REVISITNG THE FORMATION OF CATHOLIC PRIESTS IN NIGERIAN CONTEXT: A PERSPECTIVE FROM BIBLICAL NOTION OF PRIESTHOOD

Abstract

This paper has tried to examine the biblical idea of priesthood and priestly formation vis-à-vis the Catholic Church’s method of forming her priests, with a view to chatting a new priestly formation programme in the light of such modern challenges as the influence of Pentecostalism on priests, the increased materialism in the society which affects priests too, and the excessive interest in the celibate life of priests due to the clerical sexual abuses hitting the headlines of recent. These were not envisaged in the present priestly formation programme. The findings include the fact that, much as there is hardly any clear formation programme for priests in the Bible, the idea of apprenticeship, i.e., priestly candidates learning from those who already serve as priests is very clearly seen, even in the case of Jesus Christ and his apostles. Through the patristic period to the present day of seminary formation, the same idea still runs, such that seminarians somehow learn not only academic subjects, but also behavioural patterns from their formators/professors. This calls for some type of formation of the formators through periodic seminars and conferences. The proffered recommendations include reducing the number of years spent in priestly training, and reviewing the contents of what the seminarians are taught so as to include what would be of practical help to them for maximum effectiveness in their priestly ministry later.