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Document:
Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Instruction on Inter-Institute Collaboration for Formation, 8 December 1998.
1. Attentive to the conditions of the present moment and under the guidance of the Lord, the Church is continuously required to provide, in view of the growth of the Body of Christ,1 for the formation of her members.
1. Cf. Lumen Gentium, 7; Christifideles laici, 21, 24.
3. Collaboration among institutes in the area of formation arose from the need to answer the challenges arising from concrete situations and from specific pedagogical needs. At the beginning, it developed mainly in places where religious families had a limited number of candidates either because of a reduced number of vocations or because the vocations were the first fruits of the apostolic work of the young Churches. In addition, there were a lack of formators and a small number of qualified teaching personnel. This situation brought numerous institutes to join forces, aware of the need to offer their members a more complete and deeper formation.
2. Cf. Lumen Gentium, 43-44; Vita Consecrata, 13.
3. Cf. Potissimum institutioni, 2 February 1990.
4. Cf. Perfectae Caritatis, 8; can. 675.
in “interinstitute7 centers.” These have helped to avoid an exodus of candidates into other cultures during the initial process of religious life.
A more clear understanding of the many demands and difficulties found on the formative journey has also brought institutes to create such centers. A growing number of institutes wishes to offer their young members in formation the most complete educational course possible. In their formative communities, they continue the task of handing on the spiritual patrimony of the institute. But they also feel the need to offer those elements which have always constituted the precious common patrimony of consecrated life, a richness which flows from the centuries long experience of the Church and from the pressing needs and yearnings of our time. A deep and integral synthesis of all these elements is a very complex task that can not always be carried out by the formators and professors of one institute by itself.
7. By “interinstitute centers” of formation (sometimes called “intercongregational centers”) is understood the diverse forms of collaboration among religious institutes, at the service of formation.
8. John Paul II, Message to the XIV General Assembly of the Conference of Religious of Brasil, 11 July 1986, n. 2. Found in L’Osservatore Romano (English version) 1986, n. 35, p. 2.
9. Ibid., n. 4; cf. Vita Consecrata, 53.
10. Ibid., n. 4. Found in L’Osservatore Romano (English version) 1986, n. 35, p. 10.
In this way, the Holy Father reaffirms the fundamental orientations of Vatican Council II in relation to formation. These have been ratified by the experience which religious life has known in recent years. The doctrine taught by the Council and found in subsequent documents of the Magisterium shows the profound integration which exists among formation, renewal, and the mission of the religious institutes.11 Even more, he underscores the fact that formation is a primary factor for the renewal of the institutes and for a more vital assimilation of their charismatic identity in view of the continuing evolution of our time. High quality formative programs are indispensable for carrying out the mission of the institutes in a world which poses fundamental questions about faith and consecrated life, in relation to scientific, human, ethical, and religious problems.
4. In order to understand and accompany the development of these initiatives, the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and for Societies of Apostolic Life has gathered extensive documentation on the interinstitute centers which already exist. Study of this material has helped us reflect on some fundamental conditions for the educational effectiveness of the centers and their various initiatives: clarity about the purpose of the center, determination of ultimate responsibility and of the authorities for running the center, quality and preparation of professors, integrated design of the program and of its gradual implementation. Of fundamental importance for creating an atmosphere which helps in the living and deepening of the call to consecrated life, however, is the presence of the formators in these initiatives, and the smooth meshing and complementarity of the intercongregational program with the programs of the individual institutes.
11. Cf. Perfectae Caritatis, 18; ET 52; Vita Consecrata,68.
6. In face of this rich and complex situation, and attentive to the various initiatives already functioning, the Congregation considers itself responsible to offer some reflections and timely directives for the monitoring, consolidation, and development of these experiences and of others like them.
7. Before entering into specifics, it seems necessary to recall that formation is an inalienable right and duty of every institute.14 This fundamental principle is basic to this entire document and needs to be given prominence right from the beginning so that collaboration among institutes in the overall formative process can be properly understood.
12. Cf. Redemptoris Missio,2; Vita Consecrata, 67, 73.
13. Cf. Perfectae Caritatis, 1; Religious and Human Promotion 22; Christifideles Laici, 1821, 32.
14. Cf. can. 646-653 and 659-661.
15. Cf. Mutuae relationes, 11.
16. Cf. Mutuae relationes 14b; can. 574.1; Vita Consecrata, 45, 29, 33-34.
18. Cf. Perfectae Caritatis, 1; can. 577; Vita Consecrata, 19, 47-48.
20. Cf. can. 586.2; Vita Consecrata, 48.
21. Potissimum institutioni, 98; cf. can. 587.1, 646, and 659.
22. Cf. Potissimum institutioni, 46, 90-91; can. 577.
23. John Paul II, Address to the Bishops of Northeast Region II of the National Conference of Bishops of Brasil, 11 July 1995. Found in L’Osservatore Romano (English version) 1995, n. 29, p. 5.
Thus, in keeping with these principles, when the Code of Canon Law speaks of formation in the strict sense, it refers only to the formation of religious within the context of their own institutes.24 This does not preclude, however, the possibility of collaboration which is indeed recognized and encouraged by Pope John Paul II in his postsynodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita consecrata. He asks that “in the perspective of a communion open to the challenges of our time, Superiors, men and women, ‘working in harmony with the Bishops’, should seek ‘to make use of the accomplishments of the best members of each Institute’”25.
8. The principle of collaboration29 and solidarity among the various institutes, especially among those present in a determined geographic-cultural area, also needs to be emphasized, in connection with the preceding principle. In fact, religious life has acquired a deeper consciousness of the uniqueness of each charism, of its specific ecclesial role, and also of the characteristics and responsibilities common to all institutes.
24. Cf. can. 646-653 for the formation of novices; can. 659-660 for the formation of those temporarily professed; can. 661 for continuing formation.
25. Cf. Vita Consecrata, 52, 53.
26. Perfectae Caritatis, 2; can.576, 578.
27. Vita Consecrata, 3, cf. Vita Consecrata, 29.
28. Cf. Lumen Gentium, 44; Mutuae relationes, 11; can. 576-578; 587.1; Vita Consecrata, 25, 35, 92-95.
29. Cf. Vita Consecrata, 52.
Further, collaboration finds its soul in the pneumatic-mysterious dimension of the Church from which, by the work of the Spirit, arises the multiplicity of charisms and toward whose communion and mission the life and missionary mandate of the institutes converge. It is founded on the richness, vitality, and beauty of the Church,31 and it is fruitful because the various charismatic initiatives complement and illumine one another; one uncovering for the other its own gifts by being together and by sharing,32 in fraternity.
A concrete expression of collaboration and solidarity among religious families is the initiative, now spread in various contexts, of creating interinstitute centers of formation, especially where individual institutes do not have sufficient means to offer a complete formation to their members.
30 Cf. Vita Consecrata, 66, 93; Pontifical Work for Ecclesiastical Vocations, New Vocations for a New Europe (Final Document of the Congress on Vocations to the Priesthood and to Consecrated Life in Europe: Rome, 5-10 May 1997), nn. 15-19.
31. Cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, IIa-IIae, q. 184, art. 4.
32. Cf. Vita Consecrata, 52.
33. John Paul II, Address to the International Union of Superiors General (UISG), 18 May 1995. Found in L’Osservatore Romano (English version) 1995, n. 23, p. 3.
offers an eloquent testimony of the communion to which the Church is called by divine vocation, and helps formation achieve the level and breadth that the mission of religious life requires in today’s world.
– intellectual preparation is an irreplaceable dimension of formation. The ordering of subjects to be studied and scientific seriousness ought to contribute to harmonizing the attitudes proper to consecrated life. Thus the centers should offer a service of high quality to contribute wisely to the integral growth of the students.
– the interinstitute character of the centers requires a special respect for the aspects which are common to all. At the same time, collaboration and solidarity also require respect and appreciation of the diversities. If this were not so, the centers would probably contribute to a sameness which would impoverish them and would bring about the risk of spiritual and pastoral uniformity, inadequate for the complexity of the world which is to be evangelized, and harmful to the specific identity of each institute. In this case, the centers would lose their identity as a service to religious life.
34. Cf. Vita Consecrata, 73.
41. Can. 659.2 and 659.3; Potissimum institutioni, 103.
42. John Paul II, Address to the Bishops of Northeast Region II of the National Conference of Bishops of Brasil, 11 July 1995, n. 6. Found in L’Osservatore Romano (English version) 1995, n. 29, p. 5.
43. Cf. Potissimum institutioni, 99.
44. Cf. Essential Elements in the Church’s Teaching on Religious Life 47; Potissimum institutioni, 60.
45. Cf. Potissimum institutioni, 26-27.
46. Fraternal Life in Community, 43.
These have very diverse configurations. Some are designed to provide complementary services; others provide for the formation of religious from the doctrinal aspect; still others set up specific structures to prepare religious who are candidates for the priesthood. The norms and directives which follow take these differences into account.
The formal establishing of an interinstitute center of formation requires the written consent of the Ordinary of the place.
47. John Paul II, Address to Women Religious, Florianopolis, 18 October 1991, n. 6. Found in L’Osservatore Romano (English version) 1991, n. 43, p. 14.
48. Cf. Essential Elements in the Church’s Teaching on Religious Life III 12; Mutuae relationes, 46; Religious and Human Promotion, 9; can. 659, 665. 1.
51. Cf. Potissimum institutioni, 98-100.
All interinstitute initiatives should be run directly by a team, under the responsibility of one person, who enjoys assured stability and is competent in formation.
In choosing professors, attention is to be given to sound doctrine, specific competence, pedagogical ability, and ability to work as part of a team. Consideration shall also be given to their knowledge and esteem for religious life in its various forms and developments, according to the Second Vatican Council and the Magisterium.
The centers should promote a lively formational sensitivity in the professors, organizing meetings with the formators for the exchange of ideas and for evaluation.
12. Collaborative initiatives take place in the various phases of religious formation. They can be part of initial formation: preparation for novitiate, formation of novices, formation of religious in temporary vows, formation of candidates for ordained ministries; and part of continuing formation.
52. Cf. Mutuae relationes, 28, 31; Vita Consecrata, 46, 50.
53 John Paul II, Address to the Bishops of Northeast Region II of the National Conference of Bishops of Brasil, 11 July 1995. Found in L’Osservatore Romano (English version) 1995, n. 29, p. 5.
Services should be organized by the Conferences of Major Superiors, or by a group of Major Superiors, who bear ultimate responsibility for them. These Superiors are responsible for informing this Congregation every three years about the life and activities of the centers.
The organization of the programs ought to offer effective help for doctrinal formation and for the vocational growth of the candidates, according to the criteria indicated by the Code of Canon Law54 and by complementary norms issued by competent authorities.
13. Given the diversity of human experience and of religious formation in the candidates, preparation for the novitiate, in today’s sociocultural circumstances, is seen to be ever more necessary and demanding.57 Intercongregational initiatives should offer candidates from the various institutes programs which address, with competence and solidity, the fundamental contents of human and Christian formation so as to promote an integral formation and satisfy any existing gaps. Further, formators themselves need to be able to take part in programs designed to enliven religious life and to apply instruments and criteria for careful vocational discernment. This collaboration is particularly helpful for formators who work in cultures different from their own or who accompany candidates from diverse cultures.
54. Cf. can. 646, 659-661; Pastores dabo vobis, 42-59.
55. Cf. Optatam totius, 14; Vita Consecrata, 14-16.
56. Vita Consecrata, 49; cf. Potissimum institutioni, 24-25.
57. Cf. Potissimum institutioni, 42-44.
15. Interinstitute collaboration in the novitiate phase is one of the “complementary services.” Not included under the category of collaboration is the creation of so-called “intercongregational novitiates,” which would have male and female novices living in the same community. Indeed, such an arrangement does not correspond to the proper character of the beginning of religious life, which ought to introduce the novice to what characterizes the patrimony of every institute. Consequently, every institute should have its own novitiate.
58. Cf. Renovationis causam, 4.
59. Cf. Potissimum institutioni,45; can. 646.
60. Cf. can. 646, 652.2, 652.3, and 652.4.
61. John Paul II, Address to the Bishops of Northeast Region II of the Conference of Bishops of Brasil, 11 July 1995, n. 6. Found in L’Osservatore Romano (English version) 1995, n. 29, p. 5.
a) The necessary harmonizing of the courses offered by the center and the process of initiation into the religious life of each institute require as appropriate, if not necessary, that the novice directors be present for the courses in order to help the novices integrate the contents.
b) The program should offer basic courses on different subjects in such a way that institutes can choose those which will complete the formation they themselves give. The program should be well structured and harmonious, include fundamental elements of Sacred Scripture, spiritual theology, moral theology, ecclesiology, theology and the law of religious life — in particular of each of the evangelical counsels — liturgy, and also fundamental concepts of anthropology and psychology which should give to the novice, at the beginning of the formative journey, the possibility of knowing himself or herself better, particularly in those areas most needing formation.62 These subjects should be treated as contributors to formation.
c) During the novitiate, the courses should not be programmed with a frequency or intensity which impede the purpose proper to this phase of formation.63 They should be carried out in such a way that residing outside the novitiate is avoided. In the event that novices must go to another place for this purpose, for brief periods of time and sporadically, the Major Superior shall observe canons 647.2, 648.1 and 648.3, and 649.1.
63. Cf. can. 646, 648, 652.5.
64. Cf. Vita Consecrata, 46, 52.
e) Formators, according to their specific responsibilities,65 are to meet at regular intervals with the team responsible for the center — also listening to the views of those in formation — to monitor the program and, in relation to the reports received from the various parties, the purpose of the courses. Because of their primary responsibility in formation, Major Superiors should follow these initiatives attentively.
66. Cf. Potissimum institutioni, 13, 39-41.
67. Cf. can. 659-661; Potissimum institutioni, 58.
68. Cf. Potissimum institutioni, 58-65.
particular attention to the history, theology, and mission of consecrated life, and to their pastoral preparation. This is especially so for institutes which are unable to provide for their needs in other ways.
b) In particular, in order to respond better to the demands proper to this phase of formation, interinstitute initiatives of collaboration should be mindful of the characteristics and circumstances of life of those professed of temporary vows.
In fact, the time of temporary profession is characterized as a propitious moment for the maturing of an intimate relationship with Christ70 and the maturing of a faithfilled vision of the world, the Church, and history. It is a time for committing oneself to the kingly, priestly, and prophetic mission of the People of God. It requires, in a kind of sapiential integration, both a study of theological disciplines and a deepening of the biblical foundations of a vocation to the radical following of Christ. To this must be added adequate knowledge of the means and steps which lead to human and Christian maturity. Thus, this phase of formation continues the study of Sacred Scripture and other theological subjects such as Christology, ecclesiology, Mariology, moral theology, and the theology of history, and the additional fields of spirituality, ascetical theology, and human sciences, which contribute to a maturity in Christ of the human person,71 should also be included.
70. Cf. Vita Consecrata, 16, 65.
71. Cf. Potissimum institutioni, 35-38.
73. Cf. Mutuae relationes, 18, 36, 37, 40, 5658; can. 675.3, 678, 680, 680.1, VC 16, 31, 54-55.
missio ad gentes, ecumenism, interreligious dialogue,74 the relation of the Church to the world, the social and political duties of Christians and the specific responsibility of consecrated persons in this sector.75 All these themes should offer a solid foundation for the pastoral and missionary action of the Church-mystery and communion in the New Evangelization. In this phase of temporary profession, it will be helpful to deepen the charismatic contribution by which the various institutes share in the mission of the Church.
d) Such goals can be satisfied by the specialized centers of study which will be considered in Part III or by initiatives or courses which are more accessible, whether by reason of the level of studies, or the basic level of courses offered, or the short duration of the commitment.
For initiatives and courses in this phase also, the formators should be involved in the programming, execution, and evaluation. This involvement can become a stimulus for their own renewal in view of their responsibility as well as a reminder for all to respond more effectively to the expectations of the young.
e) Religious who attend other centers of study, especially civil centers (universities, academies, etc.) in order to study the humanities or engage in other scientific or technical studies can find in the interinstitute centers the possibility of integrating their formation, especially by courses in theology and pastoral studies.
74. Cf. Vita Consecrata, 102.
75. Cf. Religious and Human Promotion.
76. Cf. Potissimum institutioni, 64.
The Instruction Potissimum institutioni and the Exhortation Vita consecrata give ample space to continuing formation,81 describing its nature, identifying its objectives and contents, asking Superiors, according to the norm of the Code, to provide for their members the “assistance and the time”82 necessary and to designate a member as responsible for continuing formation.
Interinstitute collaboration can be helpful for organizing temporary and permanent services which should give new impulse to the spiritual life, to theological-pastoral updating, and to a renewed professional training for carrying out the responsibilities entrusted. It will give an important place to deepening the general lines and pastoral priorities of the Church for carrying out better her mission of evangelizing today’s world. Hopefully, religious families will offer their best trained members for this purpose.
Conferences of Major Superiors and those responsible for centers of study should include among their objectives and programs adequate initiatives for the continuing formation of religious. In this way, more effective collaboration and complementarity among them will be achieved.
78. Cf. Potissimum institutioni, 70.
80. Cf. Fraternal Life in Community, 43, 54-57; Vita Consecrata, 64.
81. Cf. Potissimum institutioni, 66-71; Vita Consecrata, 69-71.
19. In Part I and Part II, some fundamental criteria referring to interinstitute initiatives of formation and some forms of collaboration in the various phases of formation itself were considered. In Part III, institutes of religious sciences and institutes of philosophy and theology which provide a complete academic formation and have their own juridic structure and particular organizational requirements will be considered.
It is helpful to recall that the formation of religious brothers, sisters, and permanent deacons, and the formation of religious who are candidates for priesthood, all have specific requirements which must be respected. In order to respect the identity of each one, it is necessary to distinguish between priestly formation, diaconal formation, and the formation required for other ecclesial services.83 Consequently, in organizing the contents of its programs, a center of studies which prepares such religious should be mindful of the characteristics proper to each group.
It is necessary to offer the participants a solid philosophical and theological foundation; to prepare them to be educators of the faith; to prepare them for the explicit proclamation of the Gospel and for human and social promotion; to make them sensitive to the relationship between the Gospel and culture, to ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, to discerning the signs of the times, to being part of an overall pastoral program, and to missionary openness in communion with the universal and particular Church.
84. Cf. Mutuae relationes, 31.
Also, such institutes should offer a good preparation, permeated with evangelical values, in the human sciences (pedagogy, psychology, sociology, communications sciences), enabling the participants to use them for transmitting the faith and forming disciples of Christ.
Finally, these institutes should provide courses suitable for training religious to carry out more effectively their specific apostolate in the Church: courses for pastoral work with youth, the infirm, the elderly, the marginalized, or other particular apostolic activities proper to the mission of each institute.
21. The founding and running of these institutes depend on the Conferences of Major Superiors of men or of women, or on a group of Major Superiors. This group bears ultimate responsibility for the institutes. It is necessary that every center have its own Statutes, in which are defined its purpose, those for whom it is intended, the services it offers, and the body which bears immediate responsibility for it. Confirmation of erection and approval of the Statutes is reserved to the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and for Societies of Apostolic Life.
To assure its adequate functioning, the center must be run by a team with a person designated as responsible for the team. In carrying out responsibilities, this person is to assure stability and formational competence. Every three years, he or she shall send a report of activities to this Congregation.
85. Cf. John Paul II, Postsynodal Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in Africa (14 September 1995), 55-71.
86. It is necessary to distinguish institutes of religious sciences (which are considered in this document) from higher institutes of religious sciences which are erected by the Holy See and are sponsored by a Theological Faculty. Cf. Norms for Higher Institutes of Religious Sciences, Seminarium 1 (1991), pp. 194-201.
Possible civil recognition of these institutes is of great benefit, but ought not prejudice or alter the formative goals proper to them.
87. Cf. John Paul II, Apostolic Constitution Sapientia Christiana, 1979, Part I: Common Norms, art. 62 §1, and Part II (Congregation for Catholic Education), Applied Norms, art. 47.
90. Cf. Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus (28 June 1988), 108.2.
institutes of philosophy and theology reserved for candidates to the priesthood are encouraged to affiliate to a philosophical or theological Faculty91 respectively.
b) Authority over the institute. The Statutes shall define clearly how the Major Superiors who constitute the organism which bears ultimate responsibility for the center are to exercise their authority.
91. Cf. Sapientia Christiana, Part I: Common Norms, art. 62, and Part II: Applied Norms, art. 47.
92. Cf. Sapientia Christiana, Part I: Common Norms, art. 24.
96. Cf. Vita Consecrata, 50.
97. Cf. Vita Consecrata, 48-50.
c) Programs. The intellectual formation of a future priest is based and constructed above all upon the study of Sacra Doctrina.
In relation to studies, special attention shall be given to the completeness of the subjects and to the content prescribed for the six year period of philosophical and theological studies.100 While respecting the demands proper to priestly religious life and to the “intrinsic unity of the Catholic priesthood,” whether secular or religious,101 these studies should be carried out in light of the plan for priestly formation established by the Holy See and by the episcopal conference of the country,102 and provide that there always be included a course on the theology and spirituality of the religious life and the theology of the particular Church.103 Also in this case, possible civil recognition should not prejudice or alter the program of studies prescribed by the Church.
98. Pastores dabo vobis, 53.
100. Cf. can. 250, 252-258; 1032.
101. Cf. Optatam totius, Introduction; Ratio fundamentalis institutionis sacerdotalis, I, 14; Potissimum institutioni, 108-109.
102. Cf. can. 242; Ratio fundamentalis institutionis sacerdotalis, I, 2.
103. Cf. Vita Consecrata, 50.
104. Cf. Pastores dabo vobis, 61.
permanent diaconate or for the other ecclesial services consistent with their vocation.
d) Professors. The formative validity and the consistency of the initiatives described depend in great part on the professional quality, on the sensus Ecclesiae, and on the religious qualities of the professors, in addition to the organization of the programs and the life of the center itself. The professors should be mindful that their teaching ought to “open and communicate to others the understanding of the faith, in the last analysis in the name of the Lord and his Church.”105 Major Superiors shall be mindful of this in their choice of professors. Above other pastoral commitments, the preparation of future generations is to be privileged, assigning to them the best professors and formators. This is an ecclesial responsibility which they may not neglect, for the good of the People of God, of religious life, and of their own institute, both in the present and in the future.
In addition to academic competence, the professors shall be attentive to the didactic art required by their office.106 There should be special care to assure the quality of teaching for the disciplines which constitute the fundamental part of the curriculum of studies.
105. Pastores dabo vobis, 67.
108. Cf. can. 248, 253. Apostolic Constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae On Catholic Universities (15 August 1990) Part II General Norms, 4, 3. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Instruction Donum Veritatis On the Ecclesial Vocation of the Theologian (24 May 1990), 6 and 7.
needs of places and times. Written authorization of the Major Superior or of the Superior of the house of formation to which the candidate belongs is also necessary.
Candidates of the diocesan clergy can also be admitted upon written request of their respective Bishop, who assumes, according to the norm of the Statutes of the center, the rights and duties of Superiors who send students there.
The center has the right to exclude from its programs a student who during the course of the year shows himself incapable of measuring up to the center’s objectives and conditions for admission, even if he shows superior intellectual ability and diligence in studies. Such dismissal does not impede his respective Major Superior from providing other options for him in another place.
f) Formation community and center of philosophical-theological studies. The Superior and the formation team of every religious institute are always the ones primarily responsible for the religious and priestly formation of their own members. They should guide and coordinate community life, the overall program of formation and the complementary courses proper to their institute, according to the institute’s own spirituality and pastoral purpose, as the unifying basis of human, doctrinal, spiritual, and pastoral formation. They should maintain regular contact with the center of studies and be actively interested in its programs.
In the process of discerning and evaluating the suitability of their religious candidates for the priesthood, Superiors should also consult the professors and those who collaborate in pastoral formation. This exchange can be a source of advantage for both the formation community and the center of studies, who will feel that their responsibility in the formative journey of future priests is sought.
Finally, it is to be hoped that every religious institute which sends students to the center also be committed to contribute a qualified member for teaching or for animating the life of the center.
under the responsibility of one religious institute which, maintaining its own autonomy, admits as students religious of other institutes.109 These centers follow their own norms.
110. Ratio fundamentalis institutionis sacerdotalis, V 30.
112. Cf. 1 Cor 11:1; 1 Thes 1:6. Cf. Jean Galot, S.J., “Mutual Esteem in Community,” Informationes SCRIS 1980, 269-274.
24. Major Superiors, as their primary responsibility, should choose future formators carefully so that a religious family have available members qualified for such a ministry. The criteria for choosing, the qualities required, the preparation and updating should be defined by the norms proper to each institute and developed in the Ratio Institutionis.
Major Superiors should offer the formators programs and opportunities which assure the necessary theological and pedagogical formation, spiritual formation, competence in the human sciences, and specific training for the tasks to be carried out on the journey of formation. Formators should be expert particularly in the matters which refer to the spiritual patrimony of the founder or foundress.
This Dicastery again urges religious families to continue developing efforts toward the adequate preparation of those responsible for initial and continuing formation.
113. John Paul II, Message to the XIV General Assembly of the Conference of Religious of Brasil, 11 July 1986, par. 4. Found in L’Osservatore Romano (English version) 1986, n. 35, pp. 2, 10. Cf. also John Paul II, Address to the Plenary of CICLSAL, 1 December 1988: Insegnamenti, XI4 (1988), pp. 170306.
Conferences of Major Superiors, others by a consortium of institutes, or are initiatives promoted by specialized centers or by university Faculties.
a) Their specific organization should have as its purpose preparing educators for the task of the integral formation of a religious in the unity and uniqueness of the person, developing all the dimensions of baptismal and religious consecration. Thus, courses should contribute to a formation which is doctrinal, spiritual, canonical, and pedagogical-pastoral. In particular they should ensure solid theological formation, especially in the fields of spirituality, moral theology, and religious life. Further they should make the formators aware of the organic unity of the formation process and of the specific goals of each stage of formation.
114. Cf. “Directives Concerning the Preparation of Seminary Educators,” Congregation for Catholic Education, 4 November 1993, nn. 79, 82; CD 5, 35; Mutuae relationes, 31, 37; Vita Consecrata, 53.
115. Cf. Vita Consecrata, 73, 94.
116. Cf. Vita Consecrata, 53.
117. Cf. Vita Consecrata, 94, 95.
– should develop the formators’ ability to relate, listen, discern vocations, guide, and educate young people and adults to discernment and commitment.
– should develop the ability to accompany another spiritually, pedagogically, and psychologically; the purposes of these and the levels of intervention differ, even though they converge in the integral maturing of the person consecrated to God. They should offer skills for handling and knowing how to face particular situations and personal problems, with the help of experts when necessary.
118. Cf. Vita Consecrata, 41-42; 72.
119. Vita Consecrata, 46; cf. Religious and Human Promotion , 24.
120. Cf. Mutuae relationes, 37; Vita Consecrata, 4, 15, 31, 56.
121. Cf. Vita Consecrata, 79-80.
c) Formators should learn how to prepare the members of their communities for the task of the New Evangelization: announcing Christ, the Good News of the Father, to all men and women. This implies preparation for the evangelization of cultures, for pastoral work in favor of life, the family and solidarity, for the evangelical option for the poor, for the formation of youth, for the mission ad gentes, for ecumenical commitment and interreligious dialogue, social communications, etc.123 They should learn to welcome the hopes and questions of youth, children of our time, who are entering communities and prepare them to incarnate the best of their own epoch and give a response of holiness and of effective charity to the needs of our times. To form is always to prepare for the service which the Church and society need in a determined epoch and cultural setting.
A formation which is integral, precisely because its hinge is in the education of faith and in maturing the commitment of consecration-mission, must be mindful also of the new forms of poverty and injustice of our time. In this area, interinstitute courses, without falling into simplistic formulas, can be a helpful support for formators.
d) Courses for formators should provide an experience of spiritual growth and contribute to their continuing formation. The responsibility of accompanying young people on their journey of growth includes a constant invitation from Christ, Master and Lord, to intensify the life of prayer, intimacy with him, and to embrace the cross which seals this delicate ministry of formation, placing always one’s own trust in his guidance and his grace.
122. Cf. Vita Consecrata, 37.
123. Cf. Vita Consecrata, 77-83, 96-99; 101-103.
One, and the Missionary of the Father”124 – and has at its center the Paschal mystery. Thus the preparation of formators may not be merely intellectual, doctrinal, pastoral, and professional; it is, above all, a deep, human, and religious experience of sharing in the mystery of Christ while respectfully approaching the mystery of the human person. In Christ is the experience of sonship before the Father and of docility to the Spirit, of fraternity and sharing, of fatherhood and motherhood in the Spirit: “My little children, with whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you!” (Gal 4:19). In this light it is helpful that formators be able to meet among themselves as consecrated persons, to support one another on their journey of faith, to pray together, to let themselves be questioned by the Word, and to celebrate the Eucharist. They can be enriched by experiencing the goodness and wisdom of the Master who, by the outpouring of his Spirit and by the mediation of the maternal action of Mary, continues his work and, in a privileged way, by means of their own mediation in the life and experiences of those whom they help to live as “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Eph 2:19).
In offering the criteria and the directives presented in this document, the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and for Societies of Apostolic Life, has intended to evaluate, order, and promote the vast and varied experience in the area of interinstitute collaboration, supported by the Second Vatican Council and developed in these years.
124. Cf. Vita Consecrata, 77.
125. John Paul II, Message to the XIV General Assembly of the Conference of Religious of Brasil, 11 July 1986, n. 4. Found in L’Osservatore Romano (English version) 1986, n. 35, p. 2.
On 31 October 1998, the Holy Father approved this document of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and for Societies of Apostolic Life and authorized its publication.
Rome, 8 December 1998, Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
127. Cf. Lumen Gentium, 46; Vita Consecrata, 18.
128. Cf. Lumen Gentium, 44.
130. John Paul II, Message to the XIV General Assembly of the Conference of Religious of Brasil, 11 July 1986, par. 1. Found in L’Osservatore Romano (English version) 1986, n. 35, p. 2.
131. Cf. Redemptoris missio, 2; Vita Consecrata, 110.

References: art. 4
 art. 62
 §1
 art. 47
 art. 62
 art. 47
 art. 24