National Directory for the Formation, Ministry and Life of Permanent ...

Preface7tions published in this Directory are to be incorporated by each dioceseof the conference when preparing or updating its respectivediaconal formation program and in formulating policies for the ministryand life of their deacons. 4715. This Directory is normative throughout the United StatesConference of Catholic Bishops and its territorial sees. Reflectingmore than thirty-five years of experience with the reestablished diaconatein the United States, this Directory will guide and harmonizethe formation programs drawn up by each diocese of the conferencethat “at times vary greatly from one to another.” 48This Directoryis normative16. When a diaconal formation program is introduced or substantiallymodified, or a program previously “on hold” is reactivated, thediocesan bishop is encouraged to submit a proposal to the Bishops’Committee on the Diaconate for its evaluation. The specific elementsto be included in the proposal and applied by the committeein its review are listed in Appendix I of this Directory.17. Finally, this document adopts as its own the concluding directiveof the Congregation for Catholic Education: May the ordinaries,“to whom the present document is given, ensure that it becomesan object of attentive reflection in communion with their priestsand communities. It will be an important point of reference forthose Churches in which the permanent diaconate is a living andactive reality; for the others, it will be an effective invitation toappreciate the value of that precious gift of the Spirit which is diaconalservice.” 49This is“an important pointof reference”VI. Acknowledgments18. Gratefully conscious of those who have served on the Bishops’Committee on the Diaconate, as well as its subcommittees, theUnited States Conference of Catholic Bishops acknowledges thedirection of Most Rev. Edward U. Kmiec, under whose chairmanshipthe present effort was begun, and Most Rev. Gerald F. Kicanas,under whose chairmanship the National Directory was formulated, aswell as Most Rev. Robert C. Morlino, under whose chairmanship ithas been brought to conclusion.