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Archbishop Stresses Challenges
in Formation of Priests in Asia
17 May 2006—Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, Secretary General of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) focused his attention on the proper formation of priests, as he met on May 15 with clergies from all over Asia.
The archbishop pointed out that there are many more "lights" in the situation regarding priests but there are also certain "shadows that darken and disfigure the image of the priest."
Quevedo emphasized that point in his keynote address delivered to around 80 major seminary formators at the formal start of the ongoing consultation on the Human Formation of Priests run by the new FABC Office of the Clergy.
This 5-day event being held at the Salesian Retreat house in Hua Hin, Thailand will conclude on May 19.
The archbishop underscored that the faithful are outraged and scandalized by the cases of some priests violating their vow of celibacy.
"People are deeply pained by the lack of congruence between priestly commitment and priestly behavior," said Quevedo, a former president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
What saddened the people more, according to Quevedo, is what they witness "as pastoral mediocrity among some priests" and their "wanting to remain in the status quo of ministry."
Ripple effect
He said that some priests have succumbed to the temptation of comfort and security abandoning their priestly idealism and spirit of self-sacrifice.
Quevedo emphasized the priesthood should not be seen as a career or a livelihood, but as an identification with and imitation of Christ.
"People make snide remarks about the 'Church of the Poor' when they see some priests with the latest expensive electronic gadgets or even vehicles," he said.
He said that priestly failure has a ripple effect that could create great damage to the image and credibility of the Church.
"The number of priestly failure is insignificant among the thousands of Asian priests but the notoriety that this small number forms is sadly disproportionate," he said.
Substantial improvement
Because of the said challenges, Quevedo urged formators to prepare the seminarians well and highlighted few areas in the formation of priests that needs improvement.
Among those he mentioned is the need for a "holistic continuum" in seminary formation and a systematic follow-up of spiritual formation in the succeeding years.
"In many cases there seems to be a lack of continuity between a special stage - a year - of spirituality formation and the other stages of formation," he said.
The archbishop also stated the lack of a definite orientation in seminary formation.
"The idea seems to be that the seminarian should be given an opportunity to get a good education and in the process he would somehow get the call from God," he said.
As they prepare young men for priesthood, Quevedo reminded the formators the importance of giving attention to the seminarians' growth towards human maturity.
Model by example
"Seminary formators can only do so much," he said. "The individual candidate himself is the principal agent.
But the teacher, Quevedo continued, cannot be really effective unless he is also a witness of the Good Shepherd unto whose image he helps form the seminarian.
"Beyond teaching then is the daunting task of being a role model," he added.
Plenary Assembly
Meanwhile, on May 19, Quevedo will meet the Bishops-Chairmen and Executive Secretaries of all the FABC Officers in Bangkok.
The main agenda is planning for 2008 FABC Plenary Assembly on Living the Eucharist in Asia.
FABC is a voluntary organization of Episcopal conferences in Asia, formed with the approval of the Vatican to foster among its members solidarity and co-responsibility for the welfare of the Church in Asia.
The FABC Office of Evangelization will also update them the preparations for the First Asian Mission Congress to be held in Chiang Mai, Thailand this October.
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