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Growth in the maturity of faith, as one of the fundamental elements of the Christian life, is directly related to pastoral activity, particularly catechesis. Therefore, pastoralcatechetical dynamics, especially those of a parish nature, should necessarily contribute to permanent progress toward an increasingly mature faith in all dimensions of life. Many current indicators point to a genuine crisis not only of maturing in faith, but also of the beginning of that process in general, and in the actual decision to grow in faith. In this regard, certain areas of pastoral activity and catechesis with adults represent some of the most challenging and complex to actualize nowadays. In addition, the community, as an essential factor, is recognized not only as a reality on the path to progress, but often also as a challenging factor in terms of the representation of the environment of mature religious life. This article aims to distinguish the theologicalpastoral essential prerequisites for pastoral activity and catechesis with adult believers in the context of the community. These prerequisites primarily concern important elements of the structural relationship between a believer and the Christian community with respect to the progress in the maturity of the faith of both the person and the community. This discernment addresses some current aspects of the relevant topic, where more successful realization in today's social and pastoral contexts can aid the maturation process in faith. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synodality, as a determinant of the mentality and style of pastoral activity, has proven to be one of the key themes of Church life in the last few years. The synodal dimension of the Church is seen as the fundamental backbone of all the other important components of pastoral engagement. Religious life and practice of adult believers, on the other hand, remains one of the most challenging pastoral tasks. This claim is so current that concerning many church environments one can legitimately ask whether a mature and developed practice of faith exists at all. The synodal process that is ongoing in the Catholic Church, especially until the fall of 2024, helps to improve so many pastoral activities and most of them concern the practice of faith of adult believers. This paper is dedicated to the theological–pastoral study of the main components of the improvement of this practice in light of the contributions of the synodal process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pastoral activity of the Church represents a constant effort to actualize as much as possible of the determinants of the Christian concept of the Holy, which concerns the totality of the relationship to God. The Holy in the Christian milieu is understood precisely as the totality of the determinants of the Christian relationship to the divine. That is why the activity of the Church is essentially determined by the specific elements of the relationship to the Holy. These elements and determinants in today's pastoral and socio-cultural circumstances are marked by some special emphases that represent considerable challenges and sometimes serious problems for concrete pastoral activity. This work is determined by the theological-pastoral discernment of some challenging components of contemporary Christian frameworks of the relati- onship to the Holy. Based on this, the influence of the mentioned elements on pastoral activity is studied. The intention with which the paper was written is reflected in the effort of theological-pastoral discernment of elements that are important for the improvement of pastoral activity today. That is why part of the main goal of the research is to point out some distorted concepts and experiences of the Holy in contemporary cultural and pastoral contexts. At the same time, the paper tries to promote a correct attitude towards the Holy and following the more mature living of faith. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crisis and resilience are two seemingly difficult realities to reconcile, which are often distinguished in different ways in some socio-cultural contexts. However, while these realities are inevitable for every human community, they are also to some extent, inseparable. The crisis, as a truly inevitable reality, can and should serve as a source of building new forms of resilience of individuals and communities. The Church, as a very specific form of interpersonal organization, in the contemporary context, needs to deal more with this way of relating to crisis situations. In order for this to be possible, it is necessary to formulate approaches imbued with the dynamism of appropriate resilience in crisis situations in concrete pastoral action. This article is dedicated to the theological-pastoral discernment of the elements of pastoral approaches that serve this goal, and presents the indicated elements in some newer approaches. The article specifically addresses the following approaches to crisis situations: the approach in the apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis Amoris laetitia, the Catechumenal pathways for married life, and the approach of the association Rondine Cittadella della Pace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Christian faith does not owe its existence to any human culture, insofar as its foundation are laid by the supernatural source. Nevertheless, it is a well-known fact that in its realisation, it has a need for expressive forms of the cultural order. These forms are always and in various ways conditioned by concrete givens, frameworks, and elements of human co-existence and organisation, among which »city« has a special place. According to clear and multiple socio-demographic indicators, for centuries and decades, city is, in various intensities and forms, a special target of millions of people who were and are trying to realise their desire for meaningful and happy life. In other words, city has been for a long time, and is especially today, in the state of expansion. That expansion influences, in various ways, contemporary forms of living out faith in city. This article, therefore, engages with the topic of theological-pastoral discernment of today's state of practice of faith in city in Croatian and similar, culturally related European urban environments and offers a theological-practical analysis of trends related to this area that will obviously be current also in the future. Since the issue of concrete realisation of Christian faith in this environment is hardly a marginal social issue, it demands a systematic approach, especially in terms of a theological analysis of conditions of living out Christian faith amidst cultural changes of urban environment. Hence, the article puts emphasis on relating elements of faith with certain newer cultural forms while aiming at seeking possible solutions that might be of help in the future when it comes to quality encounters between human cultures and faith in the urban environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The organic activity of the Church that was promoted at the Second Vatican Council and that reflects the true nature of Christ's community necessarily presupposes active engagement of all its members. In that sense, ordained ministers, in their dimension of ministerial priesthood, and lay believers, in their dimension of universal priesthood, act in their difference that is directed towards complementary realisation of the only ecclesial mission. For this mission, trust and cooperation between them, as well as with those who lead monastic life, is of key importance. This article focuses on the theological-pastoral discernment of the meaning of trust between the priest and the lay believers in the Church, as well as of the cooperation between them. The author's intention is to point out theological-pastoral determinants of concepts of trust and cooperation and this necessarily leads to a discussion on the importance and meaning of co-responsibility. In general ecclesial and theological discourses these concepts, and especially the concept of cooperation, are often used fairly indiscriminately. Hence, it is important to point out their meaning in the wider and narrower sense, since this distinction reflects some essential theological-pastoral and pastoral-legal frameworks within which the Church operates. This discernment aims at drawing attention to new shifts in relation to bigger trust and cooperation between priests and lay believers in the pastoral field. There are presuppositions of trust and cooperation between priests and lay believers, among which the author stresses dialogue within the Church, the promotion of culture of encounter and communion with the family face, and especially the right promotion of charismatic dimension of activity of lay believers. The discernment of these realities will be of help to renewed actualisation of specific contributions of lay believers in the mission of the Church. This mission is primarily reflected in the dimension of co-responsibility for life in marital and family vocation, their cooperation with other agents within the ecclesial life, as well as in a more honest and integral cooperation between lay believers. Finally, this discernment is carried out with the aim of pointing out possible shifts in relation to fuller integration in some segments of ecclesial life with more pronounced charismatic activity among lay believers for the good of the Church, as well as to be of help to priests, especially parish priests, in discernment, monitoring, and integrating such manifestations in the life of the Church. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While opening the extraordinary Holy Year of Mercy on April 11, 2015, Pope Francis has prompted the whole Church to additional and renewed efforts in order to make God´s mercy more evident in all ecclesial activities. From this one can conclude that mercy is the main characteristic of pastoral work. In fact, pastoral work, as such, should always be in service of God´s mercy. One of the first and key elements of ecclesial activity is certainly the proclamation of the gospel. This is realised in various ways and in various occasions; however, the main characteristic of this proclamation, whose advantage consists in its concrete realisation, is precisely its directedness to God´s mercy and its actualisation in the encounter of the Church and all its members, and especially priests with each other and with all peoples of this world. This article analyses, from the theological-pastoral perspective, possibilities and forms of improvement of the pastoral approach in relation to the proclamation of the gospel, in order to make attitudes, language, and works of mercy clearer and more significantly present in the life and activity of the Church. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pastoral care in the universities is a specific area of activity involving the exercise of the Church's mission in relation to the university environment, i.e. in relation to teachers and other university staff and in relation to students. Through this area of its activity the Church is connected in a special way with one of the fundamental sources of science and culture. Because of the key role of the universities, the mission of the Church there is particularly challenging and important. Therefore, it is essential to identify the basic terms of reference of pastoral care in the universities, and to identify what are currently the main challenges, as well as possibilities of improvement. This is precisely what the article sets out to do: through theological and pastoral discernment it identifies the essential elements of university pastoral care, as well as perspectives for its development in current church practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]