Rodzina jako podmiot duszpasterstwa w świetle programów duszpasterskich Episkopatu Polski

Abstract

The question of lay people as the subjects of the pastoral care of the Church extends also to the family. The foundation for perceiving all lay faithful as well as individual families as subjects can be found in the dignity of the human being, which nowadays is commonly recognized by the society and also by the Church. This article presents first the issue of the subject of pastoraI care in general, then the question of lay people as subjects in the pastoral care, and finally these basic considerations are followed by the discussion of families as subjects in the pastoral care based on the pastoral programs of the Polish episcopate. An analysis of the programs clearly points to the fulfillment of the subject of the pastoral care most fully through the prophetic function, i.e. in education. lt was here that the Church understood as and represented by the priests was to assist the family in the task of educating the new generation. It is worth noticing that in the pastoral programs the family does not appear as the full subject of these in itiatives, it is often seen as the object of the pastoral activity of the priests. However, a slow development towards recognizing the families as subjects in the Church could be observed.