PATTAYA, Thailand (UCAN) -- Dozens of bishops of Asia, after reviewing the difficulties many priests encounter and studying the causes of such problems, have proposed new ways to improve the care they offer their priests.

Their recommendations emerged during the seminar on "Caring for Priests - Especially For Those with Difficulties," organized by the Office of Clergy of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences. It took place Aug. 27-Sept. 1 at Redemptorist Center in Pattaya, 150 kilometers southeast of Bangkok.

Apart from five resource persons, all the participants from about a dozen Asian countries were prelates -- one cardinal, and 68 archbishops and bishops.

In most sessions, a resource person presented a paper on a specific topic before the participants asked for clarifications or else shared personal experiences related to the topic.

The subject matter ranged from Scriptural and theological reflection on the nature of priesthood to the painful array of personal problems that some priests in Asia experience in their life and ministry.

In the course of the deliberations, the bishops reiterated their shepherding role in the Church and affirmed their responsibility to care not only for their respective dioceses but also their priests, whom they described as "our closest collaborators in the ministry."

All through the seminar, the bishops expressed deep appreciation for their priests and acknowledged that many of them work in difficult and stressful circumstances. At the same time, they stressed the need for ongoing formation so that priestly ministry can respond adequately to the needs of the people.

Noting that the many demands on priests in Asia can lead to exhaustion and burnout, they made a commitment, with the Good Shepherd as their model, to help their priests carry out their ministry joyfully and effectively.

The bishops said priests in Asia experience the same anxieties and tensions that society itself is undergoing as the result of rapid cultural change, all of it reflecting secularization and a hedonistic and consumerist worldview.

Priests are also challenged, they said, by changing perceptions about the identity and mission of priests in the modern world and growing complexities of the pastoral situation, especially in Asia.

According to the bishops, many priests live in isolation and are often under pressure from excessive work, sometimes in conflict situations and at times with a feeling that their contribution is not adequately appreciated.

Special attention was focused on priests who suffer physical, psychological or spiritual strains and ailments, in some cases of a more serious nature. The bishops noted that some of these problems are rooted in the priest's childhood or early-life experiences that were not healed or resolved in the seminary, or else are due to painful experiences during their ministry.

The bishops also reviewed negative habits and addictions evident in some priests' lives, such as alcoholism, endless television viewing, amassing all sorts of gadgets and unhealthy relationships, all of which can take a severe toll on a priest's spiritual energies and apostolic effectiveness.

The prelates also acknowledged that such problems may be due to the lack of cordial relations between priest and bishop, regardless of who is at fault.

In the face of such problems, the bishops said, priests are given many opportunities to heal and clarify their identity and mission, a process that should start in the seminary. They also pointed out that good priesthood candidates are psychologically balanced and spiritually motivated to enter into a life of radical commitment in the service of the Lord and His people.

In their formative years, they develop a proper understanding of priesthood, purify their motives and deepen their generosity to be ever more like Christ. They allow their formators to guide them, are open with them and sincerely try to learn ecclesiastical discipline and Church traditions. They also develop intellectual interests and a good reading habit that can serve them well amid their intense activity and zealous service to the faithful.

Most of all, the bishops said, bishops and priests are men of communion, a sharing they begin to develop in the seminary, along with maturing relational skills and the ability for dialogue. Their fraternity in the presbyterium has a healing, motivating and energizing power, the bishops said.

The presbyterium can also offer encouragement, assistance and necessary correction in an atmosphere of brotherliness, but it must be diligently built up and continuously fostered, and the temptation to fragment this brotherhood and allow self-isolation must be consistently resisted.

Today, the bishops concluded, priestly ministry includes intense involvement in a wide variety of services that the local Church must approve and should never cause the priest to become distanced from the spiritual.

They also noted that Asian civilizations have always cherished the values of the spirit, strongly emphasizing the spiritual over the material, highly esteeming renunciation, respect for elders, and attachment to one's community and its traditions. They said such a tradition carefully avoids ignoring human prudence or overlooking the need for guidance from experienced persons.

In the early years of ministry, close contact with the bishop helps priests. Over the years, priests assume greater responsibility for their development and evangelical witness, and also build up good relations with all kinds of people so as to easily communicate the Gospel message with convincing power. They are encouraged to evaluate themselves and their activities, and to learn from their negative experiences.

Sometimes, individual priests need professional assistance to deal with the hurts they receive in difficult situations or are caused by inappropriate relationships. The bishops also noted that allegations against the clergy in recent years have shocked the world and said adequate measures are needed to prevent the recurrence of such unhappy incidents.

By the seminar's close, the prelate participants agreed on recommendations to encourage and support priests and thereby help them grow with a sense of common responsibility for their own maturing and fruitfulness in their priestly ministry and life. The recommendations include:

• The seminary being the heart of the diocese, the bishop frequently visits the students, giving them an opportunity to meet him personally whenever he can, encouraging the staff and discussing with them matters of importance for the formation of the seminarians.
• Priests should seek the spiritual strength they need in their prayer-life, especially in the Eucharist; they should be faithful to the Prayer of the Church, and other traditional practices of piety, like meditation and spiritual reading, whenever possible done in community. There should be moments of intense personal prayer even in the midst one's pastoral activities; there should be places and periods of silent prayer in the diocese for priests to grow deeper in their relationship with God. The laity should be encouraged to pray for their priests.
• Recollections, spiritual gatherings, workshops and retreats should be held periodically and adequately prepared animators invited to conduct these events profitably.
• A well-planned course of ongoing formation is absolutely necessary for the renewal of the priests in their spirit, so such a course should be conducted in each diocese/region. Refresher courses in theology and other disciplines should be organized for different groups, based on age or experience or the nature of the ministry, so that priests can update themselves, acquire additional competence and find new motivation in their ministry. The Apostolic Union of the Clergy should be established where it does not yet exist, and vitalized where it has lost its dynamism.
• There should be opportunity for the frequent reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and experienced confessors should be invited to help.
• Spiritual directors and trained counsellors should be made available in each diocese or a group of dioceses, so that priests can have easy access to spiritually mature and adequately prepared persons. An effort should be made to train personnel for various needs of the diocese, such as managerial skills, interpersonal relationships, clinical pastoral experience, and priests who can counsel priests.
• Pastoral Orientation programs should be organized for newly ordained priests during the period of their transition to parish life.
• Priests should foster warm relationship among themselves, visit neighboring priests, collaborate and encourage each other in their ministry and, when necessary, correct each other. They should share joys and sorrows together in the various situations of life, and the bishop should keep himself available to his priests, visiting them from time to time at their posts, giving them the time they require.
• There should be diocesan guidelines regarding some serious problems that priests go through in their life and ministry, such as sexual misconduct, mishandling of finances, dependency problems (alcohol, drugs, etc). Priests should be offered help at a suitable place so they can be rehabilitated.
• The FABC-OC should organize programs for priests themselves, for formators and for those who can help priests in their difficulties.

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(Accompanying photos available at here)