Duszpasterstwo ponadparafialne

Abstract

There are some elements which render Polish Catholicism weak. Let us name three of them: underdevelopment of social life, disregard for thinking in terms of fellowship, lack of cooperation between the faithful and the clergy, and also between the current religious movements and parochial pastoral care. We may remedy these drawbacks to a certain extent by developing extraparochial pastoral care at the level of a deanery, big town and diocese. It is necessary for a parish to open to the extraparochial tasks and ministries. The overriding aim of all the ventures in a deanery should be to build the fellowship of the Church. Thus the dean’s ministry should be imbued with the spirit of pastoral care, including his administrative duties. There is a demand for group pastoral care in big towns. Consequently, pastoral activity should be made more effective, time and energy of the subject of pastoral care should be spared. In the group pastoral care we need urban priests who are specialists. The "urban Church" should cope with the pastoral problems of the whole town and perform those tasks which parishes and deaneries alone are not able to fulfil. It should coordinate pastoral work among particular deaneries and parishes within the town area, and carry out extraparochial and extradeanery tasks. They are, above all, forms of special and specialistic pastoral care. The diocese should take care not only about the development of traditional forms of the evangelization of the faithful, as well as support or establish new forms. It is an important task of the diocese to include the faithful in the activity on behalf of the introduction of social justice. The diocesan initiatives should teach people how to live in accord with the evangelical principles of personal and social morality, the expression of which is the Christian testimony of life.