Pastoral Officer
Pastoralreferent or pastoral Officer (PR) is the name for a career in the Catholic Church .
Pastoral consultants usually have a diploma or master's degree in Catholic theology and ecclesiastical, mostly intra-diocesan training. This profession only exists in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands. In Germany it is not represented in all dioceses .
Pastoral consultants are also available in the “Federation of Evangelical Free Churches”. In addition to the pastors and deacons, they form the third ordained professional group within the framework of this free church and are mainly active in the congregations of the fraternal tradition.
Pastoral advisor is also the term used for a job in the Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church . This can only be exercised by women who also have a degree in theology. The typical tasks and professional profile are similar to those in the Roman Catholic Church.
Professional profile
Pastoral officers work in the pastoral care of a parish , a parish association, a deanery or another pastoral unit. They are usually subordinate to a pastor or dean . In addition, PR are active in special work areas in pastoral care (categorical pastoral care), for example in hospital and old people's home pastoral care , university pastoral care , in the school system , in adult education , in youth work , in church administration, etc. PR work largely independently and independently within of a defined work area. You accompany, qualify and motivate volunteer employees. Closely related to the profession of pastoral consultant is the profession of parish officer . The areas of responsibility largely overlap, but the training is crucial. Community officers usually have a degree in religious education or practical theology at a university of applied sciences.
Situation in Austria
In Austria, too, there is a comparable church office with a corresponding professional profile, but the job titles are pastoral helpers for employees without appropriate training, pastoral interns during their pastoral year and pastoral assistants after completing their training and church mission. The Austrian Bishops' Conference provides two training options for this profession: study of theology with pastoral training or basic theological training with a subsequent diploma course. A differentiation between job titles based on the access routes, as in most German dioceses, between pastoral and parish officers is not known in Austria.
Typical tasks
- the preparation of the sacraments , such as baptism , first communion , confirmation , penance
- ecclesiastical adult education
- accompanying volunteers in the parish council , social group, etc.
- individual liturgical tasks (celebration of the Word of God , children's worship, catechesis)
- Spiritual offers (faith talks, retreats )
- Funeral service
- Individual pastoral care ( discussions , visits)
- Elderly and sick pastoral care
- various coordination and networking tasks
- Public relations and committee work
- Child and youth work such as B. Acolytes work
education
- Study of Catholic theology with a diploma or master's degree or study of Catholic religious studies (secondary level 2) as a first subject with the first state examination (thesis theology) in connection with a church supplementary examination
- Pastoral course under the responsibility of the dioceses (often together with the candidates for priesthood)
- Practical introductory courses up to the second service examination
- During the induction, the job title is Pastoral Assistant.
literature
- Hermann Boventer , Leo Karrer , Gerhard Gruber , Josef Bommer a. a. (Ed.): Lay theologians in pastoral service - location determination and trends. (= Bensberger Protocols No. 17), Thomas-More-Akademie, Bensberg 1976.
- C. Olbrich and R. Stammberger (eds.): And yet they move you, pastoral consultants - “indispensable” for the church , Freiburg 2000, ISBN 3-451-26046-8 .
- P. Zulehner and K. Renner: Ortsuche , Ostfildern 2006, ISBN 3-7966-1310-1 .
- Klemens Hellinger (Ed.), Markus John (Ed.), Speaker Council of Pastoral Assistants and Pastoral Advisors in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising (Ed.): Added by the Spirit of the Church. 40 years of pastoral assistants and pastoral consultants in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising. Munich 2011.
- Professional Association of Pastoral Referees Germany eV (Ed.): Encounters. 40 years pastoral adviser in Germany. St.Peter-Ording 2011. Only available from the association: www.pastoralreferenten.de.
- Sabine Demel (Ed.): Forgotten officials? The future of pastoral advisors. Freiburg 2013.
Web links
- Website of the professional association of pastoral consultants in Germany. Accessed on February 25, 2014 .
- Website of the professional association of PR in the Archdiocese of Cologne. Retrieved February 25, 2014 .
- Interested in the profession of pastoral consultant. Retrieved June 20, 2020 .
- Pastoral speakers in the diocese of Speyer. Professional profile and training. Professions of the Church of Speyer, archived from the original on October 24, 2007 ; Retrieved February 25, 2014 .
- Homepage of the professional associations of pastoral assistants of the Archdiocese of Vienna. Retrieved February 25, 2014 .
- Thomas Jablowsky, Christians are appointed by Christ himself. To take seriously the calling of the individual for his or her engagement in church and society. Interview with Hans Fellner (= interview 05/2011), in: Gemeinde Creativ, issue 5, 2011 available online ( Memento from June 15, 2014 in the web archive archive.today )
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ professional profiles - Federation of Evangelical Free Churches in Germany Kdö.R. In: baptisten.de. Retrieved September 16, 2019 .