Following the successful completion of the First Semester for the 2019/2020 academic/formation session, the seminary community embarked on its inter-semester programme from 22nd – 29th February, 2020. The Programme was divided into two major sections. The first, which spanned from 22nd – 25th February, 2020, was facilitated by Rev. Frs. Kenneth Adesina (the Associate Dean of Students’ Affairs), Daniel Koumah (Spiritual Director), and Eseola Emmanuel (A Priest of the Catholic Archdiocese of Ibadan). The general theme for this period was Clerical Sexual Abuse, and the topics discussed during this session were:

Day 1: I.       Needs and Rights of Children/Vulnerable adults   and why they are at risk of abuse.

            II.     Forms of Abuse and their consequences

            III.    Nigerian Legal Framework of Child Protection

            IV.     Canonical Dimensions/Implications

Day 2: I.        Abuse and Power/Abuse of Power

            II.     Dealing with Victims and Perpetrators of Abuse in Nigeria in Culturally Sensitive Ways

Day 3: I.       Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis

            II.     Spiritual Dimension to Abuse

            III.    Risk and Protective Factors in Nigerian Cultures

            IV.     Creating Safe Places.

The other half of the inter-semester programme began from the 27th-29th February, 2020. The caption for this section was The Formation of Seminarians into the Image of Christ, the Head, the Shepherd, the Servant and the Spouse. The first day was for all in-house seminarians, and the talk titled “Sincerity in Vocational Discernment” was presented by Rev. Fr. Francis Adelabu.  After this day, the seminarians were divided into two groups: Yrs. 1 – 5 and Yrs. 6 – 7. The members of Yrs. 6 – 7 then took a course on Creativity and Problem Solving, facilitated by Rev. Fr. Felix Obialo of the Archdiocese of Ibadan, while the members of Yrs.1-5 continued to receive talks for the remaining two days: A Show of Wealth and Power among Nigerian Priest and Seminarians: A Re-examination on the Promise to Voluntary Poverty (delivered by Rev. Fr. Christopher Ojo) and The Evangelical Counsels of Obedience, Poverty and Chastity as a Special Configuration to the Life of Christ (delivered by Rev. Fr. Daniel Koumah).

As we thank God for the successful completion of the First Semester, we pray for God’s grace and direction as we begin the Second Semester of the 2019/2020 Academic/Formation session.