Vocations to the priesthood “in the circumstances of the present day”
were extensively discussed by the Synod of Bishops in 1990.The issue of the nature of the priesthood was considered worthy of further reflection even in the relatively short post-conciliar period of twenty five years.
Reasoning that there had been significant change during that period, Pope John Paul II felt a fresh evaluation of appropriate formation for the priesthood needed to be considered.
Aware that the nature of the priesthood does not change, the Synod Fathers recognised that the circumstances in which it is to be expressed had changed drastically.
In his introduction to the Apostolic Exhortation, Pastores Dabo Vobis (I Will Give You Shepherds), Pope John Paul II maintains that without priests the church would not be able to live out the fundamental obedience which is at the very heart of her existence and her mission in the world.
The Pope emphasises the need for the Church to propose to each new generation the vocational call, help people to discern the authenticity of their call from God and respond to it generously, and give care to the formation of candidates for priesthood.
Going further, the document elaborates the contemporary challenges of modern priesthood to include consumerism, individualism, materialistic and hedonistic interpretation of human existence, and distortion of human sexuality and freedom.
Thus, the search and longing for vocation to the ministerial priesthood is distant from the interested of the young. However, hope lies in “the unfailing love of Christ, and our certainty that the priestly ministry in the life of the church and in the world knows no substitute”.
The document recognises that modern materials goods, certain social and cultural conditions can, and does impose distorted and false visions about the true nature of priestly vocation, making it difficult, if not impossible to embrace or even to understand it.
The Apostolic Exhortation looks at the various areas of priestly formation, including the human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral dimensions. It also considers the settings and the persons responsible for the formation of candidates for Catholic priesthood.
The exhortation also focuses on the ongoing formation of priests. The rapid changes in the world and needs of “new evangelisation” call for continual personal growth, maturity and constant updating among priests.
Ongoing formation the document states is a “continuation of the process of building priestly personality which began and developed in the seminary or the religious house with the training program which aimed at ordination”.
The advantages of ongoing formation among priests is that it gives a support structure for priests, providing a continued and balanced checking of oneself and one’s activity, and constantly looking for motivation and aids which will enable priest’s to carry out their mission.