Pastoral Theology

In Pope Francis’s pastoral theology, “People come first.” (America Magazine, 2021). Pastoral Theology is a practical theology that cares for the souls (National Catholic Register, 2021). The Pope is using the “Field Hospital” approach in pastoral care like a Good Samaritan (Jarzembowski, 2020). The Lord Jesus Christ presented the meaning of the love of neighbor through the story of the Good Samaritan—”enjoins listeners to care for strangers in need, even at great personal cost (Alimi, 2020).”

In the US, Pastoral care covers “missionary endeavors, counseling, formation, support groups, ecological protection, and social justice (inclusive of war, the death penalty, and the migrant and refugee crises); however, the constant refrain has been rooted in tending the wounded and an accompaniment towards renewed health” (Jarzembowski , 2020).

In South Africa, van der Merwe (2020) discussed how the church responded to poverty, they were in recession when the pandemic hit their country that aggravated their situations in extreme proportions. Poverty is defined as “deprivations” and “inequality”- “lack of basic necessities”, “low levels of human dignity and social justice”.  The response of the church to poverty is “determined by our understanding of what the church is.”  In New Testament, the Greek word ecclesia is the term for church, which means “called out ones.” Gelder (2004) pointed double calling as being “called and sent.” Karl Barth identified this “action of God as the Missio Dei- church reaching out to the world in its suffering is not in the first place an action of the church but an attribute of the sovereign God who uses his church as an instrument in the world” (van der Merwe, 2020).

The image of Apostle Paul of the Church was a “body of Christ” made up of many “members” working together to glorify God. Giving up our racist and individualist illusions might lead us to actually live more as if ‘we’re all in this together.’ “Hyper-cooperators”, “social animals” and “social beings” were associated by anthropologists, philosophers, and theologians to Humanity. Human persons have the capability for empathetic understanding but Its dark side is racism where we “foreclose the extension of empathetic concern to those we perceive as other”.

Augustine gave exhortations on shared vulnerability. He argued the insufficiency of appealing to the wealthy “to give generously and emphasize the need and suffering of the poor.” They must recognize the fundamental equality in vulnerability and dependence on God.  Augustine highlighted “shared nakedness at birth, shared weakness at death, common sinfulness, all that might dismantle barriers to sympathetic identification.” (Alimi, 2020)

Personal and collective suffering was widespread in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, and many other places due to civil war, extremism, and terrorism. Kim (2020) stated that victims of war were vulnerable to be treated unfairly. These refugee crises were hammered when the photos of a three-year-old Syrian boy named Alan Kurdi were found lifeless on a Turkish beach (The Atlantic, 2016). Pope Francis speaks of “the globalization of indifference”- Being used to the suffering of others that we comfort them with cheap theological notions or turning our eyes away(Kim, 2020).

References

1. In Pope Francis’ pastoral theology, people come first. | America Magazine. (n.d.). Retrieved March 8, 2021, from https://www.americamagazine.org/issue/pastor-his-people

2. The Science and Art of Pastoral Theology| National Catholic Register. (n.d.). Retrieved March 8, 2021, from https://www.ncregister.com/blog/the-science-and-art-of-pastoral-theology

3.Alimi, T., Antus, E. L., Balthrop-Lewis, A., Childress, J. F., Dunn, S., Green, R. M., … Stalnaker, A. (2020, September 1). COVID-19 and Religious Ethics. Journal of Religious Ethics. Blackwell Publishing Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1111/jore.12328

4.Jarzembowski, P. (2020). Mobilizing the field hospital: Pastoral care as a paradigm for ministry with young adults. Religions, 11(11), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11110617

5. van der Merwe, J. M. (2020). Poverty and the COVID-19 pandemic: A challenge to the church. HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies, 76(1), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v76i1.6221

5.In Lesbos, Pope Francis Faces Refugees and the ‘Globalization of Indifference’ – The Atlantic. (n.d.). Retrieved March 8, 2021, from https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/04/refugees-pope-francis-lesbos/477870/

6.Kim, Y. H. (2020). Theodicy, undeserved suffering, and compassionate solidarity: An interdisciplinary reading of hwang sok-yong’s the guest. Religions, 11(9), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11090463

7.St. Paul the Apostle – Churches | Britannica. (n.d.). Retrieved May 12, 2021, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Paul-the-Apostle/Churches

8.Looking Back at Alan Kurdi and Other Faces of Syrian Crisis – The New York Times. (n.d.). Retrieved May 12, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/03/world/middleeast/alan-kurdi-aylan-anniversary-turkey-syria-refugees-death.html