(other articles by Fr. Michael)
On the Apostolic Visitation of the U.S. Seminaries
Michael Sweeney, O.P.
October 6, 2005
Having been interviewed this morning on KALW (a PBS affiliate in San Francisco) on matters relating to the Apostolic Visitation of the U.S. seminaries, I would like to underscore several points concerning the visitation, and the manner in which it has been recently reported in the media. I hope that you find these remarks helpful.
1. What is a visitation?
A visitation is a normal event in the life of the Church. In the religious orders, this responsibility is that of the religious superior. Every year, for example, the Provincial of the Western Dominican Province conducts an official visitation of the seminarians of the Province: he meets with them to hear their ideas and concerns, and to encourage them in their vocations. He also meets with formation personnel to discuss the preparation of the men –personally, morally, theologically and spiritually– for priesthood.
In a diocesan seminary, visitation is the responsibility of the Bishop. Therefore we read in Canon law (the law of the Church) "the diocesan Bishop or if it is a question of an interdiocesan seminary, the bishops involved, are to visit the seminary frequently in person; they are to watch over the formation of the students and the philosophical and theological instruction given them in the seminary; they are also to keep themselves informed concerning their students’ vocation, character, piety and progress, especially in view of the conferral of sacred ordination" (canon 259, 2).
The reason for the visitation is not punitive; a visitation does not presume abuses that are to be corrected. Rather, a great deal will be asked of the young men who are preparing for ordination, and therefore there must be a complete integration of every aspect of their lives –their relationships, recreation, work, study, and prayer– for the sake of the mission that they will be entrusted, which is to stand in Christ's place. The purpose of the visitation is to make sure that they have the assistance and encouragement that they need in order to follow Christ more closely, and to help them discern that they are, indeed, called by God to ordination.
2. What is unique about the present visitation?
In April, 2002 representatives from the bishops of the United States met in Rome with Pope John Paul II. They requested his help to prepare a visitation of all of the American seminaries. Undoubtedly, the recent scandal in the American church was one factor motivating their request. There are other very good reasons to conduct such a visitation:
In the wake of the scandal our seminarians have lived in a fishbowl: they have been subjected to the scrutiny (not always friendly) of other Catholics, and, via the media, the whole of society; their faith, piety, intelligence, indeed every aspect of their personal lives, have become matters for public speculation. Are the education and formation that our seminarians are being offered adequate in the face of this sort of intrusion?
Again, much will be asked of our young priests, particularly if we consider the moral and intellectual confusion that characterizes modern life. In the face of the claim that every opinion is of equal value, a priest must remain faithful to Christ who says, "I am the Truth." The priest must represent a tradition that many in this society hold in contempt. Are the seminaries right now capable of preparing men who will be able to function, often living alone, and often with the responsibility of two or more parishes, in such a society?
Again, we tend to be the products of the culture that has formed us, both in our ideas and convictions, and in our rebellions. There is a danger that, with the culture, our students might embrace a moral relativism (“any act is all right as long as we intend well”) or that, still reacting to the culture, they might rebel and insist upon a rigid moral position (“all activity must be judged according to objective, extrinsic norms, and intention has nothing to do with it”); in either case they would remain bound to the culture, and likely miserable in it. Our seminarians require a moral education that will direct them to the happiness that God intends for them and others, and free them both to appreciate and to critique, when necessary, their own culture. Are they receiving an adequate moral formation in the light of this requirement?
The purpose of the visitation is not punitive. Rather, it is asking whether the whole Catholic tradition is being effectively placed at the disposal of our seminarians. In the wake of the visitation, we will undoubtedly be urged to ask what further resources than we now have in place might be brought to bear on their behalf.
3. What will happen as a result of the visitation? How does authority in the Church work?
Popular imagination, with a significant assist from the media, casts the Church in a very authoritarian light. We imagine inquisitors arriving from Rome to descend upon the seminaries where they will catalogue abuses, weed out dissidents, expel non-conformists and set up, one presumes, a sort of ecclesiastical KGB –and all of this over the heads of the local presidents or rectors and faculty.
While such a flight of imagination might provide pages of wonderful copy for the newspapers, I must report that the reality will be far less dramatic. Essentially, the format being followed is very much like an accreditation visit to any secular institution of higher studies:
Those chosen for the visitation will be bishops and priests from the United States. Following upon the visitation, an initial report will be drawn up concerning each of the institutions visited. The report will be sent to officials of the institution for correction concerning any facts that have been misconstrued. Then a final (corrected) copy of the report will be prepared. After that, we are not yet quite certain what will be done, in that the next steps have not yet been disclosed. Typically (and most likely) the reports will be sent to the bishops and religious superiors who are responsible for the seminaries. Then the reports will be given to the president or rector who will discuss with his faculty how best the institution might respond to the report.
At every step, legitimate local authority will be respected. As president of the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology I expect that, in the months following our visitation in April, I will receive a report to be corrected, should there be errors of fact. Then I will receive, some months after that, a final report that I will discuss with the faculty of the school. Together we will talk about ways in which we might implement the suggestions, if any, that are contained in the report of the visitation.
4. What about the (much publicized) question of the ordination of homosexuals?
The visitation of the seminaries does not principally concern the question of homosexual candidates for the priesthood. In the Instrumentum Laboris (the working document for the visitation) homosexuality is only mentioned twice in a series of 50 questions. The Instrumentum explicitly states that the visitation is directed to the human, moral, intellectual and spiritual formation of seminarians, and to their willingness and ability to embrace the virtue of chastity.
Nonetheless, there has been a great deal of speculation in the media concerning a rumored letter on homosexuality and ordination forthcoming from the Holy See, linking the visitation to such a letter. Such speculation has been fuelled by regrettable remarks on the part of at least one prelate. The president of Dignity has characterized the visitation as a “witch hunt” and has insisted that it is principally focused upon identifying and eradicating evidences of homosexuality, all in the light of the anticipated letter. Such an expectation overlooks one, decisive fact: it is not possible to base a visitation upon a letter (and policy) that does not yet exist.
I am confident that, should a letter be issued, it will be respectful both of the teaching of the Church and of the vocation of the young men that Christ calls to the priesthood. In the meantime, the visitation should be considered in the light of its expressed purpose.
Michael Sweeney, O.P.
October 6, 2005
(other articles by Fr. Michael)
about us | news & events | admissions
faculty | academics | student services
