The intellectual dimension of formation must communicate a knowledge of the faith and church tradition that is “complete and serious,” so each participant will be prepared to carry out his vital ministry. The commitment to study, which takes up no small part of the time of those preparing for ordination as a deacon, is not an external and secondary dimension of their human, Christian, spiritual, and vocational growth. In reality, through study, especially the study of theology, the future deacon assents to the Word of God by growing in his spiritual life and prepares himself to fulfill his pastoral ministry.

Deacons must first understand and practice the essentials of Christian doctrine and life before they can communicate them to others in a clear way in their ministries of word, liturgy, and charity. Sacred Scripture is the soul of the program. The other branches of theology are structured around it. Liturgical studies are given prominence, as the participants are prepared to lead the faith community in prayer and sacramental life. Preaching, with its preparation and practice, requires a significant segment of time in the program of study.

This criterion focuses the preparation and presentation of a systematic, comprehensive, and integrated intellectual formation, which is faithful to the Magisterium of the Church. This integrated intellectual formation is meant to support and prepare the deacon for his primary ministerial roles of word, liturgy, and charity, Based on Scripture and Tradition, the documents of the Second Vatican Council, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the General Directory for Catechesis of the USCCB. Formation takes into account this theological and practical content:

1. Introduction to sacred Scripture and its authentic interpretation; the theology of the Old and New Testaments; the interrelation between Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium; the use of Scripture in spiritual formation, preaching, evangelization, catechesis, and pastoral activity in general.
2. Introduction to the study of the Fathers of the Church and an elementary knowledge of the history of the Church.
3. Fundamental theology, with illustration of the sources; topics and methods of theology; presentation of the questions relating to revelation, and the formulation of the relationship between faith and reason, which will enable the participant to explain the reasonableness of the faith.
4. Dogmatic theology, with its various treatises: Trinity, creation, Christology, ecclesiology including the Church as a communion of churches (Latin and Eastern Catholic Churches), ecumenism, Mariology, Christian anthropology; sacraments (especially theology of the ordained ministry), and eschatology.
5. Christian morality in its personal, familial, and social dimensions, including the Church’s teaching on sexuality, the social doctrine of the Church, and health care ethics.
6. Spiritual theology, the spiritual traditions of the Church as applied to one’s spiritual journey, and the spiritual life of the faithful.
7. Liturgy and its historical, spiritual, and juridical aspects, with particular attention to the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and to the liturgical rites the deacon will celebrate.
8. Canon Law, especially canonical considerations about rights and obligations, diocesan structures, preaching, sacraments, and sacramentals, and the administration of temporal goods.
9. Ecumenism and interreligious dialogue principles, norms, and dimensions in pastoral ministry.
10. Theology of Catholic evangelization: “evangelization of cultures and the inculturation of the message of faith,” multicultural expressions of the faith, and missiology

An integral formation must relate the human, spiritual, and intellectual dimensions to pastoral practice. It should strengthen and enhance the exercise of the prophetic, priestly, and servant-leadership functions—deriving from his baptismal consecration—already lived and exercised by the participant in diaconal formation. He is taught how to proclaim the Christian message and teach it, how to lead others in communal celebrations of liturgical prayer, and how to witness to the Church in a Christian service marked by charity and justice.

The pastoral dimension of formation pays particular attention to these elements.

1. The Church’s Ministry of the Word—Proclamation of the word in the varied contexts of ministerial service: kerygma, catechesis, preparation for the sacraments, homiletics—both in theory and practice, evangelization, and missiology.
2. The Church’s Ministry of Liturgy—Liturgical praxis: celebration of the sacraments and sacramentals, service at the altar.
3. The Church’s Ministry of Charity and Justice—Educating and helping in the exercise of the corporal and spiritual works of mercy by the Church; fostering by facilitation, motivation, and organization the Church’s ministry of charity and justice, and the preferential option for the poor