AGROECOLOGY COMMUNITY AND ECOLOGY OF KNOWLEDGE: A TRAINING EXPERIENCE BASED ON THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN QUILOMBO, PASTORAL LAND COMMISSION AND UNIVERSITY

The formation of the Agroecological Community among NEUZA-UFT, the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), and the Quilombo Grotão was conceived as a gnoseological situation and for that, it is a formative moment based on the ecology of knowledge. It is coordinated by Pedro Ribeiro of the NEUZA-UFT/CPT team, the Pastoral Agent of the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT) and by Raimundo Cantuario Camilo dos Reis, quilombola leadership of the Grotão Community. It had the participation of professors and students from the Federal University of Tocantins, pastoral workers and young quilombolas. The process of formation of the Community began there, starting from the articulation of different subjects, university students, pastoral and community agents around the discussion, promotion and practice of the agroecological space-time.

Developing pastoral therapy as a professional qualification in South Africa: Rationale and motivation

The professional training of pastoral therapists has been a topic of controversy for many years in South Africa. Up to date, the training of pastoral workers has been limited to the study of ministry and as such is limited by the primary aims and outcomes of this curriculum. In a post-apartheid, post-colonial South Africa, the need for pastoral workers is intensified by the needs of community- and faith-based organisations for trained and registered therapists to alleviate the counselling needs of their beneficiaries on all social levels. This article discusses the current state of affairs of the training and curriculum related to the profession of pastoral therapy in the context of South Africa, the various sociopolitical and religious needs that are still left unanswered in the field, and makes recommendations for the registration and accreditation of the profession with a specific curriculum focused on multicultural, multi-spiritual and post-modern nuances. The author argues that such a curriculum, accredited by a statutory body, can operate as a national health resource, will be more cost-effective than other related health services and may transform the social justice landscape related to both the providers and beneficiaries of this type of care.

Perception of Religious Brothers and Sisters and Lay Persons That Prayers Go Unanswered Is a Matter of Perceived Distance from God

Background: Sometimes prayer life can be difficult even for very religious persons, who may experience phases of “spiritual dryness”, which may have a negative effect on their well-being. Methods: To address this topic, we analyzed three contrasting groups of persons (religious brothers and sisters (RBS), n = 273; Catholic lay persons (CLP), n = 716; other lay persons (OLP), n = 351) with standardized measures and investigated how often indicators of spiritual dryness were perceived within these groups and how the perception that private prayers go unanswered could be a result of this. Results: Spiritual dryness was highest in RBS compared to RLP and OLP. For RBS, perception of being “spiritually empty” was the best predictor of prayers going unanswered, indicating emotional/spiritual exhaustion, while in OLP, the perception that God is “distant” was the best predictor, indicating that, particularly in this (younger) group, spiritual doubt is of particular relevance. For CLP, feeling that God is distant, feeling abandoned by God, and feeling “spiritually empty” were similarly relevant predictors of feelings that prayers go unanswered. Conclusions: This knowledge may help psychologists/psychotherapists, pastoral workers, and spiritual advisors to differentiate the underlying causes of spiritual dryness (in terms of “discernment”) and thus support persons struggling with God, their faith, and life.

AGROECOLOGY COMMUNITY AND ECOLOGY OF KNOWLEDGE: A TRAINING EXPERIENCE BASED ON THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN QUILOMBO, PASTORAL LAND COMMISSION AND UNIVERSITY

The formation of the Agroecological Community among NEUZA-UFT, the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), and the Quilombo Grotão was conceived as a gnoseological situation and for that, it is a formative moment based on the ecology of knowledge. It is coordinated by Pedro Ribeiro of the NEUZA-UFT/CPT team, the Pastoral Agent of the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT) and by Raimundo Cantuario Camilo dos Reis, quilombola leadership of the Grotão Community. It had the participation of professors and students from the Federal University of Tocantins, pastoral workers and young quilombolas. The process of formation of the Community began there, starting from the articulation of different subjects, university students, pastoral and community agents around the discussion, promotion and practice of the agroecological space-time.

AGROECOLOGY COMMUNITY AND ECOLOGY OF KNOWLEDGE: A TRAINING EXPERIENCE BASED ON THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN QUILOMBO, PASTORAL LAND COMMISSION AND UNIVERSITY

The formation of the Agroecological Community among NEUZA-UFT, the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), and the Quilombo Grotão was conceived as a gnoseological situation and for that, it is a formative moment based on the ecology of knowledge. It is coordinated by Pedro Ribeiro of the NEUZA-UFT/CPT team, the Pastoral Agent of the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT) and by Raimundo Cantuario Camilo dos Reis, quilombola leadership of the Grotão Community. It had the participation of professors and students from the Federal University of Tocantins, pastoral workers and young quilombolas. The process of formation of the Community began there, starting from the articulation of different subjects, university students, pastoral and community agents around the discussion, promotion and practice of the agroecological space-time.

Asiasiga: a Samoan intervention to address the immediate mental health needs of Samoan communities after a tsunami

Objective: To describe an Indigenous Samoan psychosocial intervention developed to address the mental health needs of affected communities in Samoa following a tsunami. Method: A partnership was established between Samoan therapists, Samoan Catholic pastoral workers and non-Samoan mental health clinicians, informed by Samoan concepts of self and wellbeing. The format developed for visits to significantly affected households was based on a Samoan cultural practice known as asiasiga and was carried out by pastoral workers, with daily group supervision and access to mental health professionals. Results: Household visits were offered to affected families in villages throughout southern and eastern Upolu and the island of Manono. There was a high degree of acceptance of the programme by Pulenu’u (village governance leaders) and family leaders and members. Conclusions: Mental health responses to the needs of Indigenous Pacific communities following a disaster need to be embedded in the values of those communities. The Samoan practice of asiasiga contributed to the high degree of acceptability of this programme. Partnerships with churches, schools and other local organisations are likely to enhance acceptability and participation. More research is required on Indigenous Pacific post-disaster mental health programmes.

A discrição da Igreja católica em torno do planejamento familiar e a consciência dos fiéis

Síntese: A discrição em torno do planejamento familiar e a consciência dos fiéis advinda da posição da Igreja católica em questões de planejamento familiar é o tema principal deste texto. Para tanto, parte-se de um levantamento teórico em abalizados teólogos do século XX e XXI e de uma pesquisa de campo realizada, em 2013, na Diocese de Jacarezinho (PR), entre os agentes de pastoral das comunidades eclesiais. Intenciona-se, a partir deste caminho, evidenciar que, depois de toda a agitação que envolveu a Humane Vitae e suas declarações há algumas décadas atrás, hoje, se percebe outro movimento: uma perigosa discrição sobre o assunto, a partir da qual o momento pastoral atual se apresenta um tanto quanto confuso.Palavras-chave: Planejamento Familiar. Discrição eclesial. Humanae Vitae. Pastoral.Abstract: The discretion around the family planning and conscience of the faithful of the Catholic Church arising from the position in family planning issues is the main theme of this article. It recognizes is a theoretical survey of authoritative theologians of the twentieth and twenty-first century and a field research conducted in 2013 in the diocese of Jacarezinho (PR) among pastoral workers of the ecclesial communities. It is intended from this path, to show that after all the turbulence that involved the Humane Vitaeand its statements a few decades ago, today it is noticed another movement: a dangerous discretion on the subject, from which the current pastoral moment appears somewhat confused.Keywords: Family planning. Church discretion. Humanae Vitae. Pastoral.

“Life Within the Person Comes to The Fore”: Pastoral Workers’ Practice Wisdom on Using Arts in Palliative Care

Background: Pastoral care (also chaplaincy, spiritual care) assists people to find meaning, personal resources, and connection with self, others, and/or a higher power. Although essential in palliative care, there remains limited examination of what pastoral workers do. This study examined how pastoral workers use and consider the usefulness of art-based modalities. Methods: Qualitative research was used to examine the practice wisdom (tacit practice knowledge) of pastoral workers experienced in using visual arts and music in palliative care. Two focus groups were conducted. Thematic analysis was informed by grounded theory. Results: Six pastoral workers shared information. Three themes emerged. First, pastoral workers use arts as “another tool” to extend scope of practice by assisting patients and families to symbolically and more deeply contemplate what they find “sacred.” Second, pastoral workers’ art affinities inform their aims, assessments, and interactions. Third, pastoral workers perceive that art-based modalities can validate, enlighten, and transform patients and families through enabling them to “multisensorially” (through many senses) feel recognized, accepted, empowered, and/or close to God. Key elements involved in the work’s transformative effects include enabling beauty, ritual, and the sense of “home” being heard, and legacy creation. Discussion and Conclusion: Pastoral workers interpret that offering art-based modalities in palliative care can help patients and families to symbolically deal with painful memories and experiences, creatively engage with that deemed significant, and/or encounter a sense of transcendence. Training in generalist art-based care needs to be offered in pastoral education.