SAN DIEGO — Bishop Michael Pham is familiar with the diocese’s priest formation program. He entered St. Francis Seminary at the University of San Diego in 1994, was ordained in 1999, and served as director of priestly vocations for two years, starting in 2001.
Twenty-five years later, now as the leader of the diocese, the bishop wants to strengthen that vocations program.
He formed a task force last December to review all aspects of the diocese’s priestly formation program, with an eye to identifying weaknesses and offering recommendations to address them. This includes a thorough evaluation of recruitment efforts, who is discerning a vocation, current admission policies, and every element of the program itself.
“This effort represents an important step forward as we seek to strengthen our diocesan Church at this challenging time and ensure that we are faithfully and effectively forming the priests our people need — now and in the future,” the bishop said in announcing the task force to the community.
The priestly formation task force hired a professional consulting firm, Philadelphia-based Avanti Advisors, to help gather data and assist with developing final recommendations.
The firm has spent this year gathering insights from all those involved in the program,
Read more...
