During this Year for Priests the author explores the 1992 Vatican document Pastores Dabo Vobis as a framework for reflecting on priestly formation and ministry. Ronald D. Witherup PSS is Superior General of the Sulpicians (Society of St Sulpice), a group of diocesan priests who engage in initial and ongoing priestly formation.

During the Year for Priests proclaimed by Pope Benedict XVI, the Church has the good fortune to reflect in more depth about the priesthood. In this article I propose to look at a recent Church teaching on the priesthood, which is largely overlooked or not read by many except those charged with priestly formation. I refer to Pastores Dabo Vobis (hereafter, PDV), John Paul II’s 1992 Apostolic Exhortation on Priestly Formation, which grew out of the 1990 Bishops’ Synod on the same topic.1

This article will cover three areas: three key elements of the document, the four pillars of formation, and some comments on applicability.

I. Three key elements of PDV

i) Scriptural basis
The first observation about this remarkable document, which is the most important teaching on priestly formation since Vatican Council II, is that it is rooted in scripture. The title itself comes from the Latin edition of a passage in Jeremiah, ‘I will give you shepherds after my own heart’ (Jer 3.15). This promise of God to provide shepherds to care for the people is enhanced in PDV by two prominent New Testament passages. One is from John’s Gospel in which Jesus speaks of himself as ‘the Good Shepherd’ (John 10,11), and the other is the Letter to the Hebrews’ mention of Jesus Christ as ‘the great shepherd of the sheep’ (Heb 13,20). These passages, along with related complementary ones, give the pastoral exhortation its scriptural foundation in the desire of God to provide pastoral caretakers for the ‘flock’.

ii) Pastoral orientation
This scriptural orientation is, of course, consistent with Vatican II’s own teaching about the priesthood, most notably in Presbyterorum Ordinis (PO), the ‘Decree on Priestly Ministry and Life’ (1965). Although PDV quotes from this document frequently, one notes a more pastoral orientation in PDV than in the Council’s decree. This is a second key element.

The pastoral style and goal of PDV is quite evident and implies that the goal of all ministry in the Church is ultimately pastoral in nature. Ordained ministry does not exist for its own sake but for service to God’s people. In fact, PDV explicitly uses Presbyterorum Ordinis in pointing out the close bond between a priest’s own spiritual life and the ministry that he gives to his people.

Therefore an intimate bond exists between the priest’s spiritual life and the exercise of his ministry, a bond which the Council expresses in this fashion: ‘And so it is that they are grounded in the life of the Spirit while they exercise the ministry of the Spirit.... For by their everyday sacred actions, as by the entire ministry which they exercise in union with the bishop and their fellow priests, they are being directed toward perfection of life.’ (#24)2

This profound bond between a priest’s spiritual life and the service of his people is one of the most comforting assurances
to come from the Church’s understanding of the priesthood. It points to a paradox in ministry. Though we are ordained to serve others and are thus called to personal
holiness to do so, we paradoxically find our own spiritual lives enriched by those whom we serve. Our people often bring out the best in us.

iii) Shift in language
A third key element of PDV is the subtle shift in language that has taken place to describe the threefold ministry of priests. For ages the Church has traditionally used the language of the threefold ministry of Christ the High Priest (who is the only priest of the new dispensation mentioned in the New Testament): priest, prophet and king. These images come from the structure of leadership in the Old Testament. God used such individuals to shepherd the people, each of whom contributed to the life of Israel, whether through cult (priest), the word of God (prophet), or governance (king).

The Church quickly adopted this three-tiered perspective for its ordained ministries. Bishops embody the fullness of the priesthood, but ordained priests share in their ministry of shepherding the people. We still speak of priests being configured, by ordination and the laying on of hands and gift of the Holy Spirit, to Christ, priest, prophet and king. This configuration gives us a share in the threefold ministry of Christ the shepherd and king of his people: sacrifice, proclamation of the word, and ruling. These constitute the threefold ‘powers’ (Latin, munera) of the priesthood.

PDV also makes use of this traditional model but there is also a shift in emphasis. Referring to the threefold configuration, PDV speaks rather of the ministry of priests as word, sacrament, and pastoral charity (#26). Both the order and the wording are important, so we need to look at these three ‘powers’ more closely.

Munera of the priesthood

Ministry of word
In line with Vatican II’s re-emphasis on the ministry of word and sacrament in the lives of priests, PDV gives precedence to the word of God. PDV states explicitly:
The priest is first of all a minister of the word of God. He is consecrated and sent forth to proclaim the good news of the kingdom to all…. (#26)
This primacy of the word of God leads us in two directions at the same time. Being ministers of the word does not mean we priests merely give a message to others. We must also receive it ourselves. In the same section PDV reminds priests that we are not the ‘master’ of the word but its ‘servant’:

Precisely because he can and does evangelize, the priest – like every other member of the Church – ought to grow in awareness that he himself is continually in need of being evangelized. (#26)
This dual dimension of the ministry of the word, both outwardly and inwardly directed, is a novel emphasis that places a higher expectation on the ability of priests to communicate effectively God’s word today. In practical terms, it raises questions about our ability to comprehend and to preach and teach the scriptures.

Ministry of sacrament
The priest as minister of word and sacrament is a familiar designation from Vatican II (e.g., PO #2), which helped the Church restore a balance in ministry that had been distorted from the time of the Reform-ation. Without wishing to oversimplify the matter, one can say that the Reformation led Protestants to emphasize the word of God over the sacraments, and Catholics, in turn, did the opposite. Vatican II clearly brought the two, word and sacrament, back together. In fact, in the reform of the liturgical rites of the Church, Vatican II emphasized that the sacraments should never be celebrated apart from the word of God.
For its part, PDV calls priests to celebrate the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, because of its pre-eminence, with full dignity and heartfelt effort. The document also calls special attention to the sacrament of reconciliation, which is as important for ourselves as for our people (#26). In short, the cultic ministry, traditionally identified with the ‘priestly’ function of Christ, leads us to exercise our role as mediators between God and humanity in a most incarnational way. By means of the sacraments, we bring God closer to the people and vice versa.

Ministry of pastoral charity
The third pastoral role priests play is perhaps the most dramatically re-oriented in PDV. Although the traditional Latin expression is invoked (munus regendi, ‘power of governance’; PDV #26), it is described as ‘pastoral charity’. The document calls it ‘a very delicate and complex duty’ that should be exercised by priests in the manner of true elders (presbyters, from the Greek presbyteroi) in the community. This is striking precisely because it does not evoke the image of the king, the ruler, the legislator, or the law-enforcer. Indeed, the text goes on to list essential pastoral qualities for priests, including:

…faithfulness, integrity, consistency, wisdom, a welcoming spirit, friendliness, goodness of heart, decisive firmness in essentials, freedom from overly subjective viewpoints, personal disinterestedness, patience, an enthusiasm for daily tasks, confidence in the value of the hidden workings of grace as manifested in the simple and the poor (cf. Ti. 1.7-8). (#26)

To say the least, the list is daunting. Who of us really embodies all of these qualities? Nonetheless, in providing an ideal to strive after, PDV has given a rich interpretation to the traditional ‘ruling’ ministry of priests in service to the people of God.

II. The four pillars of formation

Having examined three key elements of PDV, along with the three munera, we now turn to its most prominent teaching, namely, the four pillars of priestly formation: human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral. It has become so commonplace to speak of these four pillars that we may not be conscious of just how novel this structure is, for two reasons.3 First, to the best of my knowledge, this is the first time in an official Church document that human formation has been formally acknowledged as foundational. We shall comment on this in a moment. Secondly, acknowledging that there are four pillars of formation, covering four essential aspects of contemporary priestly ministry, means that they cannot be reduced to one. All four are important to achieve balance and perspective in priestly formation.
Human formation:

The basis of all priestly formation
Previous Church documents speak frequently of spiritual formation of priests. That was clearly also on the mind of Pope Benedict XVI when he proposed this annus sacerdotalis. He wanted to bolster the priesthood and lend support to priests while also calling us to a deeply spiritual renewal.

In light of this, what are we to make of PDV’s bold statement that human formation is ‘the basis of all priestly formation’ (#43)? If we pause to reflect carefully, we find a profound wisdom in this document’s perspective. It is profoundly incarnational. It takes seriously God’s work through human instruments. Without the proper human qualities PDV calls for – integrity, affective maturity, knowledge of the human soul, capacity to relate to others – priests can become mere automatons, mechanically performing rites for people but not really communicating the love of Christ in any meaningful way. More importantly, without good human formation the other three pillars cannot root themselves adequately or bear proper fruit.

In my many years as a formator in seminaries, I found concrete evidence of this assertion among seminarians that I taught and for whom I was either a formation advisor or spiritual director. If a seminarian has many or deep human deficits, such as an insecure identity or a lack of psychosexual maturity, he cannot take full advantage of spiritual growth, intellectual stimulation, or pastoral training. Virtually all one’s energy goes into trying to address the basic human issues that sometimes are overwhelming. This is precisely why the synod fathers insisted: ‘The whole work of priestly formation would be deprived of its necessary foundation if it lacked a suitable human formation’ (#43).

The three additional pillars
The remaining three pillars of priestly formation – spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral – are treated in PDV in ways that are fairly consistent with many prior Church documents on priestly formation. Without a healthy personal spiritual life and an intense life of prayer, priests obviously lose their way. One of the common denominators in the lives of priests who have wandered from their promises of celibacy, obedience and simplicity of life is the lack of a deep life of prayer. Fostering a personal relationship with Christ is absolutely essential. PDV calls it ‘living intimately united’ with Jesus Christ (#46), and speaks of developing ‘a deep intimacy with God’ (#47). Without this profound spiritual relationship with Christ, which finds its concrete expression in periodic silence, lectio divina, daily Eucharist and the Liturgy of the Hours, days of recollection, and a variety of spiritual exercises, priests can quickly become burnt out.

But PDV also notes the important role of intellectual formation. Faith is not merely a matter of mystical or cultic experience. Faith also demands the exercise of our minds to comprehend the mystery of God. Essentially, PDV calls priests to become what I call ‘pastoral theologians’. We cannot nourish our people with pious platitudes, especially in our time when so many are well read and educated. They also seek guidance to serious theological, ethical, and pastoral questions that require some intellectual rigour. PDV describes this type of priestly theologian:

The theologian is therefore, first and foremost, a believer, a person of faith. But the theologian is a believer who asks himself questions about his own faith (fides quaerens intellectum), with the aim of reaching a deeper understanding of the faith itself. (#58)

This blend of the man of prayer – a believer, as well as one who struggles to understand the truths of the faith in all their complexity in order to communicate them faithfully – is exactly the kind of priest needed today, especially in the context of pluralism that characterizes modern society.

The fourth and final pillar is, in a sense, where all four get integrated, namely, pastoral formation. This is one area that seminary teachers generally find easy to promote among seminarians. They usually revel in their pastoral placements, enjoying the concrete experience of ministry; and they are rewarded often with the support of people who affirm them and encourage their vocation. This is the arena where the future priests’ human identity, experience in prayer and liturgy, intellectual acumen in philosophy, theology and the word of God, and pastoral skills should all intertwine.

PDV, however, also emphasizes an interesting aspect of pastoral formation that should not be passed over lightly. In pastoral ministry seminarians learn to become ‘men of communion’. Priests are by nature men of communion, men of the Church. The message we proclaim is not our own, and the ministry in which we engage is shared with others. We join a presbyterate, united with a bishop, and we exercise a collegial ministry with other ministers in the Church, especially with deacons and lay ministers. All are part of the priestly people of God, and our priestly ministry is a sharing in this identity. Priesthood is not a license for personal employment. It is a vocation, a call issued by God and discerned by the Church.

The task of integrating all four pillars of priestly formation is not easy. PDV offers no magical formula for integration and success. We priests know well our shortcomings and our failures. Experientially, many dioceses and seminaries have found that mentoring is one way to promote an effective and healthy integration of all the elements of priestly formation. Pairing experienced pastors with newly ordained (regardless of their age) can be one effective means of promoting integration while simultaneously fostering group identity.

III. Ongoing applicability of PDV

This article is not a comprehensive analysis of this historic document on priestly formation. There are many other facets worthy of reflection. I have, however, attempted to indicate why PDV is such a novel and important document. It is not merely a guide for priestly formation. It is virtually a treatise on the mystery of priestly identity. As such, I recommend it to priests as a text to read during this Year for Priests.
As Pope Benedict himself has acknowledged, the priesthood has gone through some rough times of late. Some of our brother priests (and bishops) have let the Church down. They have strayed seriously from their priestly promises. As in the time of Jeremiah, some, who were supposed to be shepherds taking care of the flock, have been fleecing them instead. I once heard a lay person comment on a priest who had sexually abused: ‘This was no wolf in sheep’s clothing; this was a wolf disguised as a shepherd’.

Most priests and bishops have, thank God, been faithful to their calling. This Year for Priests is a great opportunity to rejoice in this fidelity. But this year is also a chance to deepen our reflection on the priesthood. PDV gives us a sophisticated analysis of the challenges in priestly formation and ministry today. In short, I suggest that PDV invites us to incarnate in an ever-deepening way the identity of the one and only true priest, the great shepherd of the sheep, Jesus Christ.