SEMINARIAN FORMATION
Photo by Marek Dziekonski
Sacred Heart begins Implementation of New Program of Priestly Formation
In response to the newly published USCCB document
Karla Dorweiler
An updated program to guide seminaries around the country published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops ( USCCB ) will serve as a model for best practices in the formation of priests at Sacred Heart Major Seminary . The sixth edition of the Program of Priestly Formation ( PPF ) was published in June .
A statement released on June 6 by the USCCB reads : “ The sixth edition of this document which was promulgated on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on
June 24 , is particular law in the Church in the United States and serves as the guide for seminaries and priestly vocations programs that form men for the ministerial priesthood . This document was released in accordance with the Holy See ’ s 2016 document , Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis . The PPF sets forth the nature and mission of the ministerial priesthood , norms for the admission of candidates , norms for the formation of candidates and norms for the governance and administration of seminaries .”
Diocese of Lansing Bishop Earl Boyea ( Class of 1973 ) and former Dean of Studies at Sacred Heart , served on the USCCB Committee on Clergy , Consecrated Life and Vocations which updated the document . The committee submitted the PPF to the USCCB for approval and then to the Holy See for final approval . Bishop Boyea will become the chair of the committee in November ; he also contributed to the previous , fifth edition of the PPF . Some of the changes resulting from the PPF could
18 Sacred Heart Major Seminary | Mosaic | Fall 2022