Initial formation Korea: seminar on sexual awareness
in vocational growth
DAEJON: 2nd February 2006 -- Some 60 aspirants, prenovices,
novices and men in temporary vows, along with two deacons and other
seminarians took part recently in a four day seminar organised by the
Provincial Formation Commission. The aim of this winter session
was to help young Salesians in initial formation discover and be
clearer about the role of sexuality in vocational growth. To
undersand the Korean context, young men come to the Salesians with two
and a half years of compulsory military service behind them, and would be
mainly between 20-30 years old. The facilitator for the
theme was a counsellor and psychologist, who is a member of a secular
consecrated group, AFI.
Miss Gemma Shin is a skilled presenter in this area,
her expertise being particularly in presenting the dynamics of
sexuality in personal growth within consecrated life. With her
and within the warmth of the atmosphere she created, young Salesians
were able to freely discuss the difficulties and tensions arising from
integration of their sexuality into consecrated life. The plenary
and group sessions were an opportunity for participants to get beyond
the 'this is my personal problem' issue and explore answers to
questions such as 'how do I best accept my sexuality as a consecrated
person?', 'Does God want my celibacy?', 'How can we educate young
people to understand their sexuality as part of their growth?', 'How
can we as consecrated persons convert our sexual energy into
self-giving?'.
The tradition of summer and winter seminars began
some twenty years ago in the Korean Province. As many in initial
formation attend non-Salesian centres, the seminars are seen as one
opportunity to explore Salesianity and Salesian criteria as outlined in
the Ratio.
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