The Formation of Seminarians in the Vietnamese Context ... file4 The document Ratio Fundamentalis...

93

❚Special Issues❚

□ Priestly Formation in the Asian Contexts

The Formation of Seminarians in the Vietnamese Context According to the Teachings of the Catholic Church*

1

Bishop Joseph Đinh Đúc Đao

〔Xuân Lộc Major Seminary, Vietnam〕

Introduction Ⅰ. Necessity for Formation in Context According to the Teaching of the Magisterium of the Church 1. The Importance of Formation 2. Necessity of the Formation in Context 3. Aspects of the Vietnamese Context Ⅱ. The Formation of Seminarians Applied to the Vietnamese Context

1. Christ is the Foundation, Center and Source of Formation 2. The Evangelical Counsel “Poverty” 3. Community in Communion

Conclusion

Introduction “The Formation of Seminarians in the Vietnamese Context According

to the Teaching of the Catholic Church” is the title of the topic, but to make

*1이 글은 2015년 ‘재단법인 신학과사상’의 연구비 지원을 받아 연구·작성된 논문임.

94 Priestly Formation in the Asian Contexts

the idea clearer, I would like to rephrase the title as follows: “The

Formation of Seminarians according to the Teaching of the Catholic

Church: Reflection in the Vietnamese Context.”

There are clearly two main ideas: the first idea is the teaching of the

Catholic Church on the formation of seminarians in seminaries, and the

second idea is its application to the Vietnamese context. In this reflection,

the two ideas will not be presented separately, because by doing so, one

might run the risk of repetition. Therefore, we will try to state the basic

aspects of the teaching of the Church on the formation of seminarians and

reflect on them in the Vietnamese context.

For the sake of clarity, this reflection will follow two principal ideas.

We will reflect, first of all, on the importance of formation and the

necessity for formation in context; secondly, we will reflect on some basic

aspects of the priestly formation in the Vietnamese context.

I. Necessity for Formation in Context According to

the Teaching of the Magisterium of the Church

1. The Importance of Formation Being a priest, a “shepherd after God’s heart”1 is not something

which comes automatically, but it is the fruit of a long process of

formation. For this reason, ever since the Council of Trent (1545-1563),

the system known as “seminary”2 had been instituted in the Catholic

Church for the formation of candidates for the Priesthood. From the 20th

Century, the Magisterium of the Church has elaborated and published

1 Pastores Dabo Vobis, 1; cf. Jer 3:15. 2 Seminary is translated from latin term “Seminarium” which means seed-bed.

95 Joseph Đinh Đúc Đao / The Formation of Seminarians in […]

numerous documents in order to orientate the formation of seminarians in

the Church.3 These documents can be divided into two categories: the

first category includes the documents which offer a comprehensive vision

of the formation of seminarians; the second category is the documents

which give answer to different questions in the context of the times.

Among the documents of the Magisterium on the formation of

seminarians, we certainly must mention explicitly the Decree Optatam

Totius and Presbyterorum Ordinis (1965) of Vatican Council II, the

document Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis (1970 and 19854)

of the Congregation for Catholic Education and the Apostolic Exhortation

Pastores Dabo Vobis of Pope Saint John Paul II (1992), which give the

directions for the formation of seminarians in our time.

Among many aspects in the teaching of the above mentioned

documents, one must appreciate particularly the vision of a formation

which should be complete and integral,5 embracing the human, spiritual,

intellectual and pastoral areas.6 The Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo

Vobis shares the same vision with the previous documents on integral

formation which includes the human,7 spiritual,8 intellectual9 and pas-

toral aspects.10 However, in comparison with the previous documents, the

3 Complete list of the main documents of the Magisterium on priestly formation can be found in the Bibliography below. 4 The document Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis is a document of the Congregation for Catholic Education published in 1970 to orientate the formation of seminarians, following the teaching of Council Vatican II. In 1985, the same Congregation revised it in the light of the new code of Canon Law (1983) and published it under the same title. The official text of this edition of 1985 exists only in Italian. 5 Cf. Optatam Totius, 4-6; Ratio Fundamentali 1970, Introduction, n.1; Ratio Fundamentalis 1985, Introduction, n. 1. 6 Cf. Ratio Fundamentalis 1985, Norme Generali, n. 3. 7 Cf. Pastores Dabo Vobis, 43-44. 8 Cf. Ibid., 45-50. 9 Cf. Ibid., 51-56. 10 Cf. Ibid., 57-59.


Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis makes a new contribution by

attributing the basic character to the human aspect, considering it as the

basis to all priestly formation:

“The whole work of priestly formation would be deprived of its

necessary foundation if it lacked a suitable human formation. This

statement by the synod fathers expresses not only a fact which reason

brings to our consideration every day and which experience confirms,

but a requirement which has a deeper and specific motivation in the

very nature of the priest and his ministry. The priest, who is called to be

a ‘living image’ of Jesus Christ, head and shepherd of the Church,

should seek to reflect in himself, as far as possible, the human

perfection which shines forth in the Incarnate Son of God and which is

reflected with particular liveliness in his attitudes toward others as we

see narrated in the Gospels. The ministry of the priest is, certainly, to

proclaim the Word, to celebrate the sacraments, to guide the Christian

community in charity ‘in the name and in the person of Christ,’ but all

this he does dealing always and only with individual human beings:

‘Every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on

behalf of men in relation to God’ (Heb. 5:1). So we see that the human

formation of the priest shows its special importance when related to the

receivers of the mission.”11

After this fundamental affirmation on the necessity of human

formation, Pastores Dabo Vobis elaborates in detail the human qualities

which a priest should have in order to fulfill his task.12

11 Pastores Dabo Vobis, 43. 12 Cf. Pastores Dabo Vobis, 43-44.


2. Necessity of the Formation in Context

Together with the statement on the importance of formation, the

documents of the Church also emphasize that the formation of

seminarians must be applied to the local context or, in our language today,

we say that it should be a formation in context. This vision goes through

all Church’s documents from the Decree Optatam Totius of Vatican

Council II to the Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis. In fact, we

can find this statement at the very beginning of the Decree Optatam

Totius.

“Since only general laws can be made where there exists a wide

variety of nations and regions, a special “program of priestly training”

is to be undertaken by each country or rite. It must be set up by the

episcopal conferences, revised from time to time and approved by the

Apostolic See. In this way universal laws will be adapted to the

particular circumstances of time and place so that the priestly training

will always be in tune with the pastoral needs of those regions in which

the ministry is to be exercised.”13

Following the teaching of the Decree Optatam Totius, the Congre-

gation for Catholic Education wrote the document Ratio Fundamentalis

Institutionis Sacerdotalis in order to guide the National Bishops’

Conferences in their elaboration of the program of formation adapted to

the context of their own countries. Since then, many Bishops’ Confer-

ences have produced their own Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis

Sacerdotalis14 specifically adapted to the formation of seminarians in the

13 Optatam Totius, 1. 14 A list of the Ratio Fundamentalis of various Bishops’ Conferences can be found in the section “Bibliography”.


context of their own countries. In this context, therefore, of the necessity

of formation being adapted to the local context, this symposium entitled

“Priestly Formation in the Aisan Contexts, According to the Teaching of

the Catholic Church” is really relevant.

3. Aspects of the Vietnamese Context

Before considering of the formation of seminarians in the Vietnamese

context, a short presentation of the Vietnamese context is necessary.

a) Culture

Viet Nam is a multiethnic country with 54 distinct ethnic groups15, of

which the largest is the Kinh (Việt) 86.2% and the major minority groups

are the Tày 1.9%, Tai 1.7%, Mường 1.5%, Khmer Krom (Khơ Me Crộm)

1.4%, Hoa 1.1%, Nùng 1.1%, Hmong 1%, others 4.1% (1999 census).

The Vietnamese term for non-Viet groups is “người thiểu số” or “dân tộc

thiểu số” (literally “minority people”). Each group has its own language,

lifestyle, and cultural heritage. However, all minority groups are now

being greatly influenced by the culture, language and lifestyle of the Kinh

or Việt group, through the school system and the mass media, so that

15 Alphabetical list of ethnic groups in Viet Nam: Ba Na (Bahnar); Bố Y; Brâu; Bru; Chăm; Chơ Ro; Chu Ru (Chru); Chứt; Co; Cờ Ho (Koho); Cờ Lao (Gelao); Cơ Tu; Phunoi (Cống); Dao-Yao people, also known as Mien; Ê Đê (Rade); Gia Rai (Jarai); Giáy; Giẻ Triêng; Hà Nhì (Hani); Hmong (formerly known as Mèo, classified as Miao in China); Hoa people (Overseas Chinese); Hrê; Kháng; Khmer Krom (Khơ Me Crộm); Khơ Mú (Khmu); Kinh (also called Viet, the largest ethnic group in Vietnam); La Chí; La Ha; La Hủ; Lao; Lô Lô (Yi); Lự; Mạ; Mảng; Mnông; Mường; Ngái; Nùng; Ơ Đu; Pà Thẻn (Pa-Hng); Phù Lá; Pu Péo (Pubiao); Ra Glai (Roglai); Rơ Măm; Sán Chay (San Chay, Cao Lan); Sán Dìu; Si La; Tà Ôi (Ta Oi); Tày (Tay); Thái (Thai); Thổ (Tho); Xinh Mun (Xinh-mun); Xơ Đăng (Sedang, Xo Dang); Xtiêng (Stieng).


when we talk of Vietnamese culture, we mean the culture of the Kinh

group, in the above-mentioned situation.

The natural situation, the vision regarding the relationship with the

supernatural world, with the environment and with other people contribute

to the formation of the culture of a people. For this reason, Viet Nam

shares a common cultural basis with other peoples in the region, known as

Southeast-Asia countries and to some extent with other Asian countries.

According to Salvador P. Lopez, “in spite of the great diversity of Asian

cultures […], it may be right to say that one characteristic can be found in

nearly all Asian cultures, if not in all of them, it is the attitude of fatalism

and resignation, the meek acceptance of the human condition as it is, an

overwhelming fear of the past, an immoderate passion for the invisible

world of the spirit and an excessive devotion to the inner life of

contemplation.”16

In its long history, Viet Nam has been in touch with other countries in

the region, particularly with China and more recently with the West.

Stemming from China and other countries in the region, one finds in the

Vietnamese culture many elements of Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism17

together with some chinese customs; from the West, one can find

elements of latino-hellelistic (Greek) culture and of Christianity. 18

Therefore, in a Vietnamese person, there are three cultural systems which

16 Salvador P. Lopez, “The Two Cultures and the Asian Writer”, in The Asian Religious Sensibility and Christian Spirituality, vol. II, Susana José, The University of the Philippines Press, p. 1009. 17 Buddhism entered Viet Nam through two doorways: in the first movement, from India, Buddhism entered Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos, the Khmer Republic and finally Viet Nam (South); in the second movement, from India Buddhism entered China before reaching Viet Nam (North). From the first movement, Buddhism is presented in the Theravada form or Little Vehicle; from the second movement, Buddhism is presented as Great Vehicle. 18 One often misrepresents the Western culture as simply Christian, but in reality, in the cultures of the occidental countries, there are many elements, not only non-Christian, but even anti-Christian.


at times coexist in harmony, but which other times contradict each other.

As a result, the cultural characteristics of the Vietnamese people are not

something which exists exclusively among the Vietnamese people, but

they can be found in other Asian countries as well, while in Viet Nam

they exist with the nuances proper to the Vietnamese people.

b) The Modern World

The second element which forms the Vietnamese context, particularly

among the young people is the technological and secularising movement.

This is a very complex reality which, starting from the West, is

penetrating into all countries. The meaning and the concrete consequences

of this movement are not the same everywhere, but it is transforming

people’s thought and lifestyle all over the world. This can be explained by

the statement of the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes which had

seem almost a prophecy, but is becoming reality in our times:

“Today, the human race is involved in a new stage of history.

Profound and rapid changes are spreading by degrees around the whole

world. Triggered by the intelligence and creative energies of man, these

changes recoil upon him, upon his decisions and desires, both

individual and collective, and upon his manner of thinking and acting

with respect to things and to people. Hence we can already speak of a

true cultural and social transformation, one which has repercussions on

man’s religious life as well.”19

19 Gaudium et Spes, 4.


II. The Formation of Seminarians Applied to the Vietnamese Context

For the formation of seminarians in Viet Nam, there are two formal

proposals: one is the Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis

prepared by the Episcopal Commission for Clergy and Seminaries and

published under the authority of the Bishops’ Conference of Viet Nam.20

The second is the document Guideline for the Formation of Seminar-

ians21 of Saint Joseph’s Major Seminary Xuân Lộc. These two docu-

ments offer a comprehensive program of formation in seminary, following

faithfully the spirit and guidance of Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis

Sacerdotalis of the Congregation for Catholic Education and the

Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis of Pope Saint John Paul II.

The formation of seminarians proposed by these documents is an

integral one which includes four aspects: human, spiritual, intellectual and

pastoral22 to form future priests as men of the Mystery, Communion and

Mission.23 In the context of Viet Nam, this vision needs further reflection

on many aspects, among which we will select three namely: Intimate

relationship with Christ; the evangelical counsel of “poverty” and

community in communion.

20 Hội Đồng Giám Mục Việt Nam, Đào Tạo Linh Mục. Đinh Hướng và Chỉ Dẫn (Bishops’ Conference of Viet Nam, Formation of Priests. Orientation and Indication), Nxb Tôn Giáo 2012. From now on, this document will be referred to as Ratio fundamentalis of Viet Nam. 21 Đại Chủng Viện Thánh Giuse Xuân Lộc, Đường Hướng Huấn Luyện Chủng Sinh (Saint Joseph’s Major Seminary Xuân Lộc. Guideline for the Formation of Seminarians), Academic year 2013–2014. From now on, this document will be referred to as Guideline for Formation in Xuân Lộc Seminary. 22 Ratio Fundamentalis of Viet Nam, nn. 254-263. 23 Ibid., nn. 246, 264.


1. Christ is the Foundation, Center and Source of Formation

The Decree Optatam Totius of Vatican II and all the Church’s

postconciliar documents on the formation in seminary insist on the

necessity to introduce seminarians to an intimate relationship with Christ

to the point that their life may reflect the spirit and the lifestyle of Christ.

We can cite, as an example, the teaching of Optatam Totius:

“The spiritual training […] should be imparted in such a way that

the students will learn to live in an intimate and unceasing union with

the Father, through His Son Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit. Conformed

to Christ the Priest through their sacred ordination they should be

accustomed to adhere to Him as friends, in an intimate companionship,

their whole life through. They should so live His paschal mystery

themselves that they can initiate into it the flock committed to them.

They should be taught to seek Christ in faithful meditation on God’s

Word, in active participation in the sacred mysteries of the Church,

especially in the Eucharist and in the Divine Office, in the Bishop who

sends them and in the people to whom they are sent, especially the poor,

the children, the sick, the sinners and the unbelievers.”24

In the Ratio Fundamentalis of Viet Nam, the necessity of an intimate

relationship with Christ is repeated at every stage of formation in the

seminary. Moreover, it does not simply affirm the necessity of an intimate

relationship with Christ neither does it give a long reflection on the nature

of their relationship with Christ, but it gives more attention to indicating

24 Optatam Totius, 8.


the means to nourish and cultivate it, that is, by acts of piety,25 meditation

and the sharing of the Word of God,26 frequent visits to the Blessed

Sacrament,27 and daily participation in the Holy Eucharist.28

This vision of formation reflects the teaching of the Decree Optatam

Totius and, at the same time, corresponds to the cultural inclination of a

Vietnamese. Before the Transcendent Reality or the Mystery, the

Vietnamese does not make an analysis, trying to understand it, but his

inclination is to make an experience of it and to enter into communion

with it. In this sense, one can understand the phenomenon of people who

claim to have communication with spirits and the movement of meditation which is very common in the non-christian religions. In these

religions, meditation is not simply a concentration of the mind or a search

for serenity, but it is an effort to transcend the mind in order to enter into

the world of the Spirits. Therefore, in meditation one does not concentrate

the mind to analyze an object or an idea, but one tries to arrest the

movement of thinking to transcend the mind and to go down into the

depth of being, where one hopes to meet the Mystery and to experience it.

Thus, this cultural tendency can help the Vietnamese to avoid the danger

of confiding the relationship with Christ merely to the level of knowledge,

which is a temptation in the world of today.

The second aspect in the Vietnamese context is the influence of the

modern world. With regard to the formation of seminarians, there are two

elements in modern society which need consideration.

The first element is the attraction of technology which is offering ever

new tools and devices, instruments together with the seduction of pleasure

25 Ratio Fundamentalis of Viet Nam, nn. 294-295. 26 Ibid., n. 296. 27 Ibid., n. 297. 28 Ibid., n. 298.


and satisfaction provided by these means. We think of, in a special way,

the means of transportation, the instruments of mass communication and

the products which offer convenience of every kind. Their attract tion,

especially in regard to the young generation, is so powerful that in Viet

Nam one describes it by the term “sức mạnh vũ bão”, which literally

means stormy power. These developments of life can cause great

difficulties for a lifestyle of self-giving, detachment and sacrifice which is

required for a priest, called to be in love with Christ and to sacrifice

himself for his flock.

The second element comprises the new ideas offered in immense

quantities and presented as apparently good, but which often contradict

each other and oppose the long tradition of the Church, causing confusion

and doubt in many a mind. This happens even in theological, pastoral and

spiritual thinking, while, at the same time, seminarians are exposed to all

kinds of thinking through the internet and even personal exchanges

through emails. Thus, the great problem in the formation of seminarians

today is not the lack of theological ideas or theological books, but the

difficulty or even the impossibility of discerning and bringing into

harmony the flood of diverse ideas, which are sometimes even

contradictory. This is the problem of fragmentation and confusion which

in our present-day situation, militates against the achievement of a sound

formation.

The team of formators has to face this problem and they may

experience the problem among themselves. Today, it is a consensus and

conviction that the formation of seminarians must be integral and it must

comprise four aspects: human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral. In the

guidelines on the formation of a Seminary one may find a full list of all

the elements of these four aspects. Yet, in practice, the formation cannot

be achieved because everyone understands these aspects differently


according to his own experience, the tradition of education which he has

inherited, the theological and pastoral school which he follows. Each one

puts a different emphasis and gives a different interpretation and sees a

different priority.

In this situation of the powerful attraction of pleasure and comfort and

of fragmented and contradictory ideas, only the vision of an integral

formation, embracing all four aspects is proving insufficient. One needs to

be rooted in a force, more powerful than pleasure and comfort and which

is capable of enlightening and unifying all the diverse ideas. That force is

Jesus Christ. Thus, the heart of formation is not a program, no matter how

perfect it may be, but a Person who is Jesus Christ Himself. He is the

force which is more powerful than pleasure and comforts or any other

force, even death itself, and which is able to unify the heart of the disciple.

He alone can require His disciples to abandon everything, even parents

and one’s own life, for His sake (cf. Mt 9:37-39; Lk 14:25-27; Phil 3:7-9).

This is the vision of the formation proposed in the Guideline for

Formation in Xuân Lộc Seminary in which Christ is not presented as a

necessary element among other necessary elements of formation, but as

the starting point, the very source and the foundation from which the

whole process and structure of formation is conceived. This is stated as

follows29:

The training in the Seminary aims at the formation of the furture

priests as persons happy in their priestly vocation and fervently

committed in mission through the following process:

a) Being in love with Christ, who was sent by the Father to save

humanity by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the basis, the

29 Guideline for Formation in Xuân Lộc Seminary, pp. 19-21.


source and the centre of the life and all the activities in the

Seminary and it is the reason for all the programs and concrete

choices. Being in love with Jesus will lead the seminarian to be

united with Him, configured to Him, happy to belong to Him so

that He will become the guiding power of the life and the pastoral

activities of the priest, urging him to present the Crucified Christ

to the people (cf. 1Cor 1:22-24; 1Cor 2:2).

b) Being disposed to make every sacrifice and, because of Christ,

accepting to be detached from everything (cf. Phil 3:7-9) according

to the demands and spirit of the evangelical counsels (poverty,

chastity and obedience). With a heart free from everything, one is

disposed to go anywhere and do anything for Christ and able to

use everything at one’s disposal to serve Christ and his people.

c) Being fervent in the pastoral and missionary engagement with

the heart of Christ, the Good Shepherd. They become shepherds

imbued with the smell of Christ and “living with the smell of the

sheep” (Pope Francis). These are not two distinct smells, but

mixed together in one smell with two flavours: of Jesus and of the

sheep.

d) Being able to understand the mystery of God and the root of the

problem of humanity in the light of the faith.

e) Living in communion with the whole Church, loving all the

members of the Church according to their vocation and mission.


2. The Evangelical Counsel “Poverty” The meaning of the evangelical counsels (poverty, chastity and

obedience) in the formation of seminarians is explained in Pastores Dabo

Vobis nn. 27-30, 81, in the Ratio Fundamentalis of Viet Nam nn. 276-281,

292 and in the Guideline for Formation in Xuân Lộc Seminary pp. 20,

102-104.

Usually the evangelical counsels (poverty, chastity and obedience) are

explained in the context of the consecrated life and they are known as

“religious vows”. It is with Pastores Dabo Vobis that, for the first time in

an official document of the Church on the formation of seminarians, that

these Evangelical counsels are conceived in relation to the diocesan priest

and concretely they are collocated in the section “Priestly Life and the

Radicalism of the Gospel”. According to Pastores Dabo Vobis, all

christians are called to live the radicalism of the Gospel:

“This same call is made anew to priests, not only because they are

“in” the Church, but because they are “in the forefront” of the Church

inasmuch as they are configured to Christ, the head and shepherd,

equipped for and committed to the ordained ministry, and inspired by

pastoral charity […] A particularly significant expression of the radical-

ism of the Gospel is seen in the different “evangelical counsels” which

Jesus proposes in the Sermon on the Mount (cf. Mt. 5-7), and among

them the intimately related counsels of obedience, chastity and poverty.

The priest is called to live these counsels in accordance with those ways

and, more specifically, those goals and that basic meaning which

derives from and expresses his own priestly identity.”30

30 Pastores Dabo Vobis, 27.


All three evangelical counsels are important for the life and the

mission of the priest and they are interrelated with each other. However,

because of the limited length of this article, the evangelical counsel of

poverty is selected for further reflection in the context of Viet Nam.

The necessity of the evangelical counsel “poverty” in the formation of

a seminarian is seen by the Ratio Fundamentalis of Viet Nam as a

protection for his spiritual life and his relationship with Jesus in his

priestly vocation.31 In Pastores Dabo Vobis the evangelical counsel

“poverty” is put in a more complex context: in relation to Christ, to the

priestly ministry and to the people whom the priest is sent to serve.32

According to Pastores Dabo Vobis, evangelical poverty is:

“the subjection of all goods to the supreme good of God and his

kingdom […] living the mystery of God as the one and supreme good,

as the true and definitive treasure.”33 Moreover, “poverty for the priest,

by virtue of his sacramental configuration to Christ, the head and

shepherd, takes on specific “pastoral” connotations: Priests, following

the example of Christ, who, rich though he was, became poor for love

of us (Cf. 2Cor 8:9) ― should consider the poor and the weakest as

people entrusted in a special way to them, and they should be capable

of witnessing to poverty with a simple and austere lifestyle, having

learned the generous renunciation of superfluous things (Optatam

Totius, 9; Code of Canon Law, Canon 282) […] Being personally

involved in the life of the community and being responsible for it, the

priest should also offer the witness of a total “honesty” in the

administration of the goods of the community, which he will never treat

as if they were his own property, but rather something for which he will

31 Ratio Fundamentalis of Viet Nam, n. 292. 32 Cf. Pastores Dabo Vobis, 30. 33 Ibid.


be held account-able by God and his brothers and sisters, especially the

poor. Moreover, his awareness of belonging to the one presbyterate will

be an incentive for the priest to commit himself to promoting both a

more equitable distribution of goods among his fellow priests and a

certain common use of goods (Cf. Acts 2:42-47) […] Nor should the

prophetic significance of priestly poverty be forgotten, so urgently

needed in affluent and consumeristic societies: “A truly poor priest is

indeed a specific sign of separation from, disavowal of and non-

submission to the tyranny of a contemporary world which puts all its

trust in money and in material security.”34

Keeping in mind the complex context of the priestly life and mission

which requires evangelical poverty and which seminarians must learn in

their time of formation, the Guideline for Formation in Xuân Lộc

Seminary wants to state clearly the ultimate reason and source, which is

the “being in love” with Christ in a covenant relationship.35 There are

many other reasons, but the ultimate reason, which gives force to all other

reasons, is the covenant love of Christ and it is this covenant love which

enables the seminarian to detach himself from everything: To be empty in

order to be filled with the love of Christ. In the covenant love of Christ,

evangelical poverty is not an “emptiness”, but a “fullness”; the renunci-

ation of riches is the gateway to happiness, as experienced and expressed

by Saint Paul:

“What were once my assets I now through Christ Jesus count as

losses. Yes, I will go further: because of the supreme advantage of

knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, I count everything else as loss. For him

34 Ibid. 35 Cf. Guideline for the Formation in Xuân Lộc Seminary, p. 19.


I have accepted the loss of all other things, and look on them all as filth

if only I can gain Christ” (Phil 3:7-9).

In the Vietnamese context, the proposal of evangelical poverty

encounters strong resistance because of a deep aspiration to riches in the

heart of a Vietnamese. There are two reasons of this aspiration.

The first is that the aspiration to the riches runs deep in the cultural

psyché of a Vietnamese. Although there is a proverb “Đói cho sạch, rách

cho thơm” (Although you are hungry, you should be clean. Although your

clothes are torn, you should smell good) which should be understood not

merely in the material sense, but rather in the human and moral sense, the

real desire and aspiration of a Vietnamese is getting rich. Poverty has

always been considered a source of all sins. Getting rich is one of three

good things which people wish each other at the beginning of the new

year: “Blessing, Riches and a Healthy Life.”

The second reason is the material and social condition of life. Viet

Nam had long been a colonized country where many people were

condemned to poverty. A better life, in the material meaning, has always

been a profound desire of the people and at present, the possibility of

overcoming poverty and enjoying the commodities of wealth is no longer

a theory, but a concrete reality. In this context, the proposal of poverty is

something un-understandable.

Under colonization, the desire for riches went hand-in-hand with the

desire for dignity and respect. But, in this world, in order to be accepted,

respected by others and treated equally, one must have as much as the

others36; one must be rich or at least seem to be rich, in order to be

36 Cf. Stephen KIM (Card.), “A Vision of Asia”, in Toward a New Age in Mission, International Congress on Mission, 2-7 December, 1979, Book Three, Position Papers, TMC, Manila, 1981, pp. 151-152.


respected. This logic is applied both to the life of individuals and to

nations.

This deep yearning is expressed at times with attitudes that are not

easy to understand unless one shares them. Many poor families, for

example, refugees who arrive in a rich country, immediately want to buy a

large television, a very good refrigerator and a beautiful deluxe car which

their benefactors cannot afford. Then they are criticized as people who do

not know how to use money, who chase after consumerism or who are

irresponsible […] No, this way of behaviour is not simply consumerism

or lack of responsibility, but it is the short way to earn dignity. A

television, a de luxe car are means to show their ability and so to earn

respect. Although it is the wrong way, one must understand and respect

the deep reasons why they chose this way.37

In this life-context, a formation which is confined simply to a program

or a set of disciplines will be condemned to fail. One needs action which

can convince the seminarian, transform his ideas and mentality and guide

him to experience the happiness of evangelical poverty. For this task, one

needs a formator who is, at the same, a teacher and a witness. What

Blessed Pope Paul VI said about evangelization in the modern world is

very applicable in the formation of seminarians: “Modern man listens

more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to

teachers, it is because they are witnesses.”38 The same idea is repeated by

Pope Saint John Paul II in his Encyclical Redemptoris Missio: “People

today put more trust in witnesses than in teachers, in experience than in

37 Cf. Joseph Đinh Đúc Đao, “Modernization in Asia and the challenges of evangelization”, in Omnis Terra, n. 279, June 1997, p. 224. 38 Evangelii Nuntiandi, 41.


teaching, and in life and action rather than in theories. The witness of a

Christian life is the first and irreplaceable form of mission.”39

3. Community in Communion Following the teaching of the Church on the formation of seminarians,

the Ratio Fundamentalis of Viet Nam proposes a program of formation

which aims at training the seminarians to become priests, men of the

Mystery, Communion and Mission.40 After the general statement, this

document elaborates in detail the different aspects of communion41 which

should be imparted to seminarians: communion with pastors, with pres-

byterate, with all members of the Church and, in the context of Asia and

of Viet Nam, in good relationship with others.

As we can see clearly, Communion is one of three principal

components which should characterize a priest in Viet Nam. This vision

corresponds to the vision of the Church as Communion, the fruit of the

Mystery of the Holy Trinity. This vision runs through the Apostolic

Exhortation Pastoris Dabo Vobis and is in tune with the culture of Viet

Nam which can be expressed by a much-repeated saying of every

Vietnamese: “Tình làng nghĩa xóm” which means literally “living love in

the village, in harmony with one’s neighbour.”

The process of formation may require an attentive reflection on the

cultural meaning of communion, because one can use the same term, but

its meaning may be understood in different ways by different people.

Recently, there appeared in the Internet, a comparison, attempting to

explain the difference between East and West, accompanied by a set of

39 Redemptoris Missio, 42. 40 Ratio Fundamentalis of Viet Nam, 264. 41 Ibid., 363-369.


diagrams, prepared by Yang Liu, a Chinese artist, living in Germany. It

stated a boss (superior) is someone in a commanding position, but he is

looked at in a different way in the East as opposed to the West. In the

West, a “boss” is a person like his workers with the simple difference that

he is in a commanding position, with a higher salary; whereas in the East,

a “boss” is looked upon as a superman, superior in knowledge and worthy

of respect.42

The Asian people, and among them, the Vietnamese feel proud of

their culture as a culture of harmony and communion. However, the

history of Asia has been sadly marred strongly by wars, conflicts, division

and oppression. Such is the situation between countries and between

groups within the same country. In a community, the relationship between

members often remains at a superficial level of courtesy or formality. This

reality requires our attentive consideration of the cultural ideas of

community, harmony and communion.

In modern language, particularly in the Christian mentality, the term

“communion” implies the concept of acceptance, trust, mutual self-giving,

truth and universal love where different elements are integrated into an

organic reality, whilst, at the same time, each element keeps its

characteristics in harmony with the other elements. In Viet Nam, the

concept of “communion” is understood in the context of the concept of

“community”.

Community in the cultural mentality of Viet Nam does not have the

same meaning in the modern mind nowadays. Community is fundamental

42 Cf. http://bsix12.com/east-meets-west/


for the individual and it precedes him. According to the cultural mentality,

a Vietnamese measures himself with the community and easily accepts to

be dependent on and conditioned by the community. In the cultural

mentality, “community” means the majority and particularly the superior

(king, head of the village, the father in the family […]). In this context,

communion does not necessarily mean harmony, the fruit of love and

understanding between persons, but it means acceptance of and

conformity to the community. In dialogue, one does not seek the truth, but

tries to understand the real intention and sentiment of the other in order to

formulate one’s own attitude. One tries hard not only to avoid conflict, but

any word or attitude which might disturb the climate of serenity and peace.

One does not look for majority, but unanimity.

Moreover, in the cultural mentality of Viet Nam, community is seen in

concrete realities, such as family, parentage, village, kingdom (country)

[…] Keeping communion in the context of the concrete realities to which

a person belongs may create anxiety, contradiction, conflicts in an

individual.

In the reality of the cultural context of Viet Nam, formation to

communion is very complex and requires great effort to transform the

cultural mentality with its many correlative concepts in relation to the

community and communion.

Conclusion The formation of seminarians does not aim at giving instruction, so

that they may have perfect theological knowledge, neither does it aim to

train them to keep perfectly all the rules of the seminary, but rather to

transform each seminarian from a young man to a disciple of Christ in the


priestly vocation. In this process, although theological knowledge and

discipline are necessary, they must be conceived in relation to the

fundamental purpose of formation, which is the transformation of the

person in his inner self. This vision of formation of seminarians

emphasises some realities:

First of all, only Christ through His Spirit can transform the person in

his inmost being. It is essential that the formation process should

introduce the seminarians to a personal relationship with Christ. Every

seminarian must be conquered by Christ and live in loving familiarity

with Him. All the other formative activities are conceived and organized

in view of this sole fundamental aim of formation.

Secondly, the transformation of one’s inner life cannot be done by

anybody other than the person himself. Therefore, formation requires

“self-formation”, which means the active collaboration of the seminarian

himself.

Thirdly, the formator is the person who teaches and guides the

seminarian on a journey which he himself has travelled. Therefore,

scholarly erudition is not enough. He must be a witness, the formation-in-

action. In this sense, we must repeat again the teaching of Pope Blessed

Paul VI and Pope Saint John Paul II which has been cited above:

“Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers,

and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses;”43

“People today put more trust in witnesses than in teachers, in experience

than in teaching, in life and action rather than in theories. The witness of a

Christian life is the first and irreplaceable form of mission.”44

43 Evangelii Nuntiandi, 41. 44 Redemptoris Missio, 42.


Bibliography I. Documents of the Universal Church

1. Vatican II Documents Optatam Totius Decree on priestly formation (2.10.1965). Presbyterorum Ordinis Decree on the ministry and life of priests (7.12.1965). Ad Gentes Decree on the Church’s missionary activity (7.12.1965). 2. Papal Documents Benedict XV, Maximum Illud (1919). Pius XI, Rerum Ecclesiae (1926). Pius XII, Evangelii Praecones (1951). Pius XII, Fidei Donum (1957). John XXIII, Princeps Pastorum (1959). Paul VI, Sacerdotalis coelibatus (1967). Paul VI, Ministeria Quaedam (1972). John Paul II, Sapientia Christiana (1979). John Paul II, Pastores Dabo Vobis (1992). John Paul II, Ordinatio sacerdotalis (1994). John Paul II, Letters to Priests on Holy Thursday (1979-2005). 3. Documents of the Congregations of the Holy See

Congregation for Catholic Education, Note Les petits séminaires on minor sem-inaries, 1968.

Congregation for Catholic Education, Letter on the Permanent Diaconate, 1969. Congregation for Catholic Education, Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis

Sacerdotalis (Fundamental norms for the formation of future priests), 1970. Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Document on The vocation and

formation of missionaries, 1970. Congregation for Catholic Education, Circular letter on the enrolment of sem-

inarians in secular universities, 1971. Synod of Bishops, Ministerial Priesthood, 1971.


Congregation for Catholic Education, Circular letter on the teaching of philosophy in seminaries, 1972.

Congregation for Catholic Education, Educational guidelines for formation in priestly celibacy, 1974.

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Congregation for Catholic Education, The theological formation of future priests, 1976.

Congregation for Catholic Education, Norms for implementing “Sapientia Christiana”, 1979.

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Congregation for Catholic Education, Educational Guidelines on Human Love, 1983.

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Congregation for Catholic Education, Letter on Pastoral aspects of human mobility in the formation of future priests, 1986.

Congregation for Catholic Education, Guidelines for the formation of future priests regarding the media of social communication , 1986.

Congregation for Catholic Education, Letter on The admission of ex-seminarians to other seminaries, 1986.

Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Circular letter Some directives on formation in major seminaries, 1987.

Congregation for Catholic Education, Circular letter The Virgin Mary in intellectual and spiritual formation, 1988.

Congregation for Catholic Education, Circular letter Guidelines for the study and teaching of the Church’s social teaching in the formation of priests, 1988.

Congregation for Catholic Education, Instruction Study of the Fathers of the Church in priestly formation, 1989.

Synod of Bishops, The formation of priest in the present situation. Lineamenta and Strumentum Laboris, 1989.

Congregation for Catholic Education and CIVCSVA, Development of vocation ministry in Particular Churches, 1992.

Congregation for Catholic Education, Directives on the preparation of formators in seminaries, 1993.


Congregation for the Clergy, Directory on the ministry and life of priests, 1994. Congregation for Catholic Education, Directives on the Formation of Seminarians

Concerning Problems Related to Marriage and the Family, 1995. Congregation for Catholic Education, Instruction to the Episcopal Conferences on

the Admission to Seminary of Candidates Coming from Other Seminaries or Religious Families, 1996.

Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Circular Letter to the Most Reverend Diocesan Bishops and other Ordinaries with Canonical Faculties to Admit to Sacred Orders concerning: Scrutinies re-garding the Suitability of Candidates for Orders, 1997.

Congregation for the Clergy, The Priest, Pastor and Leader of the Parish Com-munity, 2002.

Congregation for Catholic Education, Instruction Concerning the Criteria for the Discernment of Vocations with regard to Persons with Homosexual Ten-dencies in view of their Admission to the Seminary and to Holy Orders, 2005.

Congregation for Catholic Education, Guidelines for the use of psychology in the admission and formation of candidates for the priesthood, 2008.

Interdicasterial Instruction Ecclesiae de mysterio, On Certain Questions Regarding the Collaboration of the Non-Ordained Faithful in the Sacred Ministry of Priests, 1997.

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dotal (6 maggio 1979), Caracas, 1979. Bishops’ Conference of Italy, La formazione dei presbiteri nella Chiesa ital-

iana (15 maggio 1980), Città del Vaticano, 1980. Bishops’ Conference of France, La formation au ministère presbytéral. Ratio

institutionis. Ratio studiorum (1983). Bishops’ Conference of Ireland, Norms for Priestly Training in Ireland (Revised),

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CELAM, Elementos de un Curso Introductorio para la formación sacerdotal, Bogotá, 1989.

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Bishops’ Conference of United States of America, Program of Priestly Forma-tion (16 dicembre 1992), Washington, 1992.

Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, Norms for Priestly Formation in Scotland (26 maggio 1992), Edinburgh, 1992.

Bishops’ Conference of Argentina, La formación para el sacerdocio ministerial (1° maggio 1994), Buenos Aires, 1994.

Bishops’ Conference of Brasile, Formação dos presbíteros da Igreja no Brasil (6 giugno 1995), São Paulo, 1995.

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Bishops’ Conference of Guatemala, Ordenamiento Académico para la formación del Presbítero diocesano secular en Guatemala (maggio 1995), Guatemala 1995.

Bishops’ Conference of Angola e São Tomé, Normas fundamentais da formação sacerdotal para as dioceses de Angola e São Tomé (1° giugno 1996), Luanda 1996.

Bishops’ Conference of Spain, La formación para el ministerio presbiteral (30 maggio 1996), Madrid, 1996.

Bishops’ Conference of Mexico, Normas Básicas y Ordenamiento Básico de los Estudios para la formación sacerdotal en México (12 novembre 1996), México DF, 1996.

Bishops’ Conference of France, La formation des futurs prêtres. Ratio institutionis sacerdotalis. Ratio studiorum (1998).

Bishops’ Conference of Belgium, La formation au ministère presbytéral (1998).


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lenges in the Asian Context, Final Statement, Hua Hin (Thailand), 2006. FABC-Office of Clergy, Caring for Priests, especially those with idfficulties, Final

Statement, Pattaya (Thailand), 2007. FABC-Office of Clergy, The Catholic Priesthood – A Challenge of the modern

World, Final Statement. Assumption University Campus, Bangkok (Thailand), 2008.

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투고(접수)일(2015년 5월 12일), 심사(수정)일(2015년 6월 4일),

게재확정일(2015년 6월 12일)


❚Abstract❚

□

Being a priest, a “shepherd after God’s heart” is not something which

comes automatically, but it is the fruit of a long process of formation.

According to the teaching of the Church, this formation must be faithful

to the identity of the Catholic priest and at the same time, applied to the

local context. The Vietnamese context has two aspects: cultural heritage

and situation of life in the modern world.

Today, it is a consensus and conviction that the formation of

seminarians must be integral, embracing four aspects: human, spiritual,

intellectual and pastoral. However, in the Vietnamese context, only the

vision of an integral formation, embracing all four aspects is proving

insufficient. One needs to be rooted in a force, more powerful than all

other forces and capable of enlightening and unifying all the diverse ideas.

That force is Jesus Christ. The heart of formation is not a program, no

matter how perfect it may be, but a Person who is Jesus Christ Himself.

He is not a necessary element among other necessary elements of

formation, but He is the starting point, the very source and the foundation

from which the whole process and structure of formation is conceived.

The personal and loving relationship with Christ requires an inner

freedom, the fruit of the detachment from everything (Cf. Mt 9:37-39; Lk

14:25-27; Phil 3:7-9) according to the demands and the spirit of the

evangelical counsels (poverty, chastity and obedience).

Another element of formation is the communion. In the cultural

mentality of Viet Nam, “communion” is not understood in the same way


of the Christian vision. Therefore, the priestly formation requires efforts

to transform the cultural mentality.

▶ Key Words: Formation of Seminarians, Viet Nam, Formation in Context, Christ is Basis, Center,

Source of Formation.


❚국문 초록❚

□

가톨릭교회의 가르침에 따른

베트남 상황에서의 신학생 양성

요셉 다오 주교

〔베트남 쑤안 록 대신학교 학장〕

“하느님의 마음을 닮은 목자”인 사제가 된다는 것은 자동적으로

일어나는 일이 아니라 오랜 기간의 양성이 맺는 열매다. 교회의

가르침에 따르면 이 양성은 가톨릭 사제의 공통된 정체성에 부합하

는 동시에 각기 다른 지역적 상황에 맞게 적용되어야 한다. 이러한

의미에서 베트남의 상황은 문화적 유산과 현대 세계에서의 삶이라는

두 가지 측면을 지닌다고 볼 수 있다.

오늘날 신학생 양성이 인성과 영성, 지성과 사목이라는 네 가지

차원을 아우르는 통합적 교육이어야 한다는 점에 있어서는 모두가

동의하고 확신하는 바다. 하지만 베트남 상황에서는 이러한 네 가

지 측면에서 이루어지는 통합적 양성만으로는 불충분하다. 사제는

그 어떤 힘보다도 강렬한 힘으로 무장하여, 오늘날 만연한 온갖 이

념들을 비추고 통합해야 하기 때문이다. 그리고 이 힘은 다름 아닌

예수 그리스도다. 그러므로 양성의 핵심을 어떤 프로그램에서 찾아

서는 안 된다. 프로그램이 제아무리 완벽할지라도 양성의 본질은 거

기에 있지 않다. 예수 그리스도의 인격 그 자체가 양성의 핵심이기

때문이다. 그분은 단순히 양성의 여러 필수 요소들 중의 하나가


아니라, 양성의 전체 과정과 구조를 이루는 출발점이요, 원천이며

기초다.

한편 사랑으로 충만한 그리스도와의 인격적인 관계는 복음적 권

고(청빈, 정결, 순명)의 정신에 따라 모든 애착을 버림으로써 맺는 열

매인 내적 자유를 필요로 한다(마태 9,37~39; 루카 14,25~27; 필리

3,7~9 참조).

친교 역시 양성의 또 다른 요소다. 그런데 베트남의 문화적 심성

은 ‘친교’에 대해 그리스도인과는 사뭇 다르게 이해하기에, 사제 양

성은 이러한 문화 자체를 변혁하고자 하는 노력 역시 포함해야 할

것이다.

▶ 주제어: 신학생 양성, 베트남, 특정 상황에서의 양성, 양성의 기초요, 중심이

며 원천인 그리스도.

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