The Boston College Seminar on a Contemporary Theology of Priesthood and Ministry, which a year ago issued a document, 鈥�To Serve the People of God,鈥� calling for a renewed formation for and practice of lay and ordained ministries, held a conference earlier this month to move forward the implementation of the document.
The seminar invited select episcopal leaders, seminary rectors and board members, a U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops consultant, lay ecclesial ministers, and theologians to the conference, which was held January 2-3 at the Connors Center in Dover. The conference began with a welcoming Mass with Boston Archbishop Cardinal Sean O鈥橫alley, O.F.M, Cap., presiding.
"Our conference was an amazing gathering with a profound level of honest and open conversation," said School of Theology and Ministry Professor Thomas Groome, a co-chair of the Seminar on Priesthood and Ministry for the Contemporary Church. (Tony Rinaldo)
After the conference, the group issued a formal communique stating its founding theological convictions and outlining 10 pastoral recommendations. 鈥淭o meet the needs of the church for pastoral and sacramental ministry,鈥� the group鈥檚 statement read in part, 鈥渨e must creatively expand existing ecclesial ministries and explore new models for ordained ministry.鈥�
Among the pastoral recommendations was that 鈥渟eminarians be exposed regularly to the rich diversity of the people of God. Where possible, this broadening should occur in the classroom (where seminarians study alongside lay peers), among their instructors and formators (which should include lay women and men) and in multiple pastoral contexts where seminarians are called to collaborate with a range of other ecclesial ministers.鈥�
The group also stated that 鈥渋t is desirable that women be included at every stage of the formation process鈥攁s peers in class, as teachers and formators, and as collaborators in ministry.鈥�
The communique pointed out that 鈥渁ll consideration of priesthood and ministry must flow from the Second Vatican Council鈥檚 affirmation of the church鈥檚 living tradition as it has been received and developed by Pope Francis.鈥�
Read the official communique and list of all conference participants here.
STM Professor Rev. Richard Lennan, a co-chair of the Seminar on Priesthood and Ministry for the Contemporary Church. (Lee Pellegrini)
The episcopal leaders participating in the discussions were: Cardinal Reinhard Marx, archbishop of Munich and Freising, Germany; Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, archbishop of Newark; Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago; John C. Wester, archbishop of Santa Fe; Edward Weisenburger, bishop of Tucson; John Eric Stowe, O.F.M., Conv., bishop of Lexington (Ky.); Robert McElroy, bishop of San Diego; Bishop Timothy Senior, rector of St. Charles Borromeo, Philadelphia; and Mark O鈥機onnell, auxiliary bishop of Boston.
School of Theology and Ministry Dean Thomas D. Stegman, S.J. also participated along with Mark R. Francis, C.S.V., president of Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, rectors of seminaries from Houston, Chicago, and Baltimore, and more than a dozen theologians and others involved with church ministry.
鈥淥ur conference was an amazing gathering with a profound level of honest and open conversation,鈥� said seminar co-chair School of Theology and Ministry Professor Thomas Groome. 鈥淚t assembled eminent cardinals and bishops as well as people from the trenches, along with theologians and seminary rectors. From a very broad-ranging conversation, the communique it issued captures only some of the high points; I鈥檓 hopeful that the conversation will continue to unfold.鈥�
Joseph Professor of Catholic Systematic Theology Richard Gaillardetz, a co-chair of the Seminar on Priesthood and Ministry for the Contemporary Church. (Gary Wayne Gilbert)
Three Boston College faculty members gave short presentations during the conference in their roles as session animators. Rev. Richard Lennan, a professor at STM and seminar co-chair, spoke on the interconnectedness of three ecosystems鈥攖he Trinity, the church, and ecclesial ministry鈥攖o help situate the priesthood.
鈥淰atican II鈥檚 recovery of the primacy of baptism reshaped the landscape of ministry鈥攊ndeed, it did so beyond anything that the bishops at the council could have anticipated. The primary expression of this reshaping is the emergence of lay ecclesial ministers, who work alongside ordained priests to form disciples for mission,鈥� he said.
Joseph Professor of Catholic Systematic Theology Richard Gaillardetz, another seminar co-chair, spoke on the theological presuppositions supporting 鈥淭o Serve the People of God鈥濃�檚 profile of a well-formed priest. He cited a vision of a 鈥渕ore relational and ecclesial priesthood鈥� and pointed to a future of priestly ministry that 鈥渕anifests itself not as dominating power and privilege but now as a service to the people of God.鈥�
Monsignor Liam Bergin, a professor of the practice in the Theology Department and a seminar member, shared his perspective as someone who spent more than 35 years living in seminaries. He cited 鈥淭o Serve the People of God鈥濃�檚 encouragement of shared learning between candidates for diocesan priesthood and lay and religious candidates for ministry.
鈥淣ot only would this benefit the intellectual and pastoral programs that the seminary offers, but it would also offer verification and challenge to the human and spiritual formation of the candidates. A formation that is collaborative, inclusive, and open to the contemporary reality of cultural diversity is thereby facilitated.鈥�
Other BC seminar members participating in the conference were: Boyd Taylor Coolman (Theology), Karen Kiefer (Church in 21st Century Center), Jacqueline Regan (School of Theology and Ministry) and graduate students Megan Hopkins, Emily Jendzejec, and Elyse Raby.
Kathleen Sullivan | University Communications | January 2020