AMERICA - Priestly formation should be geared towards becoming missionary disciples

Madrid (Agenzia Fides) – The "Formation of Priests in Latin America" was the theme of the conference presented by the Vice President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, Archbishop Octavio Ruiz Arenas, among the events organized by the Institute of Canon Law San Damaso in Madrid, to commemorate St. Raymond Peñafort, Patron of Canonists. In his speech, Archbishop Ruiz Arenas said that Latin America is currently experiencing major events, espcially in implementing the conclusions of the Fifth General Conference of Latin American Bishops, which focused in particular on the theme “Disciples and Missionaries...that they may have life in Jesus Christ.”
Its practical implementation, Archbishop Ruiz Arenas said, represents a change of mentality, a total self-opening to the people, trying to address the major challenges of the Latin American continent through a pastoral conversion and carrying out the Continental Mission. The Continental Mission does not call for a series of initiatives, but seeks to place all the activities in a missionary dimension and context. Thus, priestly formation must be geared towards forming missionary disciples, men who are to be missionaries, who are facing the challenges presented by the city, home to men and women who really know their culture and the real situation of Latin America, and who are able to respond with fidelity. Priestly formation, therefore, “points out a number of indications that must be applied so that seminarians can become priests who are men of their time and succeed in the task in which they are trained.” (CE) (Agenzia Fides 11/03/2010)