Normatywny i praktyczny wymiar refleksji teologicznopastoralnej

Abstract

Pastoral theology is different from other theological disciplines, as it has an existential and practical orientation. It is also a normative discipline, forming rules, theological models and directives for actions, which should guide the Church, ecclesial communities and their representatives in various domains and on various levels of ecclesial activity. The normative and practical dimensions of scholarly cognition are a compact whole in pastoral theology. Both mentioned dimensions of theological-pastoral reflection not only do not oppose each other, but they are complementary, indeed they are necessary for each other, since in this reflection the point is that the same reality should be understood that is the mystery of God in his transcendence and historical immanence. Today the key issue is taking into consideration in today’s theological-pastoral reflection both the normative and practical dimensions. This question is connected with a better understanding of the theory and practice in pastoral theology today, and with the cooperation of pastoral theology with humanities and praxiological disciplines dealing with man’s activity. Adequately to the normative and practical dimension of theological-pastoral reflection, pastoral theology should be marked by a holistic (problem-functional) approach, using both empirical and normative methods within the paradigm of the analysis of pastoral theology.