Report on Priesthood and Ministry for the Contemporary Church
February 10 2019
Titled “To Serve the People of God: Renewing the Conversation on Priesthood and Ministry,” the document was issued by Boston College’s Seminar on Priesthood and Ministry for the Contemporary Church, sponsored by BC’s Theology Department and School of Theology and Ministry. The seminar, which began meeting in September 2016, was composed of women and men who are lay and ordained theologians and ministers working in pastoral and academic settings.
The report calls for a “serious reconsideration” of how candidates for the priesthood receive their theological and pastoral preparation. The seminar participants contend that the enclosed setting of seminaries separates candidates for the priesthood from lay and religious men and women also preparing for ministry.