INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE: PROBLEMS AND PERPECTIVES: A CHRISTIAN THEOLOGICAL APPROACH

This article present an insider’s perspective on interreligious dialogue which follows the pastoral circle proposed by Holland and Henriot. Anecdotes from experiences of dialogue constitute the element of ‘insertion’, whereas the element of ‘analysis’ is the well-known threefold distinction between exclusivism, inclusivism and pluralism. The element of ‘theological reflection’ and ‘pastoral planning’ are dispersed throughout the article. The bulk of this article consists of a discussion of interreligious dialogue as a relationship of face-to-face ‘encounter’, shoulder-to-shoulder ‘co-operation’ and back-to-back ‘truthfulness’.

Governance and Administration

This chapter takes the perspective of the diocese as an organization and the bishop as the leader and administrator of that organization. In business terms the bishop would be the chief executive officer. A diocese is perhaps more comparable to a nonprofit organization, where the CEO is the administrator and the board of directors are responsible for governance and mission. However, in the case of the diocese, the bishop is responsible for both the administration and governance. The chapter uses data from the survey and interviews, as well as reviews of diocesan websites to examine different aspects of the bishop’s role as an administrator of the diocese. First, it explores a key decision-making area by reviewing different strategies bishops use to staff parishes when there are not enough priests. Second is a review of diocesan strategic and pastoral planning processes. The final section discusses diocesan level policies, including safe environment and protection of children.

Encountering Jesus at the well: Further reflections on African women’s Christologies

Under the subtheme of “Christology in the Context of World Christianity,” this article explores recent developments in African women’s Christologies. The aim is twofold: first, to engage critically with the content of these current Christologies, and second, to consider one method for doing contextual theology, namely, the “pastoral circle” or “pastoral cycle.” Its four key dimensions of encounter/insertion, social analysis, theological reflection, and pastoral planning allow a flexible framework for probing the causative factors, the contextual nature, the theological methods, and the central motifs of African women’s Christologies, as well as their contributions to social transformation through the impact of individuals and institutions. The article concludes that interdisciplinary approaches like the pastoral circle, which advocate the integration of biblical, historical, theological and contextual perspectives, hold the greatest potential for constructive Christology today.

Presbyteral Ministry in the Roman Catholic Church

This paper considers the teaching of Vatican II on the presbyterate in relation to the episcopate, against the background of the history of these ministries. The Council used Ignatius of Antioch and the Apostolic Tradition in its renewed teaching that presbyters form a college in union with the bishop, who is high priest of his local church. Since the fourth century, however, presbyters have been dispersed to act as individual parish priests. Tensions between this model and the earlier one are explored, as is the liturgical and theological renewal that led to Vatican II’s teaching. It is finally proposed that the Council offers valuable resources, not yet fully realized, for pastoral planning in a time of priestly shortage.

O perfil espiritual e pastoral do presbítero hoje

À imagem “tradicional” do Padre, o Autor contrapõe a imagem decorrente da eclesiologia do Vaticano II e das Conferências Gerais do Episcopado Latino-americano de Medellín, Puebla e Santo Domingo. Conclui que os tempos atuais exigem um presbítero engajado social e politicamente, deixando a fé cristã iluminar e animar a vida. Saber qual o perfil mais autêntico do presbítero, hoje, é importante para a pastoral vocacional, o planejamento pastoral, a inserção real no presbitério e o trabalho evangelizador num mundo religioso e culturalmente pluralista.Abstract: To the “traditional” image of the priest, the Author counters with the current picture of the ecclesiology of Vatican II and of the General Conferences of the Latin American Episcopacy of Medellín, Puebla and Santo Domingo. He concludes that the present times demand an involved presbyter in the social and political spheres, permitting the Christian faith room to enlighten and enliven life. To know the most authentic profile of the presbyter today is important for pastoral vocation, pastoral planning, for true integration into the presbytery and the evangelizing work in a religiously and culturally pluralistic world.

La recherche appliquée: le cas du « Katholiek Sociaal Kerkelijk Instituut (KASKI) » aux Pays-Bas

Following Vatican II changes are rapidly taking place within Dutch Catholicism — the bishops no longer make decisions in an authoritarian way: religious practice is de clining ; priests and religious are decreasing in numbers and many religious and pastoral experiments have come into being. KASKI has the responsibility of keeping pace with the Church during this process of change. In order to do this it makes use of several modes of work — the production of statistics relating to the position of religion in Society, the planning of religious and pastoral institutions and the study of new forms of the religious life in orders and congregations. For the first task it has used the same instruments for twenty- five years and the censuses thus produced yield valuable infor mation. As far as pastoral planning is concerned, it works in the field, playing the role of catalyst for those who have to make decisions and the people who have to carry out these decisions. This was the case, for instance, in the pastoral planning of the town of Eindhoven. Finally, when dealing with the new forms of communal religious life it adopts the method of studying through participation so that two of its researchers working in this sector are themselves members of religious groups. Applied research poses important problems, both from the methodological and from the political points of view. Amongst them may be noted the difficulty of determining precisely what constitutes rapid change in religious life, and the political choice of the persons for whom the research is being con ducted; the latter inevitably imposes a certain degree of conformity upon the perspectives of the work. (For example, the choice of the Dutch hierarchy which was to follow the general lines given by a large majority of Catholic opinion when it was tested particularly on questions like the liturgical and parochial changes). The fact, also, that the director of KASKI himself has a personal commitment to what may be described as the « right of centre » position in Dutch Catho licism poses problems for the work of the Institute. Political and religious radicalism is not a strong characteristic of the more senior research workers. KASKI is a rare example of a centre which brings socio logists together and uses their professional competence to accompany change in religious institutions.