> Charles: Has anyone ever tried to calculate the cost (it must be in the
millions) of all these 'ad limina' visits to the Vatican? What with the
Holy See having diplomatic relations all over the world and that
representative ex officio holding the place of honour in a country would
it not save money - a lot of money-that could be used for other things?
I know from personal experience that the Archdiocesan Seminary in
Guadalajara Mexico is bulging. They are still praying for deliverance by
the way from the errors of Vatican 2! (See Collect of Our Lady of
Zapopan). I was delighted to see that the SCUS threw out the ex
postfacto law on alleged sexual miscreance (the one that eliminated the
statute of limitations in California).Changing the rules in mid stream
is not how the game is played. Blessings. GDVW+
Pope Urges Solid
Training for Seminarians and Priests
>
> Says Christianity Cannot Be Reduced to "Merely Human
> Wisdom"
>
> VATICAN CITY, JUNE 26, 2003 (Zenit.org).- John Paul II
> asked India's bishops to
> guarantee a "solid theological training" to
> seminarians and priests, overcoming
> the temptation to make Christianity "merely human
> wisdom."
>
> The Pope made his appeal today to the bishops of the
> ecclesiastical provinces
> of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, Patna and Ranchi, who were
> concluding their five-yearly
> visit to the Holy See.
>
> His appeal was particularly significant since India
> now has the most Catholic
> seminarians in the world. According to the Church's
> Statistical Yearbook, India
> at the start of last year had 11,303 students of
> philosophy and theology
> (candidates to religious or diocesan priesthood) and
> 10,547 students in minor
> seminaries.
>
> By comparison, countries with many more Catholics have
> fewer seminarians in
> philosophy and theology: Poland, for instance, has
> 6,767; Mexico, 6,700; and the
> United States, 5,080.
>
> Addressing the bishops, the Holy Father expressed the
> hope "that you will
> persevere in your efforts to guarantee a solid
> theological training in your
> seminaries and a sound continuing formation for your
> priests, thus rejecting the
> temptation to reduce Christianity to a merely human
> wisdom, a pseudo-science of
> well-being."
>
> "Proper theological preparation requires instruction
> which, while respecting
> that part of the truth found in other religious
> traditions, nevertheless
> unfailingly proclaims that Jesus Christ is the Way and
> the Truth and the Life," he
> said.
>
> "To this end Catholic educational institutions must
> offer a sound philosophical
> formation which is necessary for the study of
> theology," highlighting that
> truth "transcends the limitations of both Eastern and
> Western thought and unites
> every culture and society," the Pope said.
>
> He continued: "As sharers in Christ's prophetic
> mission, we have a solemn
> responsibility to bring that truth ever closer to
> ourselves and to others. This
> sacred duty is especially incumbent upon those who are
> entrusted to train priests
> and religious.
>
> "Formators and professors are obliged to teach the
> message of Christ in its
> completeness as the only way, not as one way among
> many."
>
> "In so doing," he added, "theologians, as servants of
> the divine truth,
> dedicate their studies and labors to ever deeper
> understanding of that truth, and
> never lose sight of the meaning of their service in
> the Church."
>
> * * *
>
>
>
>
> __________________________________
> Do you Yahoo!?
> SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month!
> http://sbc.yahoo.com
>
> --
> To unsubscribe, send ANY message to
> <faithandlife-unsubscribe@...>
-----------------------------------------
This email was sent using FREE Catholic Online Webmail.
http://webmail.catholic.org/