Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.31823/d.27.1.1
Experiences of parish priests in (non)realization of Statements and Decisions of the Second Synod of the Diocese of Đakovo and Srijem
Ivana Bendra
orcid.org/0000-0002-6592-1308
; Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar – Local center Vukovar
Abstract
In the light of the changes in the Church’s operations announced by the Second Vatican Council and the process of new evangelization as a form of post-Council attempt to respond to the contemporary challenges and the crisis of faith, the Diocese of Đakovo and Srijem issued, in 2008, the Statements and Decisions of the Second Synod of the Diocese of Đakovo and Srijem, titled »You are Christ - for us and for all people«. Their task is to be a means and a signpost for the realization of the idea of living Christian communities in which the lay faithful, together with the parish priests, would actively and co-responsibly contribute to the development and pastoral activities of their parishes. Therefore, the aim of this work, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of their publication, is to present the results of a research that speak about parish priests’ experiences in the implementation of the synodal statements and decisions. This will be presented based on the analysis of 19 profound interviews conducted with parish priests of the Đakovo-Osijek Archdiocese in the period from March to May 2018. The analysis of the collected materials, carried out by a qualitative theory-based methodology, resulted in the development of a total of 8 categories which, on the one hand, show past experiences of parish priests in the implementation of the synodal statements and decisions and, on the other hand, several causes which, in their opinion, currently lead to difficulties in implementing the same. In addition, the analysis also points to several recommendations that, in the opinion of the parish priests, could lead to improvements in their further implementation.
Keywords
Statements and Decisions of the Second Synod of the Diocese of Đakovo and Srijem; new evangelization; parish priests; traditional believers; lay faithful; qualitative research
Hrčak ID:
218821
URI
Publication date:
9.4.2019.
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