Letter 26
To my dear colleague,
Your question about the curriculum for priestly formation is one I have thought about a great deal, and I am not sure I have entirely satisfying answers, but I will share what I have concluded.
The minimum that a priest must know is not as short a list as some would like to think. He must have a thorough command of scripture — not just the Psalms and the Gospels, but the whole of it, because pastoral situations will call on all of it eventually. He must understand the major theological controversies well enough to recognize heresy when he encounters it and to explain orthodox teaching clearly to those who are confused. He must be competent in the administration of the sacraments, including in unusual or emergency circumstances. And he must have enough Latin that he can read the necessary texts and conduct the liturgy correctly.
Beyond this minimum: it depends on the man and the situation. A priest who will serve an educated urban community needs more learning than a priest who will serve a rural congregation whose concerns are primarily practical and pastoral. The Church needs both kinds, and an educational system that only produces one kind will fail in its mission.
What I most wish I could ensure in the formation of priests is not a particular body of knowledge but a particular disposition: genuine love for the people they will serve, humility about the limits of their own understanding, and the patience that comes from knowing that the work of pastoral care is long and its results are often invisible.
Braulio
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.