Komplementarność duszpasterstwa i apostolstwa

Abstract

Apostolate is activity of all the members of God’s people directed to realisation of the Church’s aim, that is propagating Christ’s Kingdom on earth. Pastorate is the Church’s salutary action putting into effect Christ’s salutary work in the contemporary world by preaching God’s word, by sacramental and pastoral service and other pastoral activities. Pastorate and apostolate are not directly one thing or two absolutely different things. They are a bipolar unity, different in some respects. Pastorate and apostolate’s mutual relation is one of mutual influence. Both these realities are complementary to each other. In practice, cases are often encountered of disturbing the balance between pastorate and lay people’s apostolate. This results from passiveness existing in the Church and from lay people’s lack of preparation. The imperative of making use of all the creative forces in the Church in order to change this situation ensues from this situation, the aim being a balance between pastorate and apostolate as well as co-operation between the clergy and laity in the Church and in the world.