Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 25, 2025 / 06:00 am

The overwhelming majority of bishops and vocation directors expressed satisfaction with formation programs, according to a study analyzing how seminaries and dioceses screen candidates for holy orders.

However, the study found gaps in evaluations related to learning disabilities and assessing tendencies toward “activity or inclination towards sexual activity with a minor or other trait that might indicate the person could be a harm to minors.”

The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University (CARA) conducted the study in collaboration with the McGrath Institute for Church Life at Notre Dame. It includes responses from 103 U.S. bishops plus roughly 33% of vocation directors, 59% of seminary rectors, 11 formato

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