This September I'll be starting as a professor and formator at the Pontifical Beda College in Rome, one of the seminaries run by the English & Welsh bishops. I've spent the past 6 years in seminary formation in the USA, at the Pontifical Josephinum College -I've loved my time there but it'll be good to return to serving the British mission.
I'll continue to teach moral theology, though as the only moral theologian at the Beda my range of courses will need to be a little broader than it has been: I'll also be teaching moral philosophy. Previously, I spent 14 years teaching fundamental moral theology at Wonersh Seminary; the past 6 years I've also been teaching sexual morality and bioethics, and some introductory courses.
In terms of formation, I'll be seeking to help the new Beda Rector, Canon Marcus Holden, expand the type of formation being offered. When he was appointed, he toured some American seminaries, researched what seemed to be best practice, and wants to introduce what he has referred to as the American 'accompaniment' model. This is something I am passionately committed to, have been doing at the Josephinum, and am excited to help deepen it at the Beda. It will involve helping the seminarians by giving them formation talks, meeting them one-on-one to help apply formation in a personalized form through individual annual formation plans, and generally 'accompanying' them by seeking to imbed myself amidst their daily living. As Pope Francis famously put it, the shepherd must be among the sheep and 'smell of the sheep'; as Pope John Paul the II lived it with young couples and families, the priest must spend time with the people he serves and forms.
The Beda will take me to slightly new territory in that it caters for older seminarians (age 30 and older). The Beda was set up after Cardinal Newman converted and he and his fellow-converts highlighted the need for a formation-track geared to older men. St Paul is another point of reference, as the Beda Rector pointed out when I visited over Christmas. Whereas the young St John might be an example of a disciple who gave his youth to the Lord and followed Him from his early days, St Paul is an example of someone who received his call later in life. Both St Paul and St John made crucial contributions to the early Church and we need a way of forming someone like St Paul, who comes to priestly formation later in life. The Beda College is across the road from St Paul’s Outside the Walls.
Pope Leo XIII gave the name Bede to the college (he also declared St Bede a doctor of the Church).
You can read about what I've done earlier in my priesthood here in a post from 6 years ago when I was appointed to the Josephinum.
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