Lynch said Denver's St. John Vianney Seminary has a "very integrated approach in forming men."
"We have a program called 'Formation in Priestly Identity' that not only addresses living a chaste celibate life but helps form men to be healthy persons who will flourish in life no matter their calling, whether marriage or priesthood," she said. "The program intentionally addresses many tough issues, and approaches each topic as a team approach incorporating each area of formation: human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral."
"We begin by understanding what authentic manhood looks like and how one can grow into an authentic man given the distractions in today's culture," she said, adding, "chastity and celibacy are counter-cultural."
The dangers of seminary life include thinking that men can "try to live as sexual beings," rather than integrating their sexuality into their whole person, Lynch said. This comes amid other trends including excessive use of social media, lack of "real human contact" in face-to-face relationships, and "lack of involvement in communal settings."
There are also some positive trends.
"Secular psychology is becoming more aware of the addictive quality of certain sexual behaviors such as pornography, masturbation, and other online relationships," said Lynch. "There is more of a trend to work on saving marriages rather than divorce."
Hoesing said lay Christians can provide a model for seminarian formation.
"The healthy, holy, joy-filled married man provides a standard," he said, resulting in questions like "Could I see this seminarian in a vibrant, life-giving marriage? Does the seminarian enjoy healthy friendships with married men? Does he have real friendships of any depth or maturity at all?"
He saw some danger in a seminary formation that creates a "bubble" between seminarians and families and couples who are developing their vocation. A seminary formation that is too "long and protective" might enable an unrealistic approach to parish life, making some seminarians, priests, and bishops seem removed from "real accountability and responsibility."
Hoesing warned against an erroneous view of celibacy which sees it as simply a "bachelorhood" in which "marriage was never really considered or an option through circumstances or choice."
In this case "celibacy is passively endured or drifted into, because marriage may be asking too much of the man's personality or generosity," he summarized. In other ways, celibacy is wrongly seen as "simply a discipline" that some rationalize by saying, "The Church requires it, so I imagine God can make it possible."
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Stresses on the "useful" or "practical" effects of celibacy can be "rationalizations for the painful absence of married life." In Hoesing's view, these include arguments that celibacy makes one better available to serve God's people, that celibacy protects potential spouses and children from the difficulties of parish leadership, and that celibacy provides economic efficiencies and avoids practical difficulties for the Church.
"Availability, mobility, and efficiency do not mean intimacy," he said. "Such negative justifications terminate in a kind of deadly disdain or ignorance for how to receive intimacy from God and others in chaste friendship."
These errors, whether self-referential or pragmatic, have consequences, said Hoesing, who declared, "chastity is the first victim in the false views of celibacy." These rationalizations will not promote "the integration of a man's sexuality."
Taking a too-practical approach to celibacy sees sexuality as something to be managed, which in turn fosters a false sense of self-reliance. Viewing sexuality as problematic risks playing into self-pity, while viewing it as "simply dangerous" traps a man into self-protection.
Church movements geared towards "intentional community living" or regular faith sharing are an aid to human formation, according to Hoesing.
"When young people learn how to share their faith in a small group or community, they can learn the art of living chastity," he said. "The virtues, especially the chastity which governs our relational gifts, are best learned with others in a community."