Kunigų seminarijos, kaip ugdymo kunigystei institucijos, sampratos raida Bažnytinės teisės normose

LTStraipsnyje analizuojama, kaip laikui bėgant fonnavosi Bažnyčios doktrininis ir disciplininis mokymas apie Kunigų seminarijos instituciją, jos vaidmenį ir svarbą Bažnyčios pasiuntinystėje. Bažnyčios normatyvinių šaltinių apžvalga atskleidė, kaip, nepaisant kultūrinių, socialinių ir politinių pokyčių bei iššūkių, kintant ugdymo programų formoms, Bažnyčia liko ištikima siekiui išsaugoti pagrindinį seminarijos uždavinį - Dvylikos buvimo su Jėzumi patirties perdavimą šių dienų pašauktiesiems į kunigiškąją tarnystę.

ENA vocation to the ministerial priesthood is a call from God. The priest, through sacramental ordination, participates in Christ’s unique and eternal priesthood which authorizes him to act In persona Christi. This is a significant responsibility. As such, the Church recognizes the enormous importance of priestly vocations and their formation. Since the beginning of Christianity, we find criteria concerning the admission of candidates to the priesthood as well as norms governing formation. This formation consists of two principle aspects: norms regarding the universal Church and Her doctrine, and norms related to the concrete local situation of a diocese. This second aspect is the main focus of this article. Vocations are bom and put into practice in a concrete locality and situation where the bishop is the head and responsible for all that takes place in his diocese. For this reason, the Church has always sought to maintain a certain unity. For the candidate to the priesthood, experiencing a unity with the bishop, with the local presbyterate, and the concrete realities of the diocese is of particular importance. Such a unity resembles the experience of the 12 apostles being united and formed alongside Jesus. This is why seminaries were formed at the Council of Trent.The goal of seminaries has not changed. They are tasked with forming good and holy priests to serve the community of the faithful. For the Magisterium this is accomplished by focusing on four main areas: human, intellectual, spiritual and pastoral. It is necessary to note that intellectual formation is only one element among four. The increasing tendency of our times is to place a disproportionate emphasis on intellectual formation at the expense of the other three essential aspects. Academic achievement is not priestly formation, according to longstanding guidelines and norms. Undeterred by this, the current tendencies remain. It would be good for the Magisterium to further refine the goals of seminaries, emphasizing that the formation process is the preparation of a good and holy priest to serve his community and not to acquire an academic degree.