Pastorální teologie včera, dnes a zítra – Opatrný Aleš (2023)

Aleš Opatrný's book primarily focuses on the present of pastoral practice. It is based on the conviction that the task of pastoral care is not merely to repeat correct principles and apply them to people's lives, but to understand the lives of contemporaries and to bring the gospel closer in various situations. Selected topics, such as the situation of Christians in contemporary Euro-American civilization, the area of family and education, and the ongoing task of Christians to deepen their Christian identity while being able to live in plurality, are addressed with regard to the new pastoral paradigm. The closing off into a shell, solving the present and future by returning to the past, and confusing the real world with an ideal world that one can wish for, but which will only be fully realized with the second coming of Christ, are explicitly rejected. Insights into the pastoral situation in selected areas are not solutions but aim to provide stimuli for reflecting on real situations in a manner corresponding to both the content of the Christian faith and the needs and possibilities of today’s Christians.