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	Philippines Major Seminary to Adopt Vatican Screening Guidelines for Priesthood Candidates Union of Catholic Asian News November 13, 2008 http://www.ucanews.com/2008/11/13/major-seminary-to-adopt-vatican-screening-guidelines-for-priesthood-candidates/ DAVAO CITY, Philippines (UCAN) - A southern Philippine seminary says it will start screening seminarian candidates according to newly released Vatican guidelines that reflect a general directive to curb sexual abuse by Catholic priests. pr_davao_city_3.gifFor the next school year, St. Francis Xavier Regional Major Seminary of Mindanao (REMASE) will review the psychological test it gives to candidates and its periodic assessment of priesthood candidates, said REMASE rector Father Abel Apigo. "The new screening guidelines are more relevant these days as more lay people look to priests as inspiration and examples of witnessing our Catholic faith," Father Apigo said in a recent interview in Davao City, 965 kilometers southwest of Manila. REMASE currently has 103 theology students, with 23 scheduled to graduate at the end of this school year, in March 2009. A candidate for the seminary undergoes "a series of detailed assessments by the school's spiritual directors, including their sexual orientation," Father Apigo said. The Vatican's screening guidelines, released on Oct. 30, are an effort by the Catholic Church to be more selective about priesthood candidates following a series of pedophile scandals, especially in the United States. They say psychological tests are appropriate, when suspicions exist, to help screen out candidates with strong homosexual tendencies or heterosexuals who are unable to control their sexual urges. Reflecting a 2005 instruction, the guidelines say formation "would have to be interrupted" in the case of a seminarian found to have "deep-seated homosexual tendencies." They also highlight the need for a "positive and stable sense of one's masculine identity" and for a priest to have the capacity to "integrate his sexuality in accordance" with the obligation of celibacy. Candidates must undergo "critical personal assessment" that can determine their sexual orientation, Father Apigo said. But he admitted, "It is very difficult to actually draw an absolute judgment of the candidate quickly." REMASE professor Father William Larousse told UCA News the seminary is "looking for more maturity" when selecting applicants. It has been putting candidates through psychological evaluation for more than 25 years, asking them to spend at least a week at the seminary, during which faculty members observe and interview them. Candidates for the school year beginning in June 2009 will spend four days, Dec.17-20, in tests and interviews at the seminary. REMASE will be using a different testing center this time to help with the screening. During the past five years, the seminary has rejected only one candidate on suspicion of being homosexual, Father Apigo said. However, "questions about their capacity to remain celibate" have led to the rejection of other candidates. Zoe Asilo left for this reason. "I was caught in a situation where my sexual desires engulfed my senses, and I was overcome," Asilo, now 34, said as he recalled how he met his former girlfriend in 1994, during his second year of theology studies. He first kept the incident to himself, but confessed the affair later. "I told my spiritual director what I was going through. This led them to ask me to leave," said Asilo, who is now an Internet cafe owner and father of a 14-year-old son. Monsignor Martiniano Gorgonio, a seminary spiritual director, said personal background checks are necessary for seminarians. "Psychological tests coupled with selective screening are a tedious process but a part of the guarantee a candidate can remain celibate and shows no homosexual orientation," Monsignor Gorgonio said in an interview. The four years allotted before ordination is enough time to "psychologically and emotionally prepare them for priesthood," he said. But he added that "support from families, friends and community is vital to ensure these men will stick to their conviction." Father Apigo pointed out that while testing is important, some students will still drop out, as in any school. This year, five seminarians decided to leave for personal reasons, the rector said. He cited "spiritual preparedness" as an obvious factor in whether a candidate is accepted or stays. REMASE seminarians come from all over Mindanao, the southern Philippine region. Of the 103 current seminarians, 28 come from Tagum diocese, 60 kilometers north of Davao. Fifteen other dioceses also send their seminarians: Basilan, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Cotabato, Davao, Digos, Dipolog, Ipil, Kidapawan, Malaybalay, Marbel, Mati, Surigao, Tandag and Zamboanga.
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