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An Open Letter to Seminary Formators
Carol Farthing, Ph.D.
Vol. XI, No.4
September/October, 2007
In recent years, at SLI we are seeing an increasing
number of priests for evaluation and treatment who are in their first
year or two
after ordination. The “making of a priest” requires
an enormous investment of spirit, time and money on the part of
the diocese or religious order as well as the candidate. When serious
problems emerge shortly after ordination, the situation is deeply
disappointing and painful for all involved. Sometimes, these situations
are tragic. It is important to understand what problems these men
face and some of the underlying causes.
Underlying Issues
In working with these priests at SLI, we have noted some common
issues that may be helpful in the formation of seminarians and
in the prevention
of future difficulties.
Underdevelopment and the need for more human formation
Some young priests seem developmentally “younger” than
their chronological age and lack some important skills for effective
adult functioning: an ability to cope with stress, to relate
to others, to exercise good judgment and to manage emotions. These
men are able
to function reasonably well in seminary given the structure of
study, clear rules and expectations. After ordination, their lack
of maturity
becomes more apparent as they fail to function adequately when
they are on their own and have less structure. One young priest
was not
able to cope with parish responsibilities, felt put upon, withdrew
to his room and stopped functioning. Another was very socially
anxious and hid from genuine connections with others. A third young
priest
showed poor judgment in establishing appropriate boundaries with
parishioners, being overly personal with some and cold and distant
with others. Another expected his status as priest to earn him
respect automatically and scolded parishioners when they did not
behave as
he thought they should.
Another area of underdevelopment is a lack of sexual
maturity and/or personal identity integration. Often external rigidity
covers underlying
emotional chaos. It makes sense that an individual whose inner
emotional world is unknown, unexplored and frightening can make
use of “all
or nothing thinking” and rigid rules to give a sense of security
and stability. This priest is ill equipped to handle the complex
interpersonal situations that priests face with parish staffs and
with those they serve. Without a reasonable level of comfort with
one’s own emotions, such as anger, loneliness and sadness,
it is not possible to have genuine empathy for others’ feelings.
Successful adjustment to priesthood requires comfort with feelings,
with emotional closeness, clear boundaries and an ability to
be appropriately vulnerable with others.
Mild to moderate psychiatric problems or personality
issues
This category includes emotional problems such as depression
or anxiety disorders and behavior problems with alcohol or
other substances,
sex, food, money or some other addictive behavior. Often these
men
have a history of untreated childhood physical, emotional or
sexual trauma and can be successfully treated with therapy,
appropriate medications and recovery programs. Good history-taking
and psychological
evaluation prior to seminary can be crucial in identifying
those in need of treatment. Therapy before or during seminary and
a
demonstrated
period of recovery from addictive behaviors should precede
ordination. If a candidate does not make progress in therapy or
cannot maintain
sobriety, postponing or denying ordination must be considered.
Severe psychopathology or personality pathology
Occasionally, we see a newly ordained priest whose problems
are so deep and severe that there is little hope that even
intensive
therapy
or other interventions will lead to sufficient change and
growth. One priest harshly lectured parishioners and severely
reacted
if his ideas were not welcomed. He responded rigidly to feedback
and
when there were multiple sources of the same feedback, he
was convinced of a conspiracy against him. His paranoia blinded
him to the need
for change. Fortunately, few men with this level of severe
psychopathology are ordained. However, the suffering experienced
by all involved
makes these situations tragic.
Recommendations
Given our experience, we offer three recommendations for
formators and seminary personnel:
Pay attention to your “gut” feelings
You may experience the candidate as exceptionally naïve, unusually
rigid, extremely uncomfortable interpersonally, or have a vague sense
that “something” isn’t right. Check
out your perceptions with other formators and take shared
concerns seriously. Often we
hear at evaluations that our conclusions put into words
the perceptions of formators.
Pay special attention to difficulty with feedback
The ability to receive feedback, consider it and make
changes in behavior when appropriate is key for priestly
formation
as for
all human growth. When individuals remain too defensive
to make use of
feedback, growth is stunted. If a candidate is unable
to profit from feedback, continuation toward ordination
should
be questioned.
Take action early to address concerns.
Confronting someone about personal problems is difficult.
Early on, there is the hope that the problem will
get better over
time. Later,
the thought can be “well, he’s gotten this far; perhaps
the problems are not so big.” It is better to face the pain
of taking action early and before ordination. Dealing with problems
becomes harder, not easier, after ordination. Carol Farthing, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist, is
the Associate Clinical Director at SLI. LUKENOTES is a bimonthly
publication of Saint Luke Institute.
Permission to use these materials must be requested in writing by contacting
lukenotes@sli.org
SLI EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT
Saint Luke Institute
8901 New Hampshire Ave.
Silver Spring, MD 20903
(301) 422-5499 • (301) 422-5519 (fax)
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