Catholic Religious Australia has launched a new edition of a national resource to support religious institutes in developing their formation practices and processes.
Building on the first edition, published in 2016, this second edition of Restoring and Nurturing Right Relationships recognises that the Australian Church has entered a new stage in the formation for religious life, following the realities made transparent by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, but also encouraged by new emphases of Pope Francis.
“Francis has urged us to ensure that the formative process be communitarian in its essence, not a solo journey but one undertaken in dynamic relationship with the People of God,” said CRA President Fr Peter Jones OSA.
The principal author of Restoring and Nurturing Right Relationships, Br David Leary OFM said, “The final report of the royal commission made clear the brokenness of our humanity and of the ecclesial community. Restoring and Nurturing Right Relationships seeks to create a renewed understanding of formation of religious for life and ministry, grounded in our Catholic tradition, and set on repairing and nurturing our relationality.”
Importantly, with a substantial number of people currently in the initial stage of formation in religious institutes in Australia, and many religious institutes open to receiving new candidates, the publication recognises that formation in religious life is ongoing and it seeks to identify key concepts for healthy and lifelong formation.
“Our religious institutes are continually developing, regularly evaluating, and looking for ways to improve their formation processes and implement regulatory and procedural practices. Our hope is that Restoring and Nurturing Right Relationships will provide a standard for best practice, particularly with respect to the recruitment, screening, and continuous formation of institute aspirants and members,” said Anne Walker, CRA national executive director.
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CRA Develops Resource to Guide Formation of Religious for Ministry (Catholic Religious Australia)
Restoring and Nurturing Right Relationships (Catholic Religious Australia)
