Bishop calls for more rigorous training to form better priests

By Kampan Chinnam

Kohima, Oct. 21, 2024: A Catholic bishop has suggested making seminary formation more rigorous like the training given to civil service officers in India, as nearly half the priests now serving the Church seem to perform below average.

Bishop James Thoppil of Kohima, chairman of the northeast bishops’ formation commission, made the proposal after he “read somewhere” that only 10 percent priests excel in their service.

Some 20 percent of Catholic priests “perform adequately” while another 20 percent are just average, the 65-year-old prelate said at the opening of the biennial meeting of those engaged in training young men for priesthood in northeastern India.

But, 50 percent of the priests are irrelevant in their roles, added the prelate.

In this context, he stressed the need for re-evaluation of the formation process, comparing it to the rigorous two-year training for Indian civil service officers at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration at Mussoorie in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand.

The formators, or those training candidates for priesthood to serve the region’s 15 dioceses, attended the October 21-23 meeting at Mount Tabor Retreat Centre in Dimapur, the commercial capital of Nagaland. Its focus was “the continuity of formation at different stages.”

Bishop Thoppil raised concerns regarding the ongoing formation of priests. He highlighted the difficulty in finding suitable personnel and encouraged the formators to view their roles as transformative opportunities, reflecting on the fulfilment derived from witnessing their students become effective priests.

Addressing the need for a cultural shift within the Church, Bishop Thoppil criticized the prevailing clericalism and stressed the necessity for collaboration. He urged priests to operate as a team rather than authoritarian figures. He also stressed that the wellness of priests is crucial for building a healthy Church and integrating ongoing formation.

Bishop Thoppil also pointed out that formation is a continuous process that extends beyond ordination, calling for a resumption of ongoing formation initiatives previously led by Emeritus of Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, that had been halted.

Bishop Thoppil, general secretary of the Northeast Bishops Council and the host of the meeting, recognized the challenges the formators faced to arrive at Dimapur. Many drove three hours braving poor road conditions following recent landslides in the region.

Bishop Thoppil commended Bishop Kattrukudiyil’s commitment to formation as he came to Dimapur traveling some 3,600 km from Kerala’s Kochi where he now stays after retirement in June 2023.

The participants represented only 11 dioceses as Aizawl in Mizoram, Bongaigaon, and Diphu in Assam and Jowai in Meghalaya could not attend it. Also present were the Dominicans and the Divine Word Fathers, who supported formation programs for Itanagar and Agartala that covers Tripura state.

Father Stanislaus Chiliankhup, secretary of the formation commission, suggested that the adoption of European practices, where assistants undergo training and examinations before promotion to priesthood, could be beneficial in enhancing priestly formation in northeastern India.

The first day discussions centered on collaborative ministry, the importance of vocation promotion, and the need for rigorous evaluations of priests’ performance. The aim was to address immediate challenges while envisioning a more effective future for priestly formation in Northeast India, the organizers said.