Church pastoral care: Bishops set new standards for trust!
Church pastoral care: Bishops set new standards for trust!
Bonn, Deutschland - Bonn, 05.12.2024 (KAP/KNA) - In the Catholic Church, dealing with queer pastoral care causes 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 persuasion in the circle of his episcopal brothers. "Being human is the decisive factor," explained Schepers, referring to the need that people are accepted regardless of their sexual identity in the church. This happens against the background that there is a urban-country gradient in many rural regions in relation to the acceptance of queer-oriented people.
Current challenges of pastoral care
At the same time, there is a clear approach to strengthening pastoral care with the new document of the German Bishops' Conference "In pastoral care, the heart of the church beats". Auxiliary Bishop Matthäus Karrer, one of the main authors, admits that many Catholics no longer go to pastoral people, but rather to friends or family members. The document illuminates the decline in trust in church pastoral care and emphasizes that the expectations of the believers have been reduced to their priests. In addition, the need to clarify the pastoral frame in a more plural society is emphasized in order to ensure more transparency both inside and outside the church, 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 succeed in the team. The document also deals with the increasingly urgent topic of sexual and spiritual abuse in the church, whereby the bishops formulate criteria for education and prevention to effectively prevent misuse in pastoral care. The Mainz Bishop Peter Kohlgraf emphasizes the unconditional need to maintain the credibility of church pastoral care and demands stricter regulations. These measures are to be integrated into the training of pastors to prevent future incidents. The document was made accessible 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 the current social developments, they underline the relevance of pastoral care in today's time.
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| Ort | Bonn, Deutschland |
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