The difference between the Christian East and Christian West stems among other things from divergent approaches to the Church's missionary activity. The knowledge of the genesis of European civilization from this point of view may grant us a better understanding of the nature of our Western heritage.
The reform vision of Pope Francis is determined by a demand for accompanying, for discerning, in order to integrate human weakness. These efforts follow in the footsteps of previous popes (Benedict XVI and St. John Paul II) aimed at bringing the conclusions of the Second Vatican Council to life. The presented study draws attention to the gradual development of the theological concept of the term aggiornamento, signs of the times and the council reception. It focuses on a deeper anchoring of pastoration reform within the Jesuit practice of spiritual discerning. It specifies its theological contents and reflects on its roots in patristic tradition and in the tradition of the Christian East.
The most significant figure in the history of Czech Byzantine studies was Francis Dvorník. He was convinced that the principal of accommodation outweighed the principle of apostolic succession in the East, this being a theological, dogmatic concept that refers to the foundation of the Church by Christ. This study distinguishes Dvorník’s ecumenical position from the proto-ecumenical character of Velehrad Unionism. Under the term proto-ecumenical character we understand a method relevant to the ecumenical movement which is, however, used in the ecclesiological models that are still missing the principles of the Catholic understanding of the restoration of unity among all Christians as defined by the Second Vatican Council.
Bohuslav Spacil SJ (1875-1950), a professor of the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome, has written a three-part book of contemplation for priests entitled 'Psallite regi nostro'. The third part of the book was considered to be lost because the communist dictatorship in 1948 destroyed its letter board in the printing office and precluded its publication. Thanks to the courage of a printer, Josef Tichy, one copy of the book was saved. It is now in the library of Centrum Aletti in Olomouc.
This study reflects on the newest discussion concerning the term reform of reform after the speech of Cardinal Robert Sarah at the conference Sacra Liturgia in London on 5 July 2016. It compares this lecture to the lecture during the Cologne Liturgy Days (29 March to 1 April 2017) called "Source of the Future: Ten years of motu proprio 'Summorum Pontificum' of Benedict XVI". For an understanding of the pastoral distinction between the two forms or the Roman rite there is a detailed pastoral-theological analysis of motu proprio Summorum Pontificum by Benedict XVI (2007). The introduction of the extraordinary form of the Latin rite is determined by three criteria: liturgical reform of the council is not and must not be questioned; there must not be any legitimization of division of the Church; active participation (participatio actuosa) of all believers in the liturgy must be preserved. The end of this study presents the pastoral distinction of four basic types of the personal shift towards Catholic traditionalism developed after publication of motu proprio Summorum Pontificum and it lists certain pastoral recommendations for overcoming tension following the application of the two forms of the Roman rite in the Czech Lands.
This study arises from the question as to how present‑day pastoration should grow closer to the modern family, how to read what a family experiences generally (pastoration principles) and how to respond to specific situations (pastoration imperatives). The study answers this basic question as follows: What does the requirement of completely new pastoral competence in regular church ministry of a family mean in comparison with the past? The study answers with several theses: a) abandon the institutionalized and canonically formalized manners that the Church formulated theoretically and practically 150 years ago as the only possible means; b) abandon strategies based on objective norms in individual lives; c) offer more differentiated usages of the graduality principle. This strategy includes the initiation of a pastoration course of gradual growth, responsible discerning in individual cases (accepting status of penitents, developing dynamics of discerning in non‑sacramental pastoration, organizing of past life, guiding into a new type of communication with God, prayer that discerns, accepting the state of discerning and basic life orientation in Christ, maturing of conscience in communication with God´s word) and deeper integration into the Body of Christ (non‑sacramental, eventually sacramental, integration into the Church community).
A local Church cannot be truly whole if it is not aware of its wealth. The article attempts to define a perspective on the local Churches in Central and Eastern Europe as a perichoresis of traditions and mentalities: this means a wealth of personal knowledge, sensitivity or openness towards the Christian East as well as for the developments in Western Europe. This Central European experience manifests itself in the confrontation with the issues of the global strategy of Church direction in the coming years. Central Europe does not have the ambition to become the leading intellectual light of Catholicism, but a sensitive interpreter and seismograph of European trends.
The aim of the paper is to define more closely the model of theological thinking of the current Pope Francis on the example of his interpretation and communication of the religious thought of the Russian novelist F. M. Dostoevsky. In the theological thinking of Pope Francis, this concept has a mediating role between the cultural form of religion and its meaning and role for theology. Next, the study reviews the sources and cultural influences of his approach to theology. Finally, through an analysis of his texts, it presents specific systematic insights into the nature of the interconnectedness of Russian religious thought, including implications for the content and mode of mediating salvation to people today.
Ecumenical dialogue and pastoral ministry is a pressing summons for every Bishop to a specific apostolic duty in the new context of impacting the transformation of life, communal and personal, caused by the pandemic. The search for Christian unity has continued, and has made progress. One of the fruits of this is the new document of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity: The Bishop and Christian Unity. An Ecumenical Vademecum. The Bishop’s responsibility for promoting Christian unity is not to be looked for as the fruit of our own efforts; it is first and foremost a gift of the Holy Trinity to the Church. This does not excuse, however, bishops from making every effort, beginning with prayer itself, to hasten the journey towards full unity. The first essential task is for bishops to keep ecumenical responsibility alive in four fields: spiritual ecumenism, dialogue of charity, dialogue of truth and dialogue of life. The study reflects the fundamental areas of the ecumenical work of bishops in the light of the newly issued document of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
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