In the World but Not of the World: A Guide for Pastoral Ministry- Part I

Is it feasible to be pastoral in one’s outreach to others, bereft of Gospel Truth, Judeo-Christian moral code, and the Magisterium of the Catholic Church? Can one exercise care for souls, devoid of the Revealed Word of God and the Transformative Grace of the Sacraments?

The central intent, as Christ offered His life in sacrifice on the cross, which He applies to those who have faith, the medicine of Salvation. On October 1, 1986, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a: “Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons”, and asserted a core principle concerning the pastoral care of souls: “Only what is true can ultimately be pastoral”.  Only what persists in truth, can be charitable and of authentic benefit, to those in need of the pastoral care of the Church. The first thing we must consider is the word truth itself as explained by St. Thomas Aquinas:

[T]ruth is found in the intellect according as it apprehends a thing as it is; and in things according as they have being conformable to an intellect. This is to the greatest degree found in God. For His being is not only conformed to His intellect, but it is the very act of His intellect; and His act of understanding is the measure and cause of every other being and of every other intellect, and He Himself is His own existence and act of understanding. Whence it follows not only that truth is in Him, but that He is truth itself, and the sovereign and first truth (cf. Summa Thelogica).

It is self-evident that human beings possess an intellect, the faculty of reasoning. It is also self-evident, through our experience of the world, that human beings possess varying degrees of apprehension, that is to say, some are granted the ability to grasp with ease what others have great difficulty comprehending.

Thus, the question arises, is it possible for brain tissue, flesh alone, to possess the faculty of reason or power of intellect, in and of itself, completely autonomous from any other source? The answer to this question is apparent and readily observable. As a person expires and the soul leaves the body, the inanimate body no longer possesses the faculty of reason or power of intellect. Therefore, this faculty or power must necessarily be derived from outside of itself, it must have as its origin, a being that is not only conformed to His intellect, but it is the very act of His intellect, and His act of understanding is the measure and cause of every other being and of every other intellect, and He Himself is His own existence and act of understanding. God does not require – anything outside of Himself for existence, He is existence itself, the source and origin of all that has been created, the source and origin of the faculty of reason and power of intellect. It follows not only that truth is in Him, but that He is truth itself, and the sovereign and first truth.

These fundamentals of truth, morality, and the revealed Word of God, are cited in the 2004 “Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace“, as they relate to pastoral action:

The Church’s social doctrine provides the fundamental criteria for pastoral action in the area of social activity: proclaiming the Gospel; placing the Gospel message in the context of social realities; planning actions aimed at the renewal of these realities; and conforming them to the demands of Christian morality. A new evangelization of society requires first of all the proclamation of the Gospel: God saves every person and the whole person in Jesus Christ. It is this proclamation that reveals man to himself and that must become the principle for interpreting social realities. In proclaiming the Gospel, the social dimension is an [sic] essential and unavoidable but not the only dimension. It is a dimension that must reveal the unlimited possibilities of Christian salvation, even if it is not possible in time to conform social realities perfectly and definitively to the Gospel. No results attained, not even the most spectacular, can escape the limits of human freedom and the eschatological tension of every created reality (cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis).

Above all, the pastoral activity of the Church in the social sector must bear witness to the truth of the human person. Christian anthropology permits a discernment of social problems that will never find an adequate solution if the transcendent character of the human person, fully revealed in faith, is not safeguarded (cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes).

The social action of Christians must be inspired by the fundamental principle of the centrality of the human person (cf. John XXIII, Encyclical Letter Mater et Magistra).

The need to promote the integral identity of the human person prompts Christians to propose those eminent values that govern every well-ordered and productive human society: truth, justice, love and freedom (cf. John XXIII, Encyclical Letter Pacem in Terris).

Pastoral activity in the social field must seek to ensure that the renewal of public life is linked to an effective respect for these values. In this way, the Church’s multifaceted evangelical witness seeks to promote the awareness of the good of each person and of all people as an unlimited resource for the development of every aspect of life in society ( cf. Compendium of the Social Doctrrine of the Church).

Proclaiming the Gospel in the social realm is both essential and unavoidable. And, it is vital to realize, that every human life is sacred, that each human life – possesses dignity. The Catechism of the Catholic Church affirms:

Of all visible creatures only man is ‘able to know and love his creator’. He is ‘the only creature on earth that God has willed for himself’, and he alone is called to share, by knowledge and love, in God’s own life. It was for this end that he was created, and this is the fundamental reason for his dignity:
What made you establish man in so great a dignity? Certainly the incalculable love by which you have looked on your creature in yourself! You are taken with love for her; for by love indeed you created her, by love you have given her a being capable of tasting your eternal Good’.

Being in the image of God the human individual possesses the dignity of a person, who is not just something, but someone. He is capable of self-knowledge, of self-possession and of freely giving himself and entering into communion with other persons. And he is called by grace to a covenant with his Creator, to offer him a response of faith and love that no other creature can give in his stead (CCC 356-357).

Man possesses dignity, first, in that, he is created by God in His image and likeness. That is, man possesses the faculty of reason or power of intellect, and due to this fact, he can know and love his creator. Therefore, in this knowledge, and through God’s grace, acting in accord with it, he participates in God’s own life.

And, proclaiming the Gospel message, is proclaiming Truth, these are not simply words printed on a page, but Jesus Christ Himself. God reveals man to himself in the Light of Christ, He bears witness to the truth of the human person and sets the faithful on a journey toward Eternal life. Christ did not assimilate the truths of His time – He is Truth Itself.

Thus, what can be said about the notion of accompaniment as regards pastoral care? How is it, that one should accompany individuals who will a lifestyle incompatible with the Gospel Truth, and have decided instead, to live outside of natural law and the Magisterial teachings of the Church? A phrase, which now seems commonplace in our time, is that we need to meet people where they are at. Here, there are two distinct trains of thought.

The First is that we, as the Catholic Church, need to meet those who approach the Church where they are at, that we accompany them as they navigate a process of conversion, shedding their sinful lifestyle, and repenting of their sins. Another way of stating this is that we meet people where they are at – not – leave them where they are at. Beckoning them always, to live their lives according to natural law, the Commandments and the Judeo-Christian moral code. Not because, Christ established the Faith and the Church, that its members relinquish personal freedom out of the fear of punishment. But that, by living out the Faith, according to the teachings of the Church, they might attain a measure of peace and happiness in this life. And God willing, be called to their Eternal reward in the next.

This does not mean, by any stretch of the imagination, that one will be free of suffering in this life, or, that every moment of one’s life, will be an exercise in Eternal bliss. And yet, we hear both the promise of Eternal life and Eternal happiness, affirmed in the Baltimore Catechism: “God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next.” (cf. Baltimore Catechism No. 1)

The second train of thought, is that we as the Catholic Church need to meet people where they are at, that we accept and encourage all people – physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Even if, where they are at, is completely incompatible with natural law, Church teaching, and the Judeo-Christian moral code. And, we are assured by some, that that this is what being pastoral means.

Part II to follow.