Original scientific paper
THE CHURCH AND THE CONTEMPORARY PUBLIC: CHALLENGES ADN POSSIBILITIES OF ACTION
Jerko Valković
; Theology of Rijeka, Dislocated Studies of Catholic Faculty of Theology, University of Zagreb, Rijeka, Croatia
Abstract
The question is not “should the Church be present in the contemporary public of not”, but in which way should this presence be lived, and what is the modality of an appropriate action? Facing the new social reality the Church is set in front of challenges, already met several times in two thousand years of history. An accurate monitoring of public matters and public opinions is a necessary step of a Church that wants to listen to the contemporary man and society, and to be their “fellow-traveller” in this moment of history. According to the spirit of the directions of the 2nd Vatican Council, the Church is not primarily expected to commit to a certain stately or political structure; it rather finds its place in permeating with values the whole of social life and contemporary public. This call is realised by an active involvement in the public communication, in which the Church moderates and directs towards the edification of the community, becoming the spokesmen of the neglected, and pointing to the integral development and dignity of the human person.
Keywords
Church; public; communication; discursive public; civil society
Hrčak ID:
121840
URI
Publication date:
21.1.2011.
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