VIETNAM JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, 2023

Volume 7, Special Issue, 207-214

https://doi.org/10.52296/vje.2023.295

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

A Proposal of the Integral Maturity Competency Framework for Seminarians:

A Case Study in Vietnam
Saint Joseph Major Seminary of Saigon, Vietnam
Trong Van Pham
Email: [email protected]

Article history ABSTRACT

Received: 31 May, 2023 Major seminaries, also called seminaries, are responsible for training priests
Accepted: 29 August, 2023 based on prescribed programs and contents. However, it’s essential that the
Published: 30 September, 2023 competence of seminarians or future priests be researched and proposed in
accordance with each training stage and specific historical contexts. This
Keywords study utilized the document analysis method to suggest a specification of the
Major seminary, seminarian, integral maturity competency framework for seminarians in Vietnam. The
priest, integral maturity, proposed competency framework comprises four component competencies,
Vietnam, competency including 15 standards and 40 specified criteria. Accordingly, major
framework seminaries, priestly formators, priests, and seminarians can research and
reflect in order to take appropriate actions in formation according to the stated
instructions and fulfill the targeted criteria of the framework.

1. INTRODUCTION
The priestly formation of the Vietnamese church aims to create leaders for Catholic communities and parishes in
Vietnam. They must be leaders with moral character and capacities to benefit the community. The Vietnamese
Catholic Bishops’ Conference asserts that the production of priests with moral character and capacities for
community service are important objectives of formation in the major seminary of the Catholic Church (The Catholic
Bishops’ Conference of Vietnam, 2012). Thanks to these capacities, priests will be able to integrate into the parish
community and the social community (The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Vietnam, 2012). This is also the view
of the Congregation for the Clergy, the supreme dicastery of the Catholic Church for priestly formation. The
Congregation for the Clergy points out that the formation of the churches must make “priestly candidates not lose
their cultural roots”[33]; In other words, trained priests must be able to integrate into the cultural environment in
which they live and serve (Congregation for the Clergy, 2016). Therefore, it is necessary to pay more attention to
environmental impacts from Vietnamese society in the formation of priests.
The Major Seminary plays an important role in the formation of seminarians, i.e. the future priests of the Catholic
Church., not only in developing seminarians’ knowledge and capacities, but also in the formation of their
personalities and lifestyles. This process helps each seminarian deepen his knowledge, train his abilities, and cultivate
his social character and spiritual life to become mature priests and serve people (Strange, 2015).
How can seminary educators measure the priestly formation process of the church in general and of the Vietnamese
church in particular? What are the criteria for evaluating the moral qualities and capacity of priests to serve? This study
proposes an integral maturity framework (IMF) for seminarians, i.e. future priests, and for major seminaries in
Vietnam. The IMF gives major seminaries concrete data for evaluating training progress. At the same time, this IMF
is also a set of standards for seminarians to reflect and self-evaluate in the formation process. As a result, the IMF helps
the Church produce priests with moral qualities and the capacity to serve in order to adapt to the community and
society. Therefore, it is also important to pay attention to the environmental impact on formation activities.

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/),
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Copyrighted © 2023 Vietnam Journal of Education

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This study comprises the following main parts: (1) An introduction of the reasons for the development of this
study; (2) A literature review to highlight the importance of training in moral character and service competence, (3)
Research methods and research materials; (4) Findings, discussions, and limitations of the study.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW
With the emphasis on the role of priests in the Catholic Church, O’Meara (1999) underlines the importance of
major seminaries in the process of priestly formation. He states that major seminaries provide an educational
environment and facilitate seminarians - priest candidates, in developing necessary qualities and skills for their
parochial mission.
According to O’Collins and Jones (2010), priestly formation at Catholic major seminaries comprises three
compulsory stages focusing on spirituality, philosophy and theology. The authors emphasize the importance of these
stages with the priest’s mission in serving the parishes and people in their future career (Dao, 2015; Mark, 2018).
Ippolito et al. (2008) recommend that it is necessary to introduce an IMF for priests so that seminaries are able to
evaluate and adjust their training programs. Additionally, the proposed framework can support seminarians in their
self-training based on the accessible integral maturity standards, as Pope John Paul II remarked “all formation,
priestly formation included, is ultimately a self-formation” (John, 1992).
The direction of the Catholic Church on major seminaries’ priest formation, as stated in the paper “Pastores Dabo
Vobis: On the Formation of Priests in Circumstances of the Present Day” by John (1992) and the “Ratio
Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis: the Gift of the Priestly Vocation” by the Congregation for the Clergy
(2016), highlights four dimensions of priest training, namely human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral (related to a
priest’s services). Each of these four dimensions, as attended specifically during the training process, can form,
develop and create characteristic features in the priest formation, which can be categorized into six following
attributes of a priest: (1) Having proper and mature human qualities: honesty and love; right judgment; fairness in
material and communication; being responsible for themselves and others; moderation and balance in behavior, self-
control and sexual abstinence; having the ability to live together; harmony and maturity in relations with others.
(2) Having strong mental or spiritual qualities; deep introspection; capable of revival and silence; faithful in prayer
and spiritual activities; staying in true intimacy with Jesus Christ, whom they believe in, and knowing how to imitate
the example of Jesus Christ, the ideal leader of the priest. (3) Having strong intellectual ability; understanding various
fields of knowledge, especially in philosophy and theology; the ability and research skills in independent self-study;
having the ability and skills to teach and interpret knowledge to others; the ability to perceive the beauty and aesthetics
of the surroundings and the world. (4) Having ability and skill in serving others; communicating and collaborating
with others; empathizing with the circumstances of others; recognizing the needs of those around them; always being
dedicated, willing to serve selflessly for others, even sacrificing one’s own life. (5) Having ability to combine human
qualities with service work; ability to combine mental and spiritual qualities with service work; knowing how to
combine knowledge abilities and skills with service work in practical circumstances. (6) Having ability and skills in
management and leadership; having a serene, empathetic and loving outlook for collaborators and others; ability to
open up and listen to others; Guiding and leading, having right judgment and objective awareness of people and
events.
The documents on priest formation guidelines of Pope Paul VI entitled “Decree on the Ministry and life of Priests”
(1965) and “Decree on Priestly Training” (1965) identify the purposes and responsibilities of a priest. These are the
basis to determine the characteristics of a priest, namely 1) human qualities; 2) capacity to maintain celibacy;
3) capacity to maintain brotherhood with other priests; 4) competence of communicating; 5) strong mental and
spiritual faith; 6) competence of teaching and coaching; 7) capacity to collaborate; 8) competence of caring and
comforting; 9) leadership competencies; 10) selfless service spirit.
The directive “Pastores Dabo Vobis: On the Formation of Priests in Circumstances of the Present Day” by Pope
John Paul II (1992) emphasizes the importance of long-term priestly formation in the contemporary context of the
society. This is the first official document presenting the approach to comprehensive priestly formation through four
training dimensions, namely 1) human capacities and virtues; 2) mental or spiritual capacities and virtues;
3) intellectual capacities and virtues; 4) service-related and pastoral capacities and virtues.

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The directive “Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis: the Gift of the Priestly Vocation” by the
Congregation for the Clergy (2016) updates, supplements and systematizes the standards based on two documents
“Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis: Basic Norms for Priestly Formation” (1970) and “Pastores Dabo
Vobis: On the Formation of Priest in Circumstances of the Present Day” by Pope John Paul II (1992). The document
of version 2016 specifies the standards on practical competencies and human qualities among the four dimensions:
human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral. Meanwhile, the document “Priestly Formation: Directions and
Guidelines” (The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Vietnam, 2012), also based on the two aforementioned references,
presents the standards according to the four above dimensions in the context of Vietnam.
Based on the document analysis above, the authors would propose the integral maturity competencies for
seminarians in the following sections.

3. MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study basically drew on the document analysis method with the aim to identify the structure of integral
maturity competencies for priests (in the case of Vietnam). Specifically, the documents analyzed includes “Decree
on the Ministry and life of Priests” (Paul VI, 1965), “Decree on Priestly Formation” (Paul VI, 1965); “Pastores Dabo
Vobis: On the Formation of Priests in Circumstances of the Present Day” (Paul II, 1992); “Ratio Fundamentalis
Institutionis Sacerdotalis: the Gift of the Priestly Vocation” by the Congregation for the Clergy (2016) and “Priestly
Formation: Directions and Guidelines” (the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Vietnam, 2012).
In addition, international documents related to seminarian training were also searched for and analyzed to
introduce or interpret certain criteria of the proposed IMF, such as O’Collins and Jones (2010), Porter et. al. (2019).
Moreover, the development of an IMF is necessarily based on the authentic feedback from practical training at
Catholic major seminaries and community leadership of parish priests. Several parish priests and seminary lecturers
were consulted to specify the proposed standards and criteria for modification of the IMF. For instance, the issues
related to community leadership of parish priests were discussed to supplement and accomplish the necessary
standards of the IMF.

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1. Proposing an ideal competency framework or an IMF
Based on the theoretical background and the above research approach, especially the factors of characteristics of
Catholic priests, guiding and regulating documents for formation at major seminaries of the Catholic Church, training
practice at those major Catholic seminaries and community leadership in parishes as well as the impacts of
environment on formation at major seminaries in Vietnam, the researchers would propose an IMF for priestly
formation at major seminaries in Vietnam.
First and foremost, this IMF comprises standards which satisfy two following requirements: 1) These standards
are also the targets of the four dimensions of priestly formation at major Catholic seminaries; 2) These standards
satisfy the factors of integral maturity namely moral qualities (human and spiritual qualities), intellectuality,
leadership competencies, and service spirit. Specifically, the standards are described as follows:
Table 1. Four dimensions (groups) of standards of integral maturity
Spiritual or
Human qualities mental qualities Intellectuality Pastoral qualities
(individual and (knowledge and research (leadership competencies
community) (developing competence) and service spirit)
spiritual qualities
Wisdom Knowledge Teaching and Coaching
Moderation Faith Competence of Performing rituals
Courage Hope studying and researching
Community leading
Fairness Love Competence of self-
study and self-research Service spirit
Community spirit
The following table specifies the criteria of the above mentioned standards:

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Table 2. The proposed IMF for priests

Standards Criteria Description
Human qualities (forming and developing individual- and community-oriented attributes)
Being able to discover and identify truths; being able to distinguish
between appropriate and inappropriate behaviors in a priest’s
C1: Identify truth
lifestyle; being able to predict events based on sound natural laws and
rational doctrine of the Catholic Church.
Wisdom
Having a sense and ability to appreciate beauty, being able to
recognise the beauty of art and surroundings; being able to recognise
C2: Perceive beauty
the beauty of the priestly life; being able to recognise the good traits
of others.
Maintaining order and discipline in time management (do the
C3: Order and
activities as scheduled) following the training schedule of the whole
discipline
major seminaries; and in life, being tidy and clean.
Being moderate in eating and drinking, not overindulging in or even
C 4: Table manner,
being addicted to alcohol; being moderate and serious in outfits, not
outfits, language,
wearing flamboyant outfits in an objectionable manner, being
behavior
Moderation moderate in language and behavior.
Having knowledge about sexuality; having tendency to express
C5: Sexual Self-
sexuality in the healthy way, without inappropriate and extreme
control
behavior; maintaining proper sexual interaction with others
Being able to commit celibacy not only in physical life but also in the
C6: Celibacy mind, having no desire to marry to others, not having any thoughts
related to sexuality with others.
Being able to participate in sporting activities to train physical
C7: Physical well-
wellbeing; being able to design a personal appropriate agenda to keep
being
fit.
C8: Balanced Having a stable mentality with balanced thoughts and no paranoia, no
Courage
mentality distorted or excessive psychological expressions.
C9: Persistence and Being able to pursue and live the truth; being able to observe and
strength in the willingly and fearlessly live what is appropriate with the priestly life;
priestly life being able to reject what is contrary to the priestly life.
C 10: Freedom, Having a sense of freedom and responsibilities with oneself and
responsibility community in services. Dare to take responsibilities in public life.
Fairness C 11: Respect to basic Respect and maintain fairness in interactions at major seminaries;
rights being able to preserve and protect public facilities and properties, etc.
of major seminaries and others.
Being able to communicate and collaborate in daily life activities at
C 12: Solidarity, Love major seminaries; being tolerant and willing to devote to shared tasks
Community at the seminary; being able to share and support those in need.
spirit C 13: Open- Being open-minded and welcoming with formation; showing
Mindedness, obedience towards the superior and accepting arrangements
Obedience according to demands anticipated by the superior.

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Spiritual or mental qualities (developing spiritual qualities)

Strictly observing the timetable and participating in all the pious
C 14: Engagement in
activities at the seminary including worship, prayer, praying sessions
the common pious
with the community; fulfill service duties in the common rituals at the
activities
seminaries.
C 15: Engagement in Having a sense of connection with Jesus Christ through personal
the personal pious activities; being able to arrange and prioritize personal pious time;
Faith time setting time for life reflection every day.
Being aware of Jesus Christ’s presence in life and rituals;
C 16: Pious attitude Participating in pious activities with enthusiasm; having enthusiastic
and solemn manner and attitude when engaging in services
Being able to observe the holy hour; spending silent time before and
C 17: Silence
after the pious ritual.
Having trust and hope in Jesus Christ despite hardship in life; making
C 18: Having hope
choices and solutions with the hope in and based on the model of
in Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ.
Hope
C 19: Relying on Our Seeking for support through prayers to Our Lady Maria and the
Lady Mary and the Saints; making choices and decisions based on the role models of Our
Saints Lady Maria and The Saints.

C 20: Love for Jesus Practicing visiting Jesus Christ every day; practicing virtues and
Christ showing love for the Eucharistic Jesus Christ.
Love
Having love and devotion for Our Lady Maria and the Saints;
C 21: Devotion for
showing expressions of love for Our Lady Maria and the Saints;
Our Lady Maria and
frequently reading pious books; promoting the devotion for virtue
the Saints
models of Our Lady Maria and the Saints.
Intellectuality (Knowledge and research competence, self-study and self-researching competency)
Having general knowledge of culture, history, politics and society;
C 22: General
being able to identify and analyze economic, politic, and social events
knowledge
with scientific basis.
Knowledge Having profound knowledge of philosophy and theology; being
C 23: Specialized capable of interpreting and analyzing scientifically with
knowledge philosophical basis; being capable of interpreting incidents and
events from a theological perspective.
Having inquisitiveness in exchanging and adjusting received
C 24: Inquisitiveness
knowledge; having the spirit of seeking and deepening knowledge;
in study and research
having a desire to discover and apply learnt knowledge.
Competence C 25: Synthesizing Being able to reason, synthesize and reflect about the learnt
of studying and Reflection knowledge during the process of knowledge accumulation.
and
researching Being competent in exchanging information, collaborating and co-
C 26: Group
researching in groups; being able to defend personal opinions and
researching
identify limitations in group research.

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Being competent in making arrangements and developing personal

Competence C 27: Self-study and
self-studying programs and timetables; being able to devise their own
of self- self-research
effective self-study and self-research methods.
studying and
self- C 28: Utilizing Having a plan to utilize research resources in libraries; be able to
researching libraries and exploit digital and online resources, etc; being able to arrange and
resources systemize resources for research.
Pastoral qualities (leadership competencies and service spirit)
Being able to educate philosophy and theology in accordance with
C 29: Educating
the doctrine of the Catholic Church; being capable of explaining
truths
Teaching and truths practically, bringing about benefits to human life.
Coaching Being capable of training individuals or communities under one’s
C30:Coaching
responsibilities; being capable of training collaborators for the cause
teaching facilitators
of promulgating religious truths to others.
Being able to perform and conduct Catholic rituals according to the
C 31: Catholic Church; having appropriate manner and attitude in
Conducting rituals conducting the ritual to support and bring about benefits to the
Performing community.
rituals
Be able to create favorable conditions for the faithful to actively
C32: coaching
engage in the rituals with knowledge; be capable of training supporter
supporters in services
groups in performing the rituals;
Being sensitive and able to recognise the needs of others, the
C 33: Sensitivity in
community and society; being able to sympathize with others’
services
difficulties without their explicit confessions.
Being present and knowledgeable of the community; being sincere
and trustworthy in attitude, language and actions; being able to
C 34: Credibility in
confront the challenges and difficulties of the community; being
leadership
constantly active and creative in problem solving; being capable of
connecting members of the community.
Community
leading Creating a united community; setting up departments and units with
C 35: Scientific
transparent and scientific division of roles and management positions;
executive
being competent in motivating and encouraging collaborators in
Organization
executive tasks.
Being competent in helping the community to open up to the society,
C 36: Opening up avoiding the risk of extreme localization or excessive attitude; being
the community able to cooperate to build a better society; opening your heart and
to the society sharing hardship with others through charity and social volunteering
work.
Being considerate of others and creating favorable conditions for
C 37: Creating
others in services; paying attention and efforts to find convenient and
favorable conditions
simple methods of management and leadership to provide prompt,
for others
Service spirit convenient and effective services.
Being able to comfort and motivate others when facing difficulties;
C 38: Supporting
being willing to help others when needed; caring about their benefits
others
and living conditions.

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Serving others with delightful and loving spirit; always seeking the
C 39: Serving others
best ways to serve and benefit others; being capable of putting others’
selflessly
interests before their own.
Being willing to serve others in a disadvantaged time for oneself;
C 40: Sacrificing life
being able to accept losses for oneself while serving, even sacrificing
for others
their own life to benefit people, society and the world.
4.2. Discussions
According to the IMF, the core qualities of a Catholic priest that seminarians are expected to form include:
wisdom to discover truths; ability to appreciate the beauty of priestly life; moderation in eating and drinking, outfits
and sexuality; self-control in daily activities; love for priestly celibacy and competence to live the celibacy; a balanced
state of physical, psychological, mental, and spiritual things. The formation process can produce priests with these
competencies only if the formation at the major seminary gets a good quality input. To gain this input, the
examination needs to be serious and strict in accordance with the regulations of the Catholic Church in Vietnam.
The IMF in this study was developed to measure progress in priestly formation. However, it is not only a measure
of the development of seminarians, i.e. future priests or leaders in the field of religion, this framework is also an
important set of criteria for all those who wish to become leaders in the fields of education, economy, etc.
This IMF is also important for educators to evaluate their formation process. At the same time, it helps educators
to recognize the development of their trainees.
4.3. Limitations
This IMF is the result of the researcher’s formation experience based on the analysis and synthesis of priestly
formation documents of the Catholic Church in Vietnam. However, certain limitations are inevitable, which calls for
practical feedback to increase the level of reliability.
The material of this framework is largely based on the religious documents of the Catholic Church. Therefore,
this framework is a set of effective measures for the Catholic Church. To expand this framework to other religions
or social fields such as education, economics, politics, etc., it is necessary to use additional sources of materials from
other religions or related social fields.

5. CONCLUSION
The IMF is important for the process of priestly formation at major seminaries in Vietnam. It helps trainers and
trainees to evaluate and self-evaluate formation results. As a result, timely adjustments and appropriate solutions can
be made for the process of priestly formation.
For seminarians, i.e. future priests, they must be self-conscious from the beginning of accumulating for
themselves the qualities necessary for priestly life if they are to pursue their priestly vocation and mission.
With trainers, they are required to meet conditions including solid intellectual ability; effective leadership,
resolution and service skills; the virtues of humanity, spirituality and relationship with others. The absolute maturity
of the formators and teachers vividly concretizes the Jesus model for seminarians. These stereotypes play an
important and decisive role in training and self-training towards holistic maturity.

Conflict of Interest: No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

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