Suche
Mein Konto
Church pastoral care: Bishops set new standards for trust!
The queer representative of the German Bishops' Conference emphasizes the need for sensitive pastoral care for queer people.
Church pastoral care: Bishops set new standards for trust!
Bonn, December 5th, 2024 (KAP/KNA) – In the Catholic Church, the handling of queer pastoral care is causing discussions among the bishops. Auxiliary Bishop Ludger Schepers, queer representative of the German Bishops' Conference, emphasizes that there are already contacts for queer people in the dioceses, while he still has to do some convincing among his fellow bishops. “Being human is what matters,” explained Schepers, referring to the need for people to be accepted in the church regardless of their sexual identity. This happens against the background that in many rural regions there is an urban-rural divide in terms of acceptance of queer-oriented people.
Current challenges in pastoral care
At the same time, the new document from the German Bishops' Conference “The heart of the church beats in pastoral care” provides a clear approach to strengthening pastoral care. Auxiliary Bishop Matthäus Karrer, one of the main authors, admits that many Catholics no longer go to pastors for personal concerns, but rather to friends or family members. The document highlights the decline in trust in church pastoral care and emphasizes that believers' expectations of their priests have been lowered. In addition, the need to clarify the concept of pastoral care in a more plural society is emphasized in order to ensure greater transparency both inside and outside the church as to how church pastoral care is structured and what goals it pursues.
In this context, networking within pastoral care is particularly important, which, according to Karrer, can only be achieved as a team. The document also deals with the increasingly pressing issue of sexual and spiritual abuse in the church, with the bishops formulating criteria for education and prevention in order to effectively prevent abuse in pastoral care. Mainz Bishop Peter Kohlgraf emphasizes the absolute need to maintain the credibility of church pastoral care and calls for stricter regulations. These measures should be integrated into the training of pastors in order to prevent future incidents. The document has been made available online for further information.
The Pastoral Commission of the German Bishops' Conference has also commented on the challenges and changes in church pastoral care. In view of current social developments, they underline the relevance of pastoral care in today's world.