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	Psychological Assessment of Priesthood Candidates Remains Ambiguous Indian Catholic October 29, 2007 http://www.theindiancatholic.com/report.asp?nid=8945 SAM PHRAN, Thailand : How "normal" must a priesthood candidate be? To assess a candidate's "normality," he goes through a screening process that sometimes involves psychological testing, but how effective is that? Father Lawrence Pinto, a priest-psychologist based in Mangalore, India, raised these questions on Oct. 25 in an address to about 125 bishops and priests in charge of vocations, including seminary rectors, from 20 countries at the first Asian Vocations Symposium. "We are all abnormal to some extent, in that no one is (exactly) at the norm on all psychological qualities," he pointed out, and someone who seems absolutely "normal" may claim to be different from others just to get noticed. His talk was presented during the "Asian Vocations Today" meeting organized by the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC). It is being held Oct. 22-27 at Bangkok archdiocese's pastoral training center in Sam Phran, 30 kilometers west of the Thai capital. Father Pinto, the executive secretary of the FABC Office of Clergy, said psychological assessment of priesthood candidates is part of the selection procedure used in most Western countries and some in Asia, including Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore. Even so, psychological assessment remains an ambiguous issue in Asia, he remarked, and more research and understanding are needed before it can become a standard selection method. Nonetheless, while psychological assessment can pinpoint positive qualities, the priest continued, "one may categorically state it does not necessarily certify that a particular young man possesses a divine vocation." Moreover, he said, such assessment may also reveal "some psychopathological traits that can come in the way of pursuing his vocation to the priesthood, or undertaking seminary studies, or for leading a healthy celibate life." Despite such limitations, Father Pinto admitted that assessing a candidate's psychological health may be necessary, considering "the present scenario of sexual abuse" among Catholic priests, and the existence of priests with serious personality disorders and other psychological problems. To the often asked question of whether one can identify people likely to engage in sexual behavior with minors, Father Pinto said experts respond "no." However, he added, "certain data identify a series of risk factors that leave certain individuals more vulnerable to developing sexual behavior problems." He said selecting candidates for priestly formation and for ordination is a "sensitive and complicated" issue -- pastorally, financially and ideologically -- and few priests or lay Catholics are trained as psychologists to help in the huge task of assessing candidates for priesthood and Religious life. Compared to a generation ago, Father Pinto also observed, today's candidates come from wider age ranges and more varied family, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and such diversity increases the difficulty of fitting a person into a group, diocese or Religious order. The priest also stressed that it is not enough to detect "contra-indicators" in the selection process. Instead, he said, "greater emphasis should be given to the presence of positive indicators of the suitability of the persons." Father Pinto also recommended that the selection of candidates be done in a professional manner, and support or remedial action be given at all levels of formation -- starting from the minor seminary, "to foster human and Christian culture as a foundation for priestly and Religious vocation." Serra International, the international lay network that promotes priestly and Religious vocations, organized the vocations symposium in conjunction with the FABC Office of Clergy and the FABC Office of Consecrated Life.
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