Priests sharpen English skills

CLIFTON  They could be considered missionaries, the foreign-born priests of the Paterson Diocese, who left their home countries to serve the faithful of Passaic, Morris and Sussex counties. Many challenges come with moving to a new country, including mastering the English language spoken here.

To make mastering English easier for foreign-born priests, thanks to a generous benefactor, some of these priests are enrolled in a professional development class to sharpen their skills in the English language. The program has enabled foreign-born priests to better proclaim the Gospel and their homilies in English. Currently, nine priests, most of whom were ordained last year to the priesthood, are enrolled in the course taught by Norma Pravec, an ESL instructor at Montclair State University, who is also a parishioner at St. Pius X Parish in Montville. The course is taught on Tuesday afternoons at the Pope John Paul II Center here.

In a letter Bishop Serratelli wrote to these priests: “As you know, having priests from other countries serve in our Diocese is truly a gift. We are enriched by their presence. The diversity among us provides us with a global perspective in our service to the people of God. The courage to come and serve in a different country and ministering in the different language is remarkable. I applaud your courage. The proclamation of the Gospel and preaching about the Gospel is paramount to the spiritual life of our parishioners.”

The professional development program for priests includes comprehensive accent reduction as well as reviewing and practicing the components of effective public speaking during the eight-week course. The sessions include intonation, stress, connectedness, phrasing and speaking rate. The priests will also review and practice American English sound patterns and spelling. The public speaking component includes opportunities to review and practice weekly homilies.

Participating priests — who have been assigned as parochial vicars in parishes across the Diocese — do not assume any of the expense for this course, which includes tuition and materials, thanks to the benefactor.

Pravec, who has taught ESL for many years, said this is the first time she has taught a classroom full of priests and said, “While this is a totally different experience, they are just like many other students. They are eager to learn, very enthusiastic and very engaged. They all hope to improve their pronunciation. They all want to speak better to get their messages across to parishioners.”

Gaining confidence is the key to many of the students in the ESL class. Father Michal Rybinski, parochial vicar at St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Mountain Lakes, who was ordained in 2017 said, “The classes have helped me remember new words and rules to the English language. They are helping me grow in my language skills so I am able to help my parishioners to pray, prepare readings and the liturgical texts.”

Also in the professional development class is Father Yasid Salas, parochial vicar at St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in Morristown. “I am able to practice my homilies to preach better to the English speaking community,” he said. “I am learning new words and new expressions and improving my pronunciation and grammar.”

The priests in the class came to the Diocese from Colombia and Poland, which also allows the priests to learn from each other as well, when they partner for conversational exercises during the class.

“I love it.” Pravec said. “It’s sharing my gifts and I’m grateful when I feel like I am making a difference in all of my students, especially as they adjust to their lives here in the U.S.”