Koncepcja ewangelizacji ludzi starych w kościele współczesnym

Abstract

The author makes an attempt at a pastoral consideration over the Church's mission towards old people who – aside to children, the youth and adults – constitute an essential element of class evangelization. In spite of that that class mission, traditionally called “class pastoral care”, has for many ages been realized in the Church, yet it requires a new insight through the contemporary anthropological conditionings, post-Conciliar teaching of the Church and psycho-existential problems of the faithful. At the same time it requires an attempt to place this pastoral care in its churchwide and general-parochial context. Having in mind the development of ordinary and extraordinary forms of pastoral care as well as the fact that various forms of apostolate would participate in it, there must be a parallel manner of evaluation. Aside to that, the problem of old people has hardly been exposed in pastoral literature and particularly in practice. This problem was dealt with on the occassion of some church charitable actions or parochial pastoral care for the sick. It was advisable then to present a separate, though generally outlined, conception of a ministration to old people, and that in the light of the above determinants. There was a need for “optimization” it to new churchwide and general-parochial tasks. The latter demand that the ministration be considered within a broader framework of evangelization which would embrace both the whole sphere of pastoral care and apostolate.. This “conception of evangelization” the author has considered in four dimensions: I. – justifying reasons, sanctioning this conception as a solid ministration; II. – the churchwide and general-parochial territories which put it into practice; III. – conditions of effectiveness, efficiency of its influence; IV. – drawing conclusions with possible perspectives for the development. These considerations, though outlining only its general conception, through the position and role of the contemporaiy Church, point at the still untouched realms of pastoral cosideration and evangelizational practice. It goes without saying that they are a challenge to the Polish Church of the '90s.