Role of the Pastor in the Church Today and Its Implications for Seminary Formation

Archbishop Murphy’s address to the National Catholic Education Association’s National Seminary Department seeks to answer a fundamental question: Does the present experience of seminary formation and education help prepare a candidate for priesthood to fulfill the role of pastor in the church of today and tomorrow? He describes the importance of looking to the past to anticipate how the role of the pastor will evolve in the future. “What I believe a seminary formation program can do is to recognize and name the skills and competencies necessary for pastoring today,” said Archbishop Murphy. “It must do so in the context of the local Church or religious community in which a candidate will serve.”