Bogoslovska smotra, Vol. 69 No. 2-3, 1999.
Pregledni rad
The Role and Place of the Priest in the Pastoral of Marriage and the Family
Zvonko Pažin
; Katolički bogoslovni fakultet u Đakovu Sveučilišta Josipa Jurja Strossmayera u Osijeku, Đakovo, Hrvatska
Sažetak
What is the role of the priest in the pastoral of marriage and the family? If the priest was in general practically the only pastoral worker until recently in Church history, and also in the family pastoral, could we say that today the priest should yield all authority in the family pastoral to the layman who lives in a family? The documents of the Church teaching body, however, talk about the special role of the priest in this domain. Indeed, FC 73 says, the duty of the shepherd in this domain constitutes the »essential part of the Church service regarding marriage and the family«.
Priests will certainly work together with laymen in marriage preparation courses, but in the marriage and family pastoral they will have their special place in guidance centres, seminars and meetings. His presence in family circles within the parish community will also be significant. A very important task of the Church in the contemporary world, is the formation of workers in a family pastoral, and in this firm support given by the bishop and priests is essential. This concerns the formation of family counsellors, extended education of doctors, pedagogues, and psychologists, and also the theological formation of workers in family pastoral.
But there are some domains where the priest is irreplaceable, where he has to rediscover the delicate domain of spiritual leadership, which is the sensitive area of the confessional service. However, a combination of these services will manifest itself in the support and assistance of the people who are in special circumstances (e.g. civil divorce, and civil remarriage).
The pastoral of marriage and the family (and the role of priests in this) in our Church urgently requires a Family Directorate. For this reason, at the end of our exposition, as a model we have suggested possible structures in family pastoral as it is presented in the Family directorate of the Italian bishops' conference.
Ključne riječi
matrimony; family; consultation; priest; Church documents
Hrčak ID:
31499
URI
Datum izdavanja:
22.12.1999.
Posjeta: 2.188 *