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Cardinal Dolan has initiated a policy mandating that all priests ordained for the archdiocese, beginning this fall with the incoming class of seminarians at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Dunwoodie, must have conversational ability in a second language other than English, for the most part, Spanish.
In essence, priests will be expected to possess the ability to celebrate the sacraments, deliver a simple homily and carry on a basic conversation in a language other than English. Most will receive training in Spanish; others in Haitian Creole, Mandarin, Polish and American Sign Language, and other languages as needs arise.
The mandate was made in consultation with St. Joseph’s Seminary, Cardinal Dolan said in his Pastores Dabo Vobis letter to auxiliary bishops, priests and deacons of the archdiocese dated June 17.
The critical need the archdiocese has for priests who speak Spanish has been ongoing, he said, and has become more apparent this year.
“Every priest I ordain should be able to serve in any parish he is needed. Today, that means a working—not perfect—knowledge of Spanish. Me included!”
Some of the ESL seminarians will have to work on their English, the cardinal said, and some seminarians may be needed to learn American Sign Language, Creole or Chinese.
Underscoring the significance of the second language requirement, Msgr. Peter Vaccari, rector of St. Joseph’s Seminary, pointed to the cardinal’s background as a historian.
“In addition to being pastor of the local Church here in the Archdiocese of New York and the Metropolitan of the Greater New York area,” Msgr. Vaccari said, “(Cardinal Dolan) is certainly someone who appreciates that the history of the Catholic Church in the United States in general, and in this area in particular, is the history of an immigrant Church. He is very acutely aware of that.”
That has been the story of the Catholic Church in the United States from the earliest days, Msgr. Vaccari said. That pattern was exhibited in the 19th century, he said, through the influx of immigrants from Ireland and German-speaking lands. By the end of that century came new immigrant groups from southern and southeastern Europe, among them Italians.
In more recent years, Catholic immigrants have arrived from Eastern Europe and Latin America, South America and the Caribbean, the rector added. In the late 20th and early years of the current century, the countries of the African Union and Asia have been well represented among immigrants with Church ties, he said.
“There was always the need to minister to Catholic immigrants in their language,” Msgr. Vaccari said. “The Church has been built on the way in which immigrants have made so many sacrifices for the Church. That’s a constant.”
The first priority is the bilingual proficiency in English and Spanish, Msgr. Vaccari said, while an individual seminarian may be designated to study another second or perhaps third language.
In that regard, there is need, the rector said, for Polish, Haitian Creole, Mandarin and American Sign Language.
Studying another language is not a new concept at the seminary, the rector said, but it is becoming more formalized.
The studies will begin at the college level, continue in a maintenance program at St. Joseph’s and through pastoral assignments that the men receive either during the academic year or in the summer. When the academic year concludes in May, the seminarians begin a 10-week pastoral assignment in a parish.
Once a seminarian has mastered the basics of the language, the rector and faculty will recommend to the cardinal that he be sent for further studies through another program, for example, in Mexico. “It’s not just a linguistic immersion; it’s a cultural and linguistic immersion,” Msgr. Vaccari said, “in the native country.”
The rector said he is confident in the men and in their desire “to want to do this, because they want to be priests who are going to serve the Church and serve the Church well.”
