service in faith for God's people, then priests must continually ground their ministry and life in the underlying assumptions of faith. This is not done once and for all. This is a fundamental and often repeated retrieval and reflection on the faith foundations of priestly ministry. Regularly, priests must return to their roots in the Church, in the mystery of Christ, ultimately, in the very mystery of trinitarian life. Like their brothers and sisters in faith, priests are pilgrims and struggling disciples. They need to return regularly and deliberately to the holy mysteries that ground their ministry and life.
   
   How do priests revisit this holy memory to re-ground and re-orient themselves in ministry? Are there programs or structures available to do this? Some suggest themselves immediately. The annual event of priests gathered with their bishop at the Chrism Mass is a particular moment for such retrieval. The diocesan celebrations of priests' ordinations, anniversaries, and deaths can be another. Days of renewal, such as the days of sanctification encouraged by the Holy See, are an occasion for returning to the sources in faith for ministry and mission. The annual diocesan retreat can be another occasion. An especially powerful tool of faith retrieval and re-grounding is found in small groups of priests gathered to reflect not on what they do or how they do it but on the holy origin of their ministry.
   
   
2. Updating in Major Theological Areas of Special Pastoral Concern: The seminary program is limited in its time frame. It also suffers from the seminarians' lack of experience. Furthermore, seminaries cannot fully anticipate developments in theology or new challenges in pastoral situations. For this reason, theological updating or aggiornamento is a continuing and pressing need of intellectual formation throughout the course of priestly ministry. Some examples of special areas of pastoral concern that require an authentic pastoral theology and theological reflection on specific situations in the lives of our people, parishes, and society (PDV, no. 57; PPF, nos. 341, 398) include the following:
   
   
   • Revelation-faith and the relationship to reason
     
   • Ecumenism and inter-faith dialogue, especially in the context of the United States
     
   • The authority of the Bible and its relevance for daily life
     
   • Sacramental theology
     
   • Theology of priesthood
     
   • Theology of marriage
     
   • Theology of suffering, illness, and death
     
   • Sin in a personal and social context
     
   • Medical-moral issues
     
   • Questions of justice and the Church's social teaching
   
   The processes and programs for intellectual formation need careful examination. A lecture format, although occasionally useful, is a very limited form of adult learning, especially for practitioners, as priests in parochial ministry are. Dioceses have often focused on bringing in a speaker for workshops, convocations, and study days. Theological updating can be accomplished in other formats and, often, more effectively. Videos, the internet, guided self study, and peer learning in small groups not only offer more flexibility in the study process but they also respect the lived experience of the priests.

• Preaching and proclaiming the word
  
• Celebrating and presiding at the sacraments
  
• Leading prayer
  
• Performing pastoral counseling and spiritual direction
  
• Directing the catechesis of adults and children

• Social analysis and community organization
  
• Cross-cultural communication
  
• Foreign language skills
  
• The initiation, direction, and supervision of the various pastoral efforts of the Church

• Canon law updates
  
• Personnel management
  
• Conflict resolution
  
• Financial management
  
• Effective leadership in meetings
  
• Facilitation of parish communication

• Spirituality in a specifically Catholic Christian context
  
• Spiritual resources and practices from the tradition, specifically for priests
  
• Spiritual classics as a resource for ministry and life
  
• The spiritual life cycle of priests and others
  
• The act of learning about spirituality from various traditions
  
• Priests as intercessors and teachers of prayer
  
• Priestly spirituality as ministerial and integrative
  
• The meaning of ongoing conversion of life
  
• The spirituality of celibate life

• Fifty-two contact hours of education per year (in other words, one hour per week)
  
• One week of retreat
  
• Daily prayer (especially the celebration of the Eucharist and the Liturgy of the Hours)
  
• Monthly celebration of the sacrament of reconciliation, perhaps in conjunction with spiritual direction
  
• Monthly contact with a priest group or its equivalent

1. Bishop's Direct Responsibility:
   
   The receipt of a regular report from those charged with the ongoing formation of priests on the "state of soul" of the presbyterate and any particular concerns
   
   • At least three contact points with the presbyterate at large, e.g., Chrism Mass, a study day, or a diocesan retreat (as well as the presbyteral convocation when it is held)
     
   • A periodic conversation held either directly or through the bishop's delegate with each priest concerning his ongoing formation to provide for accountability and encouragement
2. Bishop's Provision for Ongoing Formation:
   
   • Provides for the adequate staffing of an office for the ongoing formation of priests (bishop functions as the guarantor of encouragement, time, and resources)
     
   • Appoints a director to organize, ensure funding for, and communicate the resources of human, intellectual, pastoral, and spiritual formation (whether diocesan based or drawn from other institutions)
     
   • Appoints and oversees a committee of priests (perhaps drawn from the presbyteral council) and others to regularly examine the process of ongoing formation in its various dimensions
     
   • Supervises the director to establish linkage between the ongoing formation of priests and other diocesan efforts, e.g., evangelization, catechesis, worship, justice and peace, and lay formation
     
   • Through the mechanisms of diocesan communication, communicates the values, purposes, and activities of the ongoing formation of priests to the people of God

A. A Good Beginning: Ongoing Formation in the First Years of Priesthood

Introduction
The first five years of ordained ministry are very important. They set a pace for the years that stretch ahead. They also lay a foundation for the future and provide a point of reference across a lifetime of priestly ministry.

Many events, as we shall shortly see, mark the first years of priesthood. All of them fit into a single frame of transition, the transition of newly ordained priests from the major seminary into their first parochial assignment. In an initial and decisive way, newly ordained priests embark on a formational journey of integration as they seek to link who they are and what they do, their priestly identity and service. They make themselves available to God's transforming power at work in their ministry and lives.

The following section will consider the ongoing formation of newly ordained priests in four steps: (1) a detailed description of the event of transition for the newly ordained; (2) an identification of the principal tasks and challenges that the newly ordained face; (3) a naming of their spiritual concerns viewed through the themes of temptation, grace, and discernment; (4) and finally, a consideration of programmatic responses to the needs of transition into priestly ministry.

Event
The general frame of transition from the major seminary to the first parochial assignment contains many events and experiences. Some have to do with departure, others with arrival, and still others with inner movements.

Departure from the seminary is usually a highly anticipated moment and a greatly welcomed one when it finally arrives. It does, however, signal a significant leave-taking. Newly ordained leave the seminary and, at the same time, leave behind a familiar setting that has been the context of their lives for at least four years. They also leave behind important relationships that may continue but in an altered way because of patterns that marked their lives during the time of preparation.

Priestly ordination signals another departure from student status, the state of being "in preparation for," to the status of a recognized and activated worker or minister of the Gospel. At this point, newly ordained are also conscious of leaving a way of living their Christian vocation among Christ's faithful people (The Vocation and the Mission of the Lay Faithful in the Church and in the World [Christifideles Laici] [CL]) to assume a new position and responsibility among and for that holy people.

Arrivals also become important. The newly ordained arrive in a new community and settle into new living arrangements. They arrive in the midst of a new set of established co-workers. They arrive in a new community with a new position or role as priest. They arrive into a new set of daily tasks.

Finally, the event of transition into priestly ministry contains inner experiences, which we will consider in more detail shortly. Ordination establishes priests in a new way of being in and for the Church by configuring them to Jesus Christ, Head and Shepherd. And even though this new identity is conferred in ordination, it may not be fully and consciously appropriated for some time. Another inner experience is a significant shift of focus from the development and formation of oneself during the years of preparation to a centering in service and mission to others as an ordained priest.

These are some of the pieces that form the event of transition for newly ordained. They leave, they arrive, they sense inner movements. It is no small matter. Were one to compare this transition into priestly ministry to other kinds of human experience, it might be like leaving home, graduating from school, beginning a career, getting married, and starting a family—but all at once.

Tasks and Challenges
The above description of the transition into priestly ministry and life hints at the multiple tasks and challenges that face the newly ordained. Some tasks are of a directly practical nature. They are important because they have to do with basic functioning as a priest. Other tasks and challenges concerning the appropriation of priestly identity are less visible and less susceptible to empirical verification but are critical and urgent because they are so foundational.

Practical Tasks and Challenges
An initial practical task is to bring closure to the seminary experience. As happy as most are to leave a seminary program to begin direct service as a priest, they may also sense loss in a leave-taking that causes some grieving. If, as part of that process, the newly ordained can summon gratitude by identifying the graces of the years of preparation, that can anchor hope as they begin to navigate through unknown or, at least, unfamiliar waters.

Another practical task is to get to know the new parish community and staff— something of its history, its current make-up, and its graces and struggles.

Newly ordained also need to begin to work, that is, to apply the knowledge and skills that they have acquired in the seminary. A good seminary program will have launched them into the process of linking theory and practice, but now they need to do so more intensively. Translating theory into practice is never a simple matter. The challenge is especially true in priestly ministry. It entails learning from and in the experience of ministry in order to grow in a prudential wisdom that can apply book knowledge in practical and effective ways. Some things can only be learned on-site: the special procedures of a given parish and rectory, collaboration with other staff members, the art of teaching in a classroom and working with youth, care of the sick and grieving parishioners at a time of tragedy, management of conflict, the ability to work with difficult people, and elements of parish administration.

As newly ordained confront these myriad practical tasks and challenges, they are also challenged to learn how to stay centered in what really matters, the heart of their mission as priests. That means, for example, holding fast to a rhythm and pattern of prayer in daily life.

Tasks and Challenges Concerning Identity
In addition to the practical tasks and challenges of beginning priestly ministry in a parish, newly ordained priests face the challenge of growing into a new identity as priests. The process of appropriating a new identity as a priest unfolds both in the interior life of priests as well as in their external and visible ministry and life.

Interior Identity: Because of the consecration that they receive through the conferral of the sacrament of holy orders, priests are different. Pastores Dabo Vobis, following the seventh proposition of the 1990 Synod, offers the following synthesis: "It is within the Church's mystery, as a mystery of Trinitarian communion in missionary tension, that every Christian identity is revealed, and likewise the specific identity of the priest and his ministry. Indeed, the priest, by virtue of the consecration which he receives in the Sacrament of Orders, is sent forth by the Father through the mediatorship of Jesus Christ, to whom he is configured in a special way as Head and Shepherd of his people, in order to live and work by the power of the Holy Spirit in service of the Church and for the salvation of the world" (PDV, no. 12 [Propositio 7]).

Priests, by their ordination, are configured to Jesus Christ, Head and Shepherd, for the sake of mission to the Church and world. This is how they are because of ordination. That new way of being, however, does not automatically translate into a new sense of self, a new psychological and spiritual identity. In fact, that internalization and appropriation of what has happened through ordination is a task that lies ahead of those who have been ordained.

In a way that parallels the mystagogical task of the neophytes newly initiated into the mysteries of Christ on Holy Saturday, newly ordained priests are summoned to understand, claim, and deepen what has already happened to them in sacred ordination. This is the task of claiming priestly identity interiorly. It means coming to a new, internalized sense of self as being in conformity to Christ. Also linked to priestly identity is conformity to Christ in doing what he did, so that priests show their "loving concern to the point of a total gift of self for the flock. . ." (PDV, no. 15). This means that in addition to an internalized sense of self as conformed to Christ Head and Shepherd, an internalized and cultivated disposition to give oneself as Christ did also is present. In other words, at an interior level, priests, especially newly ordained, begin to appropriate a new identity in Christ and a correlative commitment to give of themselves as he did.

Exterior Identity: Newly ordained priests have the task of internalizing their new identity and commitment that flows from ordination. They also have the task of appropriating and living the more external dimensions of their priestly identity that stem from their unique relationships to the bishop and presbyterate and to the Church.

Through ordination priests come into a new identity of belonging to a presbyterate led by its bishop. This relationship stems from their sacramental participation in the presbyteral order. At its deepest level, presbyteral identity in communion with the bishop has sacramental roots. This is clearly stated in Pastores Dabo Vobis, no. 17: "By its very nature, the ordained ministry can be carried out only to the extent that the priest is united to Christ through sacramental participation in the priestly order, and thus to the extent that he is in hierarchical communion with his own Bishop. The ordained ministry has a radical ‘communitarian form' and can only be carried out as ‘a collective work.'"

In addition to the presbyteral identity forged in sacramental participation, a shared identity accompanies the common work of ministry, an identity that belongs to those who serve collaboratively in the mission of the Church as bishop and priests. They do so out of a shared sense of responsibility for the flock entrusted to them.

Finally, the presbyterate with its bishop can claim a fraternal identity, which means that the sacramental and ministerial bonds are strengthened by the care and solicitude they have for one another (cf. PO, no. 8). It is a task and challenge for newly ordained priests to claim their priestly identity through their sacramental, ministerial, and fraternal connections with the bishop and the presbyterate.

Newly ordained also claim their priestly identity in a more exterior way as they serve the Church at large and their parish in particular. Ordination locates priests in the Church and in relationship to the Church (in ecclesia . . . erga ecclesiam [cf. PDV, no. 16 (Propositio 7)]) as a sacramental representation of Christ. The ordained priesthood is sacramental because it is conferred by a sacrament and because priests themselves are "sacramental" signs of Christ. Priests' sacramental existence, which precisely as sacramental is exterior and public, gives rise to their identity and is manifested in their service and more general relationship to the Church they serve.

Newly ordained priests grapple with the sacramental and external dimensions of their identity through the new roles and functions that they exercise in a community of faith. These new roles include preachers, presiders, confessors, counselors, teachers, and administrators.

At the same time, newly ordained do not function independently nor in isolation. Generally, they serve with at least one other priest and, most often, with a parish staff. Their task and challenge is to claim and understand their priestly identity in a way that stays true to their sacramental existence and also enables them to serve collaboratively with others, both ordained and non-ordained, for the good of the whole Church. There is a shared task and challenge for the parish, the ministerial staff, and the newly ordained: to listen, to learn, to dialogue, and to stay faithful to the God-given mission and life of the Church.

Celibate Identity: Newly ordained have been prepared for consecrated celibacy in the seminary, have made the public commitment at ordination, and have lived celibately prior to ordination. There is a difference, however, between preparing for celibacy in a seminary context and living out the commitment in the midst of serving the Church as priest. The newly ordained find themselves in the challenging role of being a public person. It is a difficult task to learn how to be a loving and caring priest for significant numbers of people while maintaining appropriate pastoral and interpersonal boundaries. Such challenges are best faced under the supervision of a mentor, pastor, or other delegated supervisor.

The newly ordained have the task and challenge to learn how to love the Church with an undivided and generous heart. Pastores Dabo Vobis, no. 29, says, "The Church, as the Spouse of Jesus Christ, wishes to be loved by the priest in the total and exclusive manner in which Jesus Christ her Head and Spouse loved her. Priestly celibacy, then, is the gift of self in and with Christ to his Church and expresses the priest's service to the Church in and with the Lord." The purity, detachment, direction of one's sexuality, and generosity that this love requires are learned by the newly ordained as they serve the people of God. The task and the challenge is, in effect, to learn the integrating path of pastoral charity in its very practice (cf. PDV, no. 23).

Spiritual Concerns: Temptations, Graces, Discernment
The transition into priestly ministry and life is not simply a transition into professional life, that is, the beginning of a new job. It marks a place on the journey in faith of spiritual transformation. As other spiritual moments of importance, this one has its particular temptations, its offers of grace, and its need for discernment.

Temptations
Temptation is a testing, and this seems to be a common experience for newly ordained. The test comes in the form of disillusionment, struggle, or even crisis. It may occur from three to eighteen months after a parochial assignment has begun. Sometimes, it represents a brief moment, other times it is more protracted.

The shape of temptation varies. It may take the form of doubts about one's abilities to meet the kind and quantity of human and spiritual need that is so readily manifest in parish life. It may have to do with rectory living conditions, such as a lack of privacy, a difficult or idiosyncratic pastor, or the "foreignness" of the parish cultural environment. The shape of temptation may be related to the difficulty of finding one's role on a parish staff. It may be connected to a sense of separation and distance from peers and important friends. It can strike at the very heart of priestly ministry and life, as one comes to a deepening awareness of the extraordinary mission given to priests. Grasping the idea that one's mission is not one's own but Christ's can stir up a deep sense of inadequacy and discouragement, if not panic.

Another form of temptation presents itself without any sense of anxiety. Indeed, it is quite the opposite of anxious concern about one's adequacy or ability. It is the temptation to superficial enthusiasm. The first flush of priestly ministry can engender a "high," an ego-stroking sense that one can "take on the world." It is a bent toward self-sufficiency in ministry based on the initial positive responses evoked from people. It leads priests to let go of learning in the course of ministry and to relying altogether too much on their own abilities and ingenuity. In short, it is the temptation to deny grace in the practical order.

Another form of temptation stems from the understandable insecurity of those recently ordained. Faced with so much that is so new, multiple demands, and the often unrealistic expectations of even well-intentioned people, newly ordained priests can be tempted to lock into controllable frameworks, familiar routines, and predictable patterns of ordering reality. A kind of inflexible legalism sometimes is a manifestation of this form of temptation. Not only is it a poor psychological adaptation, it is also a spiritually regressive move that places my control of circumstances over my surrender to God's will.

A final form of temptation is connected to the multiple and complex set of demands that rush upon newly ordained. Because of the complexity and intensity that they experience in their ministry and lives, they may be tempted to assume a reactive stance toward life and people. Their reactions can be disproportionate to the objective pastoral realities of their situation.

These temptations, as described, highlight possible areas of testing that belong especially to the experience of transition into priestly ministry and life. In the experience of newly ordained and their bishops, more personal forms of temptation may arise now (or later) as they face inclinations in themselves or in other priests toward destructive behavior, such as the violation of sexual boundaries, substance abuse, gambling, and the like. Awareness of such experiences or inclinations may be jarring for the newly ordained and will require particular attention and support.

The experience of temptation is a critical moment in the ongoing formation of newly ordained priests. Just as the temptations of Jesus at the beginning of his public ministry were the occasion to anchor his identity as the obedient Son of the Father who was fully willing to carry out the mission entrusted to him, the experience of temptations for the newly ordained can be an occasion to deepen and consolidate their already-made commitment.

Graces
Grace is, of course, the very life of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit dwelling within us. That is the incalculable gift given to us who are reborn in the waters of baptism. There are also graces: particular gifts that point to their source in God and mark the journey of our lives.

The transition into priesthood is an occasion of grace, a time when particular gifts of God are manifest and take hold of the life and heart of priests who journey with their people to God. These particular graces need to be named, received with gratitude, and returned to God through service to his holy people.

The particular graces of priestly ministry and life, even as it begins, are numerous. Here, we identify only three, but they seem especially important: (1) the grace of new beginnings and growth, (2) the grace of vulnerability, and (3) the grace of community.

The transition into priesthood certainly marks a new personal, professional, and spiritual beginning. Accompanying the new beginning is an infusion of new life and prospects of growth. Humanly and personally, the new beginning beckons priests to an expanded and deepened sense of life, the natural correlative of priestly ministry as a deep interpersonal engagement. Professionally, as we have already seen, the beginning of priestly ministry ushers a season of remarkable growth in embracing a role, in participating in activities, in translating theory into action, in developing skills, and in growing in practical wisdom. Spiritually, the new beginning signaled by ordination draws the newly ordained more closely to Christ in whose name and person they serve. The grace of beginnings is really the gift of possibilities for growth.

It is neither easy nor pleasant to feel vulnerable. Still, the time of vulnerability can be a holy season of grace. Newly ordained priests are surely vulnerable in notable ways. Their inexperience, the many new unknowns at the beginning of priestly ministry, and their unproven abilities to cope, respond, and succeed all make them especially vulnerable. The particular grace of their vulnerability rests in a renewed sense of dependence on God. Just as confidence in one's own abilities recedes, a greater openness to the action of God is possible. The grace of vulnerability is, in effect, a gift of greater reliance on him in whom all things are possible.

The grace of community is a deepened re-connection with the body of Christ to which the newly ordained belong and which now, as priests, they serve. In these new relationships to the church community, newly ordained discover the many ways that the gifts of God are at work; their ministry in the community becomes a source of their edification and inspiration.

Discernment
Discernment or the testing of the spirits means sifting through the experiences of ministry and life to determine what is of God and what is not of God. It is not so much, as popular understanding would have it, "figuring things out" as allowing God's truth to surface in a process of humble but alert noticing.

Newly ordained will inevitably feel the tug and pull of various spirits or inclinations leading them in different directions. What is genuine, authentic, and holy? What is not so helpful in the spiritual and ministerial journey? What, in fact, tends toward a dangerous derailment of the journey?

An initial movement is to identify resistances on the journey. For example, Pastores Dabo Vobis indicates that the very idea of ongoing formation may be a point of resistance for the newly ordained. They may have "a certain sense of ‘having had enough'" (PDV, no. 76) in their seminary experience. Other points of resistance might include a false sense of independence, a fear of uncovering inadequacies, and an unwillingness to rely on a larger wisdom.

The process of discernment or maintaining a discerning heart assumes that one is engaged in and faithful to a life of prayer. If, at the beginning of one's priestly ministry, the sudden surge of pastoral demands obliterates the regularity of personal prayer or if the positive response of people to one's initial efforts seems to diminish prayer's necessity, then discernment cannot happen.

Discernment for the newly ordained and for everyone occurs in an ecclesial context in which we rely on the Holy Spirit at work in the community of faith and among particular believers in the community. So, discernment will also assume a willingness to share with others and to rely on them. It is not simply a solitary process. It needs spiritual direction, holy friendship, and the fraternity of other priests. Discernment requires a humble willingness to be self disclosing; it is not simply about psychological facts or states but about the movements of grace and the inclinations to sin.

Programmatic Responses to Transition into Priesthood
The event of transition into priesthood, its tasks and challenges, and its spiritual dimensions are numerous and complex. Each diocese can respond to its newly ordained in some organized program that respects the particularity of the diocese and the specific character of the newly ordained. Programs—seminars, retreats, workshops, study days, "mentoring"—will vary. A constant element holds: those persons involved in the programs are those individuals and groups who contribute decisively to the ongoing formation of the newly ordained. The focus of this section is mainly on the persons involved in ongoing formation and less on the design of specific programs that can and do vary according to local circumstance.

Among those involved in ongoing formation are the newly ordained priests themselves, both as individuals and as a group; the bishop; the presbyterate generally and some priests specifically; and the parish staff and the parish at large.

Individual Newly Ordained Priests
Pastores Dabo Vobis, no. 79, locates primary responsibility for ongoing formation in priests themselves: "The priest himself, the individual priest . . . is the person primarily responsible in the Church for ongoing formation. Truly each priest has the duty, rooted in the Sacrament of Holy Orders, to be faithful to the gift God has given him and to respond to the call for daily conversion which comes with the gift itself."

The responsibility and the agency of individual priests is manifested above all in their deliberate commitment to grow personally, intellectually, pastorally, and spiritually. That commitment is real and operative on a personal level, if priests are, in fact, praying daily, cultivating a reflective approach to ministry by retrieving important experiences and scrutinizing them, and by the practice of personal study of theological, pastoral, and spiritual issues.

When newly ordained priests take hold of their own ongoing formation, good things happen. Their special gifts to the Church emerge. They offer a fresh perspective, an encouragement extended to young men to consider a vocation to priestly ministry, and a general renewal of energy and enthusiasm in the local church community.

Peers
The newly ordained form a distinct cohort. Often in a given diocese, they share a common formational history and common experiences in entering priestly ministry. The gathering of the newly ordained can have powerful formational significance.

The newly ordained can share their experiences and so break out of the isolation that can be a hazard of beginning priestly ministry. The sharing of experiences in a proper spiritual and theological context can also tap a Spirit-prompted wisdom that leads to deeper understanding and an enriched return to priestly ministry.

When the newly ordained come together to pray over their experiences of priestly ministry, they make themselves more available to grace at work in their lives and more open to the conversion of heart to which their service calls them. In addition, the gathering of the newly ordained provides a mutual support that is spiritual, moral, and authentically human. Such support is the necessary and encouraging context of ongoing formation.

The Bishop and the Presbyterate
The bishop plays a decisive role in the ongoing formation of the newly ordained. He does so both directly and indirectly. When he meets with the newly ordained individually and in groups, he is a directly encouraging and challenging presence in their formational journey. When he reminds the presbyterate to welcome their new brothers and to help them in their continuing initiation into priestly ministry and life, he creates a climate that enables ongoing formation to take place.

From among the presbyterate, one priest will play an essential role in the ongoing formation of the newly ordained, and he will do so on a daily basis. That is the first pastor. His formational impact is inestimable. Ideally, he will be chosen because he is known to possess qualities helpful in initiating newly ordained into priestly ministry. The first pastor welcomes the newly ordained into the parish community, guides them in the functions of priestly service, provides a connection to the larger presbyterate, and models both immediately and intensely how priesthood can be lived.

Experience also indicates that a priest-mentor can be very helpful in the ongoing formation of newly ordained priests. He is neither the first pastor nor a spiritual director but a priest of "exemplary life and pastoral zeal" (DMLP, no. 82), who, precisely because he is not on-site, can help the newly ordained sort out their experiences and see them with greater objectivity. The priest-mentor brings a wisdom born of experience as well as a sense of the life of the local church. He engages the newly ordained in conversation about his ministry, his sense of priestly identity, rectory life, and other important issues. The priest-mentor is available to answer questions from the newly ordained or to help them process unfamiliar and perhaps difficult situations.

A spiritual director, ordinarily a priest, contributes significantly to the ongoing formation of newly ordained priests. The spiritual director provides a focus and a reminder of the primacy of the spiritual life: the necessity of the Morning and Evening Prayer of the Church, especially the Liturgy of the Hours; the value of particular practices such as retreats, days of renewal, and devotions; the integration of all ministry and life in the Lord's paschal mystery; the centrality of the word of God found in the Sacred Scriptures; and the invitation to an ever-fuller and deeper participation in the sacramental life of the Church, especially in the Eucharist and the sacrament of reconciliation.

Another priest of importance for the newly ordained is the priest responsible for the ongoing formation of priests. He arranges for particular programs of study and prayer for the newly ordained but also integrates them into the offerings that are made to the presbyterate at large. The diocesan priest-director listens to their needs and tries to tailor programs accordingly. He also presents the needs of the diocese to them and challenges them to prepare themselves to meet those needs through prayer and study.

Parish Staff and the Parish at Large
In addition to the pastor, newly ordained priests very often arrive in a parish with a developed staff. Some may be ordained priests or deacons, and others are not ordained but specially trained, for example, in religious education, liturgy, or social outreach. Through a process of honest dialogue and sincere collaboration with the staff, the newly ordained priest can find himself more readily able to claim his own unique priestly identity and to affirm and encourage other service in the Church.

Parishioners, who generally take great pride in having a newly ordained among them, can also provide immense formational support through their words and prayers. They can also provide considerable practical assistance through the feedback they give to newly ordained, for example, concerning clarity of communication, availability, sensitivity to needs, and skills in organization. If this feedback is organized and systematic, it can be especially useful to one who is beginning priestly ministry.

Programs for the ongoing formation of newly ordained priests are necessary. Their format and shape, however, vary according to local need and resources, the number of newly ordained, and whether they are older (typically aged 35-50) and in a second career. More foundational and constant amid the variations are the people who interact with the newly ordained in programs and in the course of their priestly ministry and life.

Accountability
Accountability, as noted in part one, is a very important word in the consideration of the ongoing formation of priests at every age and specifically for newly ordained priests. Without accountability eloquent words about ongoing formation and elaborate programs amount to nothing. With accountability there is a real possibility for growth and change, indeed, for a conversion of heart.

Pope John Paul II indicates in Pastores Dabo Vobis, no. 79, that unless the values of ongoing formation are internalized, external ecclesiastical norms and expectations will not have much effect. A kind of accountability needs to be established by a bishop and his presbyterate and shaped by the Church at large, which has a great stake in the ongoing formation of her priests. This accountability has to do with norms and expectations, which give voice to values that the Church holds for and in her priests. If it is to be effective, the norms and expectations of accountability need to be clear. Even more important, they need a spiritual foundation, the kind that St. Paul seems to supply when he frequently gives an account of his ministry.

Conclusion
Newly ordained experience a single transition from the major seminary to their first parochial assignment. That single transition, however, contains many aspects and multiple implications for ongoing formation. It is important not to lose the central point in considering this complexity. A constant thread woven through the various dimensions of experience is that of integration, linking "who I am" and "what I do for the sake of the mission," drawing together in integrity priestly identity and service to the mission of Jesus Christ.

In effect, all our considerations return to a center, the meaning of ongoing formation as Pope John Paul II describes it in Pastores Dabo Vobis, no. 73: "Ongoing formation has as its aim that the priest become a believer and ever more of one: that he grow in understanding of who he truly is, seeing things with the eyes of Christ."

B. Priests in Transition: Ongoing Formation and Changes of Assignment

Introduction
One of the most poignant discourses in the Acts of the Apostles is Paul's farewell speech at Miletus (20:17-35), where he takes leave of the presbyters of Ephesus. Indeed, he says that he must go: "Now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem" (20:22). His future is uncertain, even tenuous: "What will happen to me there I do not know, except that in one city after another the holy Spirit has been warning me that imprisonment and hardships await me" (20:22-23). His faith and sense of mission carry him through the transition: "Yet I consider life of no importance to me, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to bear witness to the gospel of God's grace" (20:24).

Paul's experience resonates with that of priests changing assignments. Often, some necessity marks their change, perhaps because of a diocesan policy of limited terms in assignments. Priests frequently experience uncertainty about "the next move." Finally, like Paul's departure, priests' experience of an assignment change contains significant spiritual and religious possibilities. The time of change offers formational opportunities, an occasion when priests can open themselves to God's transforming action within them.

The next section will describe the event of changing assignments, followed by a second section on the tasks and challenges that accompany change. A third section will explore the spiritual dimensions of this experience under the themes of temptation, grace, and discernment. A final section will identify possible programs and responses to the formational needs of priests in transition.