Place of pastoral theology in the system of science

Ryszard Kamiński

doi:10.21697/wsp.2020.4.01

Published: 2023-02-03

Vol. 50 No. 4 (2020)

Place of pastoral theology in the system of science

Ryszard Kamiński

Warszawskie Studia Pastoralne

Section: Artykuły

https://doi.org/10.21697/wsp.2020.4.01

Abstract

The author discusses the place of pastoral theology in the world of science. emphasizing that the content of any science is the accumulation of knowledge, learning the laws that govern it, which develops criticism, teaches ordering, leads to the knowledge and realization of truth in life, the author first explains the multiple meanings of the term science, showing in a synthetic way its concepts from antiquity to modernity and its division. Then, explaining the essence of theology, he presents its division and moves on to show the concept and problems of pastoral theology. explaining its essence, he refers to the definition contained in John Paul ii’s exhortation Pastores dabo vobis, which describes it as a scientific reflection on the Church as she is built up daily, by the power of the Spirit, in history; on the Church as the universal sacrament of salvation, as a living sign and instrument of the salvation wrought by Christ through the word, the sacraments and the service of charity (PdV 57). He also points out that the Pope indicated its full-fledged status as a theological science, because it receives from the faith the principles and criteria for the pastoral action of the Church in history (...). Among these principles and criteria, one that is specially important is that of the evangelical discernment of the socio-cultural and ecclesial situation in which the particular pastoral action has to be carried out (PdV 57).

The author, presenting pastoral theology as a discipline dealing with the activity of the Church as the People of God in the world, stresses its specificity, which is related to its normative as well as practical character. Noting that pastoral theology, while seeking an answer to the question whether the Church, actualizing its activity in the specific conditions of place and time, realizes in its structure, goals, forms and methods of action, in the results achieved and in the lives of its members-the salvific mission to which it has been called, emphasizes that it must refer both to divine revelation and theological teachings, as well as to particular reality. Both elements, normative and practical, constitute a single whole in theological and pastoral studies.

Keywords:

science, pastoral theology, making the Church real, People of God, pastoral theory and practice, science, pastorał theology, making the Church real, People of God, pastoral theory and practice

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Kamiński, R. (2023). Place of pastoral theology in the system of science. Warszawskie Studia Pastoralne, 50(4), 13–37. https://doi.org/10.21697/wsp.2020.4.01

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Ryszard Kamiński

Affiliation:

Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Poland

Bio Statement (e.g., department and rank)

Rev. Ryszard Kamiński, professor emeritus of the Catholic University of Lub- lin; active in the Catholic University of Lublin in 1975-2013; habilitation 1987, the title of Professor 1997; Head of the Chair of Pastoral Theology and the Chair of Family Pastoral Care, Director of the Institute of Pastoral Theology and Catechetics; author of 9 books and 217 publications; including Leksykon teologii pastoralnej (Lexicon of pastoral theology), Lublin 2006, textbooks Teologia pastoralna (Pastoral theology) vol. 1-2, Lublin 2000-2002; Duszpa- sterstwo rodzin (Pastoral care of families), Lublin 2013; the four directions of his scientific work are: the concept of pastoral theology as a normative and practical theological science, the relationship between theory and ecclesia- stical practice, the historical development and renewal of modern dioceses and parishes and the pastoral ministry carried out within their framework, the methodology and methodology of promotional work in pastoral theology. E-mail: rkaminski@kul.lublin.pl