Article, Robert L. Anello, MSA, “An Expression of Identity: American Diocesan Priestly Spirituality, 1955-1975,”Seminary Journal(Volume 12, no. 2, Fall 2006)

This study examines the spirituality of diocesan priests during the years 1955 through 1975 through articles written by and/or for diocesan priests regarding their spirituality. The source is the monthly journal The Priest, published by Our Sunday Visitor, Huntington, Ind. This publication was chosen because, first, it geared exclusively to diocesan and religious priests. Second, results from a 1969 study indicated that Priest was read by over a third of diocesan priests during the years covered by the survey. Third, Priest had more articles on priestly spirituality than did other journals being read by priests at the time. The study results are organized within four, five-year date ranges selected because of a perceived shift of attitudes and expectations of diocesan priests at the borders of these ranges.

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Doctoral Dissertation, Robert L. Anello, MSA, “Minor Setback or Major Disaster: The Rise and Demise of Minor Seminaries in the United States, 1958 – 1983” (The Catholic University of America, 2011)

The Council of Trent mandated a new training approach for theCatholic priesthood, beginning not before the age of twelve, and in a new type ofinstitution: the “seminary.” Bythe 1950s, U.S. seminarians were plentiful, motivating aconstruction boom in seminaries, especially minor seminaries (i.e., high school and college seminaries). Yet by the 1980s, most of these seminaries had closed. This dissertation analyzes the religious values of Catholic parents and their maleprogeny, the demographic climate which influenced youthful candidates to pursue avocation as a Catholic priest, and the pedagogical methods used in minor seminaries totrain those candidates. It postulates causes for the near-total collapse ofthe minor seminary from its former prominence as an integral component of Catholicpriesthood formation.

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Article, Robert L. Anello, MSA, “Priestly Celibacy and Identity: The Rocky Reception of Vatican II’s Presbyterorum Ordinis,”U.S. Catholic Historian(Volume 32, No.4, Fall 2014)

The Second Vatican Council’s 1965 decree, Presbyterorum Ordinis (On the Ministry and Life of Priests) received an unwelcome reception within the Church. Priests, principally in the United States, Canada, and Europe, believed the document inadequate because it had not resolved the debate on mandatory clerical celibacy and priestly identity. The immediate aftermath of the council saw large numbers of priests leave active ministry and fewer men in formation for priesthood. Presbyterorum Ordinis’s unresolved questions led to the 1971 Synod of Bishops on the Ministerial Priesthood. After a lively debate, clerical celibacy was reaffirmed and by the late 1970s the controversies surrounding priestly life and ministry were in decline.

Due to copyright restrictions, this study cannot be displayed on this page. For the location of a library near your location that carries U.S. Catholic Historian, link toWorldCat.org. If you or a library you are affiliated with have access to Project MUSE or EBSCO HOST Connection, you may view it at one of those locations.

Book, Robert L. Anello, MSA, The “Hand of God” at Work in Adult Catholic Priestly Formation: Holy Apostles College & Seminary, 1956 – 1995 (Franklin, Wis.:n.p., 2006, 2015)

In the mid-1940s, Fr. Eusèbe M. Ménard, O.F.M., had a visionary perspective regarding God’s call to adults for ministry in the Catholic Church, specifically, an innovative idea for training older men for the priesthood: seminaries specifically designed to train older vocations. The events leading to the establishment of his U.S.-based seminary for oldervocations,Holy Apostles College and Seminary, proved challenging and, at times, painful for those people who joined Ménard in this enterprise. Still, it appeared from the start that the “Hand of God” was truly at work in Holy Apostles’concept, acquisition, and development. This study documents those events and highlights severalsignificant events from Holy Apostle’s first forty years of service to the Catholic Church.

Available in the following formats:

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Article, Robert L. Anello, MSA, “In the Beginning Were the Bells: The Development of Human Formation for Catholic Priests,” Seminary Journal (Volume 20, no. 2, Fall 2014,forthcoming).

Human formation is now an established component of priestly formation. While human formation was discussed to some degree at the 1990 Synod of Bishops, the concept of human formation was extensively developed in Pope John-Paul II’s 1992 post-synodal exhortation,“On the Formation of Priests in the Circumstances of the Present Day,” Pastores Dabo Vobis. Yet “human formation” dates back to the many efforts of Church leaders and seminary formation personnel during the decades prior to Pastores Dabo Vobis (PDV) to form a well-integrated priest. This study describes early attempts by seminary formation personnel to develop a human formation method, culminating in the 1990 Synod’s identification of human formation as integral to priestly formation.

Due to copyright restrictions, this study cannot be displayed on this page. For the location of a library near your location that carries Seminary Journal,link toWorldCat.org.