Bishop Greg said that, in the days prior to the announcement, he had received a telephone call from His Eminence Lazarus You Heung-sik, Prefect of the Dicastery, advising him of the Holy Father’s appointment. “It was a very encouraging and warm fraternal conversation” said Bishop Greg.
The Dicastery for Clergy is responsible for overseeing matters regarding diocesan priests and deacons (those not belonging to religious orders) and seminaries. The Dicastery focuses its efforts on the ongoing formation of clergy by providing guidance to Bishops in their ongoing care, formation and education of clergy. The Dicastery provides the oversight by the Holy See in the training of candidates for Holy Orders in seminaries throughout the world by norms which establish seminaries and guide seminary formation to ensure seminarians receive a solid human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral formation in preparation for ordination. As important is connection between seminary formation and life-long formation.
Bishop Greg said he was both surprised and humbled by the appointment: “It is a great honour to be appointed by Pope Francis as a Member of the Dicastery. I look forward to making my contribution to those important discussions and directions regarding seminary formation and the ongoing formation of clergy. The Church needs seminarians and clergy who can truly embrace the call of Jesus Christ, and who are well formed for their mission of service to proclaim the Good News to our sisters and brothers. At the heart of this is the capacity to be formed after the heart of the Good Shepherd himself and to allow our personal relationship with him to shape us in every way – this is a life-long call. The mission of the Dicastery is pivotal to the Church and exciting in many ways. Much of my previous study and priesthood have been directed to the care of clergy and their ongoing formation; I shall bring this experience to this appointment. ”
When asked about the time commitment beyond his current responsibility as Bishop of Sale, he replied: “I understand my engagement as a Member of the Dicastery will be undertaken remotely, however on some occasions, I may be required to attend in person. My poor Personal Assistant will need to manage my diary and me even more!”
