The Formation in Communication for Pastoral Ministry

1
The Formation in Communication for Pastoral
Ministry

• A personal Experience

2
Background

• Since 1985 we have every academic year for the
  seminarians of the first semester of the first
  year of Theology an obligatory course for every
  student Introduction to Social Communication
  at the Divine Word Seminary in Tagaytay,
  Philippines
• Number of Students per class minimum 50 plus up
  to 80 Students per year which means over 1500
  seminarians over the years most of them are now
  priests, some already bishops

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Divine Word Seminary, Tagaytay
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Background (cont.)

• Some of them are fulltime communicatoors now like
• General Manager of Radio Veritas Asia,
• Director Tangaza Communication Institute,
  Catholic University of East Africa, Nairobi
• Some directors of local Radio Stations in the
  Philippines

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Experiences and insights Social Communication

• Need to be aware and apply in full force the
  concept of Social Communication as proposed by
  Vatican for the full program as the
  Communication of and in Human society.
• It includes all ways and means of communication
  from personal and traditional to modern media and
  Internet

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Experiences and Insights Formation

• One has to make a clear distinction between
  Formation and Training
• Formation is Dispositions
• Training is skills
• Formation is an ongoing process which can not be
  developed in one or two week courses or any kind
  of media exposure. It is growth over time on a
  solid spiritual and theological basis!

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Experiences and Insights Communication Theology

• Communication Theology (not Theology of
  Communication!) considers the whole of Theology
  under the perspective of Communication
  Communication becomes a theological principle
• Communicating (Inner)Trinitarian God
  gtRevelation gtIncarnation gtChurch (Kerygma) as
  continuation of Gods communication into the here
  and now of every time (cf,Henrici,Martini,
  Dulles, Rahner)

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Experiences and Insights Theology (cont)

• All theological disciplines have a communication
  Dimension (Dulles) and seminary programs and
  teachers should be aware of and formed into the
  awareness of this Communication is not
  (foremost)media and instruments but an essential
  dimension of the Church like Ad Gentes says about
  Mission as being the essence of the Church (AG)
• Spirituality is the Basis for any proper
  Communication

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Experiences (cont) Pastoral Communication

• Pastoral Communication as the Communication in
  Pastoral Ministry must be the main concern of
  any communication in the Seminary and houses of
  Formation.
• Pastoral Communication is main concern of an
  academic program developed at the Royal and
  Pontifical University of Santo Tomas in Manila,
  the oldest University in Asia (since 1611) and by
  population one of the biggest catholic
  universities in the World wit 44 000 students
  (2009)

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University of Santo Tomas Manila (UST)
11
UST

• Academic Programs
• Graduate School MA Theology, specialization
  Social/Pastoral Communication
• Faculty of Theology Licenciate in Pastoral
  Theology in combination with Graduate School
  Program One thesis in communication with two
  degrees Lic.Theol and MA
• Scholarship expenses for 2 year program incl.
  final thesis and defense about 3000 Euros.
  (Acomodation separate)

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Textbooks

• Textbooks developed for these programs
• Communicating in Community Fourth updated
  Edition2009 with translations in Italian,
  Indonesian languages and an Indian edition
• Communicating in Ministry and Mission, An
  Introduction to Pastoral and Evangelizing
  Communication Third Edition 2009 with
  translations in Italian, Indonesian, Vietnamese
  and in preparation Mandarin, Thai, Korean with
  also an Indian edition
• Church and Social Communication. Basic Documents
  from 1936 till 1997 with Supplement I up to 2002

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Thank you

• Enjoy Formation!