Church and University: Pastoral activity at the source of science and culture

Sveučilišni pastoral predstavlja specifično područje djelovanja koje uključuje ostvarivanje poslanja Crkve u odnosu na sveučilišni ambijent, tj. u odnosu na profesore i drugo osoblje na sveučilištima, kao i u odnosu na studente. Kroz taj segment svojega djelovanja Crkva biva na osobit način povezana s jednim od temeljnih ishodišta znanosti i kulture društva. Upravo ta uloga sveučilište čini posebno aktualnim i zahtjevnim ambijentom poslanja. Stoga je važno uočiti temeljne odrednice sveučilišnog pastorala, kao i razraditi njegove bitne aktualne izazove i mogućnosti njegova unapređenja. Upravo to predstavlja predmet ovoga rada u kojemu se, koristeći metodu teološkopastoralnog raspoznavanja, ukazuje na bitne sastavnice sveučilišnog pastorala, kao i na perspektive njegova razvitka u aktualnoj crkvenoj praksi.
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.