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Photos: After abuse scandals, seminarians pledge to ‘get it right’

The seminarians walk along a hallway lined with photos of classes of priests who came before them. Some are pious alumni who have become their teachers and mentors; others climbed the Catholic hierarchy to be revered as bishops and cardinals. The 156 young men who call St. Charles Borromeo Seminary home are deeply aware of both the sacred and the profane. They appear unflinchingly optimistic, reverent and committed, yet they prepare to enter ministry at a time when scandals have driven the faithful from pews, shaken the church’s highest tiers and cast doubt on the motivations of those who say they’re answering a call to serve.

Updated on: Mar 06, 2020 11:18 PM IST

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Seminarians and faculty file out from Mass at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood. They walk along a hallway lined with photos of classes of priests who came before them. Some are pious alumni who have become their teachers and mentors; others climbed the Catholic hierarchy to be revered as bishops and cardinals. But after the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, seminaries say they have tightened screening of applicants. (Wong Maye-E / AP)

Published on Mar 06, 2020 11:18 PM

Seminarians and faculty file out from Mass at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood. They walk along a hallway lined with photos of classes of priests who came before them. Some are pious alumni who have become their teachers and mentors; others climbed the Catholic hierarchy to be revered as bishops and cardinals. But after the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, seminaries say they have tightened screening of applicants. (Wong Maye-E / AP)

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Seminarian Ranjuna Perera from the Archdiocese of Colombo, Sri Lanka, returns to his seat after receiving communion at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood. Seminarians speak with excitement of becoming Catholic priests who minister to the faithful at defining moments of their lives. (Wong Maye-E / AP)

Published on Mar 06, 2020 11:18 PM

Seminarian Ranjuna Perera from the Archdiocese of Colombo, Sri Lanka, returns to his seat after receiving communion at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood. Seminarians speak with excitement of becoming Catholic priests who minister to the faithful at defining moments of their lives. (Wong Maye-E / AP)

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Seminarian Daniel Rice (L) sits with classmates during a lesson on the Gospel of Luke. Future Catholic priests remain unflinchingly optimistic despite scandals that have driven faithful from the pews. (Wong Maye-E / AP)

Published on Mar 06, 2020 11:18 PM

Seminarian Daniel Rice (L) sits with classmates during a lesson on the Gospel of Luke. Future Catholic priests remain unflinchingly optimistic despite scandals that have driven faithful from the pews. (Wong Maye-E / AP)

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Shane Flanagan returns a book to the shelf in the library at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. Though the sins of the church may be more muted at this 188-year-old seminary, those preparing to lead Catholicism through its next chapter know they’ll be charged with inspiring those wary of putting trust in the clergy again. (Wong Maye-E / AP)

Published on Mar 06, 2020 11:18 PM

Shane Flanagan returns a book to the shelf in the library at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. Though the sins of the church may be more muted at this 188-year-old seminary, those preparing to lead Catholicism through its next chapter know they’ll be charged with inspiring those wary of putting trust in the clergy again. (Wong Maye-E / AP)

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Seminarians gather after the conclusion of an afternoon Mass at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. The landmark 2018 Pennsylvania grand jury report and a cascade of subsequent revelations around the globe brought back with ferocity a sexual abuse crisis that never fully went away. (Wong Maye-E / AP)

Published on Mar 06, 2020 11:18 PM

Seminarians gather after the conclusion of an afternoon Mass at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. The landmark 2018 Pennsylvania grand jury report and a cascade of subsequent revelations around the globe brought back with ferocity a sexual abuse crisis that never fully went away. (Wong Maye-E / AP)

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News of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s (not pictured) abuse of seminarians drove it even closer to home for future priests. Together with growing secularism and the public’s loss of confidence in the church and the men who lead it, seminaries braced for fewer applicants and felt obliged to caution those who still showed up. (Wong Maye-E / AP)

Published on Mar 06, 2020 11:18 PM

News of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s (not pictured) abuse of seminarians drove it even closer to home for future priests. Together with growing secularism and the public’s loss of confidence in the church and the men who lead it, seminaries braced for fewer applicants and felt obliged to caution those who still showed up. (Wong Maye-E / AP)

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Seminarian John Paul Heisler plays basketball at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. Some 4,853 men were enrolled in college-level programs at Catholic seminaries in the US last school year, according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, or CARA. That was a slight increase over the prior two years and not markedly different from a decade earlier. (Wong Maye-E / AP)

Published on Mar 06, 2020 11:18 PM

Seminarian John Paul Heisler plays basketball at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. Some 4,853 men were enrolled in college-level programs at Catholic seminaries in the US last school year, according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, or CARA. That was a slight increase over the prior two years and not markedly different from a decade earlier. (Wong Maye-E / AP)

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A painting of the Last Supper hangs in a common room at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. Bishops in the US have mandated that seminary applicants pass criminal background checks and complete psychological and medical assessments. Vatican guidelines call for screening to weed out gay applicants. (Wong Maye-E / AP)

Published on Mar 06, 2020 11:18 PM

A painting of the Last Supper hangs in a common room at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. Bishops in the US have mandated that seminary applicants pass criminal background checks and complete psychological and medical assessments. Vatican guidelines call for screening to weed out gay applicants. (Wong Maye-E / AP)

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Critics express doubt that any one psychological test could effectively identify predators and say the church is wrongly linking homosexuality and pedophilia. (Wong Maye-E / AP)

Published on Mar 06, 2020 11:18 PM

Critics express doubt that any one psychological test could effectively identify predators and say the church is wrongly linking homosexuality and pedophilia. (Wong Maye-E / AP)

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Photos of bishops and leaders of religious orders line a hallway at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. Mostly, seminarians are focused on the tasks at hand: Immersing themselves in prayer and study, making it to ordination and living up to the vows they make. They speak with hope of the church moving past its crises, focusing largely on the examples they will set versus institutional changes. (Wong Maye-E / AP)

Published on Mar 06, 2020 11:18 PM

Photos of bishops and leaders of religious orders line a hallway at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. Mostly, seminarians are focused on the tasks at hand: Immersing themselves in prayer and study, making it to ordination and living up to the vows they make. They speak with hope of the church moving past its crises, focusing largely on the examples they will set versus institutional changes. (Wong Maye-E / AP)

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