On the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of Optatam totius and Presbyterorum ordinis, Matthieu Bernard, a formator at the interprovincial seminary in Lyon, analyzes Leo XIV's apostolic letter A Fidelity That Generates the Future. The conciliar hermeneutics promoted by the pope is based on fidelity understood as a living memory open to the future. We can then understand the decisive importance of the integral formation of priests, conceived as a true engendering of disciples. Initial and ongoing formation appears as the place of constant actualization of vocation, in a shared ecclesial journey. Leo XIV articulates synodality and ministerial priesthood in a vision faithful to tradition and oriented toward mission.
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On December 8, 2025, Pope Leo XIV published an apostolic letter entitled A Fidelity That Generates the Future, commemorating the sixtieth anniversary of the Vatican Council II decrees Optatam totius and Presbyterorum ordinis, devoted, respectively, to the formation of priests and to the ministry and life of priests.
While it is customary for popes to write on such anniversaries, this initiative takes on new significance and greater importance when we learn that Leo XIV has decided to devote his Wednesday catechesis to a patient rereading of the conciliar decrees, beginning with Dei Verbum. While “the generation of bishops, theologians, and faithful of Vatican II is no longer with us,” and in order “not to extinguish [the] prophecy” (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:19) of Vatican II, it seems essential to the Pope “to rediscover it, not through hearsay or through the interpretations that have been given of it, but by rereading its documents and meditating on their content.” .“ The gesture itself is immediately theological, as indicated by the vocabulary of ”generation": how can we not think of the constant attitude of faithful Israel which, as generations pass, and especially that of Passover, remembers the saving act of its Lord and rereads the texts of its fathers?
In doing so, Pope Leo XIV also seems to outline the task of his pontificate: to contribute to the reception of the Council.
I What conciliar hermeneutics?
The title of the apostolic letter on the formation, life, and ministry of priests gives a discreet indication of the hermeneutics of the conciliar texts that the Pope intends to promote. We remember Benedict XVI's address to the Roman Curia, which outlined two hermeneutics, one “of discontinuity and rupture,” the other “of reform” or “renewal in continuity”2 – with the German Pope opting for the latter3.
Leo XIV, for his part, therefore promotes “a fidelity that generates the future.” Admittedly, the title of the apostolic letter initially refers only to “what priests are called to do today.” In a context where fidelity to the ministry received is being tested in many ways and on every continent, the letter takes as its guiding thread the term fidelity, which it articulates in relation to service, fraternity, synodality, mission, and the future. But it is clear that this formula, “a fidelity that generates the future,” outlines a program for all ecclesial activity and offers a key to understanding the conciliar texts.
The resistance or tension that Francis' pontificate has provoked arose in particular from the fear that new developments would break with Tradition. Rather than allowing himself to be trapped in the sterile opposition between novelty and tradition, Leo XIV wisely speaks of fidelity and a future in the making. Fidelity, a biblical concept if ever there was one, evokes the divine Covenant and the active memory we retain of it. The future refers to “what is to be begotten (γενέσθαι) soonôt” (Ap 1:1) and therefore the possibility of transmission to future generations.
II Formation, a begetting
One of the striking features of the apostolic letter is the importance of the vocabulary of formation. The first section in particular, although entitled “Fidelity and Service,” ultimately speaks more about formation than service! This is probably a hallmark of this new pontificate. A clue: among the other commemorative apostolic letters written by Leo XIV, there is one, “Disegnare nuove mappe di speranza” (“Drawing new maps of hope”) “ (”Drawing New Maps of Hope," Oct. 27, 2025), celebrating the 60th anniversary of the conciliar declaration Gravissimum educationis, dedicated to education, but not for other decrees that are nevertheless more central.
This is, of course, an “integral formation” which, without neglecting the commitment of the intellect, also includes “the heart” and “freedom,” in short: “the whole person.” This integral formation is presented as an aid to preventing abusive behavior and a remedy for maintaining fidelity to the commitment to the ministry. This expresses an important concern of the Dicastery for the Clergy: initial formation should enable seminarians to face up to their difficulties, and ongoing formation should foster a “living memory and constant updating of each person's vocation in a shared journey.”
In this last statement, we find the hermeneutical keys to the letter: fidelity to the memory of the call received, opening up a future through constant updating in the face of the challenges presented by life's events. In short, formation is nothing other than the engendering of disciples, in a wholly Pauline vein: "My children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you “ (Gal 4:19). Once ordained, the priest remains a disciple invited to allow himself to be formed within the Church—as indicated by the ”shared journey" (A Fidelity That Generates the Future 9).
III Training priests in synodality
To ears accustomed to the language of the previous pontificate, this expression of “shared journey” connotes the famous synodality. However, in the apostolic letter, it is precisely in the paragraph devoted to synodality that the vocabulary of formation is used: a “synodal style of Church [...] requires a commitment to formation at all levels, especially in the area of initial and ongoing formation of priests” (§ 21).
Since the election of Leo XIV, many have tried to read his mind. Do his references to Bergoglian synodality stem from a personal conviction, or are they agreed upon, hiding a marked desire to turn the page? Obviously, the apostolic letter does not directly answer this question! But this context helps us understand the desire to write a letter on the ministerial priesthood, which seemed to be endangered or, at the very least, weakened by the demand for a synodal Church. On the one hand, the Pope reassures priests—and many lay faithful: “in an ever more synodal and missionary Church, the priestly ministry loses nothing of its importance and relevance”; on the contrary, “it will be able to focus more on its particular and specific tasks” (§ 22). This refers in particular to the celebration of the Eucharistic sacrifice. A little further on, and contrary to the idea of a minister acting as a “civil servant” delegated by the community, Leo XIV quotes St. John Paul II: "In the Church and for the Church, priests sacramentally represent Jesus Christ, Head and Shepherd4" (ibid.). He is not superior to the people in human dignity, but he is sacramentally configured to a mission that transcends him.
On the other hand, while the ministerial priesthood finds its origin not in the community of the faithful, but in a Trinitarian gift – “the call to the ordained ministry is a free and gratuitous gift of God,” affirms Leo xiv, who adds: “Every vocation is a gift of the Father” (§ 6 and 7) – its purpose is, on the other hand, to “be for” (§ 23) and therefore presupposes cooperation with the whole People of God. This cooperation is expressed in three ways: the synodality of Pope Francis, the “ecclesiology of communion” which is more reminiscent of the vocabulary of Benedict XVI, and finally “the diversity of charisms inspired by the Holy Spirit” (§ 22), the Pauline foundation of this ecclesiology.
Fidelity, therefore, to the great theological tradition, eschatological and missionary future, where the whole People of God allows itself to be begotten by a “Eucharistic love, priestly love,” as the letter concludes.
Matthieu Bernard
To continue the reflection on these questions, among the articles in the NRT:
- Denis Dupont-Fauville, “A Hermeneutic for Vatican II,” NRT 134-4 (2012), pp. 560-579
- Pierre Piret, S.J., ”In favor of the priestly people, the sacramentally ordained ministry," NRT 132-3 (2010), pp. 424-433.
- Jean-Marie Hennaux s.j., The Priesthood, Human and Divine, Masculine and Feminine, Pref. Card. c. Schönborn, Cahiers de la NRT, Paris, CLD, 2018
- Mgr Erik Varden, “Synodality and Holiness”, NRT 146-1 (2024), pp. 125-133
- Marguerite Léna s.f.x. , "Acting in the Spirit. A theological ethic for priestly formation,", NRT 140-3 (2018), pp. 422-435
- Albert Chapelle s.j., “The Theological Formation of the People of God,” NRT 107-2 (1985), pp. 187-197
Footnotes
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3 Read more on this subject: D. Dupont-Fauville, “Une herméneutique pour Vatican II”, NRT 134-4 (2012), pp. 560-579.
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4John Paul II, Pastores dabo vobis 15.