A Must Read- inside the Seminary: Is There Reason to Be Worried about Formation?

By Jennifer Haselberger
Canonical Consultation
February 20, 2015

http://canonicalconsultation.com/blog.html

[Inside the Seminary - Commonweal] https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/inside-seminary

The current issue of Commonweal Magazine features a number of articles on the priesthood. Among them is a report by a former seminarian of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis who writes of the inadequate (and frankly bizarre) formation that was provided at the Archdiocese's minor seminary, Saint John Vianney, on the topic of human sexuality.

For instance, the seminarian, Paul Blashcko writes of his experience during the period from 2008-2010:

'I recall the day when the first-year seminarians, or “new men” as we were called, gathered in the seminary’s spacious basement to attend a workshop on sexual ethics titled “Freedom and Victory.” The workshop was run by a psychologist from something called the Theology of the Body Training and Healing Center, together with a blind priest who, we were told during his introduction, had witnessed at least one eucharistic miracle and had had extensive experience with exorcisms. The breakout sessions had titles like “Masturbation: Is it Healthy? Is it Holy?” (you can guess the answer to both questions); and at various points throughout the workshop we were invited to approach the microphone and share stories of sexual pain and healing—“if you feel called by the spirit to do so”—with the sixty or so priests and other seminarians in the room.

The whole thing felt more than a little strange to me, and for the most part I kept my head down, pretending to take notes in the workbook that had been provided. The strangeness culminated with a workshop session devoted to reenacting the “spiritual warfare” that goes on when a young man watches pornography. Each of us was given a nametag with the name of a demon on it. These demons, we were told, were the principalities most closely associated with sexual temptation. We were then gathered around the chosen man and told to hiss and curse at him, trying to entice him to “watch pornography” and “masturbate.” Afterwards, the priest came around with a coffee tin, collecting the nametags—he had to burn them, he told us, while reciting prayers of exorcism. Demonic influence wasn’t something to take lightly.'

For those of you who might be inclined to disregard what the author is reporting, I remember the incident with the seminarian looking for sex online. If I recall correctly, either that incident or another was actually discovered by the University of Saint Thomas, not the seminary, because the seminarian's search items were identified as problematic and reported by the University's IT service, not the seminary's.

I strongly encourage you to read the full article, as Paul provides an important and thoughtful analysis of his experience of seminary formation during the Nienstedt-era. God help us all.