2020 CPA Conference: Rebuilding the Church in Seminary Formation: From Psychological Evaluations to Ordination

This 90-minute panel presentation will invite audience involvement in formation vignettes covering a man’s walk towards a vocation to the diocesan priesthood; the application and psychological assessment process; and the admittance and growth counseling procedure. The expert panelists will present their vignettes from each area of formation, giving real-life examples, as well as illustrations of collaboration between psychologists and formators involved in process of seminary formation. Included in the seminary formation process a vignette using research from St. John Vianney Seminary seminary will address growth in chaste celibacy.

Learning Objectives:

• Psychologists, Counselors, Vocation Directors, Pastors and all those who work to recruit young men for seminary formation can benefit from the years of experience of psychologists/vocation directors who must assess men to see if they have the capacity to enter seminary formation at the time of their application. Various instruments will be discussed for application as well as various scenarios that can disrupt the seminary community if a man is accepted and not ready. Case studies will be presented and audience participation can be solicited.
• All participants can benefit from the beta model of SJV (Denver) regarding their chastity program (FIPI) on ways that have helped men grow both in affective maturity and chaste celibate lifestyle.
• Participants can benefit from this presentation in understanding the strengths and limitations of formation in seminary and how best to treat seminarians they counsel as well as those priests who later come for counseling. I believe this presentation could be considered a beta model of clinical practice related to the formation of young men to the priesthood.

This program does not qualify for NBCC credits