ACTA MISSIOLOGICA. No. 2 Vol SPECIFIC TOPICS IN THE SOCIO-HEALTH AND THEOLOGICAL FIELD WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF CONNECTING THEM TO DIALOGUE

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1 Academic journal of St. John Paul II. Institute of Missiology and Tropical Health at St. Elizabeth University of Health and Social Sciences, Bratislava Slovakia No. 2 Vol ACTA MISSIOLOGICA ISSN: (online) ISSN: (print) Thematic focus of this issue: SPECIFIC TOPICS IN THE SOCIO-HEALTH AND THEOLOGICAL FIELD WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF CONNECTING THEM TO DIALOGUE

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACTA MISSIOLOGICA Peer-reviewed academic journal Our mission is to create an international platform for experts engaged in the area of Christian mission and missiology, charity, social, humanitarian and development work at the theoretical, research and application levels. The journal publishes a wide spectrum of articles relevant for education with special focus on helping professions in the above-mentioned areas. This area includes all educational, health, social and spiritual topics con nected to the missionary context. Published twice ayear ISSN: (online) ISSN: (print) The journal is indexed in the Web of Science database This issue was published in Bratislava on 15 th October 2019 Published by: St. John Paul II. Institute of Missiology and Tropical Health in Bratislava, Slovakia at St. Elizabeth University of Health and Social Science in Bratislava, Slovakia, (Polianky, Pod Brehmi 4/A, Bratislava, Slovakia) Company registration number: Editorial Office Katedra misiológie, Polianky, Pod Brehmi 4/A, Bratislava, Slovakia Correspondence address Katedra misiológie, VŠZSP sv. Alžbety, P.O.Box 104, Bratislava, Slovakia phone no.: amredakcia@gmail.com Journal web site Guarantors of No. 2, Vol. 13, 2019 issue doc. PaedDr. Martin Dojčár, PhD. Faculty of Education of Trnava University in Trnava (SK); Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research (MN, US) dr. hab. Marek Rembierz, Uniwersytet Śląski w Katowcach, (Katowice, PL) prof. PhDr. Pavol Dancák, PhD. Greek-Catholic Theological Faculty of University of Presov in Presov (SK); The Catholic University of America, Washington (US); The Jan Dlugosz University in Czestochowa (PL) Guarantor of No. 2, Vol. 13, 2019 issue reviewers prof. Dr.med. Claus Muss Ph.D.,I-GAP, Rresearch centre, Vienna (AT) Editor in chief prof. PhDr. Ing. Ladislav Bučko, PhD. Executive editor and contact person Mgr. Mariana Hamarová amredakcia@gmail.com; hamarova.mariana@gmail.com Editorial board Prof. PhDr. Ing. Ladislav Bučko, PhD., St. Elizabeth University, (Bratislava, SK); St. Maximilian Kolbe Institut House of Hope, (Phnom Phen, KH), Dr. h. c. Prof. MUDr. Vladimír Krčméry, DrSc. Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine Comenius Univesity in Bratislava (Bratislava, SK); Public Health MSc programme SAAaRMM, (Kuala Lumpur, MY), Prof. Dr. Roberto Cauda, Ph.D. Institute of Infectious Diseases Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, (Rome, IT), Dr. Johnson Nzau Mavole, Ph.D., Catholic university of Eastern Africa, (Nairobi, KE), Prof. Dr. Selvaraj Subramanian, Ph.D. president of SAAaRMM, (Kuala Lumpur, MY), Prof. Robert J. Schreiter, C.PP.S, Catholic Theological Union, (Chicago, US), Prof. zw. dr hab. Pawel S. Czarnecki, Ph.D., Warsaw Management University, (Warsaw, PL), Mgr. Pavol Bargár, M.St., Th.D., Charles University, (Prague, CZ), Doc. Peter Caban, Karl-Franzes Universität, (Graz, AT), Prof. MUDr. Jaroslav Slaný, CSc., Trnava University, (Trnava, SK), Dr. Michael Costello, MA, MBA, J.D., University of scranton school of education, (Scranton, Pensylvánia, US), Doc. PaedDr. PhDr. ThDr. Pavol Tománek, PhD., St. Elizabeth University, (Bratislava, SK), Doc. Prof. RNDr. Pavel Nováček, CSc., Palacký University Olomouc, (Olomouc, CZ), Prof. Dr. Ivan Dacko, Ukrainian Catholic University, (Lviv, UA), Doc. PhDr. Ondrej Botek, PhD., Trnava University, (Trnava, SK), PhDr. Monika Nová, PhD., Charles University, (Prague, CZ), Prof. Todd M. Johnson, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, (South Hamilton, MA, US), Prof. PhDr. Mária Šmidová PhD., Trnava University, (Trnava, SK), Doc. PhDr. Ludmila Muchová, PhD., University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice, (CZ), Doc. ThDr. David Tonzar, Th.D., Hus Institute for Theological Studies, (Prague, CZ), Mgr. Mariana Hamarová, St. Elizabeth University, (Bratislava, SK), Graphical editors Peter Vančo, Peter Bendl, Retouch Slovakia Graphical layout cover: Peter Bendl, Retouch Slovakia Graphical adjustments and pre-printing: Peter Vančo Graphical layout cover: The work of God s mission in the world through dialogue (between God and human beings) The authors of the painting is graphic designers: Peter Bendl, Retouch Slovakia; Ján Zajac, Rabbit studio Slovakia Linguistic editing and proofreading Mgr. Mariana Hamarová, John Michael Zawistowski TABLE OF CONTENTS EDITORIAL... 6 LATIN AMERICAN LIBERATION THEOLOGY AND INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE Tim Noble... 8 DIALOGUE BETWEEN EASTERN AND WESTERN CHRISTIANITY SHOULD BE OUR MENTALITY Daniela Brůhová, Ivana Noble, Kateřina Kočandrle Bauer, Robert Svatoň, Viorel Coman, Jaromír Štětina, Libor Dvořák HUGO MAKIBI ENOMIYA-LASSALLE, SJ: A PIONEER OF THE DIALOGUE OF SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE Martin Dojčár THEOLOGY OF THE LAITY ACCORDING TO ST. LEO THE GREAT AND ST. GREGORY THE GREAT AS A PART OF THE DIALOGICAL PERCEPTION OF THE ROLE OF THE LAITY IN THE CONTEMPORARY CHURCH Miloš Lichner BEAUTY AS A WAY OF COMMUNICATING THE REVELATION OF GOD Veronika Iňová DIALOGUE AND SOLIDARITY AS A BASIS FOR ADDRESSING THE CURRENT MIGRATION CRISIS Pavol Dancák THE CONTRIBUTION OF RELIGIOUS PILGRIMAGE IN THE SPACE FOR DIALOGUE Peter Caban THE INFLUENCE OF THE EVANGELIZATION BY THE SURF CHURCH PORTO CHRISTIAN SURFING COMMUNITY ON GENERATIONS Y AND Z: OPPORTUNITIES FOR DIALOGUE WITH A POTENTIAL TO MAKE EVANGELIZATION IN GENERAL MORE ATTRACTIVE András Szabó, Ladislav Bučko THE ELEMENT OF DIALOGUE PRESENT IN EVANGELIZATION EVANGELIZATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE BY YOUNG PEOPLE; RESEARCH ON VIEWS OF THE CATHOLIC YOUTH ON EVANGELIZATION, THEIR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND ENGAGEMENT IN THE AREA OF EVANGELIZATION Igor Kráľ UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS APPROACH TO MARRIAGE AND FORMS OF COHABITATION AS THE STARTING POINT TO INITIATE DIALOGUE ON TRADITIONAL FAMILY VALUES Lýdia Lešková, Anton Fabian

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS THE IMPORTANCE OF CHRISTIAN UNITY AND FAMILY LINKED TO SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE S MESSAGE FOR EDUCATION AND DIALOGUE Ján Ďačok, Urbanus Mwinzi Ndolo, Anton Lisnik, Jana Janičková, Renáta Jamborová, Stanislav Vojtko, Annamária Naddourová, Helena Lukianová, Mária Jakculiková THE TOPIC OF SIN IN SELECTED VIEWS OF PAUL THE APOSTLE AND THE OPENING OF A DISCUSSION WITHIN SPECIFIC DEMONSTRATIONS OF THE LOSS OF THE SENSE OF SIN Ján Mašán, Matias Siagian, Juraj Dolinský, Zofia Szarota, Monika Nová, Marek Heczei, Andrej Filipek, Milan Urbančok, Mária Nemčeková, Ivan Kráľ, Tomáš Jellúš TODAY S INFLUENCE OF THE APOSTLE PAUL ON THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO DIALOGUE Vlastimil Dufka, Emmanuel Janagan Johnson, Bernardo Ramirez, Šimon Marinčák, Bohdan Hroboň, Jozef Tiňo, Adrián Kacián, Jozef Kyselica, Kamil Koleják OPEN SPACE FOR A DIALOGUE ON THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE SECOND DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION ON FAMILY Jozef Žuffa, Roman Kollár HEALTH CARE OF SLOVAK HOMELESS IN THE PERIOD : A SPACE FOR A DIALOGUE IN INTERDISCIPLINARY COOPERATION AIMED AT EXAMINING ECONOMIC ASPECTS Martin Samohyl, Pavol Beno, Katarina Hirosova, Lubica Argalasova, Pavel Stukovsky, Lucia Ludvigh Cintulova, Jana Jurkovicova EARLY DETECTION OF ADVERSE THERAPY REACTIONS IN ORPHAN CHILDREN WITH AIDS (SHORT COMMUNICATION) Peri Haj Ali, Selvaraj Subramanian, Veronica Sladeckova, John Bzydzovsky, Barbara Durcova, Zuzana Kubalikova, Michael Olah, Ludmila Matulníkova, Vladimir Krcmery, Anton Doktorov, Anna Beresova, Ferdinand Kubik, Milan Fula, Jana Otrubova, Dagmar Helena Kalatova, Eva Kukuckova, Suzan Jurinova, Juraj Benca, Andrea Shahum, Leanghoin Hoin, Saoseng Seta MEDICAL ASSISTANCE IN DYING: THE CONFLICT BETWEEN THE PRINCIPLES OF AUTONOMY AND NON MALEFICENCE AND THE NEED FOR A DIALOGUE Michael M. Costello AUTHENTIC MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION IN THE PROCESS OF EDUCATION OF KIDS AT SCHOOLS: THE SEARCHING FOR ALTERNATIVES TO OPEN AND EFFECTIVE INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE LEADING TO NON-DEFORMED PERCEPTION OF MULTICULTURALISM Anna Árpová QUALITY IN LONG-TERM CARE: CENTRAL EUROPEAN PEOPLE-CENTRED ASSESSMENT PRINCIPLES AND THEIR CALLS FOR AN EFFICIENT INTERDISCIPLINARY DIALOGUE Mária Šmidová, Krzystof Adam Trebski, Mária Nemčíková THE IMPORTANCE OF DIALOGUE AND RESPECTING ANTHROPOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL ASPECTS IN THE EVANGELISATION OF ROMA Peter Vansač, Mária Belovičová DIALOGUE WITHIN THE SUPPORTING SCIENCES WITH AN EMPHASIS ON L.M.A.A. LITE AND MOVE TO ADVANCE IN AGE : A STAGE OF LIFE SPECIFIC AND AN INDICATION SPECIFIC INTERVENTION FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND HEALTHY EATING FOR OVERWEIGHT AND OBESE PEOPLE IN THE NEW EASTERN STATES OF GERMANY Carsten Wittling MOTIVATION TO VOLUNTEERING IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES Zuzana Kráľová, Denisa Jakubcová, Miroslav Takáč OPPORTUNITY FOR A DIALOGUE ON THE CURRENT DEPICTIONS OF HOLINESS: HUMANNESS AS AN IMAGE OF PROFANE HOLINESS IN THE WORKS OF MILAN RÚFUS Michaela Kušnieriková ESSAYS IN ECUMENICAL THEOLOGY I. AIMS, METHODS, THEMES, AND CONTEXTS. Ivana Noble LEIDEN BOSTON: BRILL ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS, 2018, VIII, 286 PP. ISBN Ján Mašán SULPICIUS SEVERUS ŽIVOT SVÄTÉHO MARTINA Z TOURS. [SULPICIUS SEVERUS THE LIFE OF ST MARTIN OF TOURS]. Miloš Lichner Trnava: Dobrá kniha, pp. ISBN Peter Caban KVALITA ŽIVOTA RODÍN S DIEŤAŤOM SO ŠPECIFICKÝMI POTREBAMI. [THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN LIVING WITH SPECIAL NEEDS]. Mária Šmidová, Margita Kollárová, Marek Šmid Trnava: Dobrá kniha, pp. ISBN Ladislav Pyšný REFLECTIONS ON THE CONFERENCE HOW DISCERNMENT BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL SHAPES THE DYNAMICS OF THE HUMAN JOURNEY Mireia Ryšková, Libor Ovečka THERE ARE SOME VALUES WORTH FIGHTING FOR YOUR ENTIRE LIFE : AWARDING OF THE HONORARY DEGREE OF DOCTOR HONORIS CAUSA Alžbeta Mrázová DIALOGUE LIES IN THE EFFORT TO LOOK AT THE WORLD THROUGH ANOTHER PERSON S EYES AN INTERVIEW Ladislav Šranko Reviews Interesting activities Interview 4 5

4 EDITORIAL EDITORIAL Dear Colleagues and Readers of Acta Missiologica, Today, we can understand dialogue at various levels. It has currently become almost a communicational aim per se in interpersonal, professional, and technical discourses. At the level of the communicational process in scholarship it offers opportunities for scholarly communication. It represents a method that can be used in any mode of scholarly communication to serve any of its aims. A new development in the increasing use of dialogue should be, therefore, viewed as part of scholarly communication as a whole. But what does this dialogue mean anyway? What forms will it adopt? What are its supposed consequences? There are certain disputes on this point due to the various understandings of dialogue, the context in which dialogue takes place, its aims, including both functional and conceptual, participants, and purpose. Based on these criteria we can, therefore, distinguish, for example, dialogue of persuasion, or dialogue as critical discussion, negotiation, dialogue of inquiry, dialogue of discussions, dialogue seeking information, eristic dialogue and its various combinations. 1 Regardless of the purpose of dialogue, correct dialogue is one of the main means in searching for truth and justice. Its lack, like the absence of quality, is one of the major problems of contemporary society, not only in a national but also a global context in public, social, political and religious life, including the life of the whole church community. It is precisely dialogue that has the potential to prevent the roots of many problems in these areas and keep peace among people because it aims at unity rather than victory. It concentrates on listening more than on speaking. In dialogue participants move from a way of thinking that is keen on convincing everybody else of one s own opinion to a way of thinking that asks the other what he or she thinks so that everybody can reach a better understanding. Dialogue is rooted in the conviction that if its participants feel they have been listened to, they will be more willing to listen. This opens space for new opportunities. As a result of their participation in dialogue, for example, the attitudes of laypeople vis-à-vis scientists may be more positive, with the views of both groups possibly even converging on some issues. Several research projects have shown that laypeople increased their communicational self-efficacy after having experienced dialogue with scientists. 2 To achieve such an effect in dialogue, it is necessary that dialogue is always personal, open-hearted, intimate, and realistic. As a result, dialogue is not a mere exercise in dialectics. Rather, it is a dialogical way of getting along with one another; it is dialogical coexistence. 3 The present issue of Acta Missiologica follows from the idea by important Christian theologian and scholar of religion Raimon Panikkar who had, thanks to his vast knowledge of both the Western philosophical tradition and Eastern philosophical and spiritual traditions, an extraordinary ability to be involved in inter-religious and inter-philosophical dialogue, including dialogue at the international level. The articles, book reviews, reports, and interview published in this issue explore dialogical coexistence and opportunities and relationships that lead thereto. It is also for this reason that the theme of the issue deals with specific topics in the socio-medical and theological fields with the possibility of connecting them to dialogue. The present issue considers these interconnections with dialogue as well as the up-to-now unused contribution dialogue can make in this regard in the broadest possible contexts. The part of the issue dedicated to theology presents articles on inter-religious dialogue, dialogue between the East and the West, and the contribution dialogue makes in the evangelization of young people. The part dedicated to socio-medical studies offers articles on, for example, the significance of education in multiculturalism in schools which is devoid of the deformed perception of multiculturalism, the quality of long-term care of the ageing population in regard to the Central European evaluation principles focused on people, a healthy lifestyle, medical care for homeless people in Slovakia, medical assistance in dying, the principles of non-involvement in evil, motivation to voluntary service in developing countries, Roma issues, and migration. The articles from the perspective of these disciplines look for space and opportunities, or even go as far as trying to create new opportunities, to apply the as of yet unexplored special emphases on dialogue in search of providing solutions to the recently emerged and unexplored issues and questions that the articles introduce. The book reviews, reports, and interview are focused, inter alia, on dialogue that respects human life, as embodied in one s choice between good and evil, and seeks to interpret saintly life that has a potential to inspire young generations in the future. Furthermore, it focuses on the following important questions: how to support and enhance inter-religious dialogue; what forms dialogue between the Christian East and West ought to adopt; what place there is for dialogue today; what applications dialogue can find in today s Europe, for example, with respect to the migration crisis that must inevitably address, among other things, the many challenges Islam poses; and in what ways dialogue can make a contribution to the quality of life for people with special needs and their families. It is precisely the under-explored and idiosyncratic means of dialogue that are discussed in this issue of Acta Missiologica. This provides new and previously unused opportunities for further research, reflection, and scholarly discussion as well as inspiring impulses for further work of experts and researchers involved in theological, social, and medical disciplines. Dialogue aims at seeking relationship and truth. In addition to inspiration for work, therefore, its potential inevitably finds an expression also in the personal and spiritual growth of not only theologians but also professionals in auxiliary disciplines. Guarantors for this issue doc. PaedDr. Martin Dojčár, PhD. Faculty of Education of Trnava University in Trnava (SK); Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research (MN, US) dr. hab. Marek Rembierz, Uniwersytet Śląski w Katowcach, (Katowice, PL) prof. PhDr. Pavol Dancák, PhD. Greek-Catholic Theological Faculty of University of Presov in Presov (SK); The Catholic University of America, Washington (US); The Jan Dlugosz University in Czestochowa (PL) Editorial 1 Walton, Douglas and Krabbe, Erik C. W. Commitment in Dialogue: Basic Concepts of Interpersonal Reasoning. Albany: State University of New York Press, Zorn, Theodore E. Juliet Roper, C. Kay Weaver. Influence in science dialogue: Individual attitude changes as a result of dialogue between laypersons and scientists. Public Understanding of Science 21, no. 7 (2012): Pinchas, Lapide and Panikkar, Raimundo. Míníme téhož Boha? Praha: Vyšehrad,

5 LATIN AMERICAN LIBERATION THEOLOGY AND INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE TIM NOBLE LATIN AMERICAN LIBERATION THEOLOGY AND INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE* 1 Tim Noble 2 Protestant Theological Faculty of Charles University in Prague (CZ) Submitted: 19 April 2019 Accepted for publication: 8 October 2019 First published: 15 October 2019 Acta Missiologica No. 2 Vol Abstract Background: It has been some fifty years since the beginnings of Latin American Liberation Theology. Even though interreligious dialogue was not part of the original discussion, it has been recently regarded as an issue of higher importance. Therefore, the article explores why this is the case and what specific views Latin American Liberation Theology offers, while pointing out the importance of this phenomenon with respect to mission. The article follows from the questions formulated by José Comblin, namely: Who is engaged in dialogue with whom?, What is the aim of dialogue?, and How do we understand the term religion? Furthermore, it considers the potential for the particular and specific contributions of Liberation Theology to the issues related to interreligious dialogue and the theology of religions. Conclusion: Coming to his conclusion, the author suggests two relevant and interrelated points that might significantly help towards initiating a discussion on Latin American Liberation Theology, thus, at the same time, supporting interreligious dialogue. While the first point concerns the nature or personality of dialogue participants, the second point represents dialogue with marginalized groups of people. The article is an introductory study with the potential to seek additional points of departure for stimulating and very relevant dialogue in this field. As a framework, I use questions suggested by José Comblin, among the first liberation theologians, who came to reflect on the issue of the theology of religions in a Latin American context. 3 Comblin asks: who is dialoguing with whom, what is the aim of dialogue, and what do we understand by religion? It will also be necessary to consider what the specific contributions of liberation theology may be to the question of inter-religious dialogue and the theology of religions. Here I will concentrate on the way in which liberation theology puts the question of the agent at the centre of theology. It does this in two ways. First, it insists on the primacy of the poor, so that any question about dialogue is about the dialogue of and between the poor (not about the poor). And second, it is precisely a question of agency, or in the Greek formulation, of orthopraxis. So dialogue is a praxis, and although liberation theology has not been alone in seeing this, it arguably helped set the context out of which such an approach became possible. But now let me set the scene by giving some historical context. The Absence and Presence of Dialogue in Early Liberation Theology Latin American liberation theology began as a protest and an affirmation: a protest against the social situation of millions of Latin Americans and an affirmation that in this situation of poverty, exclusion and oppression, God was present and had a word of liberation. This background raises immediately two relevant considerations. First, Latin America was, in the late 1960s, a predominantly Roman Catholic continent, with some 95% of the population claiming adherence to the Roman Catholic Church. 4 Thus, in a time of urgency, theologians felt no need to engage in what would have seemed contextually a rather abstract area of theological discussion, especially as Nostra Aetate, Vatican II s Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions, had yet to influence the broader theological world. 5 As an indication of this, a brief survey of the indices of some key texts in liberation theology, such as Gustavo Gutiérrez s A Theology of Liberation 6 or the two-volume work edited by Jon Sobrino and Ignacio Ellacuría, Mysterium Liberationis, 7 shows no mention of the word dialogue. In itself, of course, this proves very little, but especially in the lat- Keywords: Latin American. Liberation Theology. Inter-religious Dialogue. Mission. Marginalized groups. Introduction It is now some fifty years since the beginnings of the theology of liberation in Latin America. Although, for reasons I discuss briefly below, the theme of inter-religious dialogue was not part of the initial discussions, more recently it has come to be seen as an important theme. My aim in this article is to reflect on why this is the case and what particular insights Latin American liberation theology has to offer and the significance of this for reflection on mission. I begin with examining why inter-religious dialogue was not a question for the first Latin American liberation theologians, before looking at how and why this has changed. * This study is part of a research project entitled Latin American Liberation Theology: Prospects and Challenges, (GAČR S), funded by the Czech Science Foundation. Contact on author: Doc. Tim Noble Ph.D, timnobleprague@gmail.com Contact on author: Doc. Tim Noble Ph.D, timnobleprague@gmail.com 3 See José Comblin, A teologia das religiões a partir da América Latina, in Luiza E. Tomita, Marcelo Barros and José María Vigil (eds.), Pluralismo e Libertação. Por uma Teologia Latino-Americana Pluralista a partir da Fé Cristã (São Paulo: Loyola, 2005), The publication is from just after the election of Cardinal Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI, which may explain the anger and despair that marks this chapter, not one of Comblin s best. 4 See, for example, Rodolfo de Roux López, Los inciertos parajes de una nueva geografía religiosa en América Latina, L Ordinaire latino-américain (2005), 61 70, at On Nostra Aetate, see Pim Valkenberg and Anthony Cirelli (eds.), Nostra Aetate. Celebrating Fifty Years of the Catholic Church s Dialogue with Jews and Muslims (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2016). On the history of the document, see in this same book Pim Valkenberg, Nostra Aetate: Historical Contingency and Theological Significance, Gustavo Gutiérrez, A Theology of Liberation. History, Politics and Salvation (London: SCM, 1988), Revised Edition. For this revised edition, written to commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of the book s first publication (in Spanish in 1971), Gutiérrez wrote a long introduction, in which he notes the importance of dialogue with members of EATWOT (the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians, more on which below), but this is in the context of a more nuanced understanding of who the poor are see ibid., xxiii. 7 Jon Sobrino and Ignacio Ellacuría, Mysterium Liberationis: conceptos fundamentales de la teología de la liberación, 2 vols., (San Salvador, UCA Editores, 1992). Ignacio Ellacuría was killed, along with five fellow Jesuits, their housekeeper and her daughter, in November Their killers, people attached to the Salvadoran military and government, acted against them because of the involvement of Ellacuría and a number of his fellow 8 9

6 LATIN AMERICAN LIBERATION THEOLOGY AND INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE TIM NOBLE ter work, it is a noteworthy omission, because it demonstrates that in the mid-1980s, the question of dialogue, with other Christians or other religions or people of no faith, was not an intrinsic part of the mind-set of liberation theologians. Nevertheless, and this is the second point, if such specific dialogue was not part of liberation theology, it began as a theology in dialogue with world around it. An important influence was the Second General Conference of the Episcopal Council of Latin America (CELAM), held in the Colombian city of Medellín in 1968, which aimed precisely at being an incarnation of the documents of Vatican II, especially Gaudium et spes, in the Latin American context. This necessitated an encounter a dialogue between the Church in Latin America and the world around it, a response to the joys and sorrows, hopes and anguish of the people of Latin America. In addition, an integral part of the method of liberation theology was a form of dialogue the See part of the famous See Judge Act methodology with the social sciences, even if the word itself was not employed. 8 How Dialogue Became a Theme in Latin American Liberation Theology As a contextual theology that seeks to respond to the situation in which it finds itself, it is not altogether surprising that liberation theology has undergone a number of developments over the past fifty years. These have occurred for a number of reasons, frequently through interactions with others. An important early impetus came from the growth of the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians (better known by its acronym EAT- WOT), founded in Through this group of theologians from across the world, Latin American theologians came into contact not only with an increasing number of Christians from other denominations, 10 but also with the importance in Asia of dialogue with other majority religious traditions, Buddhism, Hinduism and to a lesser degree Islam. For this reason, and because of growing awareness of the actual diversity of religion in Latin America, 11 over the past couple of decades inter-religious dialogue has become an increasingly important theme for liberation theologians. In part this may be the influence of other theologies, not only from Asia and Africa, but also from Europe and North America, all contexts where the question of the meaning and significance of the religious other has Jesuits in dialogue aimed at ending the country s horrendous civil war. Thus, at a broader level, a dialogical stance was present from the beginning. Jon Sobrino was part of the community, but was lecturing in Thailand on Christology at the time of the killings. 8 The major work on the methodology of liberation theology is Clodovis Boff, Theology and Praxis: Epistemological Foundations (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1987), original Portuguese Boff speaks of mediations, rather than dialogue. 9 It is also known under its Spanish acronym as ASETT (Asociación Ecuménica de Teólogos/as del Tercer Mundo). On ASETT / EATWOT and its early history, see M. P. Joseph, Theologies of the Non-Person. The Formative Years of EATWOT (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015). 10 Early liberation theology was notably ecumenical, with the presence of people such as Beatriz Melano Couch ( ), born in Uruguay, a Methodist theologian who was one of the first Latin America women to gain a doctorate in theology (perhaps the first, certainly the first Protestant) and many others. 11 Bolivian Jesuit René Cardozo SJ, Diálogo inter-religioso e pueblos indígenas, cpal/ palabra-de-la-cpal/dialogo-inter-religioso-y-pueblos-indigenas/ (accessed February 2, 2019), says that it is reckoned that there are some 300 indigenous groups in Latin America, numbering over 20 million people. The degree to which they retain their traditional religions varies, though traditional elements are certainly present in many peoples. There is also, especially in Brazil, the presence of large numbers of people with African ancestry, some of whom are members of different Afro-Brazilian religions, such as Candomblé or Umbanda. some claim to be one of the key areas of debate in contemporary theology 12 and certainly in contemporary missiology. 13 Apart from this, there has been a growing sensitivity in liberation theology to difference. Much of what I say about inter-religious dialogue could be said about other areas of theology, such as the place of women in discourse about God and church, or questions of race, and perhaps more recently questions of violence. 14 Attention to difference has also allowed liberation theologians to appreciate its potential contributions. Part of this stems from the appropriation of the work of Emmanuel Levinas. 15 It is perhaps worth noting in this regard that one of the first Latin Americans to work with Levinas was Enrique Dussel, who had spent some time on a kibbutz as a young man and wrote on the importance of Jewish thought for Christianity. 16 Who dialogues with whom? Among the first writers to turn their attention to the question of inter-religious dialogue in Latin America was the Brazilian Jesuit, Mario de França Miranda. He notes that one of the problems for inter-religious dialogue is what he terms the symbolic imaginary of Christianity, influenced by the superiority complex of European colonialism, which thus has tended to undervalue the other. 17 Thus, one of the struggles that has occupied liberation theologians is how to bring into play another voice, another perspective. This perspective is, as is well-known, that of the poor. To reflect further on this context, we can remind ourselves of Karl Marx s famous comments on religion in his A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel s Philosophy of Right. Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people. 12 See David Brockman, No Longer the Same. Religious Others and the Liberation of Christian Theology (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011). Chapter 6 (pages ) is on Gustavo Gutiérrez. Though sympathetic to the liberation approach, Brockman is critical of Gutiérrez for dealing only with Christian sources. Brockman claims, Gutiérrez s own theological discourse shows that a theology that begins with what Christians know in this case, poor and oppressed Christians can only end with what Christians know. (123). This is true in as far as it goes Gutiérrez writes as a Christian theologian, from therefore a limited perspective. Whether this is fatal to the possibility of encountering and being transformed by the other is the question under discussion, and it is an important one also for missiology. 13 To note just one fairly recent collection, from the excellent Regnum Edinburgh Centenary Series, Marina Ngursangzeli Behera (ed.), Interfaith Relations after One Hundred Years. Christian Mission among Other Faiths (Oxford: Regnum Books, 2011). 14 These are issues that are picked up in a splendid little book by the Brazilian theologian, Maria Clara Bingemer, Latin American Theology. Roots and Branches (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2016). Alongside inter-religious dialogue, she also draws attention to gender, human rights, ecology and in her conclusion to the question of violence. 15 On this see in much more detail, Tim Noble, Liberation Theology and the Poor. Pathway to God or Ideological Construct? (Abingdon: Routledge, 2014). 16 See, for instance, Enrique Dussel, El humanismo semita. Estructuras intencionales radicales del pueblo de Israel y otros semitas (Buenos Aires: Editorial Universitaria de Buenos Aires, 1969). 17 See Mario de França Miranda, As religiões na única economia salvífica, in José Trasferetti and Paulo Sérgio Lopes Gonçalves (eds.), Teologia na Pós-modernidade. Abordagens epistemológica, sistemática e teórico-prática (São Paulo: Paulinas, 2003), , esp

7 LATIN AMERICAN LIBERATION THEOLOGY AND INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE TIM NOBLE The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness. To call on them to give up their illusions about their condition is to call on them to give up a condition that requires illusions. The criticism of religion is, therefore, in embryo, the criticism of that vale of tears of which religion is the halo. 18 The important point here is not whether Marx is right, nor even what Marx thought of religion. Rather it is to acknowledge that the meaning of religion and the meaning of dialogue depends very much on who is engaged in it and why. Even if Marx wants to claim that religion is ultimately illusory, he also recognises that the lives of the poor are structured in such a way as to make this illusion necessary. Liberation theologians would deny that faith is illusory, of course, but would agree that the structures of societies are experienced in a radically different way depending on whether one is in a position of power or a position of exclusion. 19 To argue that religion must be seen from the perspective of the poor can, though, run the risk of making the poor a permanent category for you always have the poor with you (Mt 26:11), a phrase that critics of liberation theology like to employ against it. However, although in a world marked by sin it may be actually true that the poor will always be present, liberation theologians want to claim always that the poor do not exist to provide a category for judging the validity of a religion or for any other reason. Impoverishment is not God s will. To modify the well-known phrase from Mark (Mk 2:27), religions arose for humankind, not humankind for religions. Or more specifically still, we could say that for liberation theology in a way religions exist for the poor. Thus, at least for Christians, Christianity and other religions are precisely the voice of criticism, the voice that cries out, with the prophet Micah, against those who devise wickedness and evil deeds on their beds!... They covet fields, and seize them; houses, and take them away; they oppress householder and house, people and their inheritance. (Mic 2:1 2). It is this concentration on the centrality of the poor as the subject of theology that has led to the insistence on the importance of who dialogues. José Comblin, to whom I referred in the introduction, contends that the question of who is engaged in dialogue, is central. The problem, as he sees it, is that those who are often used to represent Christianity in dialogue are too embedded in the structures of power. 20 But he wants to argue that true dialogue is between people, when they begin to live together, comparing their religions and inevitably having a mutual influence on each other. 21 This in turn raises the question about what dialogue is. 22 As Comblin seems to understand it, it is a form of what the German missiologist Theo Sundermeier calls Konvivenz, a living 18 Karl Marx, A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel s Philosophy of Right. I take the text from marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1843/critique-hpr/intro.htm (accessed February 2, 2019,) The quotation begins with the fourth paragraph of the Introduction. Italics are in the original. 19 The sterile debate over whether liberation theology is unduly influenced by Marxism is not something I will look at. Briefly, it is not. To the extent that it uses (misuses) elements of Marxist analysis, it can be criticised, though not for being Marxist but for both how appropriate the tools are and how well they are used. 20 See Comblin, A teologia das religiões a partir da América Latina, Comblin, A teologia das religiões a partir da América Latina, This is a question I have heard from the British Jesuit, Michael Barnes, a leading expert on interreligious encounters. See, for example, Michael Barnes SJ, Interreligious Learning. Dialogue, Spirituality and the Christian Imagination (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012). together that is in itself a form of witness. 23 Because the prefix dia implies some kind of mediation, this is certainly one way of understanding dialogue, but clearly it is not the only one, and nor is it what most people have in mind when they think about dialogue. Comblin argues that it is this living together (which of course includes, but is not limited to conversation or the mediation of language) that will help achieve the end of dialogue [which] is the common search for the ultimate truth about life, the human being and reality. 24 But ultimately this teleological reading of dialogue takes us back to the question of who is engaged in dialogue. At least for Comblin, the kind of institutional religious functionaries who he clearly despises will engage in dialogue as a means of maintaining the status quo, which means remaining in positions of power and strengthening the structures of power. But when ordinary people engage in dialogue, they will, he hopes, be led by this desire to discover the truth, which for Christians will mean to discover a Christ free of the shackles of the church. 25 Leaving aside the obvious dangers of over-romanticising attached to this position, it does at least tie in with another key interest of Comblin, which is the importance not simply of liberation but also of freedom. 26 To engage in dialogue is, for the poor, more than to complain about those in power; it is itself part of the road to liberation and in itself it is an experience of freedom. The shared experience of many in Latin America is, unlike in Europe or Asia, not primarily with Muslims, Buddhists or Hindus, but with indigenous people or those with African roots. Thus interreligious dialogue, however it is understood, has focused more directly on these encounters. As in many other dialogues, a key question has been how to talk about and understand the role of Jesus Christ. 27 At one level, this is a problem for theologians, and not for ordinary people who are often capable of holding a very complex set of beliefs which from the positions of religious orthodoxy would appear incompatible. 28 But perhaps even more it points to the relational nature of faith, and thus the relational nature (dialogue) of discourses about and between adherents of different faiths. The answer to the question Who do you say I am? is a fundamentally relational one, in the gospel accounts ( John the Baptist, Elijah, one of the prophets, the Anointed One, 23 See Theo Sundermeier, Konvivenz und Differenz: Studien zu einer verstehenden Missionswissenschaft (Erlangen: Verlag der Ev.-Luth. Mission, 1995). Konvivenz is basically a transliteration / slight Germanizing of the Spanish convivencia (convivência in Portuguese), which can be translated as co-existence. It is a phrase that is used by some historians to talk about the alleged peaceful presence in Muslim Spain of Muslims, Jews and Christians (alleged because other historians deny this was the case). But for Sundermeier the idea comes from contemporary Latin America. 24 Comblin, A teologia das religiões a partir da América Latina, The echoes of Dostoevsky s Grand Inquisitor are probably not accidental. 26 Made clear in the English title of a book he wrote in the late 1990s, José Comblin, Called for Freedom: The Changing Context of Liberation Theology (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1998). The original Portuguese is Cristãos Rumo ao Século XXI: Nova Caminhada de Libertação (São Paulo: Paulus, 1996) Christians on the Way to the Twenty-First Century: A New Path of Liberation. But the English translation captures well a major theme of the book. 27 A leading writer on this theme is the Brazilian Benedictine, Marcelo Barros. See, for example, Marcelo Barros, Cristologia afro-latíndia: discussão com Deus, in Tomita, Barros and Vigil (eds.), Pluralismo e Libertação, The Portuguese neologism, afro-latíndia would be something like Afro-LatIndian or Afro-LatIndigenous in English. 28 Barros, in the article cited in the previous footnote, recalls hearing that the people in the North-East of Brazil considered Padre Cicero (a well-known saintly figure from the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, famed for his work for the poor) a member of the Trinity, because he gave his whole life to serving the poorest. Barros, Cristologia afro-latíndia,

8 LATIN AMERICAN LIBERATION THEOLOGY AND INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE TIM NOBLE the Son of the living God ), but also in the life of the believer. It demands a response, of acknowledgement, of rejection, of indifference, but always a response. Thus, liberation theology will not rest with what the church has to say, 29 but will seek out the implications of belief for the transformation of the lives of the poor, oppressed and excluded. And the poor, oppressed and excluded are already united through their experience, in a way that the oppressors and excluders are not. Thus the starting point for inter-religious or any other form of dialogue emerges from a lived experience, from a shared perspective. This is not to say that all those who are poor and oppressed and excluded will wish to engage in dialogue, or that they will be more open to the religious other. That is obviously not true, and not only because they are manipulated by people with other agendas, but also because they genuinely believe that the other is a threat, or is wrong. But at the same time, an experience of commonality does matter, as does the experience that there is a transcendent reality that can transform the world, however little and however slowly. As Marx put it, religious suffering implies real suffering and real protest against such suffering, which is also the hope that there is another way of living. In the words of José Maria Vigil, a Nicaraguan theologian, this passion for a liberative utopia is precisely the best of religion when it is not abused and betrayed in an alliance against the poor. 30 From this perspective, there remains an important role for religion, or for religious believers, to speak from out of their perspective words of transformation. Why dialogue? Although I have already touched on this question in the preceding section, I want to return to it here in slightly more detail. Again, let us begin with Marx, the continuation of the quotation cited above: It is, therefore, the task of history, once the other-world of truth has vanished, to establish the truth of this world. It is the immediate task of philosophy, which is in the service of history, to unmask self-estrangement in its unholy forms once the holy form of human self-estrangement has been unmasked. Thus, the criticism of Heaven turns into the criticism of Earth, the criticism of religion into the criticism of law, and the criticism of theology into the criticism of politics. 31 This is one way of talking about the importance of context. Why one dialogues depends not only on whom one dialogues with but also on where one dialogues. And this specific location also influences the reasons for engaging in dialogue. Asian liberation theologians, such as Aloysius Pieris, have criticised the Latin Americans for being too focused on what might be called Western problems, 32 but this is really no more than repeating the mistake from the other perspective. Latin American theology has developed in an environment that is deeply marked by Christianity (for good and for ill), and it has to respond to that environment. Of course that is different to Asia and its questions are not Asian or African questions. But its perspective on dialogue must be one that comes from an engagement with its own context and develops out of its own reality. That this is perhaps too much bound up with European modes of thinking is something that Latin American thinkers are beginning to realise, 33 but responses to this problem will not be found elsewhere either. But what are these responses? As the Brazilian Religious Studies scholar, Faustino Teixeira, notes: There is no universal theology of religious pluralism, because every theological reflection implies a belonging to a particular faith. The path proposed here is inserted in the horizon of a Christian theological perspective, even if always open to a fuller global perspective. To the extent that such a reflection is always animated by a spirit of dialogue it implies a genuine sympathy and empathy for the universe of alterity. The exercise of a Christian theology of religious pluralism demands a dynamic of welcoming difference, something that presupposes a lively awareness of contingency and vulnerability. The great challenge of inter-religious dialogue is to recognise, without any restrictions, the irreducible and irrevocable character of the other interlocutor with whom one sets out in search of a mutual understanding and a reciprocal enrichment. 34 Teixeira, one of the leading figures in reflection on dialogue in Latin America, makes clear the complexities of the task. There is a plural understanding of pluralism and any dialogue happens from somewhere, between people who are united precisely in their shared otherness. 35 Such an encounter is always based on contingency and vulnerability on practical contingencies as well as existential ones. Thus there is the pragmatic question of who I can dialogue with, as well as recognising that much of what I might consider most fundamental to who I am is contingent on where I was born, my upbringing, people I have met, and so on. But there is also the question of the willingness to make oneself vulnerable, to be challenged, to not know the answers to questions, to be shaken as well as strengthened in one s beliefs. In an overview of the problems of the theology of liberation in regard to religious pluralism, Teixeira notes a point that as we have already seen. He comments on how its failure to deal positively with religion in general, and its (contextually partly understandable) lack of attention to other religions meant that it largely ignored the issue of religious pluralism in its early years. 36 For Teixeira, an important change occurred in the 1990s. He points to the emergence of the term macro-ecumenism, 37 when it was recognised that the people of 29 It may well be that many theological terms are to some extent empty signifiers. But at least theologically liberation theology would argue precisely that the Kingdom of God signifies a great deal opposition to the practices of the anti-kingdom, and a vision of the world that God wants. There is a very clear content, and attempts to muddy the waters are themselves precisely one of the practices of the anti-kingdom. 30 José Maria Vigil, Muitos pobres, muitas religiões. A opção pelos pobres: lugar privilegiado para o diálogo entre as religiões, Tomita, Barros and Vigil (eds.), Pluralismo e Libertação, 17 31, at Karl Marx, A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel s Philosophy of Right. I take the text from marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1843/critique-hpr/intro.htm (accessed February 2, 2019,) The quotation begins with the fourth paragraph of the Introduction. Italics are in the original. 32 Vigil, Muitos pobres, muitas religiões, On this, see Juan José Bautista S., Que significa pensar desde América Latina? (Madrid: Akal, 2014). 34 Faustino Teixeira, El desafío del pluralismo religioso a la teología latino-americana, in Luiza E. Tomita, Marcelo Barros and José María Vigil (eds.), Por los muchos caminos de Dios. Desafíos del pluralismo religioso a la Teología de la Liberación (Quito: Centro Verbo Divino / ASETT, 2003), , at I have discussed this in more detail in Tim Noble, Mission from the Perspective of the Other. Drawing Together on Holy Ground (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2018). 36 Teixeira, El desafío del pluralismo religioso a la teología latino-americana, For more on this, see José María Vigil, Macroecumenismo: teologia latino-americana das religiões, in Luiza E. Tomita, Marcelo Barros and José María Vigil (eds.), Pluralismo e Libertação. Por uma Teologia Latino-Americana Pluralista a partir da Fé Cristã (São Paulo: Loyola, 2005),

9 LATIN AMERICAN LIBERATION THEOLOGY AND INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE TIM NOBLE God are many peoples. 38 This recognition of what might be seen as a quasi-foundational diversity has led to a welcoming of otherness as expressive of what it is to be human. Very importantly for liberation theology, this has been linked with a focus on the Kingdom (or Reign) 39 of God. Teixeira says that the shared passion for the Kingdom, which calls for the exercise of alterity is also a call to radical dynamics of compassion, which seeks to affirm life and justice for all. 40 This commitment to the Kingdom, whilst it may at first sight seem to be an attempt to impose Christian categories on to other religions, has been important. For liberation theology, in the first place, it has been a way to move beyond the concrete reality of the church (and more specifically the Roman Catholic Church), with both its positives and its negatives, to (in a way literally) a realm where the focus is primarily on God and God s interaction with God s creation. In terms of inter-religious dialogue, this has meant that the need to restrict God s reign to a Christian world has been reduced God reigns over all of creation, something we are reminded of through the icon of the Pantokrator 41 found in most Orthodox churches. And, as another Brazilian writer on theology of religions notes, For Christians, the way in which the Kingdom of God is understood is directly the way in which Jesus Christ is understood. 42 The centrality of the Kingdom of God in liberation theology 43 has impacted on much of its thought, and so it is not surprising that authors such as Teixeira consider it important for theologies of religion, too. This choice further suggests that the partners of dialogue are not in the first place the churches. This is in part for the rather banal reason that it is not churches that dialogue or even religions that dialogue, but obviously their representatives and adherents. Hermeneutics reminds us that, however faithfully they may represent the written or oral texts and articulations of their faith, they do so always with the strengths and weaknesses of their own situations and backgrounds. Appeals to what all X (where X are members of a given religion) believe are really appeals to what Jacques Lacan called master signifiers. 44 These are the kind of ideas which cannot be defined because their strength is in having no content things like nations are an obvious example, where what it is to be 38 Teixeira, El desafío del pluralismo religioso a la teología latino-americana, The use of reign is more popular in many places today. Apart from its obviously more inclusive linguistic feel, it is employed to signify that the reign of God is not simply about a place but about an action, or interaction. Many problems have been caused by trying to reduce the Kingdom of God to a particular spatio-temporal reality, and reign seeks to avoid this. On the other hand, this is rather disingenuous, since the experience of God s reign can only happen in particular times and places, the contexts where we find ourselves. Even to say that the reign of God transcends these particularities (which is true) tends to have a spatial element what is transcended is precisely time and space. Nevertheless, the basic point is important, though here I will tend to use Kingdom. 40 Ibid., A favourite word in the Book of Revelation see esp. Rev 1:8: I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. 42 Rodrigo Drubi, O diálogo inter-religioso, in Ney de Souza (ed.), Temas de teologia latino-americano (São Paulo: Paulinas, 2007), , at 225. The inclusion of this chapter in the book, the title of which in English is Themes in Latin American Theology is indicative of the changes I have been noting in this article. 43 This is also the title of a chapter by Jon Sobrino, Centralidad del Reino de Dios en la teología de la liberación, in Sobrino and Ellacuría (eds.), Mysterium Liberationis I: Jacques Lacan, The Psychoses. The Seminar of Jacques Lacan. Book III Ed. Jacques-Alain Miller. Trans. and notes: Russell Grigg. (London: Routledge, 1993), 167 and 185, where he notes every real signifier is, as such, a signifier that signifies nothing. British, Czech, and so on, is necessarily an empty signifier, since there is no single definition and moreover could not be. But this means that dialogue does not seek to find answers or definitions, but rather brings the poor, the privileged addressees of the Kingdom, together. The Theology of Liberation and Religion Another area which is important for Comblin and other liberation theologians is the need to reflect on the role of religion. First, it should be remembered, as one recent writer on the topic has put it, that there are several theologies produced in Latin America, including several theologies of liberation, which emphasize this or that aspect, method, theme, or perspective. 45 In other words, there is no single undifferentiated theology of liberation, with a set understanding of religion or anything else for that matter. Instead, the theology of liberation is an excellent example of what, in the political sphere, Chantal Mouffe calls agonistics, a struggle between adversaries with whom there is a shared commitment to a way of life (in the political sphere, Mouffe says, democratic principles of liberty and equality for all ), but a widely differing (adversarial) interpretation of what they mean and how they are to be achieved. 46 There is a common agreement in theologies of liberation on the centrality of God s commitment to the excluded and marginalized, but not always unanimity about what that means in practice and how liberation is to be achieved. A first point of departure, in examining the role of religion, is the discussion around what is often called popular religion. 47 As Pedro Rubens Ferreira de Oliveira, a leading Brazilian writer on this topic, notes, popular here is not a class term, as it often is in liberation theology, since this kind of religion is found across social classes. 48 Oliveira argues that in Latin America, not only is popular Catholicism in the majority, but it retains the memory of the encounter of the Christian faith with the cultures. 49 And, although this is not part of his argument here, it is probably true of the various forms of Pentecostalism and neo-pentecostalism in many parts of Latin America, too. 50 Thus, inter-religious dialogue is not simply in a Latin American context a dialogue with people of an avowedly other religion (Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Animist, etc). It also involves, and arguably begins with a kind of internal dialogue, because many expressions of religiosity in the region are already the product of an encounter between Christianity and indigenous religions. Sometimes these lead to what are disparagingly called forms of syncretism, in which, for example, Catholic saints are given the characteristics and qualities of existing divine powers or expressions. 51 But of course, such an interpretation is to ignore the kind of intuitive appropriation that happens in practice. There is a Gadamerian fusion of 45 Paulo A. N. Baptista, Theology Facing Religious Diversity: The Perspective of Latin American Pluralist Theology, Religions 8/233 (2017); doi: /rel , page 2 of On this, see Chantal Mouffe, Agonistics. Thinking the World Politically (London: Verso, 2013), the quotation is at Religión popular in Spanish, religião popular in Portuguese. 48 Pedro Rubens Ferreira de Oliveira, Religiosité populaire, in Maurice Cheza, Luis Martínez Saavedra and Pierre Sauvage (eds.), Dictionnaire historique de la théologie de la libération: les thèmes, les lieux, les acteurs (Namur Paris: Éditions jésuites, 2017), , at Pedro Rubens Ferreira de Oliveira, Religiosité populaire, , at On this see also Pedro Rubens Ferreira de Oliveira, Discerner la foi dans des contextes religieux ambigus: Enjeux d une théologie du croire (Paris: CERF, 2004). 51 Oliveira, Religiosité populaire, , alludes to the Brazilian sociologist of religion, Thales de Azevedo, as an example of this

10 LATIN AMERICAN LIBERATION THEOLOGY AND INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE TIM NOBLE horizons going on, 52 however sub-consciously it may occur. Using Justin Martyr s idea of the seeds of the Word already present, 53 we can say that the horizon of the indigenous believers, with their often highly developed and sophisticated religious worldview, fuses with the horizon of the Christian worldview and the believer sees in Christianity expressions of a faith that she or he already holds. Christians would say that this is a fulfilment of that innate faith, but in a way that is not the point here dialogue begins with sharing, not with conclusions about the place of the other. This fusion of horizons is, moreover, one way of describing religion the fusing of the human horizon with the divine horizon. But the fusion of horizons is not a singular process. To gain a new insight into the world is to expand or at least alter one s horizons, and this new horizon can then be fused with another horizon, and so on. This hermeneutical process in some ways simply is what is going on in inter-religious dialogue, at least in the way in which that is understood by practitioners of what has been called comparative theology. 54 But for liberation theology the perspective from which the horizon is viewed is always crucial. The horizons of the person in the aeroplane and the person on the ground can fuse, but their perspectives are not the same. Another aspect that has been important for liberation theology is a growing awareness of both the reality and the positive nature of diversity and pluralism. As I have already noted on several occasions, the starting point was rather antagonistic to diversity, in that most of the diversity that liberation theologies saw was that of the oppressor (governments, business, conservative Catholics and Evangelicals), who supported the status quo. 55 Diversity is not, in this perspective, which echoes that of Mouffe, about a consensus in which everyone lives more or less happily alongside each other, but it is precisely about the acknowledgement of difference. Conflict need not arise, if the ground rules for encounter are also jointly accepted, but the problem for liberation theology is that these ground rules cannot be established by the powerful and the oppressors. Paulo Batista, a Brazilian writer on the theme of inter-religious dialogue, observes how liberation theology was challenged and transformed itself through its encounters with others. This is particularly notable in its engagement with ecological questions, with Leonardo Boff a leading figure. But the very fact of attending to the ecological crisis facing humanity necessitated an awareness of biodiversity as a fundamental part of creation. It is only because of difference that any given species can flourish and the ecosystem is a hugely complex bal- 52 See, for example, Hans Georg Gadamer, Truth and Method (London: Continuum, 2004), Second, Revised Edition, , 337, 370, See, for example, Justin Martyr, 2Apol 13.3, in The Writings of Justin Martyr and Athenagoras Ante-Nicene Christian Fathers II, (Trans: Marcus Dods, George Reith and Rev. B.P. Pratten) (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1909), 83, 78 and Denis Minns and Paul Parvis (eds. and trans.), Justin, Philosopher and Martyr: Apologies (Oxford Early Christian Texts) (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009). In this latter volume, the bilingual text of the thirteenth chapter of the Second Apology is on ; see also the editors comments in their introduction, See also on Justin s concept of logoi spermatikoi, Ivana Dolejšová (Noble), Accounts of Hope: A Problem of Method in Post modern Apologia (Bern: Peter Lang, 2000), and Ivana Noble, Theological Interpretation of Culture, See also Demetrios Trakatellis, The Pre-Existence of Christ in Justin Martyr: An Exegetical Study with reference to the Humiliation and Exaltation Christology (Missoula, MO: Scholars Press, 1976), See, for a programmatic statement, Francis Clooney, Comparative Theology: Deep Learning Across Religious Borders (Malden and Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010). 55 On this, see also Baptista, Theology Facing Religious Diversity, pages 6 and 7 of 13. ance of diversity. 56 Though it took liberation theologians some time to arrive at this juncture, it is at least a logical extension of the initial insights, since the poor (in Spanish and Portuguese pobres, a plural noun) have always been understood in relational terms. It is precisely the complex set of relationships among those who live in enforced poverty and between them and those who are the enforcers of poverty that has been at the centre of liberation theology since the beginning. In terms of Afro-Latin religions, 57 such as Candomblé, Santería or Vodou (Voodoo), there is a long tradition of relating to Jesus Christ. A Brazilian writer, Antônio Aparecido da Silva, explains it thus: The predilection for the figure of Jesus in such traditions cannot be reduced to the economy of salvation, not least because this is not so central. Jesus Christ is not, for example, purely and simply the same as the other divine manifestations expressed in the range of Orixás. 58 Jesus Christ brings something new, which is precisely the ability to overcome the aporias confronted in the diaspora, above all that of slavery. He forms, therefore, part of a new context in the face of new challenges. 59 But if this is who Jesus Christ is for practitioners of Afro-Latin religions, many of whom anyway are also Christians, then Jesus Christ will also be like this for others. The dialogue of life narrates, for people from different traditions, a story of hope and the possibility of transformation. Moreover, as da Silva points out, the African-heritage religions offer a way beyond what he terms personified messianism to seeing the messianic nature of the community as such. 60 Although it seems to me that Christians cannot stand back from the centrality of Jesus Christ for their own faith and religious worldview, the call here can be read as one to understand the living out of this faith in a much more dynamic communal manner. Perhaps we need to expand the metaphor of the body of Christ, even beyond Rahner s anonymous Christians. 61 For not only does the body needs its head, Christ, but it also needs other bodies, since nobody (no body) exists on its own, without relating to and being determined by other bodies, who provide it with food, language, meaning, love. 56 Ibid., pages 8 and 9 of 13. Baptista draws and expands on a phrase of Leonardo Boff the human being as a knot of relationships see, for example, Leonardo Boff, Jesus Christ Liberator. A Critical Christology for our Time (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1978), As is often the case, what term to use to describe these religions is complicated. Some really began in Latin America, others are probably more ancient, though even these changed with the encounter with Christianity. 58 These are the experienced divine realities of Candomblé and other Afro-Latin American religions, originating in Yoruba religious practices. 59 Antônio Aparecido da Silva, Pluralismo religioso y tradiciones afroamericanas in Tomita, Barros and Vigil (eds.), Por los muchos caminos de Dios, 61 75, at Antônio Aparecido da Silva, Pluralismo religioso y tradiciones afroamericanas, To condemn this as a form of Christian imperialism, as is often the case, is, it seems to me, spectacularly to miss Rahner s point. As is well-known Rahner himself was clear that his position is a Christian one, and he would expect others to see him as an anonymous X (Buddhist, Muslim, etc.). See on this The One Christ and the Universality of Salvation, in Karl Rahner, Theological Investigations Vol. 16 (London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 1979), , where he reports a conversation with Nishitani, the well known Japanese philosopher [ who] asked me: What would you say to my treating you as an anonymous Buddhist? I replied: certainly, you may and should do so from your point of view; I feel myself honoured by such an interpretation, even if I am obliged to regard you as being in error or if I assume that, correctly understood, to be a genuine Zen Buddhist is identical with being a genuine Christian, in the sense directly and properly intended by such statements

11 LATIN AMERICAN LIBERATION THEOLOGY AND INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE TIM NOBLE Conclusion What then can Latin American liberation theology bring to the debate about interreligious dialogue and what is the significance of this for mission? It seems to me that there are two related points, one being the nature of the participants of dialogue, and the other being to do with dialogue from the margins. The first of these is that encounter between religions can happen in various ways, which can be summed up as contact, conflict or cooperation. 62 But contact, conflict and cooperation occur between people, not between abstract concepts. It is only when people come together that interaction can occur, and as Emmanuel Levinas made so clear, to look into the face of the other is to confront the only one who can say Thou shalt not commit murder. And liberation theology will argue that it is particularly when the poor come together that creative liberative cooperation can take place. The poor are precisely those whose faces are ignored, at whom no one looks. But by coming together, from different traditions, different religions, and seeing in the face of the other a reflection of their own hardship and struggles, of their own dreams, hopes and triumphs, there is the possibility of recognising what unites, however differently it might be articulated. Those who have nothing, as Comblin reminded us, have nothing to defend. Linked to this is the desire to dialogue from the margins. Of course, in Latin America, Christianity is a massively majority religion. But liberation theology, with its emphasis on the marginalised (who are, let us not forget, also numerically a majority), seeks in developing a theology of religions precisely to give a voice to the most marginalised and their expression of faith. These include in most Latin American societies Indigenous peoples and people of African descent. Thus to dialogue with them is not a kind of patronising pat on the head, 63 but a commitment to letting their voice, their experience, their faith talk into the faith of Christians, bringing new insights and new ways for Christians to live out their faith. This is indeed to recognise the seeds of the Word already sown, but even more than sown to see that they have also grown and produced good fruit. To accept this is to accept also the need for what David Bosch famously called mission in bold humility. It does not require denying one s Christian faith, which would be a lack of respect for the faith of the other. But it does require recognising that one can and must learn from the other, for God is greater than any expression of faith in God, even if that faith is true, as Christians surely believe their faith is. It means bringing in love the gifts we have received, and receiving in love the gifts of the other. Of course we will not agree with each other in everything, perhaps we will not agree with each other in anything substantive, except the one thing that is necessary, staying at the feet of whatever name is given to the presence of the Transcendent in Christian terms, pitching our tent with God as God, in Jesus Christ, pitched his tent among us. 62 See on this Mario Apostolov, The Christian-Muslim Frontier: A Zone of Contact, Conflict or Cooperation (London: Routledge, 2004). A fourth C could be creativity, which is at least a key part of cooperation. 63 It seems to me that this is an always present danger, and I am not entirely convinced that it is always avoided. Bibliography Apostolov, Mario. The Christian-Muslim Frontier: A Zone of Contact, Conflict or Cooperation. London: Routledge, Barnes Michael. SJ, Interreligious Learning. Dialogue, Spirituality and the Christian Imagination. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Baptista, Paulo A. N. Theology Facing Religious Diversity: The Perspective of Latin American Pluralist Theology, Religions 8, no. 233 (2017); doi: /rel Behera Ngursangzeli. Interfaith Relations after One Hundred Years. Christian Mission among Other Faiths. Oxford: Regnum Books, Bingemer, Maria Clara. Latin American Theology. Roots and Branches. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, Boff and Clodovis. Theology and Praxis: Epistemological Foundations. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1987, original Portuguese Boff, Leonardo. Jesus Christ Liberator. A Critical Christology for our Time. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, Brockman, David. No Longer the Same. Religious Others and the Liberation of Christian Theology. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, Cardozo, René SJ, Diálogo inter-religioso e pueblos indígenas, palabra-de-la-cpal/dialogo-inter-religioso-y-pueblos-indigenas/ (accessed February 2, 2019.) Clooney, Francis. Comparative Theology: Deep Learning Across Religious Borders (Malden and Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, Comblin, José. A teologia das religiões a partir da América Latina, in Luiza E. Tomita, Marcelo Barros and José María Vigil (edited by Pluralismo e Libertação. Por uma Teologia Latino-Americana Pluralista a partir da Fé Cristã São Paulo: Loyola, Demetrios Trakatellis, The Pre-Existence of Christ in Justin Martyr: An Exegetical Study with reference to the Humiliation and Exaltation Christology. Missoula, MO: Scholars Press, Dussel, Enrique. El humanismo semita. Estructuras intencionales radicales del pueblo de Israel y otros semitas. Buenos Aires: Editorial Universitaria de Buenos Aires, Gadamer, Hans Georg. Truth and Method. London: Continuum, Gutiérrez Gustavo. A Theology of Liberation. History, Politics and Salvation London: SCM, (Revised Edition. For this revised edition, written to commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of the book s first publication (in Spanish in 1971). Joseph, M. P. Theologies of the Non-Person. The Formative Years of EATWOT. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, Lacan, Jacques. The Psychoses. The Seminar of Jacques Lacan. Book III edited by Jacques- Alain Miller. Trans. and notes: Russell Grigg. London: Routledge, Minns, Denis and Parvis, Paul. edited and translated, Justin, Philosopher and Martyr: Apologies. (Oxford Early Christian Texts). Oxford: Oxford University Press, Marx, Karl. A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel s Philosophy of Right. I take the text from (accessed February 2, 2019.) 20 21

12 DIALOGUE BETWEEN EASTERN AND WESTERN CHRISTIANITY SHOULD BE OUR MENTALITY DANIELA BRŮHOVÁ, IVANA NOBLE, KATEŘINA KOČANDRLE BAUER, ROBERT SVATOŇ, VIOREL COMAN, JAROMÍR ŠTĚTINA, LIBOR DVOŘÁK Mario de França Miranda, As religiões na única economia salvífica. In José Trasferetti and Paulo Sérgio Lopes Gonçalves edited by, Teologia na Pós-modernidade. Abordagens epistemológica, sistemática e teórico-prática. São Paulo: Paulinas, Mouffe, Chantal. Agonistics. Thinking the World Politically. London: Verso, Noble, Tim. Mission from the Perspective of the Other. Drawing Together on Holy Ground. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, Noble, Tim. Liberation Theology and the Poor. Pathway to God or Ideological Construct? Abingdon: Routledge, Noble, Ivana. Theological Interpretation of Culture in Post-Communist Context: Central and East European Search for Roots. London: Routledge, (Noble), Dolejšová Ivana. Accounts of Hope: A Problem of Method in Post modern Apologia. Bern: Peter Lang, Rahner, Karl. Theological Investigations Vol. 16. London: Darton, Longman and Todd, Rubens Ferreira de Oliveira, Pedro. Religiosité populaire, In Maurice Cheza, Luis Martínez Saavedra and Pierre Sauvage, edited by Dictionnaire historique de la théologie de la libération: les thèmes, les lieux, les acteurs. Namur Paris: Éditions jésuites, Sobrino, Jon and Ellacuría, Ignacio. Mysterium Liberationis: conceptos fundamentales de la teología de la liberación. 2 vols. San Salvador, UCA Editores, Souza de Ney. Temas de teologia latino-americano. São Paulo: Paulinas, Sundermeier, Theo. Konvivenz und Differenz: Studien zu einer verstehenden Missionswissenschaft. Erlangen: Verlag der Ev.-Luth. Mission, Teixeira, Faustino. El desafío del pluralismo religioso a la teología latino-americana. In Por los muchos caminos de Dios. Desafíos del pluralismo religioso a la Teología de la Liberación. edited by Luiza E. Tomita, Marcelo Barros and José María Vigil, Quito: Centro Verbo Divino / ASETT, Valkenberg Pim and Cirelli, Anthony, edited by Nostra Aetate. Celebrating Fifty Years of the Catholic Church s Dialogue with Jews and Muslims. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, DIALOGUE BETWEEN EASTERN AND WESTERN CHRISTIANITY SHOULD BE OUR MENTALITY Daniela Brůhová 1, Ivana Noble 1, Kateřina Kočandrle Bauer 2, Robert Svatoň 3, Viorel Coman 4, Jaromír Štětina, Libor Dvořák Protestant Theological Faculty of Charles University in Prague (CZ) 2 The Ecumenical Institute of the Protestant Theological Faculty of Charles University (CZ) 3 The Sts Cyril and Methodius Faculty of Theology of Palacký University Olomouc (CZ) 4 Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, KU Leuven (BE) Submitted: 3 December 2018 Accepted for publication: 23 August 2019 First published: 15 October 2019 Acta Missiologica No. 2 Vol Abstract Background: The article, in the form of a specific type of interview, is focused on dialogue between Eastern and Western Christians and the issue of their interaction in the present. Is it possible to really engage in converging dialogue or are we just widening the differences in this case? The article attempts to discover how to improve discussion on the relationship between the Christian East and West. The interview focuses on issues related to ecumenical theology and perspective, with questions across various spectra, and reflects on related issues which are very relevant to contemporary society (such as ecology, care for the poorest, struggle for the values of justice) and which, in some cases, may have a significant impact on its future direction (for example, President Putin s legacy that will remain in society and influence it wholly,, including the ecclesiastical community. The interview was led by Mgr. Daniela Brůhová, journalist, editor and presenter working in Czech Television, Czech Radio, TV Noe and also a postgraduate student at the Protestant Theological Faculty of Charles University in Prague. Several theologists from the younger generation and other interesting personalities have been invited to discuss where we can find common lines and still-emerging different elements; including theologists from the Ecumenical Institute of the Protestant Theological Faculty in Prague: prof. Ivana Noble (pastor of the Czechoslovak Hussite Church) and Mgr. Kateřina Kočandrle Bauer (Orthodox Church); from the Institute of Intercultural, Interreligious and Ecumenical Research and Dialogue of the Sts Cyril and Methodius Faculty of Theology of Palacký University Olomouc, theologist Robert Svatoň (Catholic Church); from the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, KU Leuven; the Department of Systematic Theology and Study of Religion, KU Leuven: Romanian theologist Viorel Coman Contact on author: Prof. Ivana Noble, PhD. noble@etf.cuni.cz Contact on author: Mgr. Kateřina Kočandrle Bauer, Th.D. katerinabauer3@gmail.com Contact on author: Mgr. Robert Svatoň, Th.D. robert.svaton@seznam.cz Contact on author: Dr. Viorel Coman viorel.coman@kuleuven.be Contact on author: Ing.Jaromír Štětina jaromir.stetina@europarl.europa.eu Contact on author: Libor Dvořák libor.dvorak@rozhlas.cz Contact on author: Mgr.Daniela Brůhová dbruhova@gmail.com 22 23

13 DIALOGUE BETWEEN EASTERN AND WESTERN CHRISTIANITY SHOULD BE OUR MENTALITY DANIELA BRŮHOVÁ, IVANA NOBLE, KATEŘINA KOČANDRLE BAUER, ROBERT SVATOŇ, VIOREL COMAN, JAROMÍR ŠTĚTINA, LIBOR DVOŘÁK (Orthodox); war journalist, writer, politician, and member of the European Parliament until 2019 Ing. Jaromír Štětina; journalist, Czech Radio commentator and translator from Russian, Libor Dvořák. Conclusion: In the conclusion, the article presents several applicable implications in relevant relation to the discussed issues. It also suggests some implications for possibilities of further investigation. Keywords: Christian East, West Dialogue Ecumenical Environment Social Issues Insights of Experts. Introduction Dialogue between various religions and cultures has been an important part of the debate in politics and culture, among specialists and among common people in private for a long time. In the present fast, restricted, ever-changing times, dialogue gains additional importance. Recent migrant waves invading Europe and America draw our attention with particular urgency, as there is a need to strengthen dialogue among various religions and traditions for such cultural transfer. The Central and Eastern European region is marked by the experience of totalitarianism, during which dialogue was not developed or even desirable. No wonder that the art of dialogue entering from various positions, with various approaches and concluded with new quality and deeper insights has been almost forgotten in the post-communist countries. Large demonstrations in almost all post-communist countries such as Poland and Hungary, but also Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova, and recently Slovakia and the Czech Republic, demonstrate the lack of dialogue. Russia is currently experiencing the same situation. Large gatherings of people receiving community-wide requirements show the absence of deeper, differentiated and developed dialogue in society. sation to a greater extent. Both are important: The pursuit of reconciliation and unification of the Christian Church (sensu stricto ecumenism) will finally lead us out of the historical dead end of hatred and misunderstanding. Sensu latorio ecumenism (the pursuit of reconciliation among churches in general) can stop the wave of future hatred and violence. We should bear in mind the fact that religions are currently engaged in all significant international conflicts. Religious reconciliation has become a political category. The clatter of weapons will not vanish without religious reconciliation. Belief in God makes one a better person, no matter which god it is, nor which liturgy accompanies the belief. Politicians should consider new approaches to the role of religion in the world s dialogue, it cannot be marginalized, and churches should be more aware of their moral and peace potential they can bring to dialogue. Libor Dvořák 67, a journalist specialising in Russia and a translator of Russian finds the development of the Orthodox Church in Russia during the past 30 years remarkable. According to him the Orthodox religion has become an integral part of the Russian national ideology. It is due to the current ruler of the Kremlin, who has been the leader of the country for 20 years. Of most importance is the message, which will remain after the end of Putin s rule, and which has an impact on the whole of society including the Church. The Russian national idea seems to incline more and more to paranoid mistrust in everybody, in great-russian chauvinism, in unjustified, nationally-based arrogance and the belief that Russia can essentially do whatever it wants on the world stage. This trend will not end after one politician leaves. It is likely that Putin s followers will be here for at least the next three generations and that is not a good perspective for the world, but primarily for Russia. In Michail Zygar s book All The Kremlin s Men 68 the basic situation of present-day Russia is described very tersely: Nothing will change while he is here... Libor Dvořák points out the fact that church life is not only set in an isolated world behind the walls of monasteries, churches, presbyteries and conferences. Experience from the past teaches us that if dialogue is not developed in society, the eventuality of misunderstanding increases, and such issue is of double importance in religion, imposing a threat of misuse and inclination into fundamentalism. The secular politics of the 20th Century pushed religion and its experience to the edge, yet the present situation clearly demonstrates that the role of religion was greatly underestimated. It s impossible to find agreement and move forward without religious dialogue. Theologist and philosopher Tomáš Halík considers intercultural dialogue as a crucial element for the further development of mankind. Interfaith and intercultural dialogue on fundamental values creates an environment suitable for politics of agreement, peace, democracy and freedom to breathe and survive. 65 We need to understand traditions, the breeding ground of culture and religion, to keep dialogue in the present world at a high-quality level. This is also perceived by politicians, especially those who are far-sighted and look beyond the end of their parliamentary term. Time is short and water rises, responds Jaromír Štětitna 66 to my question about the dialogue of politics with religion. It is not important to examine two types of ecumenism and decide which one would help us to preserve civili- 65 From Tomáš Halík s performance at the UN in New York on 21 April 2009 during the Czech Presidency in the European Commission. Article Halík promoting interfaith dialogue at the UN, Christnet, available at: Jaromír Štětina - politician, journalist, former senator and member of the European Parliament, more information about the author available at Theology has a multi-layered experience with dialogue, including the proof that the religious dimension in man makes it possible to connect opposites and culturally enrich one another. 69 Changes happening in the world directly affect churches and the religious world. And it is not necessarily dialogue between religions; intense dialogue that has recently brought a new dimension also takes place amongst Christian churches. I focused on dialogue between Eastern and Western Christians, and on its current interaction. Are we able to conduct real communication that brings us closer to each other, or, on the contrary, do we dig and deepen the trenches of differences? With the changes happening lately, we observe that even confessional borders are becoming more permeable. This can be seen, for example, in the ever-growing Orthodox diaspora, where some adaptability to the new environment can also be observed. Due to the environment and its other demands, it becomes a fabric woven by many different fibres, a fabric in which no material or colour predominates, one of which must convey how to maintain its diversity along with 67 Libor Dvořák - more information about the author available at 68 Libor Dvořák, refers to the book he translated into Czech, Michail Zygar All The Kremlin s Men: A brief history of today s Russia (Příbram,Pistorius & Olšanská, 2016) Pavel Ambroz, Křesťanský Východ a Západ inkulturace a interkulturace Příspěvek k současné recepci tradic v české teologii Brno, CDK (Centre for the Studies of Democracy and Culture, 2017)

14 DIALOGUE BETWEEN EASTERN AND WESTERN CHRISTIANITY SHOULD BE OUR MENTALITY DANIELA BRŮHOVÁ, IVANA NOBLE, KATEŘINA KOČANDRLE BAUER, ROBERT SVATOŇ, VIOREL COMAN, JAROMÍR ŠTĚTINA, LIBOR DVOŘÁK some kind of unity. 70 The world of faith is very varied and faith capable of communication is able to bear even problematic issues. Open dialogue may bring various questions, and I am interested in how we may move forward in the discussion of relationship between Eastern and Western Christianity. I have invited several theologists from the younger generation to discuss where we can find common lines and different elements. Christianity has been dialogical, discussing in its nature and linked to society, since the very beginning and therefore it reflects political impact to some extent. The need to discuss more and not be closed within the borders of one s own world has become apparent mostly since World War II. The Second Vatican Council introduced a new momentum to the mutual meeting of Eastern and Western Christianity to the western - Catholic side; it was a council of the Church s self-reflection, which brought Catholic theology back to its spiritual core, to the Bible, the Patristic and the traditions of Eastern Christianity. The Christian Church was rediscovered as a community historically shared with the Orthodox Church. 71 At the same time, the idea that the liturgy is the main link between the living tradition and the Word of God in the Bible, grows from the participation in the church service of both Western and Eastern traditions and the deep sense that they are unified at their core. 72 This has unlocked the door to a new phase of common dialogue so that Orthodox Eastern theology may enter into discussion with Western theology, and the gateway could begin to open, as the East has also pushed open the door and become increasingly aware of the need for revision of Orthodox Christian attitudes to the non-orthodox world. 73 This was achieved through long and detailed preparation of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church. It took place from 20 to 26 June 2016 and one of the crucial documents approved during the Council was The Relationship of the Orthodox Church to the Rest of the Christian World 74, which discusses ecumenical dialogue. Orthodox theologists have agreed that the Orthodox Church intends to conduct a realistic interfaith dialogue and expressed their feelings as those who, with great confidence, take the lead in the question of encouraging unity in today s Christian world. 75 The condition for such unity for them is an inseparable bond between the sacraments and faith. 76 It is clear that each of the two parties is open to dialogue, just like two expeditions heading to the same mountain, but each from the other side, with different equipment and training, and it is questionable whether they will meet at the peak of that mountain. How do we understand the dialogue between Eastern and Western Christianity today? Do we want to conduct dialogue or rather take our own route as we consider the dialogue a declaration of the Church? Ivana Noble responds: IN:In the ecumenical milieu the word dialogue has been often used as a technical term. In the second part of the last century there was a boom of bilateral, trilateral or multilateral dialogues, that is meetings of official representatives of the churches, meetings which have had specific tasks, e.g. to explore if the Orthodox Churches and the churches of the Anglican Communion, or Roman Catholic Church, or some of the Protestant Churches have a compatible understanding of Baptism, of Eucharist, o Ministry etc. The ecumenical institutions, such as the World Council of Churches (WCC) or Conference of European Churches (CEC) have done also much good work in the field. And yet, today we might have perhaps reached a limit of what is possible to achieve this way. Apart from the fundamentalist circles, most Western and Eastern believers recognize each other as Christians. As you said, that there is a rest of the Christian world is recognized also by the recent Pan-Orthodox Council But the language of the declarations interests only a small group of people. And yet the mutual relations are more alive than that. One can just observe how many Western Christians have profited from Eastern spirituality, from the rediscovery of ancient liturgical traditions, icons, or of Jesus prayer. Or on the other hand, how, especially the youngest generation of Orthodox theologians engages with contemporary philosophy and critical Western theology. I remember an Orthodox colleague of mine telling me: You know, we Orthodox sometimes speak too cheaply about a mystery, simply when we are lazy to think. This is a dialogue from bellow, so to say, a conversation in action, when the other is trusted, and both believe that they can learn something genuinely new from the other, that they can receive something they do not quite have. This is how I would want to understand the dialogue today. Vjacheslav Ivanovich Ivanov had, perhaps, something similar in mind when he spoke his need to take part in both Western and Eastern Christianity as the need to breathe with both parts of the lungs. Daniela Brůhová responds: Tomáš Špidlík, who has dedicated all of his power to restoration of the unity of the Western and Eastern Churches, 78 has taken the poetic words of poet and symbolist Vjacheslav Ivanoviche Ivanov into his theological terminology. His 70 Ivana Noble, The Future of the Orthodox Diaspora - An Observer s Point of View, St.Vladimir s Theological Quarterly 60,1-2,(2016): Ambroz, Křesťanský Východ a Západ inkulturace a interkulturace Příspěvek k současné recepci tradic v české teologii, Ambroz, Křesťanský Východ a Západ inkulturace a interkulturace Příspěvek k současné recepci tradic v české teologii Ambroz, Křesťanský Východ a Západ inkulturace a interkulturace Příspěvek k současné recepci tradic v české teologii, Relations of the Orthodox Church with the Rest of the Christian World in Holy and Great council Pentecost available at // org/-/rest-of -christian -world. 75 Relations of the Orthodox Church with the Rest of the Christian World in Holy and Great council Pentecost Art.1 available at // org/-/rest-of -christian -world. 76 Relations of the Orthodox Church with the Rest of the Christian World in Holy and Great council Pentecost Art.2 available athttps://https: // org/-/rest-of -christian -world. 77 See the conciliar document: Relationship of the Orthodox Church with the Rest of the Christian World. =en_us 78 Ivana Noble and Zdenko, Š. Širka, Doctrine of Deification in the Works of Cardinal Tomáš Špidlík and His Pupils, manuscript ready for publication in ΦΙΛΟΘΕΟΣ PHILOTHEOS International Journal for Philosophy and Theology no. 2, (2019): 20. note.110. This phrase, dear to Cardinal Špidlík, comes from a Russian symbolist poet Vyacheslav Ivanov, and has been popular with Catholic theologians engaged with Orthodoxy. See also Špidlík s small article on Vyacheslav Ivanov: Tomáš Špidlík, Dýchat oběma stranami plic s básníkem Vjačeslavem Ivanovem, in Novotný ed. Všechno je milost, Ivanov had Vladimir Solovyov as his great example, and like him he professed union with Rome and was received in the Russian Greek-Catholic Church in After the Bolshevik Revolution he had emigrated to Italy and became a professor of Church Slavonic at the Russicum in Rome. His embracing of the uniatist vision made the metaphor of breathing with both lungs somehow more problematic for the Orthodox. For Ivanov s turn to Catholicism, see Lásló Puskás, Theodore Romzha: His Life, Times and Martyrdom (Fairfax VI: Eastern Christian Publications, 2002)

15 DIALOGUE BETWEEN EASTERN AND WESTERN CHRISTIANITY SHOULD BE OUR MENTALITY DANIELA BRŮHOVÁ, IVANA NOBLE, KATEŘINA KOČANDRLE BAUER, ROBERT SVATOŇ, VIOREL COMAN, JAROMÍR ŠTĚTINA, LIBOR DVOŘÁK image of flowing air in both lungs was intended not only for the religious environment, he addressed it to the whole of society when he insisted that Europe should breathe with both lungs - not just with the Western part, but with the Eastern part too, and that we are mistaken if we look at Christianity through Western eyes, as Western rationality should be complemented by Eastern thinking with the heart. The work of Cardinal Špidlík has been highly influential in Catholic circles. His pupils saw in him a theologian of the undivided church, and even a staretz, and saw him appreciated in these terms also by some Orthodox theologians and hierarchs, 79 especially for his vision of a spirituality and theology that breathes with both lungs. 80 Tomáš Špidlík was able to inhale Eastern spirituality with a deep insight and exhale comprehensibly to the Western Christian world, which he proved not only through his work but also through his life approach, and with this approach he infected even the Pope through conducing spiritual exercise. Breathes with both lungs, this phrase was often used by John Paul II, who was influenced by Špidlík s emphasis that we are connected by the same faith 81 in his attitude towards Eastern Christianity. 82 Špidlík restlessly encouraged drawing from the spiritual and conceptual message of Western Christianity.... according to my experience, ecumenism is really effective solely in personal interaction, because human beings are inimitable. It is necessary that it becomes a programme rather than a mentality. 83 Let s have a look at the other side: How do Eastern Christians perceive the image of breathing with both lungs? IN: For the Orthodox Christians this metaphor is more problematic, because Ivanov used it when joining he joined Greek Catholic Church, thus it has uniatist aftertaste. 84 And yet the complete mutuality Ivanov tried to express still has a value. DB: During dialogue we often encounter various perceptions of concepts, values and different traditions of the East and the West, making it more difficult to ensure mutual complete breathing to release the blockage. It is necessary to move toward the base of the relationships in the Church and look at them not from the point of view of its external form but as its purpose, for which Christ founded the Church, which is the redemption of all people by the grace of the Holy Spirit. 85 Robert Svatoň also mentions a theologist of the unified church, adding information about one more person. 79 See the title of Ambros s work, Kardinál Tomáš Špidlík SJ - starec a teolog nerozdělené církve, esp Ivana Noble and Zdenko, Š. Širka, Doctrine of Deification in the Works of Cardinal Tomáš Špidlík and His Pupils, manuscript ready for publication in ΦΙΛΟΘΕΟΣ PHILOTHEOS International Journal for Philosophy and Theology no. 2, (2019): Tomáš Špidlík, Duchovní cvičení s Janem Pavlem II (Olomouc: Refugium Velehrad-Roma, 2007) Ivana Noble and Zdenko, Š. Širka, Doctrine of Deification in the Works of Cardinal Tomáš Špidlík and His Pupils, manuscript ready for publication in ΦΙΛΟΘΕΟΣ PHILOTHEOS International Journal for Philosophy and Theology no. 2, (2019): Tomáš Špidlík and J. Paulas, Duše poutníka (Kostelní Vydří,Karmelitánské nakladatelství, 2004) For Ivanov s turn to Catholicism, see Lásló Puskás, Theodore Romzha: His Life Times and Martyrdom (Fairfax VI: Eastern Christian Publications, 2002) Špidlík and J. Paulas, Duše poutníka,114. How to conduct a creative dialogue between East and West? RS:I would answer this methodological question by referring to two men: the first is Jesuit theologian Tomáš Špidlík, for whom the many visits he made during his life among Christians in the East were primarily meetings with friends, it means with those whose closeness to each other stems from their shared friendship of Jesus. This friendship Špidlík also shared with the ancient spokesmen of the Eastern Christian tradition, studying the books of Eastern Church fathers, finding himself to be in harmony with their doctrine, and discovering in them the beauty and wisdom that could not come from anywhere but from God s Spirit only. This initial positive be in tune with the other is a prerequisite for any fruitful dialogue, which is not only a strategic manoeuver, but arises from the real interest and concern about who lives next to me.86 The second person I would like to mention is Špidlík s fellow in the Jesuit Order, Pope Francis. According to him, ecumenical dialogue as such is possible only as part of a carefully and diligently fostered culture of encounter. It was precisely in connection with the Catholic-Orthodox dialogue that the Pope once said that our meeting with each other must preceded and accompanied by the merciful view of God. To realize how God is looking at us, who we are in His eyes and in His plan of salvation, not to consider ourselves primarily as the product of division. Only when we are carried by this redeeming and all-encompassing visio Dei can we discover that we belong together and that we are called to enrich each other by penetrating into the knowledge of the immense mystery of Christ. The path to this unifying mystery is therefore, he says, kneeling theology. DB: The Pope demonstrates by other gestures that we can conduct dialogue without words. I would like to mention his visit to Turkey and his meeting with the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, when Pope Francis bowed before him and requested a blessing. 87 In an unexpected way, he opened a window of communication that does not shield the papal primacy; through such a slight move he filled the documents of the International Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. 88 Kateřina Kočandrle-Bauer talks about spiritual dialogue. KKB:The dialogue takes part on at least two levels: official dialogue and non-official dialogue. The official dialogue is very important and when it is lead well it can help to solve the theological problems from above. There is also another level that is non-official that takes place in the encountering of believers from different denominations. The dialogue to be shared it is sometimes difficult on the dogmatic level or the moral level, but it can work on the level of spirituality. I also think that the dialogue works when people share their spiritualitis, when they can celebrate together and pray together. One official meet- 86 On Špidlík s relationship with the East, see, for example: Robert Svatoň, Approaching Eastern Christianity: The Path of the Czech Jesuit Tomáš Špidlík, Communio viatorum LVII/2 (2015): This happened on 29 November 2014 in Istanbul during Pope Francis visit to Turkey available at 88 Document Ecclesiological and Canonical Consequences of the Sacramental Nature of the Church: Ecclesial Communion, Conciliarity and Authority published on 15 November 2007, in which the Orthodox Church acknowledged the existence of conciliarity and authority of the universal Church and thus the existence of Primate, which according to ecclesiastical tradition is the Bishop of Rome, the Pope

16 DIALOGUE BETWEEN EASTERN AND WESTERN CHRISTIANITY SHOULD BE OUR MENTALITY DANIELA BRŮHOVÁ, IVANA NOBLE, KATEŘINA KOČANDRLE BAUER, ROBERT SVATOŇ, VIOREL COMAN, JAROMÍR ŠTĚTINA, LIBOR DVOŘÁK ing place in for example the ecumenical monastery of Bose in Italy. The is the place of sharing spiritualities of both East and West. The shared liturgy, shared celebration and prayer can help the dialogue fundamentally. DB: The community at Bose Magnano is a small miracle or rather a dream that has become a reality where the dialogue between East and West gains also liturgical form. For more than forty years it has been a place where members of various Christian denominations live, work and celebrate sacraments in concord and harmony, men and women together in one community. Daily life experiences demonstrate that the unity of belief does not prevent a variety of Church practices. This brings another question. Is the way of looking at Eastern and Western values quite different despite our mutual Christian foundation? IN: Apart from the common roots we have also a common mission. As Jesus in his prayer for the disciple says, we are in the world but not from the world. (See John 17: 6-18). Being in the world means that we need to look after the world. Ecology, care for the most needy, struggle for the values of justice, these are things we have in common. And we have also in common the journey towards God with all creation. It is when we try to translate these into our different cultural and religious settings, this is when misunderstandings spring up. DB: The joint mission is successful in social and environmental fields. The Orthodox and Catholics must learn to jointly bear witness to the truth in those areas where it is possible and necessary. Human civilisation has entered a period of epochal change. Our Christian conscience and our pastoral responsibility do not justify us to be indifferent to the challenges that require our common response. 89 Each one separately as well as in a common duet. 90 Pope Francis and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, who is known for his support of ecological movements, appeal to us to respect the environment. 91 The encyclical Laudato si 92 is crucial text that develops the idea of integral ecology 93, comprising in its entirety human and social dimensions. 89 A. Lexmaulová, ed. Impulzy papeže Františka,(Velehradské dialogy, Kolektivní monografie, (Olomouc: Refugium Velehrad-Roma s.r.o, 2018); Attachments, Pope Francis, Patriarch Kirill, Joint Declaration of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, the meeting took place on 12 February 2016, pp , Art Together with my dear brother Bartholomew we have prepared a message in which we urge each and every one of us to adopt a respectful and responsible attitude towards Creation. We call on those who are in positions of influence to listen to the cry of the earth and the outcry of the poor, who bear the grunt of ecological inequalities. The joint statement of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople and Pope Francis on the occasion of World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation on 1 September On 5 8 June 2018, the Ecumenical Patriarchate organised an international ecological symposium in Greece entitled Toward a Greener Attica: Preserving the Planet and Protecting its People. The Green Patriarch Bartholomew I said in his introductory speech that the ecological crisis has revealed that our world constitutes a seamless whole, that our problems are universally shared, which is why a general mobilisation is needed to face its very serious consequences. available at 92 It was issued on 18 June Pope Francis Encyclical Laudato Si, On Care for Our Common Home. People inside and outside of churches are interested in green topics and listen to them, why? IN: Maybe because these are not only declarations. Their words carry the weight of their life-styles. DB: The idea that gestures and actions are often stronger than words works again. Even in ecological thinking, small actions have a great impact, 94 for integral ecology is also made up of simple everyday gestures through which we break the logic of violence, exploitation and egoism. 95 According to Pope Francis, ecology is closely related to social problems. Since the beginning of his term in office he has been interested in the problems of the poorest people, 96 repeatedly drawing attention to the link between the exploitation of nature and the exploitation of the poor; being aware that the Church s mission is to love Jesus Christ in the most miserable and poor ones, 97 where he points out the poverty of migrants. 98 This makes him close and comprehensible to many people, regardless of their skin colour, nationality or confession, 99 although others find it terrifying, as the quickly and less predictably changing world brings uncertainty. What Zygmunt 94 Laudato Si, On Care for Our Common Home. Specific daily habits from the reduction of water consumption, the sorting of waste and turning off unnecessary lights, (Laudato Si, On Care for Our Common Home Laudato Si, On Care for Our Common Home This is evidenced by a recent visit to Romania (31 May 2 June 2019) where 86% of population is Orthodox, 5% Christians; and to Bulgaria and North Macedonia (5 7 May 2019) where 7 million people are Orthodox Christians (87%), 10% are Muslims, 1% are Catholics and 1% are Protestants, where Pope Francis visited a refugee camp and talked with some 50 adults and children of mainly Iraqi and Syrian origin. 97 The attitude towards migrants, refugees, displaced persons and victims of trafficking is an alarm bell warning of the moral decline we will face if we continue to give ground to the throw-away culture. The presence of migrants and refugees and of vulnerable people in general is an invitation to recover some of those essential dimensions of our Christian existence and our humanity. Message of His Holiness Pope Francis for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2019 on 29 September 2019, published in Vatican on 27 May available at ntu-a-uprchliku-2019-fin.pdf 98 These least ones are abandoned and cheated into dying in the desert; these least ones are tortured, abused and violated in detention camps; these least ones face the waves of an unforgiving sea; these least ones are left in reception camps too long for them to be called temporary. 8 July 2019 Mass for Migrants in Vatican available at -zodpovednosti-papez-frantisek-slouzil-msi-za-migranty. 99 On 19 April 2014, the Pope received 12 Muslim refugees from Syria in Vatican. Religion was not grounds for exemption, all refugees are children of God. The concept of the unconditional embrace of the refugees is manifested in Pope s speech during his Papal Audience on 22 September Pope maintained that each local Church should manifest maternal love to the refugees according to its own abilities and serve the Lord in these members of his journeying people. available at

17 DIALOGUE BETWEEN EASTERN AND WESTERN CHRISTIANITY SHOULD BE OUR MENTALITY DANIELA BRŮHOVÁ, IVANA NOBLE, KATEŘINA KOČANDRLE BAUER, ROBERT SVATOŇ, VIOREL COMAN, JAROMÍR ŠTĚTINA, LIBOR DVOŘÁK Bauman has described as the phenomena that characterize the liquid society, where people no longer have fixed traditions and values, religious or secular, as was the case in early modernity. 100 ing personal testimony, God ceased to be an unspoken magic formula, the world became an icon of divine beauty, and the church a community of faith, hope and love that unites all the people in earth and in heaven in marvelous affinity. It seems that due to the lack of a fixed framework of life and certainty of the roots of tradition, it becomes easier to worry. What ingredients do you think are missing in our volatile liquid society? IN:It may be only one ingredience, but important one, like the salt of the earth, light of the world, or the yeast which carries oxygen to the dough. (See Mt 5: 13-14; 13:33). Here we are again in relation to air and breath, in the metaphor of breathing with both lungs, Eastern and Western. Where do we find difficulties when breathing and feel a lack of breath? On the other hand, are there places where the breath is smooth, deep and uniform? IN: It is possible to say that there are people and places where the breathing dialogue is at home. I remember with warmth my visits to the Institute of St Sergious in Paris, to the Seminary of St Vladimir in New York or to Volos Academy in Greece. The difficulties are in communication between what we may see as islands of positive deviation 101 and the rest of the churches and societies with their ambivalent relationship to religion. Getting back to the clues of today s world, where the basis of life is the constant change caused by globalization concerned solely with itself, where the liquid society living in the West is pushed and shaken by quick decisions, a rapid transformation of a world in which traditional values are breaking and moving apart from faith. Where to find a fixed point in this moving world that would be the gateway to dialogue? KKB: Today the society is so-called liquid, people suffer from this liquidity of the extreme relativism. They look again for the borders that are also needed. Our task is philosophically and theologically anew reflect the role of borders and look for the helpful models of it. In my view, borders are needed in order people not to feel not always transparent, not to be always exposed to others or only to others which they consider to be their family (church family). If we look at people s houses we see that they naturally build the fences around it, since they need their intimacy which create their home. The problem happens when the fence does not have the gate, which is not just space to get in and out of the house but also to welcome quests. The topic of fences raises the issue of dividing lines in dialogue, where fences, through the uncertainties and fears of the globalized world, become walls and barriers. KKB:There is another topic connected to it. The differences do not always divide but can enrich and must be respected. Unity is only possible when there is diversity in it. To lead dialogue is not a narcissistic self-projection, in which I want the other was only a mirror reflection of myself. At this point within the Orthodox theology and spirituality often the icon (image) of Holy Trinity is pointed out here. Divine unity as living diversity and analogically human diversity that leads to unity. DB: The varied diversity of views may revive and mutually enrich churches, but the true effectiveness of ecumenism lies in personal intercourse, which is a fixed point in a changing world, as noted by the theologist Viorel Coman. RS: I believe that it is paradoxically that the break-up of traditional values and the crisis of faith that we are experiencing in the West in varying intensity may become a starting point on the path of dialogue. Many people discovered the treasures of the Christian East precisely because of their desire to discover the meaning of their own lives and the content of Christian message, which they found neither in our often dying parishes, in the catechisms of the churches, nor in the academic theology of our prestigious universities in the West. Through the reading of Eastern authors, where talk about God is associated with authentic life and talk with God they suddenly began to uncover a different image of man and, together with him, a different image of God as captured by the living tradition of Eastern Christianity. The truth began to be accepted as an expression of liv- 100 Ivana Noble, Challenged by Ecumenism,The Current Ecumenical Situation in Europe, eds. Uta Andrée, Anna-Katharina Diehl and Benjamin Simon, (Hamburg: Missionshilfe Verlag, 2018) , here 15. note This concept was used by a group of Slovak sociologists, Martin Bútora, Vladimír Krivý and Soňa Szomlányi, in 1980s to describe how different groups of people deviating from what was seen as normal in the totalitarian society, and which was in fact parasytic, immoral, destructive. Their deviation functioned as an yeast in the society, and prepared the massive social changes in See: Carol Harrington, Ayman Salem and Tamara Zurabishvili eds. After Communism: Critical Perspectives on Society and Sociology, (Oxford - New York : Peter Lang, 2004). 161, n. 9. VC: One of the major developments in contemporary history is the braking down of cultural and political boundaries between Eastern and Western Christianity. Whereas in the past the notions of East and West were instrumentalized in political and theological discourses, nowadays not only are the two concepts less distinguishable, but they have also lost their power as identity markers, as many Easterners and Westerners have moved all over the globe, paving the path for an authentic encounter of Orthodox Christians with Roman Catholics and Protestants. Conclusion Paradoxical reasons, such as the break-up of traditional values, the crisis of faith, or the experience of totalitarianism, sometimes lead to dialogue, yet it is not a paradox. And this is also true in the dialogue between Eastern and Western Christianity, which has many tones and colours and does not only remain in the fenced space of religion, but also deals with overarching topics such as ecology or social issues and discovers areas where one can find agreement and inspiration and at the same time is not worried about differences or clashes over topics that are not understandable at first. Ecumenical understanding teaches us to seek certain compatibility between different churches, not just to recall ancient pain, injustice and hostility: the true knowledge is not an objective concept 32 33

18 DIALOGUE BETWEEN EASTERN AND WESTERN CHRISTIANITY SHOULD BE OUR MENTALITY DANIELA BRŮHOVÁ, IVANA NOBLE, KATEŘINA KOČANDRLE BAUER, ROBERT SVATOŇ, VIOREL COMAN, JAROMÍR ŠTĚTINA, LIBOR DVOŘÁK but a living reality, the communion of shared life. 102 As we know that our Earthly ministry is limited by human nature equally for East and West, 103 we should look not only through the fence surrounding our own gardens, but also send a signal of Christian openness and hope. Real knowledge of the Truth is conceivable only in love. 104 True Christian dialogue carries he touch of the Holy Spirit within. Dialogue between Eastern and Western Christianity is a free, honest and open encounter/sharing; one willing to undertake a pilgrimage to seek the truth on the basis of mutual equality. At the same time, it opens the door to such a form of deeply felt conversion that consists of a humble and penitent return to God. This imposes an assumption leading to a spiritual and dialogical partnership where one is willing to learn from others with an attitude of respect and openness, and with a willingness to accept the differences in others. For true and profound ecumenical dialogue it is necessary not only to understand the position and attitude of the counter-party, but to be able to look at the problem through the eyes of the partner in dialogue and then try to perceive common aspects through this view. We shouldn t be afraid of discussion, even if it raises unpleasant questions, since the truth may have more interpretations. From the answers I received from my respondents, I see one more hidden thought, which is represented in a different way for everyone, but in the end it says: Dialogue leads our knowledge further and deeper, and at the same time we feel that we have entered a century in which ecumenical dialogue is becoming a strong topic, so we should move forward. For a deeper reflection on the topic discussed and for the possibility of further expert research with respondents, we also propose the following questions: Can the dialogue between Eastern and Western Christianity contribute to promoting dialogue between other religions? Can we implement dialogue between Eastern and Western Christianity (its non-dividing elements) related to ecumenical theology to new study programs oriented towards relations with other religions? If not, what are the other options? Bibliography Ambroz, Pavel. Křesťanský Východ a Západ inkulturace a interkulturace Příspěvek k současné recepci tradic v české teologii Brno, CDK Centre for the Studies of Democracy and Culture, Harrington, Carol, Salem, Ayman and Zurabishvili, Tamara, edited by After Communism: Critical Perspectives on Society and Sociology. Oxford - New York : Peter Lang, Laudato Si, On Care for Our Common Home. documents/papa-francesco_ _enciclica-laudato-si.html Lexmaulová, A. edited by Impulzy papeže Františka. Velehradské dialogy, Kolektivní monografie. Olomouc: Refugium Velehrad-Roma s.r.o, Noble Ivana and Širka Š. Zdenko. Doctrine of Deification in the Works of Cardinal Tomáš Špidlík and His Pupils, manuscript ready for publication in ΦΙΛΟΘΕΟΣ PHILOTHEOS International Journal for Philosophy and Theology no. 2, (2019): 20. Noble, Ivana. Challenged by Ecumenism, The Current Ecumenical Situation in Europe. Uta Andrée, Anna-Katharina Diehl and Benjamin Simon, edited by. Hamburg: Missionshilfe Verlag, Noble, Ivana. The Future of the Orthodox Diaspora - An Observer s Point of View, St.Vladimir s Theological Quarterly 60,1-2,(2016):173. Puskás, Lásló. Theodore Romzha: His Life Times and Martyrdom. Fairfax VI: Eastern Christian Publications, Svatoň, Robert. Approaching Eastern Christianity: The Path of the Czech Jesuit Tomáš Špidlík, Communio viatorum LVII/2 (2015): Špidlík, Tomáš. Duchovní cvičení s Janem Pavlem II. Olomouc: Refugium Velehrad-Roma, Zygar, Michail. Všichni muži Kremlu: Stručná historie dnešního Ruska, Příbram,Pistorius & Olšanská, 2016, 102 Ivana Noble and Zdenko, Š. Širka, Doctrine of Deification in the Works of Cardinal Tomáš Špidlík and His Pupils, manuscript ready for publication in ΦΙΛΟΘΕΟΣ PHILOTHEOS International Journal for Philosophy and Theology no. 2, (2019): 17, note See: Ambroz, Křesťanský Východ a Západ inkulturace a interkulturace Příspěvek k současné recepci tradic v české teologii, Ivana Noble and Zdenko, Š. Širka, Doctrine of Deification in the Works of Cardinal Tomáš Špidlík and His Pupils, manuscript ready for publication in ΦΙΛΟΘΕΟΣ PHILOTHEOS International Journal for Philosophy and Theology no. 2, (2019): 17, note

19 HUGO MAKIBI ENOMIYA-LASSALLE, SJ: A PIONEER OF THE DIALOGUE OF SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE MARTIN DOJČÁR HUGO MAKIBI ENOMIYA-LASSALLE, SJ: A PIONEER OF THE DIALOGUE OF SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE* Martin Dojčár 1, Faculty of Education of Trnava University in Trnava (SK) 2 Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research (MN, US) Submitted: 29 September 2018 Accepted for publication: 13 March 2019 First published: 15 October 2019 Acta Missiologica No. 2 Vol Abstract Background: The study covers the theme of the dialogue of spiritual experience as an autonomous form of interreligious dialogue, anchors it doctrinally in contemporary teachings of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church and further specifies it through the example of Hugo M. Enomiya-Lassalle. The aim of the study is to determine, describe and characterize key features of the dialogue of spiritual experience as promoted by one of its most prominent representatives, the Jesuit Hugo Makibi Enomiya-Lassalle. Conclusion: Three words are supposed to characterize attitude of a Christian toward non-christian religions according to the teaching of the Second Vatican Council to recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among these men (NA 2). The Jesuit Hugo Makibi Enomiya-Lassalle adopted this vision of the Magisterium and offered both practical and theoretical suggestions for its theological consideration in the context of a Catholic-Buddhist dialogue. In this study, these suggestions were conceptualised in the notions of accommodation, Zen for Christians and the thesis on universal nature of transcendent experience, described and interpreted as specific features of the dialogue of spiritual experience as promoted by this great pioneer of interreligious dialogue. Keywords: Hugo Makibi Enomiya-Lassalle Dialogue of spiritual experience Interreligious dialogue Christian Zen Mysticism. Introduction In the period of the 20th century, a new form of a dialogue among followers of various religions, the dialogue of spiritual experience, was born. And it is not just a marginal form of a dialogical encounter, a curiosity. On the contrary, the spiritual dialogue has become a part of the main stream of interreligious dialogue. In the second half of the 20th century, it found its decisive institutional, doctrinal as well as personal expression. *105 The submitted study is an output of the project VEGA 1/0056/19 Moral Reflection as a Primary Component of Character Education under Conditions of Implementation of the School Subject Ethical Education. Contact on author: Doc. PaedDr. Martin Dojčár, PhD. martin.dojcar@truni.sk The institutional leader of the dialogue of spiritual experience is at present an international association of Catholic monks and nuns the Monastic Interreligious Dialogue (DIM- MID). 106 At the doctrinal level, this form of interreligious dialogue is legitimized by a common document of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples Dialogue and Proclamation (1991) and it is based on the teaching of the Second Vatican Council. Both have their genesis. The establishment of spiritual dialogue was preceded by a hard work of engaged pioneers, men and women, who have introduced this form of dialogue to life even before it received its institutional expression and doctrinal confirmation. Charles de Foucauld, Magdeleine Hutin, swami Abhishiktananda (Henri Le Saux, OSB), Jules Monchanin, Francis Mahieu, OCSO, Bede Griffiths, OSB, Thomas Merton, OCSO, Jean-Marie Déchanet, OSB, Anthony de Mello, SJ, Hugo M. Enomiya-Lassalle, SJ, and many others from the number of pioneers of spiritual dialogue entered the first line of the search for authentic forms of spiritual dialogue and endured, despite numerous difficulties, obstacles and doubts. Their legacy is followed by the ones who come after them. What the legacy consists in and what impulses it brings for the future of interreligious dialogue is the matter of our interest. The aim of the study is to determine, describe and characterize key features of the dialogue of spiritual experience as proposed by one of the prominent representatives of this form of dialogue, the German-born Jesuit, Catholic missionary in Japan Hugo Makibi Enomiya-Lassalle. The interest in uncovering the meaning of the specific form of the dialogue of spiritual experience positions our research methodologically in the hermeneutical area of religious studies and indicates our methodological decision for a combination of phenomenological and hermeneutical methods while examining it. 107 Doctrinal Anchoring of Spiritual Dialogue in the Teaching of Magisterium Contacts among followers of various religious and spiritual traditions have shown that not even the most detailed work with texts, or notion analysis can do; meditative approaching, that is, spiritual practice, is still needed. 108 As a result of natural development, four forms of interreligious dialogue have emerged dialogue of life, activity, theological exchange and spiritual experience as described by the common document of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples Dialogue and Proclamation (DP 41). Thus, interreligious dialogue acquired not only a form of a professional dialogue of theological discussion, or a dialogue of social engagement and the everyday dialogue of life in a religiously plural environment, but also, a purely religious form of a dialogue of a community in prayer 109 and a dialogue of spiritual experience. 106 Considering organisation, DIMMID is a committee of the Benedictine Confederation, which organises Catholic monks and nuns engaged in interreligious dialogue and it cooperates with the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. In a recent interview for the Spirituality Studies journal, William Skudlarek, Secretary General of DIMMID, discussed several current issues of the dialogue of spiritual experience. Cf. Dojčár, Martin. An Interview with William Skudlarek: Interreligious Dialogue Emphasizes Experiential Knowledge of Other Spiritual Paths. Spirituality Studies 4, no. 2, (2018): For more about the methodological specifics of our approach see Radovan Šoltés, Úvod do fenomenológie náboženstva (Prešov: GTF PU, 2013) Gerhard.Wehr, Mistr Eckhart (Olomouc: Votobia, 1999) The World Day of Prayer for Peace in Assisi (1986, 2002, 2011) is an example of a dialogue of a community in prayer. Believers meet at the interreligious prayer meetings to pray together. Each religious community prays in their own way toward the shared intention, and at the same time, they are present at the prayer of the others. The participants share personal experience from their own spiritual practice in a spiritual dialogue, be 36 37

20 HUGO MAKIBI ENOMIYA-LASSALLE, SJ: A PIONEER OF THE DIALOGUE OF SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE MARTIN DOJČÁR Doctrinal foundations for interreligious dialogue, on the side of the Catholic Church, were formulated in a binding manner by the Second Vatican Council ( ). The Council brought the Copernican Turn toward dialogue and at the same time, a revolutionary new formulation of the relationship of the Catholic Church to non-christian religions. The Council addressed the appeal to dialogue to the entire Church. The Council aggiornamento was perhaps too optimistic, however, remained significant. The constitutions Lumen gentium, Gaudium et spes and Dei verbum represent a binding doctrinal reformulation of the appeal of the Pope John XXIII: Throw open the windows! Declarations on religious freedom Dignitatis humanae, on relationship of the Church to non-christian religions Nostra aetate and the Decree on the Apostolate of Laity Apostolicam actuositatem are the most notable testimony of the Council s turn toward openness. The opening of the Catholic Church inwardly as well as outwardly is supposed to take place mainly through dialogue. 110 The Church must enter into dialogue with the world in which it lives, teaches the Pope Paul VI in the Encyclic Ecclesiam suam (1964), since dialogue is in the mind of God Himself. It is dialogue that, according to this reformatory pope, is to help man discover that there are various ways of coming to the light of faith and it is possible to make them all converge on the same goal. However divergent these ways may be, they can often serve to complete each other. They encourage us to think on different lines. They force us to go more deeply into the subject of our investigations and to find better ways of expressing ourselves. It will be a slow process of thought, but it will result in the discovery of elements of truth in the opinion of others and make us want to express our teaching with great fairness. (ES 83) The Council declared an era of interreligious dialogue in relationship to non-christian religions. In the declaration Nostra aetate (1965), the Catholic Church officially formulated its attitude toward non-christian religions for the first time in history and it was done in an exemplary dialogic way as demonstrated in the following excerpt: The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men. Indeed, she proclaims, and ever must proclaim Christ the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6), in whom men may find the fullness of religious life, in whom God has reconciled all things to Himself. The Church, therefore, exhorts her sons, that through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions, carried out with prudence and love and in witness to the Christian faith and life, they recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among these men. (NE 2) Nostra aetate characterizes the attitude of a Christian person to non-christian religions in three simple and at the same time strong words recognize, preserve and promote. Christians are supposed not only to respect or tolerate values of other religious traditions (and not to deny them in any case), but also, to value them positively and proactively, to protect them and develop them! In this manner, it also confesses its faith in the almighty and omnipresent God, searching and finding traces of God s action in creation seeds of the Word and rays of the Truth of Patristic theology. In connection to the Patristic tradition, the latest Council confirms the action of God in non-christian religions claiming that God s mercy is spread in creation like a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men (NA 2), as seeds of the Word and treasures a generous God has distributed among the nations (AG 11), as good in the minds and hearts of men and latent in the religious practices and cultures of diverse peoples (LG 17). Understandably, the Copernican Turn toward dialogue and the revolutionary, new reformulation of relationships of the Catholic Church to non-christian religions, promulgated at the Second Vatican Council, was preceded by decades of preparations and initiative of engaged individuals. The Jesuit Hugo Makibi Enomiya-Lassalle ( ) was a prominent representative of the dialogue of spiritual experience. Similarly to Henri Le Saux, Jules Monchanin, Francis Mahieu and Bede Griffiths in India, Hugo Lassalle was ahead of the Council for many years, even decades, and foreshadowed some of the Council s teachings. In the following part it will be indicated how Father Lassalle carried out the proposition of the Council to recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values (NE 2) that are found in other religious traditions, particularly in Buddhism in his case. Key Features of Spiritual Dialogue in Hugo Lassalle s Understanding In his missionary work in Japan, Father Lassalle followed the traditional Jesuit missionary strategy of accommodation. Accommodation represents an effort to offer the Christian message in a form eligible and acceptable to the recipient of the message. The work of the Italian Jesuit Roberto de Nobili ( ) in India is a historical example of successful accommodation. In contrast to Franciscan missionaries, de Nobili focused on a mission among Brahmins in the South-Indian town Madurai and he accommodated his look and life style to this environment: he was dressed in a saffron robe of the Indian sannyāsi (mendicant), ate vegetarian food, studied Sanskrit, etc. Hugo Lassalle proceeded in a similar manner in Japan, where he worked almost throughout his entire monastic life. He survived the explosion of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima (1945), he was seriously wounded and risking his own life he helped to save similarly wounded together with Pedro Arrupe, the later Superior General of Jesuits. His self-sacrifice was later honored by the Japanese by being awarded an honorary citizen of Hiroshima (1968). Lassalle, as a sign of his connection with the Japanese nation accepted Japanese citizenship (1948) and adopted the Japanese name Makibi Enomiya. During his long-term work in Japan, Hugo Lassalle understood that as a Christian and European he needs to be interested not only in the culture of the host country, but also its religions and spirituality. From 1943, he studied and practiced Zen, as a spiritual core of Japanese Buddhism and one of the basic civilization sources of the Japanese civilization. 111 Accomodation is the first feature of spiritual dialogue that is typical of the work of Hugo Makibi Enomiya-Lassalle. it asceticism, prayer, meditation, contemplation or mysticism. 110 Karl Lehman, Dialog jako forma komunikace v církvi dnes, Teologické texty 7, no. 1, (1996): Zen forms a spiritual core of the Japanese civilisation and it is manifested in Japanese art and its distinct cultural forms, such as the art of archery (kyūdō, way of the bow ), tea ceremony (chadō, way of tea ), ikebana (kadō, way of flowers ), judo (jūdō, gentle way ), etc

21 HUGO MAKIBI ENOMIYA-LASSALLE, SJ: A PIONEER OF THE DIALOGUE OF SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE MARTIN DOJČÁR Father Lassalle was probably the first Catholic priest in history who practiced Zen under the direct guidance of a Japanese Zen master. He was also the first priest ever who gained authorization to teach Zen as a competent Zen master, and finally, the first author who wrote about application of Zen in Catholic spirituality based on his own experience and qualification at the level of master of Zen. The authorization to teach Zen was granted to him by Rōshi Kōun Yamada in Consequently, Father Lassalle taught Zen mainly in Japan and Europe until his death in At the same time, he strived to reconsider and describe the relationship between Zen and Catholic spirituality based on his several decades-long practice and experience with both traditions of spirituality. Like this, he managed to capture, in an original way, not only touching points, but also differences between these two traditions of spirituality that are not accessible to theoretical reflection alone. The encounter of the Catholic form of Christianity and Zen form of Buddhism in Japan in the second half of the 20 th century represents an entirely new form of mutual contact on both sides. The Sanbō Kyōdan School broke the traditional Buddhist taboo at first and made Zen available to non-buddhists. Later, from 1970, Yasutani s successor Rōshi Kōun Yamada enabled Christians to participate in Zen training and to gain authorization to teach Zen without requiring them to convert to Buddhism. This means that the mission and Zen teaching were officially assigned to representatives of a different religious tradition. A completely unique situation occurred and an entirely original interaction between Buddhists and Christians emerged. Never before was it possible for a representative of one religious tradition to pass the teaching of another religious tradition. Father Lassalle was probably the first Christian to have taken part in Zen training under a direct guidance of a Zen master and to have accepted authorization to teach Zen. He was followed by other Christians priests, monks, friars and nuns, laymen together more than twenty Christians only throughout the period of Rōshi Yamada (up to 1989); likely, twelve out of them later gained the authorization to teach Zen. However, it was not only Father Lassalle who drove from the dialogical interaction with the Japanese Rōshi it was also master Yamada who learned from him. While father Lassalle was Yamada s student in Zen; however, when it came to character, according to Yamada s own words, Lassalle was his teacher. 113 Two levels may be distinguished in the dialogical activities of Hugo Lassalle a practical level of dialogical interaction and a theoretical level of dialogical reflection. The first level is associated with Lassalle s conception of Zen for Christians, the second one is related to a number of theological questions connected to this conception, among them, the thesis of universality of transcendent experience. The second feature of the dialogue of spiritual experience as carried out by Father Lassalle is his conception of Zen for Christians. The following part of the study approaches this conception briefly. Constitutive Features of Zen Form of Contemplation Relevant for Christians In his conception of Zen for Christians, Hugo Makibi Enomiya-Lassalle differentiates three constitutive components of the Zen form of contemplation, better known as Zazen. 114 They are: (1) bodily posture, (2) breathing and (3) mental attitude. 115 In their formulation, the Eastern mentality is reflected. It is not a mere pointing out to a technique a technical aspect of practice, as it may seem at first glance. It is rather a sense of image and concreteness, natural to the Eastern man, contrasting with notion and abstraction. Three components of Zazen are images that carry a symbolic meaning and at the same time, they do not lose their practical dimension. A standard position of Zazen is the lotus posture, or the half lotus posture meditation āsana spread across Asia. The position has a symbolic meaning: it suggests that consciousness is settled down on body, so to say, spreads across the body firstly on legs, more precisely, on the surface of legs, later, across the body, as a cape, or veil, covering it gently. Breathing is deep, relaxed and natural during Zazen it does not combine with the techniques of pranayama like in some directions of Yoga. Breathing has a symbolic meaning: it suggests that consciousness is settled down on the breath cycle on each inhale and exhale. As a result of this union of consciousness and breath, the breath cycle is getting softer and gradually, it is manifested as vital force pervading body breath of life (Genesis 2:7). Mental attitude is the most important element of Zazen without it, Zazen will not happen at all. 116 Father Lassalle describes it through the traditional expression without notions and thoughts, but it may also be characterized as an intensive clarity of attention, lucidity of consciousness that does not connect with anything that appears in its viewing field, just like an attentive spectator watching a performance without being lost in experiencing individual scenes: he observes them, but does not get lost in their experiencing. I must become passive, i.e. receptive, explains Hugo Lassalle, it must open, even if we close on the outside In other words: it is necessary to enter into deeper layers of consciousness. But it cannot be forced, it has to occur by itself. 117 Mental attitude has a symbolic meaning: it suggests that attention of consciousness is discriminated from the observed objects physical objects, organic processes and psycho-mental processes and contents. As a result of this process of discrimination, attention is turning to attention in the same ratio as it is disconnected from observation of objects; however, under condition that intensive awareness is maintained. In this manner, attention in itself is recognized as consciousness a free, unbound spirit. The reversed process of turning attention to attention itself practically means that the one is realizing oneself as a subject of all what is happening and experienced. In other words, it means only to be (existence), not to be this (essence). As a result, primordial, that is, unconditioned subjectivity (Self) is uncovered in contraposition to derived, conditioned subjectivity (Ego). One of the initial degrees of the insight into this primordial 112 Rōshi Kōun Yamada was a successor of the Zen master Hakuun Ryōkō Yasutani, who founded the Sanbō Kyōdan School in 1954, following the lineage of Japanese Zen-Buddhist tradition Sōtō associated with some elements of the Rinzai tradition. 113 Koun Yamada, Christian Practitioners of Zen (Kyosho 2012, no. 356) The Japanese term Zen comes from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which represents the seventh limb of the eight-fold (ashtanga) Yoga in the classical Patañjali Yoga-darshana. The expression Za means sitting Zazen is thus Zen in a sitting position, meditation in a sitting posture in a figurative sense. 115 Hugo Makibi Enomiya-Lassalle, Zenová meditace (Brno: Cesta, 1995) Cf. Sandó Kaisen, Grand Faith, Enomiya-Lassalle, Zenová meditace,

22 HUGO MAKIBI ENOMIYA-LASSALLE, SJ: A PIONEER OF THE DIALOGUE OF SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE MARTIN DOJČÁR subjectivity is described by Zen traditions through a metaphor of mirror, as illustrated by a famous Zen poem referred to by Father Lassalle: 118 This body is the Bodhi Tree The Heart a bright mirror on a stand Each day wipe the mirror clean So that no dust may alight. The meaning of Zazen is to free the attention of consciousness from its absorption by an object sensual and psycho-mental one covering the very space of consciousness. The dynamics of covering of the field of consciousness by objects situated in this field is suggested by a traditional Buddhist metaphor of a monkey in a house with six windows: the monkey is jumping from a window to a window, it is constantly moving, looking out of the windows, observing what is going on outside. The monkey symbolizes consciousness, its manifestations outward, that is, attention, in the language of philosophy intentionality. The windows symbolize senses. The Buddhist philosophy distinguishes six senses five senses are amended by the mind. The monkey is jumping from a window to a window it means that attention is jumping from an object to an object depending on the strongest sensation. In other words, the object of attention is constantly being changed it regards sensual perceptions at one time, and psycho-mental objects at another time and results in an blurry, dim consciousness, that is, consciousness that lets itself be carried away by sensations and it is being lost in the observed objects. In Buddhism, it is metaphorically called monkey consciousness. Its accompanying phenomenon is restlessness. The monkey is not aware of itself, it does not realize itself fully, because it is constantly watching out of one of the windows. However, if it calms down, it may get to know itself. In other words, if attention is turned ad extra, consciousness is absorbed in constantly changing objects of attention. On the other hand, when it settles down on a particular object of attention, it may get to know itself. This idea has an ancient origin: it is a principle of a Buddhist contemplative practice, just like it is a principle of the classical Yoga as formulated by Patañjali in Yoga Sutras, the basic writing of Yoga-darshana, one of the six orthodox philosophical systems of India: yogaś-citta-vr tti-nirodhaḥ Yoga is the inhibition of the fluctuations of consciousness/mind. 119 Further developed as, tadā-draṣṭuḥsvarūpe- vasthānam [t]hen the Seer is recognized as such. 120 From this fundamental principle of Yoga follows that it is necessary to create adequate conditions in order to make this cessation of changes of consciousness happen. In Buddhism, they are of two kinds: moral and concentration conditions. The first category relates to the way of life and usually, mainly in Southern Buddhism, it includes monastic way of life. 121 The second category relates to creation of conditions for withdrawal of attention from outward objects by the means of concentration. The Japanese Zen develops concentration predominantly through three basic techniques: (1) concentration on breathing, (2) concentration on Kōan and (3) just sitting. The first two techniques are applied mainly in the doctrinal school of Rinzai, the first and the third technique are common for the school of Sōtō, the second great school of the Japanese Zen Buddhism. The technique of concentration on breathing consists in counting of breaths in cycles from 1 to 10, while inhalation is counted on odd numbers, exhalation on the even ones. Counting of breath helps reducing the psycho-mental stream and it enables to enter into deeper layers of consciousness through attention, 122 which are, as Hugo Lassalle notes, denoted as basis of soul 123 in the Christian tradition. Counting the inhalations helps limiting absent-mindedness, counting the exhalations helps overcoming sleepiness. 124 Progress in counting brings relaxation in counting and it is replaced by concentrated observation of inhalation and exhalation. Kōan is an expression of the Chinese origin and it means literally public announcement. However, it has a different meaning in Zen: it is a paradoxical utterance, logically unsolvable riddle. Its meaning is to transcend discursive thinking. The Rinzai School spreads around 1700 Kōans, mainly in form of dialogues between a master and a disciple. The Sōtō School does not use Kōans, the emphasis is on just sitting (Jap. Shikantaza). Just sitting, strictly speaking, is not a technique, it is the very essence of Zen. The student is just sitting, breathing and keeping the right mental attitude without using any other helping means. However, it is not just a kind of prescribed sitting. When describing it, Father Lassalle quotes the Zen master Sogaku Harada: Zazen is such a strong feeling as if Zafu [cushion], which we are sitting on, became the globe and the universe fills the lower part of the body. 125 In an interview with an unnamed Japanese monk, the Jesuit Pedro Arrupe noted the following description of Zazen, which is instructive in this regard: It is necessary to turn the spirit perfectly off, not to think of anything The one who practices tries not to think of anything, or better said, to think nothing, labor for nothing. It is a state without effort, which lasts at least one hour or one hour and half. There are days when we are in Zazen for eight hours. 126 Besides the traditional method and a set of techniques, the Japanese Zen supposes intervention of a teacher, Zen master. Zen, similar to all other arts derived from Zen, is transmitted by initiation, not a lesson by transmission from a master to a disciple. 127 A master delivers instructions and answers questions related to practice either during Zazen (dokusan, to go individually ), or in the case of the Rinzai School, also personally during the day (naisan, to go privately ), but at the same time and foremost, a master 118 Enomiya-Lassalle, Zenová meditace, Patanjali. Yoga Sutras I, 2. In James H. Woods, The Yoga-System of Patanjali. 120 Patanjali. Yoga Sutras. I, The path of Zen presupposes moral education based on values and attitudes. Pedro Arrupe captured their description in an interview with an unnamed Zen Buddhist monk as follows: it is necessary to maintain certain rules of right behaviour to protect gates of our five senses constantly to avoid the littlest carelessness and to cultivate constant desire to do good deeds (Pedro Arrupe, Misionár v Japonsku (Trnava: SSV, 1992). 167). 122 Cf. Enomiya-Lassalle, Zenová meditace, Enomiya-Lassalle, Zenová meditace, Cf. Enomiya-Lassalle, Zenová meditace, Enomiya-Lassalle, Zenová meditace, Arrupe, Misionár v Japonsku, p Enomiya-Lassalle, Zenová meditace,

23 HUGO MAKIBI ENOMIYA-LASSALLE, SJ: A PIONEER OF THE DIALOGUE OF SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE MARTIN DOJČÁR transmits to a disciple a state he/she is fully identified with after awakening and that alone lends him/her the status of a Zen master the state of Tathāgata or Busshō as described by Mahāyāna schools of Buddhism. A disciple chooses their master by themselves. In case a practitioner decides to enter a monastery, their selection is identical with the selection of the monastery. An important rule applies in selection of a master a master is never changed. If a legitimate case involving a change of a master occurs, the student should leave everything they learned from the original master. 128 Outcome of Zazen is Zanmai contemplative insight, enstasy. Zanmai is a Japanese transcription of the Sanskrit expression Samādhi. The meaning of both notions is identical, even though, in contrast to the Indian traditions of Yoga, the Japanese Zen does not distinguish levels of Samādhi and the final modality of Samādhi is denoted by a particular expression Satori. The final aim of Zen is thus Satori (Jap. understanding, insight ). The state of Satori is usually preceded by Kenshō (Jap. ken seeing, shō essence ). Satori is a transcendent state that is permanent, Kenshō are the glimpses of this state that appear and disappear. Satori is usually described as understanding the essence of things, continues in his description of Zazen Pedro Arrupe in the interview with the unnamed Japanese monk, in fact, it cannot be described. Only the one who reaches it, knows what it means. Its spiritual and moral fruit is mental freedom, complete mastery of self Man ceases to be a slave of outer circumstances and inner requirements and becomes the master of themselves 129 As a transcendent state Satori cannot be described, however, it is not contra-rational, but supra-conceptual. Textual traditions of the Chinese, Japanese and Korean schools of Zen, as a rule, avoid its description. Similar to traditions of Christian mysticism, they opt for apophatic language and refer to experience: transcendent experience cannot be adequately mediated through a notion and expressed in a term, transcendent experience needs to be lived. Mystical traditions as well as Zen traditions refer together to experimental, experiential, lived knowledge, in contrast to discursive, rational and notional knowledge. And still, even the strict apophatic schools of Christian mysticism and Zen Buddhism record a description of transcendent experience from time to time. One of these descriptions of Satori, the transcendent experience, may be found in the work of Father Lassalle it is a description taken from the Zen master Imakita Kōsen: One night I was immersed in meditation, and I suddenly got into a completely unexpected state. I was as if dead. Everything as if stopped. There was no before and no after. The object of my meditation and my own I got lost. The only thing I realized was that the basis of my I is fully united and filled with everything what is up, down and around. Endless light was shining in me. After a while I got to myself again as someone who was risen from the dead. 130 According to Hugo Lassalle, Zen is about a transcending process that 128 Enomiya-Lassalle, Zenová meditace, Arrupe, Misionár v Japonsku, Enomiya-Lassalle, Zenová meditace, 66. proceeds oppositely to discursive thinking. Backwardly before the beginning of usual thinking. Now we understand if we want to reach the experience of our own existence, Satori, discursive thinking must be stopped... Man has to die to everything old so that a new life may emerge. The teaching on death and resurrection is well-known in Buddhism, too, in Zen in particular. 131 In other words, Satori represents experimental knowledge of the true I, the deepest I in contrast to the empirical I 132 that means, the unconstructed core of personality (Self) in contrast to a self-image constructed in the process of ontogenesis (Ego). It is an experience of existence, that Lassalle denotes also as immediate perception of the true I : Man gets to know the nondual absolute being. 133 His detailed examination of Zen and Christian spiritualities led Father Lassalle to a conclusion that Satori and profound mystical experiences of Christian mystics are like transcendent experiences experiences of this being. 134 Conceptual expressions of experience of the absolute being, however, differ depending on a tradition. 135 Through this interpretation, Hugo Makibi Enomiya-Lassalle lays claim to universalism thesis, which can be shortly formulated as follows: one experience of a transcendent type, many interpretations. In the words of K. C. Forman: if interpretation does not shape transcendent experience in essence, then mysticism is transculturally homogeneous and it can be characterised by a couple of basic features. 136 The universalism thesis is thus the third feature of the dialogue of spiritual experience as promoted by Hugo Lassalle. By claiming the universal character of transcendent experience Lassalle also states that on one hand, a Buddhist experiences the deepest I in Satori, however, they experience it as absolute being, because Buddhist doctrines deny the existence of a conditioned I (Pa. anattā; Sa. anātman), while a Christian or a man believing in personal God (a monotheist) experiences the same I, but recognizes God in it, because a monotheist faith is based on a personal relationship of man and God. 137 From the phenomenological point of view, however, both, the Buddhist and the Christian are in their experience freed from fear and doubts and they are filled with the deepest peace and the highest joy. 138 Lassalle develops his thesis on the universal nature of transcendent experience and plurality of its interpretations further based on distinction between object and non-object meditation. Object meditation is to be understood as a kind of meditation that is documented, for instance, in the history of Catholic spirituality. Among the themes of meditation are most often Biblical motifs and its means are mental abilities cognitive ones (sensual perception, memory, imagination, etc.), affective ones (emotional experiencing) and conative ones (focused on implementation of aims of meditation through application of will). 131 Enomiya-Lassalle, Zenová meditace, Enomiya-Lassalle, Zenová meditace, Enomiya-Lassalle, Zenová meditace, Enomiya-Lassalle, Zenová meditace, Enomiya-Lassalle, Zenová meditace, Robert K. C. Forman, Introduction: Mysticism, Constructivism and Forgetting. in The Problem of Pure Consciousness, ed. Robert K. C. Forman (New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990), Enomiya-Lassalle, Zenová meditace, Enomiya-Lassalle, Zenová meditace,

24 HUGO MAKIBI ENOMIYA-LASSALLE, SJ: A PIONEER OF THE DIALOGUE OF SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE MARTIN DOJČÁR Non-object meditation differs from object meditation in absence of the object of meditation. While the first one is considered to be typical of Zen, the latter one is typical of Christianity. However, as Lassalle claims, it is a simplification, because a mystical stream that is typical of non-object meditation, 139 denoted rather as contemplation in the tradition of the Christian spirituality, flows in the Catholic Church continuously. It is transmitted mainly by contemplative orders and contemplative authors. However, in the contemplative spiritualities of the Catholic provenience, object meditation has a strictly determined place: it is a preparation for contemplation (non-object meditation). Lassalle illustrates this idea by a reference to teachings on dark night of the soul and dark contemplation 140 by one of the most respected teachers of prayer in the Catholic tradition, St. John of the Cross, and states that Zen is directed toward the same aim only uses natural powers of man, certain physical posture, breathing and calming of thinking. If needed, as an aid, also concentration on breath or Kōans. These are natural means, available to everyone and they are not bound to religious faith, not even Buddhism. They may be thus used also by a Christian ( ), Father Lassalle concludes, without coming into conflict with their religious belief. 141 In this sense, with the approval of his superiors, Lassalle started to teach Zen to Christians at first in Japan, later in Europe. His legacy was followed by his direct students and further followers the Irish Jesuit William Johnston, the American Jesuit Robert Kennedy, the Swiss Jesuit Niklaus Brantschen and many others. In Slovakia, it was above all Mons. Jozef Vrablec with his book Pozvanie k zenovej meditácii [tr. Invitation to Zen Meditation] (1992). For the accomplishments of Hugo Lassalle and in his honour, the main apostolic project of the Swiss province of the Society of Jesus bears his name: The Lassalle Haus. The tree of life of the humble, modest and sorely tried Father Lassalle brought forth good fruit. Discussion on the Universal Nature of Transcendent Experience Hugo Lassalle refers to mysticism of the dark night by St. John of the Cross when reflecting upon the phenomenon of non-object meditation, that is, the phenomenon of classical contemplation in Christian spirituality. Similarly, he could concisely refer to Master Eckhart, or the anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing. They all represent the so called mysticism of forgetting. Forgetting or leaving behind everything is, according to the unknown author of The Cloud of Unknowing, a condition of contemplation. 142 In this classical work of Christian mystical spirituality, however, the notion of forgetting is used in several meanings. In relation to practice, the one who contemplates must leave everything that appears in their consciousness. In contemplation, one needs to forget everything except God 143 and linger in this darkness, not let themselves be carried away by psycho-mental stream, but keep it 139 Enomiya-Lassalle, Zenová meditace, Enomiya-Lassalle, Zenová meditace, Enomiya-Lassalle, Zenová meditace, Cf. Martin Dojčár, Mystická kontemplácia: Oblak nevedenia & Ramana Maharši (Bratislava: Iris, 2008) The Cloud of Unknowing and Other Works, [The Epistle of Privy Counsel]. trans. Clifton Wolters. Harmondsworth (Penguin Books, 1982). 92. in the cloud of unknowing standing between man and God and in the cloud of forgetting standing between man and the world. 144 In relation to the aim of contemplation, forgetting denotes a state in which psycho-mental stream ceases. Robert K. C. Forman relates this state of silent, pure, or empty mind to a transcendent state that is conceptualised as Pure Consciousness Event. 145 Pure Consciousness Event represents a central category of the post-constructivist discourse in philosophy of religion and denotes a wakeful but contentless (non-intentional) consciousness. 146 Precisely through non-intentionality, that is through the fact that the subject is awake, conscious, but without an object or content of consciousness no thoughts, emotions, sensations, or awareness of any external phenomena, 147 the Pure Consciousness Event is to be differentiated from a common experience, which is in its focus on an object (intentionality) always an experience of something. Our previous examination of mystical death in the mysticism of The Cloud of Unknowing shows that the final experience of classical Christian contemplation is typical of non-intentionality it is a state of wakeful but contentless consciousness. 148 The Cloud of Unknowing introduces into the state of mystical union (Lat. unio mystica) with God who is always greater (Lat. Deus semper maior). Its goal is to be united with God, in spirit, in love, and in harmony of will. 149 The method of The Cloud consists in simple recognition and blind [Note. immediate-experiential] acceptance of your own existence, and no more than this, either intellectually or emotionally. 150 The union with God is achieved through a naked, in itself grounded ( blind ) consciousness of one s own existence (Self), 151 since primordial subjectivity as a non-intentional awareness of one s own existence or beingness is a trace left by the Creator in his creation. In a metaphysical way, beings (Lat. ens) are one as for their existence or beingness (Lat. esse), that is by the very fact that they are; and they are many as for their essence, that is in regard to what they are. The medieval author of The Cloud of Unknowing thus builds his method of contemplation on the traditional Thomistic metaphysical distinction between the being and beings, or existence and essence. He turns our attention to the very fact of human existence, to the first apodictic cognition of our primordial subjectivity, which can be verbalized as I am, and I know that I am. This trace of the being guides the one who contemplates as a golden thread from the realm of beings to the realm of being. All forms of identification between beings (derived Self or Ego) and the being (primordial Self) are eliminated in the dynamics of self-transcendence. In this way, self-transcendence finally culminates in perfect self-surrender when the soul is lovingly making itself nothing and exalting God as all in all Just as this cloud of unknowing is as it were above you, between you and God, so you must also put a cloud of forgetting beneath you and all creation. ( The Cloud of Unknowing, [The Epistle of Privy Counsel], 66). 145 Forman, Introduction: Mysticism, Constructivism and Forgetting, Forman, Introduction: Mysticism, Constructivism and Forgetting Bernhardt, Steven. Are Pure Consciousness Events Unmediated? in Forman, Introduction: Mysticism, Constructivism and Forgetting, Martin Dojčár, The Phenomenon of Consciousness from the Perspective of Comparative Study of Mysticism: A Challenge for Interreligious and Interspiritual Understanding. Studies in Spirituality 23, (2013): The Cloud of Unknowing, [The Epistle of Privy Counsel], The Cloud of Unknowing, [The Epistle of Privy Counsel], Cf. Martin Dojčár, Self-Transcendence and Prosociality (Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2017) The Cloud of Unknowing, [The Epistle of Privy Counsel],

25 HUGO MAKIBI ENOMIYA-LASSALLE, SJ: A PIONEER OF THE DIALOGUE OF SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE MARTIN DOJČÁR Description of unio mystica transcends the boundaries of human understanding and speaking for it basically transcends the subject-object scheme of our interpretation of reality based on a dualistic distinction between the notions of observing Self (subject) and perceived entity(ies) (object). Even though it is described as perfection and eternal bliss, the author of The Cloud is very aware of the limits of language; he knows, in the same way as Zen masters know, that each statement about the transcendent state is finally inadequate. 153 Conclusion Three words are supposed to characterize attitude of a Christian toward non-christian religions to recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among them. (NA 2) Hugo Makibi Enomiya-Lassalle had adopted this attitude, this vision of Magisterium, and became a model not only for his contemporaries, but also for all those who come after him. This study has determined, described and characterized three basic features of spiritual dialogue as proposed by this great Jesuit pioneer of interreligious dialogue. They were conceptualized in notions of accommodation, Zen for Christians and thesis on the universal character of transcendent experience. Understandably, Zazen as a method of non-object meditation is not for everyone be it a Christian or a Buddhist. Offering this method to Christians, approved by his religious superiors, is by far not the only achievement of Father Lassalle. The greatest contribution of his is the fact that he did not hesitate to enter the unexplored region of religious experience of a different spiritual tradition and he reflected his experience theologically in relation to interreligious dialogue and theology of spirituality. He made considerable efforts to gain an extraordinary qualification and from the position of this extraordinary qualification as an authorized master of Zen and a Jesuit with a deep knowledge of Catholic spirituality he showed practically and justified theoretically that we do not need to fear the conflict between the Christian and Zen spirituality. 154 Interreligious dialogue brings about a challenge to rethink the traditional attitudes and doctrines for all involved. Christians are most often confronted with a question related to the relationship between dialogue and proclamation. While on one side, faith binds Christians to proclaim Gospel, on the other side, dialogue belongs to the Church s mission, too. The relationship between dialogue and proclamation is a topic that resonates in the statements of the Magisterium of the Church, publications of theologians, as well as in ideas of Christians engaged in interreligious dialogue and mission activities. It is specifically covered in the following documents of the Magisterium: The Attitude of the Church Towards the Followers of Other Religions: Reflections and Orientation on the Dialogue and Mission (1984), and Dialogue and Proclamation (1991). These documents consonantly represent dialogue and proclamation as two parts of one mission of the Church, while the document Dialogue and Proclamation elaborates this relationship further with regard to possible doubts related to the meaning of the dialogue as well as proclamation (DP 4c), and spells out in greater detail teaching of the Encyclical on dialogue and its relationship to proclamation offered in the Encyclical of John Paul II Redemptoris missio (RM 55 57; DP 4c). 153 Cf. The Cloud of Unknowing, [The Epistle of Privy Counsel], chap Enomiya-Lassalle, Zenová meditace, 26. In our previous study, Dialogue as a Form of Proclamation we contributed to the theological debate on the relation between dialogue and mission by a thesis on dialogical way of existence as the fundamental form of the mission. 155 Our main argument is based on the following reasoning: As the primary form of proclamation that receives, recognizes and values the very being of another person as desired and created by God, the dialogical way of existence precedes all forms of missionary activity and expresses the double commitment of the Church in a personal manner a manner of life based on the attitude of relatedness recognizing the other in their inalienable dignity and unconditional autonomy, theologically derived from the creation of humans in God s image and according to God s form. Man as a person, that is as an individual being, realized by conscious owning of one s self and free disposal of one s self 156 is always unique, unmistakable, and irreplaceable. Consequently, [t]he recognition of personal uniqueness and autonomy of another one is the prerequisite for his or her social and ethical dignity. 157 Our current study introduced a dialogical way of existence on the example of the German Jesuit and Catholic missionary in Japan, Father Lassalle. Hugo Makibi Enomiya-Lassalle had become a living embodiment of the dialogue of spiritual experience, demonstration of the Council s ecclesiology of the pilgrim Church (LG 48), which on earth is always on pilgrimage (DP 36), directed toward the fullness of God s truth (DV 8). On this journey, the Church encounters other pilgrims, discovers the traces of one and the same truth, and by following the example of God, it is entering a dialogue of salvation the one conducted by God with humankind from the beginning of time (DP 53) in order to open up for a fuller understanding of God s truth (DV 8). Bibliography Ad gentes. Arrupe, Pedro. Misionár v Japonsku. Trnava: SSV, Dancák, Pavol. Personalistický smer vo filozofii 20. storočia. Prešov: GTF PU, Dei verbum. dei-verbum_en.html Dojčár, Martin. Dialogue as a Form of Proclamation. Acta Missiologica 11, no. 2, (2018): com Dojčár, Martin. An Interview with William Skudlarek: Interreligious Dialogue Emphasizes an Experiental Knowledge of Other Spiritual Paths. In Spirituality Studies 4, no. 2 (2018): Dojčár, Martin. Self-Transcendence and Prosociality. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, Martin Dojčár, Dialogue as a Form of Proclamation, Acta Missiologica 11, no. 2, (2018): actamissiologica. com 156 Pavol Dancák, Personalistický smer vo filozofii 20. storočia, (Prešov: GTF PU, Andrej Rajský, Philosophical Component. in Key Components of Inclusive Education, eds. Viktor Lechta and Naďa Bizová (Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2019),

26 THEOLOGY OF THE LAITY ACCORDING TO ST. LEO THE GREAT AND ST. GREGORY THE GREAT AS A PART OF THE DIALOGICAL PERCEPTION OF THE ROLE OF THE LAITY IN THE CONTEMPORARY CHURCH MILOŠ LICHNER Dojčár, Martin. The Phenomenon of Consciousness from the Perspective of Comparative Study of Mysticism: A Challenge for Interreligious and Interspiritual Understanding. Studies in Spirituality 23, (2013): Dojčár, Martin. Mystická kontemplácia: Oblak nevedenia & Ramana Maharši. Bratislava: Iris, Enomiya-Lassalle, Hugo Makibi. Zenová meditace. Brno: Cesta, Forman, Robert K. C. edited by The Problem of Pure Consciousness: Mysticism and Philosophy. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, Kaisen, Sandó. Grand Faith. In Spirituality Studies 4, no. 2 (2018): Lehman, Karl. Dialog jako forma komunikace v církvi dnes, In Teologické texty 7, no. 1, (1996): 2 6. Lumen gentium. lumen-gentium_en.html Nostra aetate. nostra-aetate_en.html Patanjali. Yoga Sutras. In Woods, James H. The Yoga-System of Patanjali. Dehli: Motilal Banarsidass, Paul VI. Ecclesiam Suam. html Pontifical Council for inter-religious dialogue. Dialogue and Proclamation. doc_ _dialogue-and-proclamatio_en.html Rajský, Andrej. Andrej Rajský, Philosophical Component. In Key Components of Inclusive Education, edited by Viktor Lechta and Naďa Bizová, 37. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2019, Šoltés, Radovan. Úvod do fenomenológie náboženstva. Prešov: GTF PU, The Cloud of Unknowing and Other Works [The Epistle of Privy Counsel]. translated by Clifton Wolters. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, Wehr, Gerhard. Mistr Eckhart. Olomouc: Votobia, Yamada, Koun. Christian Practitioners of Zen. Kyosho 2012, no THEOLOGY OF THE LAITY ACCORDING TO ST. LEO THE GREAT AND ST. GREGORY THE GREAT AS A PART OF THE DIALOGICAL PERCEPTION OF THE ROLE OF THE LAITY IN THE CONTEMPORARY CHURCH* 158 Miloš Lichner 1, Trnava university, Faculty of Theology, Trnava (SK) 2 Collegium Bobolanum, Pontifical Faculty of Theology Warsaw (PL) Submitted: 8 February 2018 Accepted for publication: 26 August 2018 First published: 15 October 2019 Acta Missiologica No. 2 Vol Abstract Backround: The submitted study focuses on the perception of the laity in theological works of the early Christian popes Saint Leo the Great and Saint Gregory the Great. Historical knowledge of these two theological conceptions allows us to establish and develop a theological dialogue about the right position of laymen within the Church. A long-term research project that includes the study of thinking of two popes who were influenced by the teaching of St. Augustine, theologian of Hippo. The study is structured in the following way: an introduction explaining the reasons of selection of the main topic and the authors, followed by the explanation of the context of the historical era during which both saints lived. The study continues with the presentation of theology of the laity from the point of view of St. Leo the Great and St. Gregory the Great. The conclusion recalls their message and their formation efforts in Latin Christianity. Conclusion: Currently, the experts on early Christian literature are starting to pay attention to the position of the laity in the theological thinking of the ancient Fathers of the Church. They seek to deepen understanding of the theology of the laity in early Christianity, which may clarify and deepen contemporary views of theologians in regard to laymen and their role in the Church and the world. The significance of the study is based on the connection between the research in the area of knowledge of the Fathers of the Church and its impact on contemporary theology. Keywords: Leo the Great Gregory the Great laity Church Augustine. Introduction The theological thinking of St. Augustine of Hippo has been interpreted in various ways during the course of history. French patrologist Aimé Solignac distinguishes between two interpretational traditions of Augustine s thinking: a so-called light tradition that emphasizes his ingenious thoughts, and a dark tradition that has made him responsible for the pesimistic * This work was supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency under the contract no. APVV Contact on author: Prof. ThLic. Miloš Lichner, SJ. D.Th. milos.lichner@truni.sk 50 51

27 THEOLOGY OF THE LAITY ACCORDING TO ST. LEO THE GREAT AND ST. GREGORY THE GREAT AS A PART OF THE DIALOGICAL PERCEPTION OF THE ROLE OF THE LAITY IN THE CONTEMPORARY CHURCH MILOŠ LICHNER view of people in the Latin West. 160 These two traditions have developed without mutual dialogue. Following St. Augustine s thinking, I decided to focus on the attitude of specific Church thinkers and councils of the early Church within the framework of Latin patristics. Special attention will be paid to two Roman popes: St. Leo the Great and St. Gregory the Great, whose work was influenced by St. Augustine and who are representatives of the two traditions. Augustine s theological vision was oriented towards religious life, where he saw natural fulfillment of the baptismal consecration, which is applicable to the laity, too. Let me recall that religious life, according to Augustine, finds its reflection in the life of the early Christian community of believers as described in the Acts of the Apostles 4, 32: The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common. 161 Context of the epoch and introduction of the authors The authors mentioned above lived in the 4th-6th centuries. Their teacher St. Augustine was a bishop in Hippo Regius in northern Africa and lived in from 354 to 430. Pope St. Leo the Great lived from 400 to 462 and Pope St. Gregory the Great from 540 to It is a period of approximately two and half centuries of interconnection between two traditions of Latin theology North African and Roman. Leo the Great and his theology of laity Leo (c. 400 November 10, 462) became pope during a turbulent period. The Roman Empire suffered from the invasions of Franks, Visigoths, Vandals and Huns. 163 Many heresies had their origin in that epoch, including monophysitism and nestorianism. Leo headed the Church during the period when popes after the death of Milanese bishop St. Ambrose started to regain the role of leaders of Western Christianity and the papacy became strongly associated with the ascetic and monastic movement. An ascetic religious way of life became an inherent part of the bishop s office. Monastic life became the brightest expression of the Gospel not only in the Latin Church (e. g. Sulpicius Severus and his biography of St. Martin of Tours) 164 but also in the Christian East (theological thinking of St. John Chrystostom). Augustine s influence on Leo s life was significant not only in regard to his works but also in regard to the result of the fight for true faith when Pope Zosim, who had to give way to North African theology and his successor Boniface adopted Augustine s attitude towards pelagianism as a sign of orthodoxy. Apart from Augustine s works, Leo also stud- 160 Aimé Sollignac, Les excès de l intellectus fidei dans la doctrine d Augustin sur la grâce. Nouvelle révue théologique 110, (1988): Aimé Sollignac, Le monachisme et son rôle dans l Église d après l Enarratio in Psalmum 132, In Homo spiritalis. Festgabe für Luc Verheijen OSA zu seinem 70. Geburtstag. (Cassiciacum 38, Würzburg, 1987): ; Miloš Lichner, Jednota a pokora ako východisko teologického chápania rehoľných sľubov v myslení sv. Augustína, In Miloš Lichner, Miroslava Jusková and Ján Benkovský, Rehoľné sľuby v konfrontácii spiritualít (Trnava: Dobrá kniha 2015) For more information see: Bertrand Lancon, Rome in Late Antiquity: Everyday Life and Urban Change, AD (Edinburgh, 2000). 163 Cf. Angelo Di Berardino, Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity (InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2008) Cf. Miloš Lichner, Úvodná štúdia, preklad a poznámky, In Sulpicius Severus. Život svätého Martina. Starokresťanská knižnica 11. (Dobrá kniha: Trnava, 2019). ied the teaching of Ambrose and Hilary of Poitiers. 165 He did not repeat their thoughts but integrated them into his own thinking. He was strongly convinced of being the voice of living tradition, so he mentioned only the enemies of true faith in his works. Right after assuming his episcopal service, Leo initiated an ambitious preaching program as an expression of his theological self-confidence and his effort to become a teacher of the city of Rome. On the basis of a preserved corpus of his homilies 166 that can be chronologically dated thanks to the effort of A. Chavasse, we can observe Leo s constant reprimanding and warning against heretical attitudes, supplemented by systematic explanation of orthodox Christology. Leo interconnects Christology and soteriology because he believes that the adherence to a wrong opinion influences the salvific dimension of theology of the faithful laity. Leo was one of the first popes to start regular preaching, inspired by St. Ambrose of Milan and his model of preaching as an essential feature of episcopal office. Leo systematically and repeatedly preached to laymen in liturgical cycles, presenting them with sacramenta et exempla Christi. As he explained to his listeners in the 25th Christmas homily delivered in 433: Undoubtedly, members of the Church of God understood the meaning of what they believed in. However, this does not hinder repeating what had already been said, because our service of the Word belongs to all those who keep coming to the source of faith and it is better to risk tiring of those who have already been taught than depriving those who have not been educated in faith of necessary guidance. 167 Christians of those times were not a small selective group of believers. Rome was the biggest city and many people listened to Leo s sermons. The content of his teaching is understanding of faith (inteligentia) directed to sacramenta et exempla Christi. Sacrament or sacramentum is every deed of Christ, starting with incarnation, through the cross, death and resurrection, and all of this is salvific 168. Leo reminds us of this in the conclusion of his 25th Christmas homily (443): The deeds of Our Lord, my beloved, are beneficial to us not only as a sacrament, but also as an example of the following, considering that this medicine become the rule of life and the price of these mysteries si good for our behaviour. Remember that it is necessary to live in humility and mildness of our Redeemer, according to the words of the apostle: if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. (Rom 8,16) In vain we would call ourselves Christians if we were not the followers of Christ. If he called himself the way. (John 14,6) it is because he wanted the Master s behaviour to become a model for his disciples, so that the servant might find joy in humility practiced by the Lord himself. He who lives and reigns till the end of the time. Amen. 169 And since the Church is connected with Christ through its mystical head, it has a part in salvation. Thus, Leo underlines the necessity to experience liturgy as a salvific presentation of the events of Christ s life. Leo insists that for this reason it is essential to participate in the liturgy and by means of it also in sacramenta Christi. Leo s decision to preach in liturgical cycles not only demonstrates his conviction that salvation is mediated through participation in the life of the Church, but also that the whole life of Christ 165 Cf. M. B. De Soos, Le mystère liturgique d après saint Léon le Grand (Münster, 1958) CCL 138, 138A dated to Leo Magnus, sermo 25,1, Tractatus septem et nonaginta, CCL 138, linea For detailed explanation of the connection between salvation and the sacrament of baptism see: Miloš Lichner, Náuka o sviatosti krstu pápeža Leva Veľkého v kontexte jeho diela, Verba Theologica XVII, no. 1, (2018): Leo Magnus, sermo 25,6, Tractatus septem et nonaginta, CCL 138, linea

28 THEOLOGY OF THE LAITY ACCORDING TO ST. LEO THE GREAT AND ST. GREGORY THE GREAT AS A PART OF THE DIALOGICAL PERCEPTION OF THE ROLE OF THE LAITY IN THE CONTEMPORARY CHURCH MILOŠ LICHNER is of salvific nature. Influenced by Hilary of Poitier, Leo believes that exemplum Christi is not an example but a paradigm to which a believing layman is supposed to configurate himself. Christ as a Son of God is salvation and as a true man represents an example of the acceptance of this salvation and reconciliation of mankind with God. Thus, Christ also becomes exemplum Ecclesiae, a paradigm of the Church. The body of Christ is transformed through its connection with the Word, but we are the body that is saved. Through their participation in the liturgy, laymen embrace and realize the given salvation within themselves. And after the liturgy is finished, they carry it inside on their way home. It is interesting that Leo read Augustine through Hilary who emphasized universal Divine salvific will and thus escaped the danger of Augustine s predestination thinking. 170 God s salvific will is universal, because God adopted a universal human nature through Christ and redeemed it. And this redemption also includes us, as we are a part of the mysterious body of Christ. Leo s view of a faithful laity develops in the context of Christological sermons. He derives his teaching from Augustine s theology of grace and predestination, but he revised it under the influence of the theology of St. Hilary of Poitiers. Leo was strongly influenced by Augustine s theology of grace and predestination. According to Leo, however, the Word of God adopted universal human nature and thus it redeemed the whole human race. Redemption is offered to the whole of mankind. Augustine underlined that grace is essential for redemption. Neverthless, Leo avoided topics like initium fidei and never tried to answer the question whether this universal offer of redemption is also universally effective. Redemption is granted through the Church. Leo distinguishes between two births of the Church: the first birth takes place during the Incarnation of Christ, second during the Pentecost. For this reason, Christmas is not only understood as a feast of the Lord s birth but also as a celebration of the birth of the Church and every single believer. In the 26th sermon pronounced during the period of Christmas in 450, Leo emphasizes the significance of the incarnation for mankind:... today s feast renews the sacred beginnings of Jesus, newly-born from Virgin Mary. By adoring the birth of our Redeemer, we actually celebrate our own origin. The birth of Christ 171 represents the inception of the Christian nation and the feast of the birth of its head is the feast of the body. Although everyone receives this special call and although the sons of the Church differ within chronology of time, they are born with Christ in this birth, just like all believers born from Christian spring were crucified with Christ in his passion, resurrected in his resurrection and seated with him by the right arm of the Father in his Ascension. In fact, every believer who is born in Christ and ceases the mistakes of his ancient origin, wherever he comes from, is transformed and reborn as a new man. From this moment on he does not belong to the ancestry of his father and his body, but belongs to the ancestry of his Redeemer who became human, so that we could become the sons of God. Because if he had not descended and leaned to us, nobody would be able to come to him through his own merits. 172 The first birth means the introduction to redemption for the whole of mankind and the second one means the fulfillment of redemption in the body of Christ. Universal redemption of the human race is realized in the concrete ecclesial body of Christ. Leo does not interpret 170 Cf. George Newlands, Hilary of Poitiers. A Study in Theological Method. European University Studies (Series XXIII, vol Peter Lang: Bern, Frankfurt am Main, Las Vegas, 1978). 171 Term generatio Christi in Leo s works means both the intervention of the Holy Spirit during the conception and the role of the Virgin Mary in the birth of Christ. 172 Leo Magnus, Sermo 26, 2, Tractatus septem et nonaginta, CCL 138, linea the well-known quotation from 1Tim 2,4 who wills everyone to be saved as restrictively as Augustine. He observes this verse through the prism of Chalcedonian Christology that emphasises the fullness and universality of Christ s human body. God offers redemption to all people and this all is fulfilled in liturgical gathering. Pelagian polemic led Leo to the conviction that God wants to redeem the whole of mankind, which is different from Augustine s attitude. Leo believed that God wanted to redeem all people and that is why he offers redemption on a universal level. However, this act takes place during the liturgy in church and not in any other place. Laymen are redeemed through participation in the liturgical year of the Church and through behaving the way desired by Christ in their everyday life. So, christological soteriology is narrowly connected to the Christian life of the laity in the world. Augustine developed the concept of individual grace. 173 Leo transformed it to grace communia, i. e. grace of the communion of Christ s body of the Church. Thus, he escaped the danger of individual predestination, where Augustine was not successful. The theologian of Hippo introduced the principle or concept of individuality in front of God, but he missed the principle of communion in grace. Augustine s existential uncertainty about the certainty of redemption, which was experienced and understood by young Luther in a very specific way, was resolved by Leo through the principle of ecclesial communion. Theology of the laity or redemption offered to faithful laymen during their participation in the Eucharist is demonstrated in practical life, mainly through generosity in almsgiving. This is another frequent topic of Leo s sermons. I tis as if he vaccinated lay people with an idea that the feeling of certainty about redemption and about being predestined may depend on their strong social feeling towards the poor. Leo was convinced that uneven distribution of wealth is a part of God s plan, as it allows the rich to find Christ in the poor, and the poor to discover Christ through the generosity of the rich. Almsgiving, just like baptism, washes away sins. According to Leo, alms has a certain sacramental dimension that leads to forgiveness of sins. But unlike Augustine, 174 Leo does not determine precisely if the forgiveness concerns grave or just ordinary sins. At least we can say that this is valid for ordinary sins, which means that it is a certain form of continuation in the development of baptismal grace. This way, the laity can gradually transform the city of Rome into a holy city. Gregory the Great and his theology of the laity With Pope Gregory we arrive at the second half of the 6th century (c ). 175 During his youth, Gregory experienced a deep inner conversion which he decided to fulfill through a monastic vocation that influenced his whole theology. 176 Besides, his three aunts were nuns, one of whom even became a saint. His mother decided for a religious life, too. 177 If we can call Augustine s diocese monastic, because he ordained to the priesthood only those 173 See: Miloš Lichner, Teologická analýza diela De correptione et gratia a možné nové chápanie problematiky milosti, Teologický časopis 10, no. 1, (2012): Cf. Miloš Lichner, Saint Augustin et sa pensée sur la doctrine du corps du Christ qui est sans taches ni rides de facon progressive, In Wiara i kultura miejscem dialogu (Warszawa: Rhetos, 2013): Cf. Angelo Di Berardino, Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity, ; R. A. Markus, Gregory the Great and his World (Cambridge: University Press, 1997) Gregorius Magnus, Moralia in Job, epistula ad Leandrum, CCL: 143, linea For more information: Claude Dagens, La conversion de saint Gregoire le Grand, REAug 15, (1969): Gregorius Magnus, Dialogorum libri IV, 17, SC 265,

29 THEOLOGY OF THE LAITY ACCORDING TO ST. LEO THE GREAT AND ST. GREGORY THE GREAT AS A PART OF THE DIALOGICAL PERCEPTION OF THE ROLE OF THE LAITY IN THE CONTEMPORARY CHURCH MILOŠ LICHNER who adopted the rules of monastic life, Gregory the Great was the first monk to become pope in 590. The service of the bishop of Rome was loaded with state administration and social care for the poor. After election he moved from the Monastery of St. Andrew to the Lateran palace, but just like Augustine he never deserted monastic life. Gregory united monastic and pontifical service, which was something that John Cassian had warned against (c ) 178 in his work De institutis coenobiorum 11, 18, influencing St. Benedict of Nursia and the whole direction of the Western monastic life. According to Egyptian tradition, A monk must escape with all his effort from women and bishops 179, which in the case of bishops meant escaping from priestly ordination. For Gregory, a monastery monasterium became a place where he experienced original and essential Christianity. For Leo the Great this place was a city. Gregory s literary work has mostly moral and pastoral character, not speculative and dogmatic. His style of homiletic explanations was marked by the spirit of tropological and typological exegesis. His Christology was inspired by Augustine, whom he accepted but did not reflect. 180 In his works, Gregory systematically develops the topic of fear from the last judgement. The suffering that he experienced along with catastrophes of his time persuaded him that the end of the world and the last judgement were imminent. The poverty around him, destroyed cities and abandoned fields, attacks of the Arian Lombards and forced enslavement, plague epidemic 181, ubiquitous corruption - Gregory believed that all of these were caused by people s sins. As he specifies in his homilies based on the Book of Ezekiel, these mainly concern the sins of priests who neither live nor preach the Gospel: You are the witnesses of how terribly the world is being destroyed by sword. You observe the wounds from which the nation keeps dying every day. Whose sin is the cause of all this, if not ours? Look, the cities are without people, fortresses are uprooted, churches and monasteries are distroyed, fields are barren. We have proven to be the cause of people s death, whereas we should have been their leaders towards life. Many people have been destroyed because of our sins, because they have not been educated to life due to our negligence. 182 The life of Job that influenced Gregory s thinking proves that suffering of the righteous is a sign of the end of the world. Around the year 593, Gregory prematurely finished his work on comments to the Book of Ezekiel, due to the violence of the Lombards. A contrite Gregory writes: Let nobody rebuke me if I stop talking now, because you all can see that our hardship worsens: there are swords surrounding us, threats of death everywhere. Some of ours have returned with their hands cut off, announcing that the others have been imprisoned or killed. I am forced to silence my mouth, because my soul is disgusted by life. Let nobody ask me to study the Sacred Scripture, because my harp knows only mournful songs and my flute plays only the voice of lamentation. (...) Under the whip of trials that have led us to sins, what else is there to do but give thanks by our tears? 183 To hold on during suffering and persecution thanks to grace becomes the confirmation of God s predestination and the easiest place to do it is a monastery. This applies not only to the clergy but also to the laity. In the 19th book of Morals on the Book of Job, Gregory explains that Job s suffering, symbol of the suffering Church and signs of the forthcoming end have convinced him about the horrible second coming of Christ the Judge. 184 And there is a strong need to get ready for it. Gregory develops Augustine s theology of a mutual relation between ecclesiology and monastic life. 185 According to Augustine, monasticism is the fullest realization of baptism, as he understood it through the words from Acts 4, 32 describing the life of the early Christian community in Jerusalem: The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common. Gregory, even more than Augustine, considers the monastic life to be the fullest realization of the life of a layman. Escape from the city and its rejection becomes the first step on the way to salvation: It was necessary to disdain this world even if it flattered us, even if it carressed our spirit with success. Now that it oppresses us with so many scourges, tires us with hardships and covers us with pain on a daily basis, what else does it tell us through all this than not to love it? 186 In his homilies on the Book of Ezekiel, Gregory gives description of three kinds of believers symbolized by three biblical figures: Noah, Daniel and Job. Noah represents the preachers ordo praedicantes. Daniel is a symbol of monks ordo continentium. And Job represents married people, the believing laity ordo bonorum coniugum. Gregory s view of the laity is a monastic model inspired by the Desert Fathers, Jerome and Cassian, as well as by stoic thinking about self-restraint. Gregory s ecclesiology reflects his soteriology supported by his Christology. This makes him similar to Leo and their common role model Augustine. But while Leo focused on soteriological Christology, Gregory preferred eschatological Christology. At this point, Gregory differs from both Augustine and Leo. Correspondence with lay hierarchs fosters his opinion that the threat of an immediate end of the world not only helps in the fight against temptations, but that the ideal place to prepare one s mind for the end of life is a monastery. Even those few laymen who live in the pontifical court belong to the semi-clergy: they accept tonsure without the vow of celibacy. However, it is laymen coniugati who administer the property of the Church, not monks continentes. Gregory also touches on the topic of laity in his 4 books of Dialogues that bring a certain kind of popularization of his theology through stories and miracles. 187 Most stories in Dialogues are dedicated to priests and monks. 188 The laity is absent in the first two books 178 Cf. Angelo Di Berardino, Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity, Jean Cassien, Institutions cénobitiques. Texte latin revu. Introduction, traduction et notes. SC 109, Les éditions du Cerf : Paris, Pierre de Labriolle, Saint Grégoire le Grand, Bulletin de l Association Guillaume Budé n 2, (janvier 1924): Gregorius Magnus, Homiliarum XL in euangelia libri duo, liber 1, homilia 1,1, CCL 141, linea Gregorius Magnus, Homiliarum XL in euangelia libri duo, liber 1, homilia 17,16, CCL 141, s. 1-15; also: Gregorius Magnus, Homiliarum XL in euangelia libri duo, liber 2, homilia 39,2, CCL 141, linea Gregorius Magnus, Homiliae in Hiezechihelem prophetem 10,24, CCL 142, linea Gregorius Magnus, Moralia in Iob 19,9,15-16, CCL 143, linea Cf. C. Straw, Grégoire Le Grand, In Encyclopédie Saint Augustin, La Méditerranée et l Europe IVe XXIe siècle, sous la direction de A. D. Fitzgerald /éd. française sous la direction de M.-A. Vannier, Paris, Éd. du Cerf, 2005, Gregorius Magnus, Dialogorum libri IV, III, 38,4, SC 260, See Source chrétiennes, SC 251,260, 265. Paris, For detailed study on the situation of Roman clergy see: Charles Pietri, Clercs et serviteurs laïcs de l Église romaine au temps de Grégoire Le Grand. In Grégoire le Grand (Actes du colloque CNRS, Chantilly, septembre 1982). (Paris, 1986):

30 THEOLOGY OF THE LAITY ACCORDING TO ST. LEO THE GREAT AND ST. GREGORY THE GREAT AS A PART OF THE DIALOGICAL PERCEPTION OF THE ROLE OF THE LAITY IN THE CONTEMPORARY CHURCH MILOŠ LICHNER and appears only in the second half of the third book. Even less information is dedicated to saintly women. We have 6 figures of women religious there and only one figure of a lay woman, the little 12-year old Musa. 189 Thus, there is a clear predominance of consecrated persons, priests and monks or nuns. If there is any reference to the laity in Dialogues, it concerns more sinners than saints. And although Gregory recalls the events on the basis of which we understand that hell and purgatory are also for priests, bishops, men and women religious, only two out of fourteen descriptions of a visible departure to heaven concern laymen: Lame Servulus and little girl Musa. In Dialogues, we have these saintly lay people: lame Servulus, little Musa, slave Armentarius 190, the nobleman Theophanius 191, a certain devoted anonymous man 192 and the cobbler Deusdedit 193. According to Dialogues, consecrated persons generally head for heaven and lay people are condemned. Consecrated persons, however, can be redeemed only thanks to a great spiritual effort. The situation of the laity is very insecure, which makes their redeption almost impossible. The best way for lay people to gain redemption is expressed by the words of the Virgin Mary to little Musa when she told her that she would die in a few days: gravitas vitae gravity of life. This is Gregory s description of a monastic life. This is the way his aunt St. Tharsilla lived and these are the words Gregory used to describe her monastic life. Conclusion The submitted study shows that two popes St. Leo the Great and St. Gregory the Great introduce two interpretational lines of Augustine s thinking. In spite of the fact that several Leo s contemporaries tried to asimilate faithful laymen to the monastic ideal, Leo tried to elaborate a different version. He adapted duties and virtues of the Roman lay life to the message of the Gospel. According to Leo, Christianity should be open to everyone. The strongest demonstration of Christian love of the believing laity is a social sensitivity expressed in almsgiving, which was a Christian way of implementation of an ancient practice of evergetism. 194 Leo offered the image of Christianity where Christ offers redemption to all people including the laity. We can be redeemed through our participation in the events of the liturgical year where the Church recalls and makes present the salvific events of Christ s life, and by our imitation of this image and by meeting the required conditions resulting from this process. Gregory tries to strengthen the presence of a monastic ideal also towards the believing laity. Thus, a monastic life becomes the best way to save our lives during the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. For laymen, it is the best way to reach redemption. Gregory s work Reg- 189 Cf. Miloš Lichner, Zjavenie Panny Márie v diele sv. Gregora Veľkého v kontexte monastizácie monastizácie svetského kresťanstva. In Mária Matka v každej dobe, Zborník vedeckých príspevkov, ed. Anton Adam, (Aprint : Badín, 2017): ula pastoralis that was primarily dedicated to the formation of the clergy, became a source of education for the rich laity at the beginning of the early Middle Ages. 195 According to Leo, fulfillment and appropriation of Christ s redeeming suffering and resurrection takes place in urbs city through participation in the liturgy, while Gregory believes it is realized in gravitas vitae. Leo is convinced about collective redemption of the laity on the mass in the city, while Gregory believes in individual redemption of laymen in a monastery. In the course of the history, the Church was more inclined to adopt Gregory s vision of the laity. In modern times, without trying to relativize his view, theological dialogue seeks to interconnect both theological views of the position and the role of the laity in the contemporary Church. These two theological streams have not been examined from dialogical point of view in regard to the possibility to find their intersection in the context of contemporary thinking about the laity. The submitted study intends to offer a complete view of the teaching of both authors and its common basis in the thinking of St. Augustine as a possibility to search for a new perspective of the role of the laity today. Bibliography Berardino, Angelo Di. Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity. InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, Bertrand Lancon, Rome in Late Antiquity: Everyday Life and Urban Change, AD Edinburgh, Cassien, Jean. Institutions cénobitiques. Texte latin revu. Introduction, traduction et notes. SC 109, Les éditions du Cerf : Paris, CCL 138, 138A dated to Dagens, Claude. La conversion de saint Gregoire le Grand, REAug 15, (1969): Labriolle, de Pierre. Saint Grégoire le Grand, Bulletin de l Association Guillaume Budé n 2, (janvier 1924). Lichner, Miloš. Úvodná štúdia, preklad a poznámky, In Sulpicius Severus. Život svätého Martina. Starokresťanská knižnica 11. Dobrá kniha: Trnava, Miloš Lichner, Zjavenie Panny Márie v diele sv. Gregora Veľkého v kontexte monastizácie monastizácie svetského kresťanstva. In Mária Matka v každej dobe, Zborník vedeckých príspevkov, edited by Anton Adam, Aprint : Badín, Lichner, Miloš. Jednota a pokora ako východisko teologického chápania rehoľných sľubov v myslení sv. Augustína, In Lichner, Miloš, Jusková, Miroslava and Benkovský, Ján. Rehoľné sľuby v konfrontácii spiritualít. Trnava: Dobrá kniha Lichner, Miloš. Saint Augustin et sa pensée sur la doctrine du corps du Christ qui est sans taches ni rides de facon progressive, In Wiara i kultura miejscem dialogu. Warszawa: Rhetos, Lichner, Miloš. Teologická analýza diela De correptione et gratia a možné nové chápanie problematiky milosti, Teologický časopis 10, no. 1, (2012): Gregorius Magnus, Dialogorum, IV, 27,10 14, SC 265, Gregorius Magnus, Dialogorum, IV, 28,1 6, SC 265, Gregorius Magnus, Dialogorum, IV, 35, SC 265, Gregorius Magnus, Dialogorum, IV, 38, SC 265, Euergetéô means to perform the deeds of solidarity. 195 Cristina Ricci, Chierici e laici allo specchio: Testimoninaze della recezione della Regula Pastoralis di Gregorio Magno nell Occidente Carolingio, In L ereditá spirituale di Gregorio Magno tra Occidente e Oriente. Atti del Simposio Internazionale Gregorio Magno , Roma marzo Il Segno dei Gabrielli editori, 2005,

31 BEAUTY AS A WAY OF COMMUNICATING THE REVELATION OF GOD VERONIKA IŇOVÁ Magnus, Gregorius. Moralia in Job, epistula ad Leandrum, CCL: 143. Magnus, Gregorius. Dialogorum libri IV, 17, SC 265. Magnus, Gregorius. Homiliarum XL in euangelia libri duo, liber 1, homilia 1,1, CCL 141. Magnus, Gregorius. Homiliarum XL in euangelia libri duo, liber 1, homilia 17,16, CCL 141. Magnus, Gregorius. Homiliarum XL in euangelia libri duo, liber 2, homilia 39,2, CCL 141. Magnus, Leo. sermo 25,1, Tractatus septem et nonaginta, CCL 138. Markus, R. A. Gregory the Great and his World. Cambridge: University Press, Newlands, George. Hilary of Poitiers. A Study in Theological Method. European University Studies (Series XXIII, vol Peter Lang: Bern, Frankfurt am Main, Las Vegas, 1978). Pietri, Charles. Clercs et serviteurs laïcs de l Église romaine au temps de Grégoire Le Grand. In Grégoire le Grand (Actes du colloque CNRS, Chantilly, septembre 1982). Paris, Sollignac, Aimé. Les excès de l intellectus fidei dans la doctrine d Augustin sur la grâce. Nouvelle révue théologique 110, (1988): Sollignac, Aimé. Le monachisme et son rôle dans l Église d après l Enarratio in Psalmum 132, In Homo spiritalis. Festgabe für Luc Verheijen OSA zu seinem 70. Geburtstag. (Cassiciacum 38, Würzburg, 1987): Soos, De M. B. Le mystère liturgique d après saint Léon le Grand (Münster, 1958) Source chrétiennes, SC 251,260, 265. Paris, Straw, C. Grégoire Le Grand, In Encyclopédie Saint Augustin, La Méditerranée et l Europe IVe XXIe siècle, sous la direction de A. D. Fitzgerald /éd. française sous la direction de M.-A. Vannier, Paris, Éd. du Cerf, 2005, BEAUTY AS A WAY OF COMMUNICATING THE REVELATION OF GOD* 196 Veronika Iňová 197 Faculty of Theology, Department of Pedagogy, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice (CZ) Submitted: 29 June 2018 Accepted for publication: 3 February 2019 First published: 15 October 2019 Acta Missiologica No. 2 Vol Abstract Backround: This article aims at discovering a possible correlation between the fundamental theological issue of God s revelation and the aesthetic phenomenon of beauty. The central interconnecting topic is communication, which is also manifested at the theological level. At first, the article presents a study of the opinions of leading theologists on the issue of the temporality of God s revelation, which appears as a kind of sacred communication between God and His creation in the history of salvation, through the incarnation of Jesus Christ and the gift of sending the Holy Spirit. The following sections of the article focus on looking for interconnections between the principle of God s self-sharing and beauty as one of the transcendentals presented in the work of Swiss theologist Hans Urs von Balthasar. Subsequently, the article finds a symbol as a tool of this sacred communication, which draws inspiration from the world of art. As in the case of the Christian religion, it applies communication through symbols to address related content. Conclusion: Communication through symbols represents an accessible means of evangelisation, missionary, pastoral or ecumenical activities, which helps the undecided to discover and the faithful to extend their relationship to the real meaning of life. Keywords: God s Revelation The Theological Aesthetics Hans Urs von Balthasar Beauty Symbolic Communication. Introduction In his created nature, man is able to form a relationship not only with the outer world, but also directly with God. Being an integral unity of body, soul and spirit, this dialog firstly uncovers his own self by looking in the mirror of his Creator, who allows to see him the reality which leads to the decision to search for his primary substance first in order to grasp own identity and meaning of life. Only in this way he can realise that he is a real image of God created by God s word, His gesture, act and drama, in their transcendent dimension. 198 The divine Author lets himself to be known and communicates with man in the created world, in the history of salvation, in the Holy Scripture through signs and prophets so that he could reveal himself in the fullness of his Son, * This article was supported by the Grant Agency University of South Bohemia (GAJU) in the framework of the specific research project (no. 157/2016/H). Contact on author: Mgr. Veronika Iňová inovav00@tf.jcu.cz 198 Hans Urs von Balthasar, Herrlichkeit. Eine Theologische Ästhetik. Band I: Schau der Gestalt (Einsiedeln: Johannes Verlag: 1961) Balthasar uses these categories to express our limited way of perceiving the action of God in creation and revelation

32 BEAUTY AS A WAY OF COMMUNICATING THE REVELATION OF GOD VERONIKA IŇOVÁ the Incarnated Word of God. After this central event, God and is not silent, but he speaks to man all over again thanks to the given Grace of the Holy Spirit. 199 If this reality of createdness according to the God s image is a permanent pre-condition of human integrity, we have to ask: Does God still speak through his revelation and is this revelation still comprehensible to contemporary man? At first, this article searches for the answers to the abovementioned questions with the help of fundamental theology, namely the theology of revelation, within which some significant theologians research the question of theological justification of God s revelation and its permanent presence in the world. It concerns, for example one of the most significant American theologians of the twentieth century Avery R. Dulles, SJ and the Czech leading fundamental theologian Karel Skalický. In the second section of the article, the main source of the reflection is the Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar, who will help us to research the question if beauty can be one of the features of God s revelation which man can recognize. It thus focuses on the role of beauty in revelation in his leading work Herrlichkeit: Eine Theologische Ästhetik 200, in which von Balthasar introduced the subject of theological aesthetics into theological research. In our view, the conclusions of this author are essential for our research, especially as concerns his argumentation in which he refers to the aesthetic and philosophical level of God s manifestation in the world. 201 In this way the article opens its central question: In which way is the revelation of God present in beauty? As the first from the three metaphysical transcendentals, the leading medieval scholastic philosophers 202 regard beauty as the first stage to the knowledge of goodness and truth. It is thus a communication tool between God and man, which can make approachable what was hidden until that time. 203 Thanks to beauty, an individual can fell the religious experience with God, who is able to transform and redeem each of us, but he requires the openness of our hearts. In Balthasar s account, there is then the unconditional encounter with God s glory 204 in the incarnated Word, Jesus Christ. However, this communication of God with man in revelation happens on the level of experience, which is nonverbal. Can it, similarly to the work of art, be communicated only in the language of allegory, metaphor and symbols? In this way, artists communicate with their audience. In artistic communication, there is a mutual interaction, which both its subjects have to accept. That is why the conclusion of this article searches for a possible continuity and correlation between the language of art and the voice of God, who uncovers not only the reason of the presence of beauty in the world but also the meaning of its existence for attentive hearer. 205 Revelation as the Way of God s Self-sharing This article does not aim to grasp the whole scope of the theology of revelation. That is why it focuses only on those authors, 206 whose work deals with the question of God s revelation in relation to the phenomenology of beauty. It is also necessary to point out that these authors are mostly Roman Catholic, which however does not limit the great ecumenical potential of the particular theories. The Question of the Temporality of God s Revelation in the Salvation History The question if God reveals himself to man still or his voice got silent with the death of the last Apostle, in other words the question of temporal framing of God s revelation in contrast to permanent revelation of God, is a part of the theological research not only of the theologians of the twentieth century but also of numerous recent researchers. Nevertheless, these approaches are different as for theological argumentation and in the ways how the individual theologians of Church authorities approach the phenomenon of revelation. For example, according to the constitution Dei Verbum, the revelation of God in creation and in the history of salvation is a coexisting process which cannot be divided (DV 5-6). So, is it still a process in motion? The American priest and theologian, cardinal Avery Dulles 207 highlights the fact that the theology of revelation should distinguish public revelations, which are given and communicable to all people, from private revelations, which are give to individuals or to groups of people. Alongside this distinction, he also distinguishes historical (universal) revelation, which is objective, and natural revelation, which prepares an individual and all nations to the coming of accepting of Revelation in Jesus Christ. 208 The leading Czech fundamental theologian Karel Skalický firstly refuses the narrow and, in his own words, too factual notion of revelation, which could be observed especially in the beginning of the twentieth century, 209 as God s language ( locution Dei ) as defined also by the apologists Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange. 199 This theme is reflected by Karel Skalický in Teologie fondamentale (Instituto di Teologia a distanza, Roma 1992). It was one of the first titles supporting the idea that revelation is a permanent action of God in the history of salvation and in the Trinitarian relation of the Three Divine Persons. 200 In its Swiss original, the work of seven volumes: Herrlichkeit. Eine theologische Ästhetik, Einsiedeln ( ) was published as the first part of trilogy, which was followed by the title Theodramatik ( ) and Theologik ( ). 201 See in Hans Urs von Balthasar, Herrlichkeit. Eine theologische Ästhetik. Band I: Schau der Gestalt ; Band III, 2: Theologie ( ). 202 It concerns the philosophical term, which was developed into the present trilogy: bonum verum pulchrum. Already in the time of high scholasticism, saint Thomas mentions them in his sentences (in that time it was unum, bonum et verum). See: e.g. Summa Theologiae I, (q. 16 a. 4 arg. 1.). 203 Already the etymology of the Latin phrase re-velatio (removing the veil) indicates that it is a process, not a direct impulse or sign (signum). 204 The meaning of word herrlichkeit can be translated as beauty, splendour or glory. T. Ulrich finds in the word the adjective hehr (noble, splendid, sacred) and perceives beauty as the first from the three transcendental, which belong to God and through which we can know God. Cf. Tomáš Ulrich, Pulchrum, bonum, verum v díle Hanse Urse von Balthasara (dissertation thesis), (Brno: Masaryk University, Faculty of Arts, year of defence 2017) Viktor E. Frankl, The Doctor and the Soul, (originally titled Ärztliche Seelsorge, 1955). The author is the founder of the subject of logotherapy (searching for the meaning of life by therapeutic methods). 206 The main representatives of the theology of revelation of the twentieth century are mainly the titles by the Canadian theologian René Latourell and the American theologian Avery R. Dullese. This theme was also reflected in teh work by H. de Lubac, K. Jaspers, J. Daniélou. Concerning Protestant theologians, the main representatives of the theology of revelation are A. von Harnack, W. Herrman, K. Barth, R. Bultmann, or W. Pannenberg. 207 For Czech theology, his work about this theme was researched by the fundamental theologian František Štěch, who brought the new perspective on the phenomenon of revelation to Czech theology in his book Tu se jim otevřeli oči. Zjevení, víra a církev v teologii kardinála Avery Dullese SJ (Refugium, Olomouc 2011). 208 Avery Dulles, Models of Revelation, In Francis S. Fiorenza and John P. Galvin, Systematická teologie I.: římskokatolická perspektiva (Brno: Centrum pro studium demokracie a kultury, 1996) In connection to the opinion stated in the dogmatic constitution Dei Filius (DS 3004) which was present in theology up to the start of the twentieth century. As F. Štěch argues, this concept is insufficient especially regarding the fact that it regards Jesus Christ as the preacher and mediator who came to tell people the word of God. In this notion, Christ is not the Word himself but only the mediator (prophet?) of the Word of God. In Štěch, Tu se jim otevřeli oči,

33 BEAUTY AS A WAY OF COMMUNICATING THE REVELATION OF GOD VERONIKA IŇOVÁ Skalický regards the phenomenon of revelation with the help of the hermeneutic method of the interpretation of biblical texts. 210 He presents his thesis that the event of revelation reaches its fullness in the glorified Son and it is not concluded by the death of the last Apostle 211 but that it still continues in the given source of living water, in the gifts of grace and the Spirit. In the view of Skalický, the faith of disciples and all Christians is grounded in this life-giving and unifying principle of revelation, where the Holy Spirit is present. Some protestant theologians support the idea that it was the very faith of the disciples which opened the way to the resurrection of Christ, but Skalický argues that the resurrection of Christ was the essential moment which strengthened and deepened the faith of the Apostles. 212 As concerns the temporality of God s revelation, Skalický deals with two mutually conditioned phases: The first phase of revelation has been fulfilled in the Incarnation of the Son of God and was concluded by Jesus death on the cross. The Incarnation of the Son of God was the condition of the second phase, in which resurrected and gloried Christ is active and sends the Holy Spirit. This line also follows the Gospel of John, which deals with Jesus being with the Father, which came before the incarnation and to which the Son of God returns after his resurrection. 213 According to A. Dulles, John s theology could be even called aesthetic theology since it underlines the sacramental form of revelation in the Body of Christ. The cross is then a sign of the end of purely secular aesthetics, and it shifts our attention to the aesthetics of the sacred. In spite of the horror of cross, Jesus Christ is taken to the highest beauty of God s glow. 214 There are thus various and also contradictory ways of approaching the question of the permanence of God s revelation in the world and the possibilities of its perception. However, all of these various ideas are connected by the fact that God reveals himself in the fullness of Jesus Christ and man still participates in this Revelation thanks to the Holy Spirit. 215 God s Revelation in Beauty According to Hans Urs von Balthasar The question of the relation between God s revelation and beauty is also commented on by one of the leading representatives of the so called new theology and the founder of the modern theological aesthetics, Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar. The essential texts of this subject are contained in the author s trilogy Herrlichkeit: Eine Theologische Ästhetik, Theodramatik a Theologik. The aim of this article is to search for the parallels between God s revelation and beauty; that is why we will follow only the first part of Balthasar s extensive work, namely this one which is devoted to the relation of God s revelation and beauty. If Balthasar deals with the theme of God s revelation in the abovementioned text about theological aesthetics, he relates it to the transcendental of beauty 216 and its aesthetic and spiritual dimension. 210 Karel Skalický, Pokus o krátký nástin teologie zjevení, The opinion comes from the time of high scholasticism. It is impossible to add anything to the revelation of Christ and that is why it is a concluded process. Cf. Štěch, Tu se jim otevřeli oči. Zjevení, víra a církev v teologii kardinála Avery Dullese SJ, 79. About this topic, see also: Tomáš Machula, Modely zjevení v klasifikaci Avery Dullese SJ, Universum 4, no. 4 (2006): Karel Skalický, Pokus o krátký nástin teologie zjevení, Skalický, Pokus o krátký nástin teologie zjevení, 78-79; (John 1,2). 214 Avery Dulles, The Craft of Theology. Form Symbol to System (New York: Herder&Herder 2015) Skalický, Pokus o krátký nástin teologie zjevení, For example, the Slovene theologian A. Štrukelj comments on the difference between Bathasar s notion of beauty and splendor. While the ascendant of beauty is temporal and is inherent to creation and earthly things; splendor is the attribute of God and is fully enlightened and revealed in Christ, in his never-ending According to von Balthasar, the form of revelation corresponds to the biblical unity between created consciousness (what we can see) and faith given by God (what we cannot see). In order to be able to see by the eyes of faith what he cannot see by senses, man has to overcome the following threefold tension: 1) Anthropological Order the tension between the manifestation of body and hiddenness of the spirit. It concerns the tension between what is material and what is spiritual, hidden in the profundities of human soul. For example, from the beauty and perfectness of a flower we see, we can arrive at an idea of the journey from a grain toward the fullness of fruit from the beauty and perfectness of man, we can arrive at the idea of his createdness by God. The anima breathed in by God, the Creator, is the life-giving principle which is simultaneously unconscious and invisible ) Creationist Order it is the tension rooted in the createdness of the universe and the freedom of God, who created it in his free decision. In the view of Balthasar, this is the reality that the unique God created the unique universe even though this world seems to be considerably various in space and time. Nevertheless, this diversity and variety is a part of the unique whole of the world ) Soteriological Order the tension lies in the order of grace and salvation and a sinner, who desires to return to God and be forgiven by God, who reveals himself as the Saviour in the hidenness of the cross. This revelation of God in man reaches its climax in Jesus Christ since the only God in this order of salvation becomes a new man in our space and time, and because of that we, people, can experience his mysterious closeness and presence. 219 These three orders cannot be reduced to a single one or to be deduced from one another. From his anthropological base, which is grounded in the realization of own createdness, within the creationist order, man arrives at the understanding of revealed but still mysterious and hidden God. This unique relationship of revelation and hiddenness is crowned by its openness in the order of revealed Being. Anthropological Order: Between Body and Spirit In the sacred events and in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, God reveals himself to man in his earthly life. The analogical relation between the revealer and the person, to whom God decided to reveal, emerges. However, this revelation is not self-evident, but it has symbolic form as it appeals to the human ability to live in images, tones or poetic metaphors and their seemingly hidden symbolism referring to the mystery of God in his presence here, on the earth. Nevertheless, can we demand to know God like this? The basic argument is supported by the biblical account of creation: So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (Gn 1,27). If a man got such a privilege, he is bound to perceive, contemplate and develop this gift. Be it by his own creativeness when a man follows God s invitation to become an active participant of this creation: The Lord God took the man Being, through which these two modalities get a logical sequence. Cf. A. Štrukelj, Křesťanská zvěst o kráse u Josepha Ratzingera a Hanse Urse von Balthasara, In K. Sládek et al., Krása spasí svět (Červený Kostelec: Pavel Mervart, 2015) Balthasar, Herrlichkeit. Eine Theologische Ästhetik, Band I: Schau der Gestalt, (Balthasar refers to the order of revealed being to what we call anthropological order ). 218 Balthasar, Herrlichkeit. Eine Theologische Ästhetik, Band I: Schau der Gestalt, The author calls this order or tension the order of created Being. 219 Balthasar, Herrlichkeit. Eine Theologische Ästhetik, Band I: Schau der Gestalt, Through the man Jesus, we can see God who let himself to be known and who came to redeem man

34 BEAUTY AS A WAY OF COMMUNICATING THE REVELATION OF GOD VERONIKA IŇOVÁ and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. (Gn 2,15), or in a mere wonder, in which a man can rest and bow down to the beauty of God s creation. The Creationist Order: Between a Creature and the Creator The revelation of God in his creation belongs to the preparatory parts of public historical Revelation in Christ. In the Scripture, the revealed Word of God has to be necessarily translated and verbalized to the present time as God s self-manifestation, through which God gives man the possibility to approach him and to know the mystery of his will. God s word invites man also to the personal relation and experience of human authors of the Holy Scripture with the Divine Author, and it is conditioned by the openness of the reader, who accepts it and gets transformed by it. It also includes the fact that man became an image of God and, already here, the Creator met his creation and built a relationship with them, which was soon after damaged by human sin. Nevertheless, loving God accompanies man in his history with parental love, he keeps, supports, carriers him and gives him a living activity and his fidelity, which is fully adjusted to the wholeness of creation. God s love of everything what was created by its action is fully expressed in the created world and in the revealed Word. 220 Sooner or later, man is able to find out that he is not only a cluster of matter but that there is his own soul hidden in him. Then he makes a step towards understanding the world and universe as a work of the Creator, who remains hidden to him. Soteriological Order: Salvation in the Fullness of Revelation In the order of grace, it is possible to find out divine light shining from the man Jesus, who offers his redemption and salvation. Balthasar often describes the unity between earthly beauty and its supernatural counterpart by two metaphors which he calls image and brightness. According to von Balthasar, their dynamic action can be observed in the order of transformed being from one Image, from brightness to brightness emanating from incarnated Christ. He is simultaneous the Spirit, He is the access to the Father and his perfect Image. In Balthasar s view, our knowledge of God s glory emanates from Christ s face in the same way as the light of the Gospel is visible and comprehensible because it comes from Christ s glory, from the man Jesus, who in his visibility is not a sign pointing at himself, to the invisible Christ of faith, but he fully points at God, and so he is the full revelation of God. 221 In Balthasar s concept, God lets himself to be known by man in his free will through the word of man and trough the love given by Jesus, which transcends the order of being. Again, he finds in him Love, which was forgotten by man because of sin and he becomes knowable in the soteriological order. 222 These three orders are of a dynamic and overlapping character. The Analogy of Beauty and Revelation According to Hans Urs von Balthasar In the view of von Balthasar, beauty can enlighten the way towards revelation but also to human knowledge of the transcendent, otherwise hardly approachable, world. For Balthasar, beauty is the brightness enlightening God s truth. 223 It refers to a certain kind of initial stage of seeing truth, which can be known only in light of beauty, which Balthasar considers to be the main object of theological aesthetics. For example, Dulles adds that, thanks to this principle, we not only believe but we can also notice what we believe in. 224 From the point of view of the fundamental theology of the twentieth century, it was a ground-breaking idea. Balthasar developed this peculiar form of understanding beauty into the following theory. According to von Balthasar, man touches the glory of God by senses, which accept this emanation of divinity in images, shapes and tones. The ways how we can arrive at this knowledge is described by these two directions of theological aesthetics: 1) The theory of noticing ( grounded in fundamental theology): Aesthetics in the Kantian sense as a theory about the perception of the form of God s self-sharing. This process is realized in the abovementioned creationist and anthropological order. 2) The theory of ecstasy (directed to dogmatic theology): Aesthetics is perceived as a theory about the incarnation of God and his glory in relation to the elevation of man, who can participate in this glory; it happens in the soteriological order. In fact, it describes a continuous process, which has two phases: At first, a man notices God s glory, which overcomes the alienation between people and between man and God. This is followed by the method of ecstasy, the unity between God and man in Christ. Von Balthasar prefers rather the second, more dogmatic notion of theological aesthetics. He thus created a concept asking a man to have his eyes of faith open in order to accept faith and notice the beauty of creation and salvation. 225 The Beauty in Art as an Analogy to the Beauty in Revelation Now, we are approaching the concluding question, which also determined the structure of this paper: Can we find an analogy between the beauty of revelation and the beauty of nature or the beauty of the work of art? In the logic of von Balthasar s thinking, first we should mention the anthropological nature of man, who is a part of God s creation and who can naturally perceive its beauty. Let us thus get inspired by the world of art and by the way how this legitimization of beauty is reflected in the anthropology of artistic creation. In a similar way to faith, art uses symbols and imagery for expressing the impossibility of verbalization of its object. In order to find the objective analogy between art and beauty in revelation, it will be necessary to briefly analyze the communication scheme of art, which helps us to overcome the cognitive difference between the work of art and its viewer. Von Balthasar studies this analogy, when he mentions the personality of an artist, who enters into the free play of art with his original intentionality and subjective disposition. In this way, we can know the intention and disposition of somebody who expresses himself to the surface, through objective information and includes, what he wanted to express with the help of subjective empathy, which he arrives at through the work itself or trough the viewer s understanding of the work or of the artist s personality. Through authorial intention, as von Balthasar points out, the viewer, hearer or reader can lead a meaningful dialog with the work of art. When searching for the answer to the question: What is 220 Balthasar, Herrlichkeit. Eine Theologische Ästhetik, Band I: Schau der Gestalt, Balthasar, Herrlichkeit. Eine Theologische Ästhetik, Band I: Schau der Gestalt, Balthasar, Herrlichkeit. Eine Theologische Ästhetik, Band I: Schau der Gestalt, Balthasar, Herrlichkeit. Eine Theologische Ästhetik, Band I: Schau der Gestalt, Avery Dulles, The assurance of things hoped for: a theology of Christian faith (New York/Oxford: University Press 1997) Balthasar, Herrlichkeit. Eine Theologische Ästhetik. Band I: Schau der Gestalt,

35 BEAUTY AS A WAY OF COMMUNICATING THE REVELATION OF GOD VERONIKA IŇOVÁ in the background of the work which is presented to us?, the viewer can find useful to study the personality of the artist together with his life and psychology. However, in the view of Balthasar, this knowledge can also undesirably simplify the way towards the true meaning of the work as it is a digression from the contemplation of art to the reflection about other themes, which can distract the attention of the viewer and thus hide the main meaning of the work. That is why the knowledge of the abovementioned is usually insufficient since we cannot suppose that the work is intended to be the expression of the artist s personality. The work of art is much more often the expression of the author s world-view which he considers to be objective and which he wants to share with the others. This world-view is, however, only a part of his personality. That is why the artist will struggle to hide his all self to the extent to which he considers to be appropriate. It is sure that, even though he wants to give shape to his world-view, he will reveal something about himself, but it is on a rougher level. By his work, he desires to manifest the world in the way how he understands it; at the same time, he denies his own self and sees himself only as a mere mediator who is trying to accomplish something extraordinary. 226 In the case of God, the Creator, this is absolutely different because, when God creates, he can represent only himself, as the one who accompanies and gives the life-giving power through love which is shown in his creation and in the revealed Word, Jesus Christ. In his Son, God, the Creator, shows that he is simultaneously identical with all his creation. It is demonstrated by the fact that God became man, in whom the whole world, the work of His creation, found out that it belongs to His image, goodness and never-ending love. Balthasar then continues that, in God, the distances between the work and its Creator are invisible. The interconnection is realized by the expression which is of organic and spiritual kind, by the theogrammar, 227 which refers by the work to its Creator. In contrast to secular art, whose task is to find the image of God in secular form, it reveals itself from the free will of God and enables us to see and understand this unique profundity. God still makes his art complete via human artists of this world. That is why the work which points at its divine Author should be still interpreted, Balthasar says. 228 It seems that human artist mediates his own perception of revealed God in the word but he also enables to notice God when he mediates the expression of his own experience of how God revealed to him. He thus expresses his own notion of beauty and its profundity. Divine Artist reveals himself in created nature, in which man can notice him, which makes him able to find him and see him perfectly in God s Son. As Balthasar underlines, in the sacred communication between God and man, man can notice God s presence in the beauty of nature but also by the work of art seen by the eyes of faith of the viewer. In both cases, the mere interest is transformed into a deep contemplation of beauty. It can lead man to the knowledge of God, whose attributes Balthasar describes as Beauty, Goodness and Truth, in line with the teachings of High scholasticism Balthasar, Herrlichkeit: Eine Theologische Äesthetik, Band I, Schau der Gestalt, Balthasar s term for expressing the way of God s talking to man. 228 Balthasar, Herrlichkeit: Eine Theologische Äesthetik. Band I. Schau der Gestalt, Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae I, q. 5 a. 4 ad 1. Ad primum ergo dicendum quod pulchrum et bonum in subiecto quidem sunt idem, quia super eandem rem fundantur, scilicet super formam, et propter hoc, bonum laudatur ut pulchrum. Sed ratione different. Revelation and its Symbolic Communication In the deeper understanding of beauty seen, in Balthasar s words, by the eyes of faith, we can notice what communicates the intention of the Creator and his creation. However, can the beauty of the created world be this interlink? Analogically to the work of art, also the form of the sacred communication of God s revelation requires a certain communication tool or means. In case of the Holy Scripture, we talk about allegory or metaphor. 230 In the work of art, as well as in nature and sacral space, we describe it by the word symbol. 231 The meaning of allegory and symbol does not lie in its outer form but in its hidden transcendent meaning. Word or image symbolically represents something other which would be for our human senses ungraspable. Symbol is able to lead man to the knowledge of divine or supernatural world, and its source is in sensual experience. 232 In the communication of art, which follows the scheme: artist work audience, symbol is one or the main communication tools. Is it, however, possible to find this analogy in the way of communicating God s revelation? According to the French philosopher, Paul Ricoeur, who investigated the theme of myth and symbol by hermeneutic method, each symbol has twofold dimension: on the one hand, it includes the overt, physical meaning, which reveals the invisible, covert meaning. In order to approach the second meaning, it is necessary, according to Ricoeur, to find the symbolic function in the first sense. 233 In the abovementioned hermeneutic function of a symbol, the Czech fundamental theologian František Štěch finds the connection between revelation and the area of art. That is why artists often use symbols to express what could not be pronounced without a symbolical meaning, which is analogous to the notion of revelation in religion. However, what can be this mediating symbol which leads to the knowledge of God? Štěch answers that it is the relation between the Creator and his creation. Only the language of symbols can expressed the secret and, for human words, hidden religious reality of revelation. 234 Similarly to the phenomenon of beauty, which can become a communication tool of God s revelation, a symbol is what expresses the authorial intention to the audience. This question was also investigated by the American theologian Avery Dulles, whose work F. Štěch introduced to contemporary Czech theological discussion. Accordign to Štěch, the extraordinariness of Dulles s work about revelation lies in the fact that Dulles s highlighted that God s self-communication in revelation has also its social and symbolic dimension For more on metaphors in theology see: Jaroslav Vokoun and Margareta Krpcová Winsted, Nahlédnutní do teologie kultury (České Budějovice: Teologická fakulta JU, 2016). 231 Allegory is tied to word; it has rhetorical or hermeneutical potential (specifies, pronounces in a different way, paraphrases, etc.). However, when we talk about a symbol, which is not limited to the area of verbal expression, it gets a meaning for its observer who can see it in its symbolic form. That is why symbol does not affect the observer only by its content, but it is simultaneously a document or agreement according to which a members of a certain community recognize each other. It gains its representative function at the moment when it is displayed or verbalized. See: Hans-Georg Gadamer, Pravda a metoda I. Nárys fenomenologické hermeneutiky, (From German original trans. D. Mik. Praha: Triáda 2010) Ludmila Muchová, Vyslovit nevyslovitelné: didaktika uvádění do světa symbolů (Brno: Centrum pro studium demokracie a kultury, 2005) , Paul Ricoeur, Život, pravda a symbol, (From French original trans. M. Rejchrt a J. Sokol. Praha: Oikoymenh 1993) Ricoeur interprets the function of symbol in the following way: Symbol is where it is necessary to interpret the overt sense to uncover, unmask and decipher the hidden sense. 234 Štěch, Tu se jim otevřely oči, Štěch, Tu se jim otevřely oči,

36 BEAUTY AS A WAY OF COMMUNICATING THE REVELATION OF GOD VERONIKA IŇOVÁ Revelation thus has to include the whole order of nature, historical context, symbolic words, inner illumination and verbal confirmation. Nevertheless, what is necessary to be communicated is not the form but the meaning of these words and symbols. Dulles calls this peculiar kind of God s communication symbolic communication. 236 That is why, in his book on revelation, he transfers Jaspers ciphers of transcendence to symbols of revelation which lead man to the mystery of God, who shares himself with man but still remains transcendent. 237 Dulles then polemizes against classical theological disciplines about the presupposition of God s self-communication in revelation and arrives at the conclusion which he summarizes in the words of B. Härring: communication is the constitutive element for the knowledge of the mystery of God. 238 It is the symbolic communication what brings the meaning of symbol from the supernatural world to natural world, in which it shows itself as its part and also enables to find the supernatural in the natural. Beauty as a Symbol of God s Revelation In the perspective of Hans Urs von Balthasar, man can notice God in the beauty of creation by the eyes of faith, but he can notice him also through the secular form of artistic work. However, Balthasar comments that this experience of beauty is immediate and cannot be shared. Together with the abovementioned authors, we add that the language of symbols, which interconnects these two worlds in a unique way, is an essential condition for beauty to become this communication tool. Within the abovementioned soteriological, creationist and anthropological order of God s Revelation, as von Balthasar pointed out, we can find an analogical scheme to the abovementioned aesthetic paradigm, which could be seen in the following way: the Creator (Divine Artist) the work of creation (the beauty of nature) man (the community of believers). From the perspective of God s revelation, there is a process during which God decided to redeem and save whole created being through the Son (soteriological order), who enters the history of salvation and becomes their part (creationist order) in order to save man in his anthropological level of body and soul. Man answers to this by his faith, and beauty can be its initial step, as Balthasar says. It is to be found in man himself, when he discovers that, being an image of God, he can notice God s beauty in the order of creation. Only in this way, Balthasar says, we can come to ecstasy, or in other words, to the fullness of salvation in Jesus Christ. That is why Balthasar suggests that this highest level of knowing the Revelation should determine the whole notion of theological aesthetics. Conclusion In the event of God s revelation in beauty, there is a sacred encounter of God with man. The fact that revelation has the character of encounter requires also a specific way of communication between these two subjects. Thanks to the abovementioned theological bases it is obvious that this communication is always realized on the level of God s self-sharing, i.e. in the direction from God to man. The manner of the communication is also dependent on the openness and activity of the receiver. Both can happen only in absolute liberty of both communication partners. Through the anthropological order, which Balthasar describes as the tension between body and soul, a created being realizes and knows himself as the image of God. This unique Image naturally searches for its Author. In the process of searching, God is noticed in the beauty of His creation. God reveals himself to man in created nature, whose beauty points at its Creator. 239 Noticing God in creation refers to Balthasar s creationist order. Nevertheless, according the abovementioned Balthasar s concept, some people proceed in the process of discovery further. This way is beauty, goodness and truth. Neither of these would exist without the other. If we regard beauty as an initial step to the other two transcendental, it is necessary to point out that both goodness and truth need beauty as an interconnecting principle of even the symbol of God s presence in the world. In this way, man can meet God in Jesus Christ, who is the climax of whole creation in the soteriological order in the order of grace. Jesus Christ, the revealed Word of God, thus became the permanent sign of God s love. In order to be able to accept this mystery and include it to our life, the Holy Spirit makes this sign always present, and it becomes the gift of God, which changes the whole life of man. This article shows one of the possible ways how to enter into the communication during which man can meet God. It is beauty, which the scholastic philosophers marked as the first of the transcendental and which helps man to discover the relation to the sacred. For Balthasar, beauty is the first step of man on this way. This process of encounter has its visible analogy in art, which is the interaction of an artist and audience through the symbolical language of the work of art. The beauty of creation, the principle of created sacred, is perceivable by human senses. This interaction between the created world and the holy happens on the level of symbols, which are able to make the idea of their creator visible, as it was in case of art. Created man enters this world as a searching subject who finds goodness and truth of his life in Jesus Christ during his way to the sacred communication with God s revelation. What is more, trough the symbolic approach to revelation and its communication potential hidden in the language of symbols expressed in the beauty and art, this extraordinary theological and aesthetic concept can gain also its evangelizing and pastoral dimension. This concept also offers many unused opportunities for further analysis which could potentially attract believers, seekers and non-believers. It can also be used on the application level to make evangelization more efficient, to strengthen missionary work or support sciences which can be directly or indirectly related to missionary work. Bibliography Aquinas,Thomas. Summa Theologiae I, q. 5 a. 4 ad 1. Balthasar, Hans Urs von. Herrlichkeit: Eine Theologische Ästhetik, Band I: Schau der Gestalt. Einsiedeln: Johannes Verlag, (in English translation: Balthasar, Hans Urs von. The Glory of the Lord. Volume I: Seeing th Form. Translated by Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, edited by Joseph Fessio S.J. and John Riches, Edinburg: T.& T. Clark Dei verbum, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation. Dulles, Avery. Models of Revelation, (1983) In Francis S. Fiorenza and John P. Galvin, Systematická teologie: římskokatolická perspektiva. Brno: Centrum pro studium demokracie a kultury, Avery Dulles, Víra a zjevení, in Francis S. Fiorenza and John P. Galvin, eds. Systematická teologie I Štěch, Tu se jim otevřely oči, B. Häring, Free and Faithful in Christ. In Avery Dulles, The Craft of Theology, Cf. Wisdom 13: 1: Anyone who does not know God is simply foolish. Such people look at the good things around them and still fail to see the living God. They have studied the things he made, but they have not recognized the one who made them

37 DIALOGUE AND SOLIDARITY AS A BASIS FOR ADDRESSING THE CURRENT MIGRATION CRISIS PAVOL DANCÁK Dulles, Avery. The assurance of things hoped for: a theology of Christian faith. New York/Oxford: University Press Dulles, Avery. The Craft of Theology. Form Symbol to System (new expanded edition). New York: Herder&Herder Frankl, Viktor E. The Doctor and the Soul. (originally titled Ärztliche Seelsorge), Random House, Gadamer, Hans-Georg. Pravda a metoda I. Nárys fenomenologické hermeneutiky. From German original translated by D. Mik. Praha: Triáda Muchová, Ludmila. Vyslovit nevyslovitelné: didaktika uvádění do světa symbolů. Brno: Centrum pro studium demokracie a kultury, 2005 Ricoeur, Paul. Život, pravda a symbol. (From French original translated by M. Rejchrt a J. Sokol), Praha: Oikoymenh Skalický, Karel. Pokus o krátký nástin teologie zjevení. Translated from Italian in Teologie fondamentale, transl. by Kateřina Brichcínová, In Teologické studie 2, 2 (2005). Summa Theologiae I, (q. 16 a. 4 arg. 1.). Štěch, František. Tu se jim otevřeli oči. Zjevení, víra a církev v teologii kardinála Avery Dullese SJ, Olomouc: Refugium, Štrukelj, A. Křesťanská zvěst o kráse u Josepha Ratzingera a Hanse Urse von Balthasara, In K. Sládek et al., Krása spasí svět. Červený Kostelec: Pavel Mervart, Vokoun, Jaroslav and Winsted, Krpcová Margareta. Nahlédnutní do teologie kultury, České Budějovice: Teologická fakulta JU, Ulrich, Tomáš. Pulchrum, bonum, verum v díle Hanse Urse von Balthasara (dissertation thesis), Brno: Masaryk University, Faculty of Arts, year of defence DIALOGUE AND SOLIDARITY AS A BASIS FOR ADDRESSING THE CURRENT MIGRATION CRISIS Pavol Dancák 240 Greek-Catholic Theological Faculty of University of Presov in Presov (SK) The Catholic University of America, Washington (US) The Jan Dlugosz University in Czestochowa (PL) Submitted: 11 January 2019 Accepted for publication: 13 September 2019 First published: 15 October 2019 Acta Missiologica No. 2 Vol Abstract Backround: The search for solutions to acute problems caused by the migration crisis is often associated with the rejection of dialogue and of the principle of solidarity. The aim of the article is to present a philosophical and theological reflection of solidarity as an important and fundamental contribution to the solution of the serious social problems caused by the on-going migration. Conclusion: Migration has always been a problem for both active and passive participants, and today the problem has been multiplied by globalization. There are essentially two alternatives to addressing this problem: on the one hand, the rejection of migrants, and on the other, the reception of migrants. However, both solutions lead to an escalation of tensions in society when they are associated with dehumanization, denial of human dignity and rejection of belonging and the concept of a common good. Keywords: Solidarity Dialogue Migration Personalism Human Dignity. Introduction Migration has existed in the world since its inception, where people, even entire nations, have always migrated for better living conditions, more fertile fields and better pastures for cattle. But there were also other reasons famines, wars and natural disasters. As in the past, today migration has been and is the result of conflicts and poverty. Migration is an interdisciplinary term; political scientists associate it with international policy-making, sociologists and economists associate it with the movement of social and human capital, and anthropologists perceive it as a movement of communities. Migration means changing the place of residence, the relocation that is associated with the change of residence. The main motive for migration is the continuous improvement of the personal situation, not only economically but also in terms of social status. 241 Contact on author: Dr.h.c. prof. PhDr. Pavol Dancák PhD. pavol.dancak@unipo.sk 241 Since the spring of 2015, hundreds of thousands of refugees have been pouring into Europe. They have been mainly coming from countries that have been destroyed by civil wars. However many have joined the waves of refugees from countries of Africa where there have violent tribal conflicts. Those from these countries have lost their abilities to sustain themselves and their families. (Libuša Radková, et. al. Are Refugees for us a Threat or an Opportunity? in Business and Health Administration Association Division of MBAA International 2016 Meeting ABSTRACT AND PAPER PROCEEDINGS (CHICAGO, IL, USA, ) Contemporary migration flows represent the most extensive movement of individuals, if not whole nations, in human history. (Monika Nová, 72 73

38 DIALOGUE AND SOLIDARITY AS A BASIS FOR ADDRESSING THE CURRENT MIGRATION CRISIS PAVOL DANCÁK European countries have long been facing a demographic decline, and therefore migration has been presented not only as an opportunity to demonstrate human solidarity, but also as a means of averting adverse demographic developments. Even after the first wave of migrants, it was clear in Europe that migration without limits was causing a crisis, as we witnessed a massive failure of the previously successful solutions to problems and the blending of powerlessness with the often chaotic opening of new opportunities. Society faces the need to choose from among various development alternatives. 242 The situation is similar in the USA and Australia. However, the search for solutions to acute problems is often linked to explicit or implicit rejection of the concept of human dignity and common good, rejection of the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity. 243 The aim of the article is to present a philosophical and theological reflection of solidarity with regard to dialogue as an important and fundamental contribution to the solution of the serious social problems caused by the on-going migration. Our intention is not to give an exhaustive solution to the difficult situation, but to emphasize that dialogue with others forms and reveals one s identity 244, where solidarity is a moral imperative and a contribution to the development of all those involved. 245 Solidarity Solidarity means voluntary coherence, mutual help and support, not only within any group, but in particular within the human group. Mutual support builds the community and develops the individual, while isolation leads to social and individual deviations. The Latin word solidus means solid, integral, and in the legal context in solidum it refers to a group of people who make a commitment as a whole. According to Durkheim, behaving in solidarity means behaving morally. Morality is all that is the source of solidarity, everything that forces one to count on others and to follow in their actions motives other than egoism. Morality is more stable, the more such connections the stronger they are. 246 In its essence solidarity is mutual, voluntary and not enforced by law. It has been proven with regard to solidarity that the larger the community operating Důstojnost migrantů na cestě in Klient vs. Blížny: Zborník príspevkov vedeckej konferencie, ed. Natália Bušová and Ivana Butoracová-Šindleryová, (Prešov: Prešovská univerzita v Prešove, 2018). 57.) With respect to an altered flow of refugees (...) due to various reasons, European countries must address social, political, healthcare, educational, and religious questions that will require effective and adequate solutions from the perspective of longterm mutual coexistence with an intact population in specific countries. (Peter Caban The Christian and Attitudes to Other Cultures: Reasons for the Hostility toward Muslim Migrants (Tolerance, Openness, or Isolation? Acta Missiologica 12, no. 2, (2018): 7). Due to the reasons specified above, it is necessary to pay particular attention to the religious aspect of the identity of Muslim migrants in the Central European context as this aspect is among the most problematic ones. We will most likely be increasingly confronted with this aspect in the years and decades to come due to the increasingly significant presence of Islam in Europe. (Peter Caban The Christian and Attitudes to Other Cultures: Reasons for the Hostility toward Muslim Migrants (Tolerance, Openness, or Isolation? 7.) 242 František Novosád, O čom sú dejiny sociálnych a politických teórií, in Dejiny sociálneho a politického myslenia, ed. František Novosád and Dagmar Smreková, (Bratislava: Kalligram 2013) Marek Rembierz, Kultura intelektualna, wątpliwości metodologiczne i refleksja metapedagogiczna w rozwijaniu teorii i praktyki edukacji międzykulturowej, in Edukacja międzykulturowa nr 2, (7), (2017): Cf. Charles Taylor, The Malaise of Modernity (Ontario: Concord 1991) Cf. Charles Taylor, The Malaise of Modernity, Cf. Emile Durkheim, Sociology and Philosophy (New York: Routledge, 2010).176. in a larger area, the harder it is to maintain solidarity in such community. Therefore Habermas points out that no one will perform solidarity for us, we must do it together. 247 Richard Rorty considers the question of solidarity to be key issue from a pragmatic point of view. In his book Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity, Rorty introduced a liberal ironic who is a liberal considering cruelty to be the worst he can commit, and ironic because he faces the contingency of his own beliefs and desires. The liberal ironic does not recognize the eternal, unchanging, superhistoric essences; nothing has an eternal, inner metaphysical core, an unchanging inner nature. Even the main pillars of our lives, language, I and the community, are contingent. 248 The rejection of any eternal, superhistoric, and inner core of nature suggests that Rorty does not accept even the traditional form of solidarity. Rorty does not seek the basis of solidarity and human compassion in the hitherto hidden depths or in the eternal, unchanging essence of humanity; rather, he considers them to be goals that must be achieved. Solidarity does not appear in reflection, but is created by increasing our sensitivity to specific pain and to the humiliation of strangers unknown to us. According to Rorty, solidarity is the ultimate goal on the horizon of our interpretation of the world, and we have a moral obligation to feel solidarity with other people. 249 But, at the same time, he realizes that such identification with humanity, with every reasonable being, is not feasible in practical life. We can only insist on extending we-intentions in order to try to extend our I consciousness to people that we previously understood as they. 250 According to Rorty, there is moral progress in this sense, and that progress is really moving towards greater human solidarity. Norman Geras criticizes Rorty s position and argues that the universal concept of man and human dignity are not sufficient grounds to justify solidarity. Geras refers to empirical research which has shown that many people who participated in the rescue of the Jews justified this by referring to religious categories. 251 The Personalistic aspect of solidarity Personalism arose in response to the crisis in Western society, which took on an economic form in the 1920s and 1930s. The crisis, as a symptom of deeper causes based on the depersonalizing acts of man, 252 did not remain without monstrous consequences. Later developments showed that the crisis was primarily a value crisis. The arrogant penetration of dehumanizing tendencies into human thought and into practical life required the joining of all forces recognizing that the ultimate goal of all efforts is human, and therefore humanists opposed the rejection by Christianity of dialogue with distant, though often oppositional, currents of thought. Martin Buber represents a significant group of philosophers reflecting atrophy of social life at that time. He emphasizes that the basis of human existence does not lie in an individual nor in the entire society, but between two people, which means the basis of human existence is dialogue. Buber believed that life is essentially a complex of interpersonal relationships, and one is able to build a relationship in the fundamental spheres of one s existence. The basis of life is 247 Cf. Jürgen Habermas, Democracy, Solidarity and the European Crisis, accessed December 8, 2018, Richard Rorty, Nahodilost, ironie, solidarita trans. Pavel Toman, (Praha: Pedagogická fakulta UK 1996). 249 Cf. Richard Rorty, Nahodilost, ironie, solidarita, Richard Rorty, Nahodilost, ironie, solidarita, Norman Geras, Solidarity in the Conversations of Mankind (London: 1995). 252 Cf. Andrej Rajský, Osoba ako ikona tajomstva (Trnava: Pedagogická fakulta Trnavskej univerzity v Trnave, 2007)

39 DIALOGUE AND SOLIDARITY AS A BASIS FOR ADDRESSING THE CURRENT MIGRATION CRISIS PAVOL DANCÁK love, which directs one human being to other one. 253 Man is unique and necessarily perceives the counterpart as himself, and needs to feel himself in the others. 254 The element of dialogue is the essence of anthropology. The contribution of personalism to intensify dialogue and to the development of solidarity can be aptly demonstrated in the philosophical exploration of Karol Wojtyła - John Paul II, in which solidarity was presented as a fundamental principle of social life. Wojtyła s philosophical research oscillates around the human conception of the person he presented in the work Acting Person. Based on Boethius, St. Thomas Aquinas and phenomenological philosophy, Wojtyła described a person as having self-awareness and freedom of choice. 255 He distinguishes two-sided human dynamism: active and passive. Passive human dynamism describes somatic and physiological processes and is at the level of the biological nature of a person who at most registers that something is happening to him/her. Active human dynamism is associated with a person as an actor. Due to the reflexive nature of consciousness, one experiences his/her deed and himself/ herself as the originator of acting. Through consciousness, he/she experiences the morality of his/her acts. Consciousness comes before, during and after the act. The act leaves its trace in consciousness. After performing the act, the consciousness still reflects it one is then conscious of his/her actions in the next act - but it no longer accompanies him/her. 256 In the context of the philosophical reflection of Wojtyła s solidarity, he focuses on defining a personal structure, which he called self-determination. Accepting the basic themes of anthropology that were elaborated at the Second Vatican Council and contained in Gaudium et spes, Karol Wojtyła maintains that man is a gift and a human being who is endowed with special worth and dignity, the only creature on Earth that God wanted for what he/she is. Because a human being is a gift having special value, one can fully find and execute only in a selfless self-sacrifice. (Gaudium et spes 24). Only a person possessing the ability to self-determine can dedicate himself/herself to other persons. A person is actually self-determination. It actually binds and integrates various manifestations of human dynamism at the person s level. It also constantly constitutes, marks and reveals this level. Man is set in experience (especially in the experience of himself/herself) as a person through self-determination. 257 In other words, the relationship concept of man as a being with regard to other persons creates the essential character of the human being. In the last chapter of the book Acting Person it is called participation. Wojtyła considers the experience of acting together with other people to be a source of knowledge of the specific quality of a person called participation (participatio). 258 He seeks to find the basis of this fact and to clarify it in the light of the last reasons. His intention is essentially ontological. Without participation, a person would not be fully realized as a person. It is such a feature that makes a person exist and act together with other people, while losing nothing of the personal way of being, that is he/ she does not cease to be a person. Participation is a feature of a person that can only take place when the person enters into a relationship with others and with the common good. Participation is a person s feature, but at the same time he/she is in some way in relation to both the others and to the common good. Participation, as understood by Wojtyła, can be perceived from three aspects, namely the aspect of the person and his/her personal value, the aspect of the relationship of the person to the other person ( I you ), and finally the aspect of the common good. 259 Man is not a human being for oneself, but his/her human vocation is action and self-fulfilment along with others through coexistence and cooperation. 260 People in the I-you relationship complement and shape one another. 261 The ability to participate must be updated, developed and nurtured to mature. Participation in social life is a manifestation of solidarity, which is the common creation of a common good. 262 Solidarity in the social teaching of the Catholic Church The social teaching of the Catholic Church follows the teaching of Christ and reflects the changing social conditions. It is evident in both historical and contemporary reflections that its spiritual dimension and value-attitude component has a direct impact on social practice. 263 It began to develop in antiquity in the so-called Jerusalem Community. Another milestone in its development is the early Middle Ages in the works of the Church Fathers, and it developed exceptionally in the Scholastic School under St. Thomas Aquinas and culminated in the works of important Christian utopian socialists. Catholic social doctrine as a systematic discipline arose only at the end of 19th Century after the publication of the first social encyclical Rerum novarum, written by Pope Leo XIII in The theological reflection of new things in a rapidly changing world has been gradually presented, above all, in the social encyclicals of later popes. In them, we can also follow the metamorphoses of the concept of solidarity depending on the specific context. The idea of solidarity is essentially contained in Christian axiology, as it stems from the commandment of love for one s neighbour (Cf. Sollicitudo rei socialis 40). In the social doctrine of the Catholic Church, the principle of solidarity has been embraced from the outset, but has gradually evolved. First it was a Christian virtue, then the law and the principle of social life. The encyclical Rerum novarum deals with the elementary principle of any healthy political establishment, according to which individual people in society are the more vulnerable, the more they need the help and care of others, but especially the support of the government. Leo XIII, just as in Greek philosophy, uses the term friendship. Pius XI equally meaningfully calls it social love. In Mater et Magistra (See: Mater et Magistra 15, 144), John XXIII explicitly wrote about the principle of human solidarity. Paul VI, who enriched it with the modern and multilateral dimensions of the social question, spoke of the civilization of love. In Populorum Progressio, he addressed the responsibility and solidarity, using the terms solidarity among the people of the world and the duty of solidarity. (See: Populorum progressio. 64, 65, 48). 253 Cf. K. Chakravarti and A. Roy, Interpersonal Relationships and Human Dignity, Indian Philosophical Quarterly 29, no. 2&3, (2002): Cf. Martin Buber, Vom Leben der Chassidim, in Werke. Dritter Band. Schriften zum Chassidismus, (Heidelberg: Kӧsel & Lambert Schneider, 1963). 40; Cf. also Martin Buber, Život chasidů (Praha: Arbor vitae, 1994) Cf. Karol Wojtyła, Osoba i czyn oraz inne studia antropologiczne (Lublin: WN KUL 1994) Cf. Ladislav Csontos, Základná antropologická línia v encyklikách Jána Pavla II. (Trnava: Dobrá kniha, 1996) Cf. Karol Wojtyła, Osoba i czyn oraz inne studia antropologiczne, Cf. Karol Wojtyła, Osoba i czyn oraz inne studia antropologiczne, Cf. Ladislav Csontos, Základná antropologická línia v encyklikách Jána Pavla II., Cf. Karol Wojtyła, Osoba i czyn oraz inne studia antropologiczne, Cf. Karol Wojtyła, Osoba: podmiot i wspólnota, in Karol Wojtyła, Osoba oraz inne studia antropologiczne (Lublin: WN KUL 1994) ; Cf. Michal Valčo, Kresťanské cirkvi a výzvy komunikácie v globálnom svete, in Globalizácia a náboženstvo, ed. Kamil Kardis and Gabriel Paľa, (Prešov: Gréckokatolícka teologická fakulta, Prešovská univerzita, 2011) Cf. Karol Wojtyła, Osoba i czyn oraz inne studia antropologiczne, Cf. Mária Šmidová and Mariana Hamarová, A Relevant contribution from the relationship between theology and social work to the field of helping professions, despite possible risks. Acta Missiologica 12, no. 1, (2018):

40 DIALOGUE AND SOLIDARITY AS A BASIS FOR ADDRESSING THE CURRENT MIGRATION CRISIS PAVOL DANCÁK In the encyclical Centesimus annus, Pope John Paul II included the following as one of the basic principles of social and political life: Thus, the principle we now call the principle of solidarity, whose validity both in the internal order of every nation and in international order, was recalled in the encyclical Sollicitudo rei socialis 34, is one of the fundamental principles of the Christian understanding of social and political order. (Centesimus annus. 10) the encyclical Laborem exercens John Paul II wrote that the Church believes in man: not only in the light of historical experience, but contemplates him/her primarily in the light of the revealed Word of God. The principle of solidarity, in addition to philosophical and anthropological genesis, is also based on theological assumptions. The Pope pointed out three main preconditions for solidarity: the supernatural dignity of man, man, and the teaching of Jesus Christ, and the Church community. (Laborem exercens 4). The dignity of man was proclaimed in the Biblical revelation (Gen 1:27). Mankind was created in the image of God and called to live in communion with God, but also to create marital and family communion (Gen. 2: 18-24). The history of the chosen nation confirms the essential importance of both human relations and communion with God. Encouraging solidarity is the personal example of Jesus Christ rejecting the differences between people: There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Gal 3:28). In the light of the truth of faith, the universal paternity of God the Creator and the brotherhood of man in Christ is a new model of humanity s unity from which solidarity should draw inspiration. (Sollicitudo rei socialis 40). The highest pattern of unity, the reflection of the inner life of one God in three persons, we Christians call communion. Solidarity thus contributes to the fulfilment of God s plan, both personally and at the national and international level. The perverted mechanisms and structures of sin can only be overcome by the application of the human and Christian solidarity to which the Church calls and tirelessly assists. This is the only way how many of the positive forces for development and peace can be fully used. Many of the saints whom the Church canonized provide marvellous testimonies of such solidarity and can serve as a model in the current difficult circumstances. We would like to recall, in particular, St. Peter Claver and his service to slaves in the West Indian Cartagena, as well as St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe and his sacrifice of his own life in favour of his fellow prisoner, whom he personally knew only in the Auschwitz concentration camp. (Sollicitudo rei socialis 40). Examples of heroic solidarity are saints whose faith inspired them to devote themselves unreservedly to the service of others. The community of the Catholic Church is also based on the idea of solidarity. In the light of faith, solidarity tends to transcend, and acquire the specific Christian dimensions of total selflessness, forgiveness and reconciliation. John Paul II, taking into account the philosophical, anthropological, and biblical theological assumptions, comprehensively discussed how to apply the principle of solidarity in social life. 264 It also requires consideration of the ontological and personal aspects as well as the axiological and ethical basis of this principle. Every human community is pluralistic: professional, social, economic, cultural, territorial, ideological and ethnic. 265 Anarchism negates the sense of community, totalitarianism turns it into a macro-jail. Personalism requires respect for the subjectivity of both human individuals and communities. It points to the need for solidarity, which cannot be concluded by dialogue and cooperation with others. (Laborem exercens 8). There is no dialogue unless there is a meeting of responsible people and people seeking to reach an agreement. (Sollicitudo rei socialis 35). The principle of solidarity does not undermine the principle of subsidiarity based on personal initiative and responsibility. Therefore, John Paul II insisted that the practice of solidarity in every society is only worthwhile if its members recognize each other as persons. Subjectivity is the right not only of individuals but of whole societies: nations and states. (Sollicitudo rei socialis 39). Any form of instrumental treatment of a person or nation is contrary to the spirit of true solidarity. The dignity of every human being as an individual is the same, the equality of all nations is the same despite their varying diversity. The principles of solidarity and subsidiarity are complementary and conditional. 266 The purpose of dialogue between individuals and entire societies is to perform common good. Intra-social solidarity and international solidarity are necessary because they require the interdependence of the world: economic, cultural, political and religious. The real opposition to solidarity between people and states is the atomisation of social life and its anarchization. Speaking of solidarity in creating a common good, John Paul II pointed out the ethical, institutional and pragmatic aspects of this process. In the encyclical Sollicitudo rei socialis (see: Sollicitudo rei socialis 38) he warned against the purely emotional use of solidarity. In solidarity he saw a strong and lasting role of engaging in the common good, good for everyone, because we are all responsible for each other. The egoist attitudes associated with exaggerated individualism run counter to the principle of solidarity. The ethical aspect of solidarity requires an effective search for the right institutions and mechanisms to effectively create a common good. (Redemptor hominis 16). The distortions of socio-economic and political life require the courageous removal of the structures of sin, instead of creating just structures that require a service attitude and even a gospel readiness to sacrifice oneself for others. (Sollicitudo rei socialis 39). Daily work is a pragmatic and real prerequisite for the existence of a common good. John Paul II was the first pope in the history of the Church to write an encyclical devoted exclusively to human labour Laborem exercens. Work is the right and duty of man as a member of the brotherhood community. Marxism conditioned the dignity of man with the results of his work, but the Pope claimed the opposite the dignity of the human person requires respect for the employee and his/her mental and physical work. A common good is not possible without respecting social justice, which requires solidarity between workers and solidarity with working people. (Laborem exercens 8). Everyday honest work is a manifestation of interpersonal solidarity in the pursuit of a common social well-being. The joint creation of solidarity within the common good requires taking into account its dynamics; i.e. changes in social life. John Paul II argued that solidarity is a way to peace and at the same time to development. (Sollicitudo rei socialis 39). The concept of development should not be determined solely by scientific and technical progress, since the comprehensively understood development covers various aspects of human life: economic, scientific, mental, moral, and spiritual. Cooperation on human development is everyone s duty towards everyone and should be universal around the world. Another axiological element of the solidarity principle is the fundamental moral categories: justice and love. In the spirit of the Aristotle thomistic tradition, John Paul II distinguished distributional, legal and interchangeable justice, while adopting the concept of social justice from Pius XI. 264 H. Skorowski, Wolność, integracja, solidarność w nauczaniu Jana Pawła II, (Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Diecezjalne w Sandomierzu, 2002) Krzysztof Wielecki, Między różnorodnością kulturową i rozpadem tożsamości, Uniwersyteckie Czasopismo Socjologiczne 2014/9, Stanisław Kowalczyk, Człowiek a społeczność. Zarys filozofii społecznej (Lublin: WN KUL, 2005)

41 DIALOGUE AND SOLIDARITY AS A BASIS FOR ADDRESSING THE CURRENT MIGRATION CRISIS PAVOL DANCÁK The opposition to social justice is drastic. The economic, civilizational and social inequality that separates rich countries from developing poor countries results in the social unrest of their residents, and one of the consequences is migration. In order to achieve social justice in different parts of the world, in different countries and in their relations, new movements of solidarity between workers and solidarity with workers are always needed. (Laborem exercens 8). Such solidarity should be expressed wherever social degradation of the subject, labour exploitation and growing zones of poverty, or even hunger, so require. Created goods are determined for everyone. What industry produces by processing raw materials with labour inputs should serve the good of all in various ways.(sollicitudo rei socialis 39). There is no real solidarity without a fair share of common good. Justice alone, including social justice, cannot solve all the needs of all people. John Paul II stressed the complementarity of justice and love; the experience of our past and of our time proves that justice alone is not enough, and can even lead to denial and destruction of itself if it does not allow the higher virtue of love to direct human life in its diverse circumstances. (Dives in misericordia 12). Justice is only quantitative and compensatory, looking at a man from an external bureaucratic perspective. Love inspires justice and complements it. In his encyclical, Benedict XVI returns to the words of Paul VI that universal solidarity, which is already a reality and brings us goodwill, is also an obligation (Caritas in veritate 42) and states that without internal forms of solidarity and mutual trust, the market cannot fully perform its economic function. This trust is disappearing nowadays. Economic activity must be aimed at achieving a common good, and political power must also take care of it. Friendship, social behaviour, solidarity and reciprocity also must be present in economic activity. Every economic decision has a moral consequence. Solidarity means feeling that everyone is responsible for everyone. Business management cannot take into account only the interests of the owners themselves, but also all other categories of entities contributing to business life - workers, customers, and suppliers. In the encyclical Laudato si, Pope Francis calls for a dialogue leading to a new universal solidarity, which is necessary not only for interpersonal assistance, but also for repairing the harm done to people in God s creation. The Holy Father calls for a new intragenerational and intergenerational solidarity, for the spirituality of global solidarity, in which a common identity and history are cultivated, emphasizing that we live in a common home that God gave us. This is also very important from a missionary point of view, as community actions that express love that can be transformed into intense spiritual experiences. (Laudato si 14). In the context of contemporary anthropology, Pope Francis perceives man as a dynamic being, culminating in his existence in a kind and solidarity self-empowerment with theological justification. 267 For the more man grows, matures and sanctifies, the more he establishes relationships and springs from himself to live in communion with God, with others and with all creatures. He thus accepts into his existence the threefold dynamism which God put in him at the beginning of his creation. Everything is connected, and this invites us to mature in the spirituality of global solidarity that springs from the mystery of the Trinity. (Laudato si 240). Conclusion There are many more migrants in the world today than in the past. In the 20th Century, migration changed developed western countries and brought about unprecedented cultural diversity, without which modern societies could no longer exist today. After World War II, migrants helped to grow the developed economies and raise the standard of living of the domestic population, whether they came as highly-skilled or unqualified cheap labour that occupied low-skilled and low-paid jobs. The new aspect is globalization. People and entire nations are moving around the world in which there are no longer empty spaces, and at the same time (almost) the whole world is interconnected in many ways. Migration has always been a problem for both active and passive participants, and today the problem has been multiplied by globalization. There are essentially two alternatives to addressing this problem: on the one hand, the rejection of migrants, and on the other, the reception of migrants. However, both solutions lead to an escalation of tensions in society when they are associated with dehumanization, denial of human dignity and rejection of belonging and the concept of a common good. Holy Father Francis sent the following words to the international community on World Migrant and Refugee Day: Migrants are our brothers and sisters in search of a better life, far away from poverty, hunger, exploitation and the unjust distribution of the planet s resources which are meant to be equitably shared by all. It is therefore important to look at migrants not only in terms of the legality or illegality of their condition, but above all as persons who can contribute to the welfare and progress of all if their dignity is protected, and in particular if they take on duties responsibly towards those who receive them, they respectfully respect the material and spiritual heritage of the host country, adhere to its laws and help it to bear the burdens. In further exploration of the social facts conditioned by the current migration crisis, it will be important to reject the reductionist and epiphenomenal perception of man and to reflect on dialogue and solidarity in their own and original anthropological sense. Dialogue with others is communication, an exchange of information, but also being together. For both, dialogue becomes the central locale of human existence. Without acknowledging the existence of other person, there is no way to acknowledge one s own existence, to make sense of one s own being. Failure to recognize being of other person turns one down into catastrophe. Respecting man as a person creates a precondition for solidarity between people and between nations and can lead to the eradication or at least alleviation of social problems related to economic migration, the depopulation of the poorer and the overpopulation of richer areas. 268 The requirement of solidarity is a moral challenge for all to work with those who are disadvantaged in any way. Solidarity as an expression of belonging is not only aid, but also responsibility for the whole, for the community, for the world, for the Earth. We feel that responsible solidary behaviour can benefit the development of all those involved. Bibliography Archer, Margaret S. Człowieczeństwo. Problem sprawstwa Kraków: Nomos Benedict XVI.: Caritas in veritate Peter Vansac, View of pope Francis on migration, in Challenges of the 21 st. century migration and human dignity, ed. Vladimir Krcmery, Milan Schavel and Jozef Suvada, (Pensylvania USA: Mc Gurrin Hill Academic Publishing House, 2016) Cf. Margaret S. Archer, Człowieczeństwo. Problem sprawstwa (Kraków: Nomos 2013); Cf. Martin Dojčár, Dialóg ako afirmácia autonómie a dôstojnosti človeka, in Medzináboženský dialóg a migračná kríza ed. Martin Dojčár, (Trnava: Trnavská univerzita 2018)

42 DIALOGUE AND SOLIDARITY AS A BASIS FOR ADDRESSING THE CURRENT MIGRATION CRISIS PAVOL DANCÁK Buber, Martin. Vom Leben der Chassidim, in Werke. Dritter Band. Schriften zum Chassidismus, Heidelberg: Kӧsel & Lambert Schneider, Buber, Martin. Život chasidů. Praha: Arbor vitae, Caban, Peter. The Christian and Attitudes to Other Cultures: Reasons for the Hostility toward Muslim Migrants (Tolerance, Openness, or Isolation? Acta Missiologica 12, no. 2, (2018): Csontos, Ladislav. Základná antropologická línia v encyklikách Jána Pavla II. Trnava: Dobrá kniha, Dojčár, Martin. Dialóg ako afirmácia autonómie a dôstojnosti človeka, In Medzináboženský dialóg a migračná kríza ed. Martin Dojčár, Trnava: Trnavská univerzita Durkheim, Emile. Sociology and Philosophy New York: Routledge, Habermas, Jürgen. Democracy, Solidarity and the European Crisis, accessed December 8, 2018, Chakravarti, K. and Roy, A. Interpersonal Relationships and Human Dignity, Indian Philosophical Quarterly 29, no. 2&3, (2002): 195. Francis. Laudato si. Geras, Norman. Solidarity in the Conversations of Mankind. London: John XXIII. Mater et Magistra. John Paul II. Centesimus annus. John Paul II. Dives in misericordia. John Paul II. Laborem exercens. John Paul II. Redemptor hominis. John Paul II. Sollicitudo rei socialis. Kowalczyk, Stanisław. Człowiek a społeczność. Zarys filozofii społecznej. Lublin: WN KUL, Nová, Monika, Důstojnost migrantů na cestě In Klient vs. Blížny: Zborník príspevkov vedeckej konferencie. edited by Natália Bušová and Ivana Butoracová-Šindleryová, Prešov: Prešovská univerzita v Prešove, Novosád, František. O čom sú dejiny sociálnych a politických teórií, In Dejiny sociálneho a politického myslenia, edited by František Novosád and Dagmar Smreková, Bratislava: Kalligram Gaudium et spes. Paul VI. Populorum progressio. Radková, Libuša. et. al. Are Refugees for us a Threat or an Opportunity? In Business and Health Administration Association Division of MBAA International 2016 Meeting ABSTRACT AND PAPER PROCEEDINGS CHICAGO, IL, USA, Rajský, Andrej. Osoba ako ikona tajomstva. Trnava: Pedagogická fakulta Trnavskej univerzity v Trnave, Rembierz, Marek. Kultura intelektualna, wątpliwości metodologiczne i refleksja metapedagogiczna w rozwijaniu teorii i praktyki edukacji międzykulturowej, In Edukacja międzykulturowa nr 2, (7), (2017): Rorty, Richard. Nahodilost, ironie, solidarita translated by Pavel Toman, Praha: Pedagogická fakulta UK Skorowski, H. Wolność, integracja, solidarność w nauczaniu Jana Pawła II, (Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Diecezjalne w Sandomierzu, Šmidová, Mária and Hamarová, Mariana. A Relevant contribution from the relationship between theology and social work to the field of helping professions, despite possible risks.. Acta Missiologica 12, no. 1, (2018): Taylor, Charles.The Malaise of Modernity. Ontario: Concord Valčo, Michal. Kresťanské cirkvi a výzvy komunikácie v globálnom svete, In Globalizácia a náboženstvo, edited by Kamil Kardis and Gabriel Paľa, Prešov: Gréckokatolícka teologická fakulta, Prešovská univerzita, Vansac, Peter. View of pope Francis on migration. In Challenges of the 21 st. century migration and human dignity, edited by Vladimir Krcmery, Milan Schavel and Jozef Suvada, Pensylvania USA: Mc Gurrin Hill Academic Publishing House, Krzysztof Wielecki, Między różnorodnością kulturową i rozpadem tożsamości. Uniwersyteckie Czasopismo Socjologiczne 2014/9, Wojtyła, Karol. Osoba i czyn oraz inne studia antropologiczne. Lublin: WN KUL Wojtyła, Karol. Osoba: podmiot i wspólnota, in Karol Wojtyła, Osoba oraz inne studia antropologiczne (Lublin: WN KUL 1994) ; Cf

43 THE CONTRIBUTION OF RELIGIOUS PILGRIMAGE IN THE SPACE FOR DIALOGUE PETER CABAN THE CONTRIBUTION OF RELIGIOUS PILGRIMAGE IN THE SPACE FOR DIALOGUE Peter Caban 269 Karl-Franzes Universität (Graz, AT) Submitted: 4 April 2018 Accepted for publication: 12 November 2018 First published: 15 October 2019 Acta Missiologica No. 2 Vol Abstract Background: The phenomenon of pilgrimage is among the basic religious aspects of Christianity. Pilgrimage is a journey to sacred places for a certain religious purpose. Unlike religious tourism, religious pilgrimage seeks a higher aim, although means of transport and accommodation facilities are used. A believer s pilgrimage to sacred places is an expression of his desire to return to God and the hope that his calls for help are heard in difficult situations. It is primarily a religious phenomenon timeless and supraconfessional, which is tied to a cult. Since the first Christian centuries, pilgrimage has sought the following aims: to see sacred places, pray, adore, strengthen one s faith, keep a promise or have one s requests heard. The intention of this article, which is a brief introductory study focused on religious pilgrimage set in the Roman-Catholic environment, is to briefly analyse the beginnings of Christian pilgrimage, its patterns and contribution. Conclusion: Based on analysed facts, the article proposes further study of religious pilgrimages as a suitable tool for the analysis of contemporary religious trends. This analysis of the phenomenon of pilgrimage carried out by means of individual studies with interesting correlations can significantly contribute to gradual revelation of such forms of religious life that would otherwise go unnoticed. Subsequently, these revealed forms of religious life could be used in the strengthening of inter-religious dialogue. Keywords: Pilgrimage Sacred Places Religious Cult Spirituality of Pilgrimage Dialogue. Introduction The essence of pilgrimage can be found at the beginning of the first book of the Scripture Adam s pilgrimage in several stages. Adam, who was created by the hands of God the Creator enters Eden and is then banished, so he leaves Eden and enters the created world and travels through it (see Genesis 3:23-24). 270 Judaism as the oldest existing monotheist religion created a specific identity within national development and it has maintained this identity until today, despite several historical peripeties. The history of the Israelite people was the history of pilgrimage, so the next pilgrim in the Old Testament in which the paradigm of history of salvation is reflected is Abraham. Abraham leaves behind his home and the security he had full of hope in Contact on author: Doc. ThDr. Peter Caban, PhD. caban@mail.muni.cz 270 PAPIESKA RADA DS. DUSZPASTERSTWA MIGRANTÓW I PODRÓŻNYCH. Pielgrzymka Wielkiego Jubileuszu 2000, In Salvatoris Mater. Kwartalnik mariologiczny I, no. 3, (1999): 324. the Lord s words. 271 He travels from the house of his father in the country of Haran to the Promised Land, Canaan. After being called by God, he became a pilgrim in a different sense of the word he focused on the future in the present moment. This is why in the Letter to the Hebrews, he was called a pilgrim of faith: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God (Hebrews 11:10). 272 Pilgrimage of the Israelite nation continued by exodus from Egypt to the country of Moriah. This pilgrimage was also divided into several stages: leaving Egypt, travelling through the desert, tests, temptations, sins, arrival to the Promised Land. The last stage included mercy which, from the perspective of pilgrimage, anticipates joy from the return to God after atonement, which is its fundamental and inseparable part. Pilgrimage of the Israelite people is a model of the entire history of salvation (see 1 Corinthians 10:1-13). 273 On this journey, the Israelite nation was never alone. The Lord was with them and they did not need anything (see Deuteronomy 2:7; Joshua 24:17). The image of pilgrimage, which becomes a model for contemporary Christians, is also present in the pilgrimage of the Israelites who, after settling in the Promised Land, continued to travel. In God s eyes, Israel was a stranger in the country gifted by the Lord; it was a tenant in this country, it was a pilgrim (see Psalm 39:13; 119:19) travelling to Mount Zion. Israelites made a pilgrimage to the Temple of Jerusalem especially on three important festivals: Passover, the Feast of Weeks and the Festival of Tabernacles 274 (see Exodus 34:24). By celebrating these festivals, they commemorated important events in the history of salvation which were interconnected. It was a cult pilgrimage of the nation during which rites were used to enter into a union with God, to become pure and to live again and again renewed in the fear of God (see Psalm 128:1), in the fullness of life and peace (see Psalm 43:3-4). 275 However, this chosen nation of God was repeatedly disloyal and turned away from God to worship pagan idols. The next development of the chosen people was affected by the phenomenon of prophetism. Prophets were intelligent people who received revelations of God s will and raised their voices in moral and practical warnings for the Israelite nation. Judah continued to exist approximately 150 years after the fall of the northern part of Israel. The fall of Judah was a result of a struggle for power between Egypt and Assyria, especially after it was conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar who took some of the inhabitants to the capital of his empire, Babylon. His second raid caused destruction of the capital city of Jerusalem, especially the Temple. Inhabitants who survived the war and siege were taken into Babylonian captivity where they felt as strangers, as Babylon and its living standards, although better from an economical perspective, were very different from their Palestinian homeland. At that time, prophets point out Messiah s pilgrimage of redemption, ( ) in which all the people on earth will come back to Zion, the place of God s Word, peace and hope (see Isaiah 2:2-4; 56:6-8; 66:18-23; Micah 4:1-4; Zechariah 8:20-23). 276 So pilgrimage gradually became eschatological. In this picture, contemporary man can find reason for atonement and a return to God in the vision of Christ s Parousia. 271 PAPIESKA RADA DS. DUSZPASTERSTWA MIGRANTÓW. Pielgrzymka Wielkiego Jubileuszu 2000, Joseph Ratzinger - Benedikt XVI, Ježiš Nazaretský. Prológ: Ježišovo detstvo (Trnava: Dobrá kniha, 2012) PAPIESKA RADA DS. DUSZPASTERSTWA MIGRANTÓW I PODRÓŻNYCH. Pielgrzymka Wielkiego Jubileuszu 2000, In Salvatoris Mater. Kwartalnik mariologiczny, Jozef Heriban, Príručný lexikón biblických vied (Bratislava: Don Bosco, 1998) PAPIESKA RADA DS. DUSZPASTERSTWA MIGRANTÓW I PODRÓŻNYCH. Pielgrzymka Wielkiego Jubileuszu 2000, In Salvatoris Mater. Kwartalnik mariologiczny. 1999, roč. I, č. 3, s PAPIESKA RADA DS. DUSZPASTERSTWA MIGRANTÓW. Pielgrzymka Wielkiego Jubileuszu 2000,

44 THE CONTRIBUTION OF RELIGIOUS PILGRIMAGE IN THE SPACE FOR DIALOGUE PETER CABAN Christ as a pilgrim Jesus Christ also becomes a pilgrim who goes towards man who comes in person to tell him about himself and to show him the way that man can take to come towards him. 277 As a child, Jesus travelled with his parents to a temple to be sacrificed to the Lord (see Luke 2:22-24) and when he was twelve years old, at Passover, he travelled again to Jerusalem (see Luke 2:41-53). 278 Jesus entire life was a pilgrimage. An everyday pilgrimage towards man, it was an immense pilgrimage that climaxed on the cross and continued in Resurrection and on the fortieth day in Ascension (see Luke 9:51; 24:51) so that he could prepare a place for us in the house of his Father (see John 14:2-3) after our pilgrimage on Earth ends. We are also supposed to walk this road, as he tells us: All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me (Matthew 16:24; see Matthew 10:38; Luke 9:23) every day. 279 In the New Testament, St. Paul and St. Peter call man a pilgrim and use the word with various meanings. St. Paul uses the word to describe people who find themselves outside of their homeland, strangers or guests. He uses this term in its religious sense for man as a pilgrim on this Earth with no permanent home, as his home is in heaven, the home of our heavenly Father. 280 This is the final destination of man s journey through life. However, he does not walk this road alone. Jesus has already walked this road and now he is walking with us. The life of a Christian is a journey, a life-long pilgrimage (see Acts 2:28; 9:2; 16:17; 18:25-26; 19:9.23; 22:4; 24:14.32), whose final destination is heavenly Jerusalem (see Revelation 21:1-22:5) and which is full of hope from meeting with Christ, full of anticipation of his arrival (see Revelation 22:17-20). Christian pilgrimage also has a transcendental dimension, as here on this Earth, we are merely strangers and pilgrims (Hebrews 11:13; 1Peter 2:11; Ephesians 2:19), we don t have a permanent city here, but rather we are looking for the city that is still to come (Hebrews 13:14). 281 Another dimension, a symbol contained in pilgrimage to sacred places, i.e. physical pilgrimage, is spiritual pilgrimage. St. Augustus talks about it and calls on man to reach within himself, as the truth lies in man s heart. However, it must not stay in the depths of his heart, it must come out, as man is not God. 282 Man continuously looks for God just to look for Him again with even greater passion. 283 The spiritual dimension of pilgrimage and the resulting missionary dimension expressed in the Church as its essential features can be found in documents of the Second Vatican Council. The Church is present in the world, it is also a pilgrim and, although it is visible, it has invisible features 284 pointed out in its missionary activities when it reveals Christ to the world. He is the light of the world, from whom we go forth, through whom we live, and toward whom our whole life strains 285 in our spiritual pilgrimage. In Him, we find the goal of our pilgrimage in life and the meaning that we see in liturgy, especially in the Eucharist. This source provides us with mercy, people are consecrated and God is celebrated in Christ. 286 On this journey, which is Christ s journey, we are led in mercy and love by the Holy Spirit 287 through listening to God s word 288 and accepting the Eucharist. 289 Christians and pilgrimage From the very beginning, pilgrimage was a spiritual and religious matter for Christians, a natural goal important for strengthening one s faith to such an extent that shortly after the Edict of Milan was published in 313, a so-called travel guide was published for pilgrims to the Holy Land. 290 Such guides were created especially during the barbaric invasions mainly to ensure the safety of pilgrims travelling to sacred places. They were itineraries which described places that the pilgrim had to go to. Various roads to the Holy Land were described in this manner for pilgrims from France, Italy and other countries. There were lists of churches, temples and priests working in places visited by pilgrims in the Holy Land. 291 Pilgrims were attracted to the places of birth, childhood and public appearances and torture of Jesus Christ, especially places where basilicas were built, e.g. the Anastasis over the Holy Sepulchre or the Martyrium on Calvary Mountain. 292 The biggest boom of Christian desire to travel to sacred places came after 326 based on the example of Saint Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine the Great, who made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and it is believed that, thanks to her initiative, the remains of the Holy Cross were found. 293 An important testimony of pilgrimage to sacred places in Jerusalem and the entire Holy Land are the most famous works from the fourth Century Intinerarium Burdigalense and Itinerarium Egeriae 294 (also known as Peregrinatio Aetheriae). The pilgrimage of Egeria is written in the form of a letter to sisters in the homeland. The only manuscript from the Benedictine monastery of Monte Cassino was discovered by Gianfrancesco Gamurrini in the Arezzo library in In her work, Spanish pilgrim Egeria 295 describes the most important stages of her journey which she made sometime between 363 and 380. The text of the pilgrimage contained a description of Egeria s journey from Constantinople to the Holy Land, her visit to Jerusalem and other places in Palestine, as well as her journey to Egypt this part was not preserved. The preserved text consists of two parts: in the first part, Egeria describes sacred places that she visited: Sinai and Egypt, where she followed the steps of Jews travelling to the Promised Lands. Mount Nebo, where she followed Moses. Near Jordan, she found places where Job, Melchizedek, prophets 277 John Paul II. Tertio millennio adveniente, Acta Apostolicae Sedis 87, (1995): Viliam Judák, Jubilejné roky v dejinách (Nitra: Kňazský seminár sv. Gorazda, 1997) PAPIESKA RADA DS. DUSZPASTERSTWA MIGRANTÓW I PODRÓŻNYCH. Pielgrzymka Wielkiego Jubileuszu 2000 In Salvatoris Mater. Kwartalnik mariologiczny Jaroslav V. Polc, Svaté roky ( ). (Praha: Katolická teologická fakulta UK v Praze, 1998) PAPIESKA RADA DS. DUSZPASTERSTWA MIGRANTÓW I PODRÓŻNYCH. Pielgrzymka Wielkiego Jubileuszu 2000, In Salvatoris Mater. Kwartalnik mariologiczny AUGUSTÍN. De vera religione 39, 72: CCL 32, 234; PL 34, 154; PAPIESKA RADA DS. DUSZPASTERSTWA MI- GRANTÓW. Pielgrzymka Wielkiego Jubileuszu 2000, AUGUSTÍN. De trinitate 15, 2, 2: CCL 50, 461; PL 42, 1058; PAPIESKA RADA DS. DUSZPASTERSTWA MIGRANTÓW. Pielgrzymka Wielkiego Jubileuszu 2000, Sacrosanctum concilium 2. Acta Apostolicae Sedis 56, 1964, Lumen gentium 3. Acta Apostolicae Sedis 57, 1965, Sacrosanctum concilium 10. Acta Apostolicae Sedis 56, 1964, Ad gentes 5. Acta Apostolicae Sedis 58, 1966, Dei Verbum 7. In Acta Apostolicae Sedis 58, 1966, Gaudium et spes 38. In Acta Apostolicae Sedis 58, 1966, R. Fisichella, Znamenia jubilea (Prešov: Vydavateľstvo Michala Vaška, 2000) Polc, Svaté roky ( ), KONGREGÁCIA PRE BOŽÍ KULT A DISCIPLÍNU SVIATOSTÍ. Direktórium o ľudovej zbožnosti a liturgii. Zásady a usmernenia (Trnava: Spolok sv. Vojtecha, 2005) Polc, Svaté roky ( ), KONGREGÁCIA PRE BOŽÍ KULT A DISCIPLÍNU SVIATOSTÍ. Direktórium o ľudovej zbožnosti a liturgii. Zásady a usmernenia Common equivalents of this name include Heteria and Eteria. This well-known pilgrim from ancient times is mentioned In Egeria, Púť do Svätej zeme. Itinerarium Egeriae (Bratislava: Dobrá kniha, 2006)

45 THE CONTRIBUTION OF RELIGIOUS PILGRIMAGE IN THE SPACE FOR DIALOGUE PETER CABAN Elijah and John the Baptist lived. During her journey back to Constantinople, she visited Edessa where King Abgar and St. Thomas the Apostle lived. She stopped in Haran, where patriarch Abraham was from. She also visited Seleucia to pray near the tomb of St. Thecla. In the last lines of the first part of her pilgrimage, Egeria tells her readers that she would like to visit Ephesus to see the tomb of St John the Apostle and Evangelist. Egeria travelled around 5,000 kilometres on foot and in carriages. Her notes are the only valuable source from that period in which we can find trustworthy information on pilgrimage, its forms, essential elements of Eastern liturgy and festivals at sacred places. At the end of the fourth Century, St. Jerome (ca ) travelled to the Holy Land as well. He lived in Bethlehem where he founded a monastery for men, three monasteries for women and a house for pilgrims. A pilgrimage usually started with a prayer followed by an extract from the Scripture related to the place where the pilgrimage should end, the reading of a relevant psalm and a final prayer. 296 When he stayed in Rome, St. Jerome called upon many Roman women to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Some members of the well-known Aventine community, founded by Marcella whose spiritual father was St. Jerome, listened to his call. Members of the community were Roman aristocrats whose husbands had died and who lived a pious life dedicated to the study of the Bible and many of them lived and ascetic life. 297 Other popular places included tombs of apostles and martyrs. Even the first Christians had faith in the community of saints and the strength of their pleadings to God for redemption, which is proven by writings in catacombs. Many pleading writings carved into the rock near the tombs of St. Peter the Apostle and St. Paul the Apostle in Rome demonstrate that these places were frequently visited by Christians and pilgrimages were made here as early as in the first centuries. Since the fourth Century, over the tombs of saints there were memoria, which means cella, 298 basilica 299 or ecclesia. 300 or churches were built there. 301 On tombs of martyrs, a bishop usually celebrated a Eucharist sacrifice on the anniversary of the martyr s death ( dies natalis 302 ) preceded by songs and psalms. The so-called Passio was read, i.e. a report on the torture of the saint which was replaced by readings from the Scripture. During the Eucharist, the martyr was called upon with requests for putting in a good word for the living and the dead. Finally, funeral agape was celebrated, which was always of a charitable nature, as it was attended by poor Christians. 303 All these activities served to commemorate the martyr and were practised not only in the West, but also in the East. However, the most important places were the tombs of St. Peter the Apostle and St. Paul the Apostle in Rome, who were celebrated on 29 June. The festivities took place at three places: in St. Peter s Church, in St. Paul s Basilica outside the walls along the Ostense Way and in St. Sebastian s catacombs on the Via Appia where their remains were temporarily stored during persecution Polc, Svaté roky ( ), Egeria, Púť do Svätej zeme. Itinerarium Egeriae (Bratislava: Dobrá kniha, 2006) I.e. a temple, a temple hall. 299 Originally, a basilica was any building designed for gatherings. That means that it used to be a prophane building ( ) where people could gather. ( ) When Christianity expanded, the holy mass was celebrated here, so during the celebration of the Eucharist, it was a holy space. 300 Štefan Mordel, Kresťanská archeológia (Spišské Podhradie: Nadácia Kňazského seminára biskupa Jána Vojtaššáka, 2005) I.e. a site. 302 The date of birth in heaven. 303 Štefan Mordel, Kresťanská archeológia, Polc, Svaté roky ( ), 6-8. In the sixth Century, there was a change in the understanding and practising of pilgrimage to the tombs of saints in Europe. This change was initiated by Irish monks who came to Europe as missionaries and brought along their Celtic ascesis which gradually transferred into the thinking of Christians and which saw pilgrimage in its deeper dimension as service to God in penitence. It s no longer just about visiting sacred places, it s also an act of ascesis and penitence which should provide man with spiritual purification, separate him from daily worries and duties, give him an opportunity to think about himself and regain the values of the Gospel. 305 In the Middle Ages, pilgrimage to sacred places was very popular with Christians. As is written in the Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy, the Middle Ages were the golden era for pilgrimage. Apart from their primary religious function, pilgrimages offered an exceptional benefit for the development of Western Christianity, for unification of various nations and for mutual exchange of values of different European civilizations. 306 However, there was also a negative side, as pilgrimages were not safe due to unpredictable weather conditions which found pilgrims unprepared when the weather suddenly changed or when they did not have suitable clothing. Pilgrims could also be attacked by thieves or wandering knights who put the lives of pilgrims in danger, causing trouble near bridges or collecting tolls near river crossings. That is why shelters for pilgrims and hospices started to be built near pilgrimage routes. Many emperors ordered the construction of monasteries with shelters and financed inns for pilgrims so that they could find refuge during their penitent pilgrimages. Great Saint Bernard was a well-known inn near a pass on the road from France, Germany and England towards the south. 307 In , when Jerusalem fell to the hands of Muslims, 308 pilgrimage to the Holy Land became dangerous and life-threatening due to riots and conflicts related to the Crusades 309. Based on reports from that period, some organized groups of pilgrims to the Holy Land were accompanied by knights to protect them from harm. It was complicated to enter sacred places in Jerusalem as Muslims required taxes to be paid for the visit. Christians in the Holy Land were humiliated and insulted by Muslims, and the situation culminated with the organization of the Crusades, 310 which also had a spiritual dimension as they were related to eternal life. Given the decline of the monastic way of life at the turn of the 12 th Century and the expansion of missionary spreading of the Gospel by wandering popular preachers who joined the Crusades to spread the 305 Polc, Svaté roky ( ), KONGREGÁCIA PRE BOŽÍ KULT A DISCIPLÍNU SVIATOSTÍ. Direktórium o ľudovej zbožnosti a liturgii. Zásady a usmernenia, Polc, Svaté roky ( ), In 638, Muslims managed to conquer Jerusalem and turned Temple Mount into a sacred Muslim site, as they believed that this is where the Prophet Mohamed ascended to heaven. On the spot where Solomon s Temple used to stand, Caliph Abd al-malik constructed a Muslim shrine, the so-called Dome of the Rock, whose construction was completed in 691. (Bodo Harenberg et al., Kronika ľudstva. Bratislava: Fortuna print, 2005). 238, The First Crusade was initiated by Pope Urban II in 1095 in Clermont. Led by Gottfried of Bouillon, crusaders conquered Jerusalem after four weeks of siege in (Bodo Harenberg et al., Kronika ľudstva, 291). 310 It should be stressed that, during the Crusades, both enemy camps resorted to violence. Circumstances that preceded the First Crusade are described in Norbert Ohler, Náboženské poutě ve středověku a novověku. Praha: Vyšehrad, ; Riots and the poor morality of crusaders were witnessed by St. Francis, as described in the Chronology of Saint Francis. (Františkánske pramene 1. Spisy sv. Františka a sv. Kláry z Assisi. Bratislava: Serafín, 2005)

46 THE CONTRIBUTION OF RELIGIOUS PILGRIMAGE IN THE SPACE FOR DIALOGUE PETER CABAN message of Christ among Muslims, 311 Crusades were organized as a shared pilgrimage of a community of believers coming from various social strata facing common hardships experienced in ascesis and penitence. The aim of this pilgrimage was inner transformation promoted by popular preachers and supported, at least at the beginning, by some popes who sold indulgences, which was preceded by the sacrament of reconciliation and forgiveness of sins and punishments in exchange for participation in a Crusade and, after sacred places were freed from Muslims, for pilgrimage to such places. 312 During the Crusades, when many pilgrimage sites in the Holy Land were not accessible for many Christians, another city became a popular destination for Christian pilgrims Rome, the second Jerusalem. 313 The aim of Roman 314 pilgrims was mainly to honour the memory of St. Peter and St. Paul, so the so-called Roman routes were created ad Petri sedem; ad limina apostolorum to honour the service of Peter s successor, visiting catacombs and basilicas where believers could honour many saint martyrs. 315 The most important of the Roman routes was Via Francigena which crossed the whole of Europe and ended in Rome. 316 From the 9th Century, Santiago de Compostela in Spain became another popular place of pilgrimage, as the remains of Apostle St. Jacob the Great are buried there. Its popularity intensified between the 10th and 12th Centuries thanks to the abbots of Cluny Monastery 317 who ordered the construction of churches, chapels, and hospices on the pilgrimage route from France to Santiago de Compostela. 318 This place is popular with believers even today. Apart from these two large and popular cities, Christians liked other places of pilgrimage created on the tombs of the saints, for example in the city of Tours with the tomb of St. Martin (316/ ), Canterbury where St. Thomas Beckett (ca ) was executed, churches consecrated to popular saints such as St. Michael Archangel or St. John the Baptist 319, but also smaller local churches or places where miracles were performed by the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God 320 and, last but not least, there was great respect and admiration for relics such as the 311 St. Francis of Assisi ( ) accompanied crusaders to the Holy Land in Autumn With the consent of the Pope s legate and under his own responsibility, he set off to see Sultan Melek-al-Amil who welcomed him with surprising hospitality. However, St. Francis did not convince the sultan with his preaching of the Gospel. Františkánske pramene 1. Spisy sv. Františka a sv. Kláry z Assisi, p Polc, Svaté roky ( ), R. Fisichella, Znamenia jubilea, Those who set off to a pilgrimage to Rome were given the typical names of romerus, romerius, romipeta and romarius. (Polc, Svaté roky ( ), 8). 315 KONGREGÁCIA PRE BOŽÍ KULT A DISCIPLÍNU SVIATOSTÍ. Direktórium o ľudovej zbožnosti a liturgii. Zásady a usmernenia PAPIESKA RADA DS. DUSZPASTERSTWA MIGRANTÓW I PODRÓŻNYCH. Pielgrzymka Wielkiego Jubileuszu 2000, In Salvatoris Mater. Kwartalnik mariologiczny, Cluny Abbey was constructed at the time of the great decline of western monkhood. It was founded by William the Pious, Duke of Aquitaine, in 910. Its first abbot was Berno. The monks of Cluny contributed to the revival of the original monastic life based on St. Bernard s rules with the elevation of spiritual life. The Cluny reform had an immense impact on the purification of monastic life and the life of the universal Church thanks to its radicalism in the desire for Gospel perfection. Many prominent abbots, including Hugo the Great, contributed to the success of the reform by leading life in the abbey accordingly. Many of the abbots were later canonized. Cluny Abbey formed piousness, culture and humanity of Europe. 318 Polc, Svaté roky ( ), KONGREGÁCIA PRE BOŽÍ KULT A DISCIPLÍNU SVIATOSTÍ. Direktórium o ľudovej zbožnosti a liturgii. Zásady a usmernenia Polc, Svaté roky ( ), 9. veil of St. Veronica, often called simply Veronica, which was considered to have an imprint of Jesus Christ s face on it. Respect for the image of Jesus was so deeply rooted in the hearts of believers that the number of pilgrims wanting to see the relic was higher than of those who made a pilgrimage to the tomb of apostle St. James the Great to Compostela, Spain. 321 The relic of Veronica s veil was always very much admired and respected. Pilgrimage and space for dialogue Pilgrimage involves countless attempts to find God. Pilgrimage to God opens space for dialogue in the context of pluralism which goes beyond mere tolerance and leads to sympathy. It helps to make one free of complexes and hidden motives, it builds on the will to listen and learn from others. Such dialogue within religious pilgrimage supports mutual enrichment of cultures in the context of real understanding and kindness. At the moment, it can be observed that Christianity presents itself as a church religion rather than a mystical religion in the sense of deep prayer and contemplation; it is starting to lack prayer. Religious pilgrimage which opens space for dialogue can help believers find their way back to contemplative education for which they intuitively long. Conclusion Pilgrimage is a new impulse for today s man. Pilgrims are not just believers who want to strengthen their faith by making a pilgrimage, but also people looking for faith or who gradually create it. The spirituality of pilgrimage is based on theology so that it can become a new element in reaching and strengthening mature faith in today s community of Christians. In today s general pastorisation, this requires active evangelisation. 322 Pilgrimage is a celebration of one s own faith which is demonstrated in a certain dynamically-developing activity in the life of a Christian. This dynamism includes certain stages. First, it is important to make a decision to set off on this pilgrimage of life to focus on spiritual objectives by accepting baptism. On this journey, we make our way in solidarity together with our brothers and sisters in Christ, which ends with a meeting with our Saviour. The time spent in sanctuaries fulfils us with God s Word and participation in sacraments. The final stage is the return in which man starts a missionary journey as a witness of salvation spreading peace. These stages of the pilgrimage of life should be proven in liturgy, in applied liturgical texts, 323 Eucharistic festivities in sanctuaries that are places where we meet Christ as the peak of the unpredictable mystery of God. 324 From the perspective of religion, participation in religious pilgrimages is part of all higher religions. It can be said that participation in pilgrimages involves faith in the presence of a deity or a hero at a certain place which was directly linked to him. In addition, pilgrimage brings us to places where a deity helped a man or memorable places in the life of a deity or a founder of a religion. Therefore, pilgrimage is a reflection of a concrete search for deity and, for that purpose, people set off on a journey to see a place which deserves respect. 321 R. Fisichella, Znamenia jubilea, UFFICIO NAZIONALE DELLA CONFERENZA EPISCOPALE ITALIANA PER LA PASTORALE DEL TEMPO LIBERO, TU- RISMO E SPORT. Pastorale del Turismo, dello Sport, del Pellegrinaggio accessed January 23, 2018, chiesacattolica.it/pls/cci_new/consultazione.mostra_pagina?id_pagina= PAPIESKA RADA DS. DUSZPASTERSTWA MIGRANTÓW I PODRÓŻNYCH. Pielgrzymka Wielkiego Jubileuszu 2000, In Salvatoris Mater. Kwartalnik mariologiczny Dives in misericordia, 8. Acta Apostolicae Sedis 72, (1980):

47 THE INFLUENCE OF THE EVANGELIZATION BY THE SURF CHURCH PORTO CHRISTIAN SURFING COMMUNITY ON GENERATIONS Y AND Z: OPPORTUNITIES FOR DIALOGUE WITH A POTENTIAL TO MAKE EVANGELIZATION IN GENERAL MORE ATTRACTIVE ANDRÁS SZABÓ, LADISLAV BUČKO Based on analysed facts, this article proposes further study of religious pilgrimages as a suitable tool for the analysis of contemporary religious trends as people making religious pilgrimages have already expressed interest in religion and matters related to it. This analysis of the phenomenon of pilgrimage carried out by means of individual studies with interesting correlations can significantly contribute to gradual revelation of such forms of religious life that would otherwise go unnoticed. Subsequently, these revealed forms of religious life could be used in the strengthening of inter-religious dialogue. THE INFLUENCE OF THE EVANGELIZATION BY THE SURF CHURCH PORTO CHRISTIAN SURFING COMMUNITY ON GENERATIONS Y AND Z: OPPORTUNITIES FOR DIALOGUE WITH A POTENTIAL TO MAKE EVANGELIZATION IN GENERAL MORE ATTRACTIVE András Szabó 1, 2, Ladislav Bučko 1, Bibliography Ad gentes 5. Acta Apostolicae Sedis 58, 1966, AUGUSTÍN. De vera religione 39, 72: CCL 32, 234; PL 34, 154. AUGUSTÍN. De trinitate 15, 2, 2: CCL 50, 461; PL 42, Benedikt XVI, -Ratzinger Joseph. Ježiš Nazaretský. Prológ: Ježišovo detstvo. Trnava: Dobrá kniha, Bodo Harenberg et al., Kronika ľudstva. Bratislava: Fortuna print, Dei Verbum 7. In Acta Apostolicae Sedis 58, 1966, Dives in misericordia, 8. Acta Apostolicae Sedis 72, (1980). Egeria, Púť do Svätej zeme. Itinerarium Egeriae. Bratislava: Dobrá kniha, Fisichella, R. Znamenia jubilea. Prešov: Vydavateľstvo Michala Vaška, Františkánske pramene 1. Spisy sv. Františka a sv. Kláry z Assisi. Bratislava: Serafín, Gaudium et spes 38. In Acta Apostolicae Sedis 58, 1966, Heriban, Jozef. Príručný lexikón biblických vied. Bratislava: Don Bosco, John Paul II. Tertio millennio adveniente, 6. Acta Apostolicae Sedis, 87, (1995): Judák,Viliam. Jubilejné roky v dejinách. Nitra: Kňazský seminár sv. Gorazda, KONGREGÁCIA PRE BOŽÍ KULT A DISCIPLÍNU SVIATOSTÍ. Direktórium o ľudovej zbožnosti a liturgii. Zásady a usmernenia. Trnava: Spolok sv. Vojtecha, Lumen gentium 3. Acta Apostolicae Sedis 57, 1965, Mordel,Štefan. Kresťanská archeológia. Spišské Podhradie: Nadácia Kňazského seminára biskupa Jána Vojtaššáka, Ohler, Norbert. Náboženské poutě ve středověku a novověku. Praha: Vyšehrad, PAPIESKA RADA DS. DUSZPASTERSTWA MIGRANTÓW. Pielgrzymka Wielkiego Jubileuszu 2000, PAPIESKA RADA DS. DUSZPASTERSTWA MIGRANTÓW I PODRÓŻNYCH. Pielgrzymka Wielkiego Jubileuszu 2000, In Salvatoris Mater. Kwartalnik mariologiczny I, no. 3, (1999). Polc, Jaroslav V. Svaté roky ( ). Praha: Katolická teologická fakulta UK v Praze, Sacrosanctum concilium 2. Acta Apostolicae Sedis 56, 1964, UFFICIO NAZIONALE DELLA CONFERENZA EPISCOPALE ITALIANA PER LA PASTORALE DEL TEMPO LIBERO, TURISMO E SPORT. Pastorale del Turismo, dello Sport, del Pellegrinaggio accessed accessed January 23, 2018, 1 St. John Paul II. Institute of Missiology and Tropical Health at St. Elizabeth University of Health and Social Science, (Bratislava, SK) 2 St. Maximilian Kolbe Institut House of Hope, (Phnom Penh, KH) Submitted: 21 October 2018 Accepted for publication: 17 July 2019 First published: 15 October 2019 Acta Missiologica No. 2 Vol Abstract Background: The Surf Church community uses surfing as an unusual tool to pursue evangelization. In addition to providing transparency, surfing also enables the community to get in touch with young people who belong to Generations Y and Z. For this community, surfing represents a way to intelligibly reach out to young people in terms of both communication and evangelization. This article seeks to explore the influence the evangelization by the Surf Church Porto community has on Generations Y and Z, with a special focus on the life, lifestyle, and personality of the evangelized. Based on the results from grounded theory research it strives to propose a theory of evangelization. Conclusion: In its conclusion, the article will also attempt to outline opportunities for the dialogue that follows from the conducted research and has the potential to contribute towards making evangelization in general more attractive. Keywords: Surfing Community Evangelization Transformation Grounded theory. Introduction The evangelization of Generations Y and Z 326 is both a major challenge and an underexplored topic. It is necessary to constantly search for opportunities and means of addressing these generations with the gospel. Contact on author: prof. PhDr. Ing. Ladislav Bučko, PhD. misia@vssvalzbety.sk Contact on author: Mgr. András Szabó (contact on both authors): misia@vssvalzbety.sk 326 Generation Y includes people born between Its members are dubbed as heroes. This generation has been influenced by technology. It is used to a consumerist lifestyle. It is ambitious, optimistic, motivated, and rational. It likes teamwork. It very often lives under great pressure due to the uncertainty currently present in the world. Its typical feature is the so-called Peter Pan syndrome where young adults of refuse to grow up, staying at home with their parents instead and giving up on a life on their own. Generation Z stands for the people born after 1996 until the present. They are dubbed as artists. They are true digital nomads. It is often typical for them that they learn how to use new digital technologies before they learn how to speak. They spend a lot of time in virtual space, establishing online social relationships that often transcend continents. This generation significantly differs from Generation Y. The overall perception of Generation Z is markedly affected by technology. It is capable of multitasking; that is, they can concentrate on 92 93

48 THE INFLUENCE OF THE EVANGELIZATION BY THE SURF CHURCH PORTO CHRISTIAN SURFING COMMUNITY ON GENERATIONS Y AND Z: OPPORTUNITIES FOR DIALOGUE WITH A POTENTIAL TO MAKE EVANGELIZATION IN GENERAL MORE ATTRACTIVE ANDRÁS SZABÓ, LADISLAV BUČKO Both generations can be characterized as narcissistic and selfish. They want to have everything instantly, losing interest immediately after they have gotten it. They often give the impression of living without any rules, of being rebels. The truth is, however, that there are plenty of unwritten rules in their world, and failure to comply with them leads to serious consequences. They are, therefore, frequently forced to portray a false image of themselves. While feeling strong in the online world, they are, on the contrary, very emasculated in interpersonal communication. They have unfulfilled spiritual needs which they find ways to meet since the secular and technological environment that constantly contends for their attention cannot provide them with such fulfilment. One way the Church can meet this challenge through an offer of God s love and, consequently, a fulfilled life is evangelization by way of Christian communities. One of these communities is a Christian community called Surf Church Porto that uses surfing as an unusual tool to pursue evangelization. In addition to providing transparency, surfing also enables the community to get in touch with young people who belong to Generations Y and Z. For this community, surfing represents a way to intelligibly reach out to young people in terms of both communication and evangelization. It especially focuses on college students. This community was founded by six missionaries from the USA, Brazil, and Germany at the end of April It aims its activities at the following key areas: to evangelize surfing communities around the world; to serve the local Christian community; and to be a bridge between the church and the beach, building a network of Christian Surfers, thus providing a suitable place for mission. In its ministry, the community follows several principles: Evangelization which means focusing on the gospel as the heart of ministry. Christ plays the key role, thus making the gospel a priority and it gives the Bible the decisive authority. Surfing it uses surfing to mobilize surfers to reach out to other surfers and to show that surfing is subordinated to Christ as a form of ministry. Partnership refers to establishing fellowships with local Christian communities wherever they exist, sharing both leadership and responsibility among communities. Its goal is also to make partnerships with other communities. Integration an effort to be integrated into a local surfing community and to create a Christian serving community. This requires long-term ministry. Transformation Christian surfers believe that the Kingdom of God can change the lives of individual surfers, thus also facilitating a change in local surfing culture. Service is based on relationships and trust. The founders and members of the Surf Church Porto community believe that this kind of service is the key to leadership. Empowerment this means mobilizing and empowering volunteers to reach the potential that the members of the Surf Church Porto community has. The mission and vision of the organization allow for initiatives from below. International nature this expresses the effort to help introduce surfing to each surfing nation. Furthermore, the community is one international family that pursues mission activities for the common good. In its essence, it is not an independent church but instead cooperates with local Christian groups. It has its own categorical creed that determines its ministry. The creed consists of the following main points: 1) Bible the fundamental basis of the faith is the Bible. It is infallible God s word in writing, inspired by the Holy Spirit. As far as the organization is concerned, the Bible represents the most valuable and ultimate authority. 2) God there is one true God, the Creator of the whole universe, including humankind. God exists eternally in the three persons of the Holy Trinity the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, all of whom equally share all divine attributes. 3) Jesus is God, the eternally living Word who became human and was born into this world through the Virseveral things simultaneously. On the other hand, it is incapable of focusing on a single thing only. It is very much vulnerable vis-à-vis marketing as it gets an enormous volume of information via the Internet. A typical feature of this generation is narcissism and decision-making primarily based on personal interests, even at the expense of friendships or teamwork. gin Mary. Jesus is perfect God and perfect human, united in a single person. He lived a sinless life, died on a cross instead of the entire sinful human race that now can, thanks to his sacrifice, receive forgiveness for its sins and turn to him with faith. Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to heaven. He is the only mediator between God and humans. 4) Jesus second coming Jesus will come back to Earth personally, visibly, physically to complete God s plan with humankind. Human beings were created in God s image. Disobeying God, they sinned, thus deserving death. Humans are corrupt in nature, thus deemed unacceptable in God s eyes. Therefore, each individual needs renewal through the Holy Spirit. 5) Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit came to earth to reveal and praise Christ and to assert his work of salvation for all people. The Spirit s integrity and reign are made present in the lives of all believers through faith. Each believer is called to a holy and fruitful life through the Spirit who lives in his or her heart. 6) Salvation the salvation of humankind is solely affected by God s grace; it is by no means a human merit achieved through good deeds or religious activities. God grants God s righteousness and salvation to all those who put their faith in salvation to Jesus. It is conditioned by one s rebirth by the Holy Spirit, so that one can be assured of one s salvation right after one acknowledges Christ as the Saviour. The Word and God s Spirit are the bases for this assurance. 7) Church a visible church community is an assembly of believers who praise, study, pursue mission, and use their God-given gifts according to God s word. Jesus Christ is the head of his Church. God encourages God s people to gather for worship locally and regularly, to participate in Christ s rite, and to serve on Earth through teaching, admonition, making corrections, education, and justice. 8) Christian mission Jesus Christ commands that all believers take part in spreading discipleship to all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them whatever he has commanded. Christ requires that all worldly, personal, and spiritual ambitions be subordinated to him. That is true discipleship. The Surf Church Porto follows a very simple method in its ministry: namely, personal contact. It is inspired by Jesus life and the way he taught. The aim is to be part of the local surfing community which further opens opportunities for personal contact. The members meet on the beach each Sunday. After surfing they eat a dinner together that is designed like Jesus Last Supper, including the breaking of the bread and the pouring of the wine before the meal, thanking Jesus for salvation and his sacrifice. The dinner is followed by praise and a worship service, during which the Bible is read and interpreted chapter by chapter. Similarly, week-day activities also play a very important role, with ministers and missionaries being available every day as well as whenever necessary to explain Bible chapters during weekdays. This article aims at exploring the influence the evangelization by the Surf Church Porto community has on Generations Y and Z, with a special focus on the life, lifestyle, and personality of the evangelized. In its conclusion, the article will also attempt to outline opportunities for the dialogue that follows from the conducted research and which has the potential to contribute towards making evangelization in general more attractive. Methods The goal of the research was to explore evangelization in the unique environment of Surf Church Porto and, subsequently, to provide a portrait of what is going on in the hearts of young people after they have been introduced to the gospel and what impact it has on the life of the respondents

49 THE INFLUENCE OF THE EVANGELIZATION BY THE SURF CHURCH PORTO CHRISTIAN SURFING COMMUNITY ON GENERATIONS Y AND Z: OPPORTUNITIES FOR DIALOGUE WITH A POTENTIAL TO MAKE EVANGELIZATION IN GENERAL MORE ATTRACTIVE ANDRÁS SZABÓ, LADISLAV BUČKO The research is based on qualitative research strategies. It works with oral history 327 methods and with grounded theory. 328 Effectively, grounded theory is constant appropriation of a comparative method. Therefore, the correspondence and coherence of codes also represents an important indicator for a valid basic theory. It means that grounded theory is reliable if there are no new 327 The oral history method refers to the interview format that offers an opportunity to explore the history of mindset and life. It is invaluable as it provides information or knowledge that could not be acquired from other sources. It focuses on retrieving information from the respondents that is related to their past experiences, opinions, stories, and ideas. It follows that this method considers the respondents to be sources that, through their personal stories, contribute to the understanding of some historical, social, and cultural connections. Based on these observations we can conclude that the oral history method meets the criteria of evangelization monitoring and the way that the gospel transforms human lives. This method also provides a means to explore evangelization as individual representation and a subjective way of experiencing. Furthermore, it enables the examination of individual and communal identity within the framework of personal contexts. A weakness of the oral history method, however, is its excessive subjectivity due to the personal experiences of respondents that does not allow for an objective reconstruction of events. Therefore, the researcher will not get a verified answer to the question: What did actually happen? For more information see: Charmaz Kathy, Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide through Qualitative Analysis (SAGE Publications, Inc 2006); Engward Hilary, Understanding grounded theory, Nursing Standard 28, no 7, (2013): doi: /ns e7806; Judith Moyer, Step-by-Step Guide to Oral History Creswell defined grounded theory as a strategy of qualitative research, during which the researcher derives universal, abstract theories of a process, action, or interaction as grounded in the perspectives of research participants. (John W. Creswell, Research Design Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (SAGE Publications, Inc 2009), 13 and 229). This process includes the use of several data collection phases as well as the refinement of the respective relations among information categories. For more information on this see, for example: Charmaz Kathy, Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide through Qualitative Analysis (SAGE Publications, Inc 2006); Anselm Strauss and Juliet Corbin, Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques (Sage Publications, Inc. 1990). Grounded theory is a powerful method for the collection and analysis of data and information. Traditional research methods that rely on the existing literature lead to the formulation of hypotheses. The latter are then tested and verified in real life situations. Grounded theory explores contemporary events in real life, analyzing data without previously formulated hypotheses. In other words, grounded theory proposes a theory that is constructed from data. (James W. Chesebro and Deborah J. Borisoff, What Makes Qualitative Research Qualitative? Qualitative Research Reports in Communication 8, no. 1, (2007): Comprehensive grounded theory research often includes the following elements: formulation of questions; theoretical sample taking; interview transcription and the summarizing of contacts; codification; conceptual theory construction; constant comparison; analysis and the summarizing of results; theory construction; and presentation of results. These steps do not necessarily have to be followed exactly in this order in each case. The researcher sometimes needs to go back to certain steps. (John W. Creswell, Research Design Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (SAGE Publications, Inc 2009), 13). The grounded theory method has been widely criticized by researchers on the grounds of the difficulties and weaknesses that can appear in research. For instance: it is impossible to initiate research without any existing theoretical presuppositions and ideas. Similarly, it requires much experience and patience on the side of the researcher. This method is still not widely used or understood by scholars in various disciplines. For more information on this see, for example: George Allan, A critique of using grounded theory as a research method, EJBRM 2, no. 1 (2003): However, it also has its strengths: an effective approach to constructing new theories and comprehending phenomena; the high quality of newly constructed theories; emerging theory and design reflect the idiosyncratic nature of research; findings and methods are always perfected; it requires a detailed and systematic procedure for data collection, analysis, and theory construction; emerging theories and hypotheses help with exploring the phenomenon in the future; it requires that the researcher is open, unbiased, and objective to examine several layers of data; data collection requires time and occurs at various levels which can help acquire meaningful results. For more information on this see, for example: John W. Creswell, Research Design Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (SAGE Publications, Inc 2009). categories in collected data. This indicates that the theory is sufficiently elaborate. Following a process of transcription, we biographically analysed data. Subsequently, we analysed the data using grounded theory. The grounded theory method enabled us to formulate a theory that is based on real data which is a presupposition of an applicable theory and its actual applications. We reached grounded theory concepts and categories after having analysed the data. The theory as such emerges as soon as coding begins; however, it has not yet reached its final phase at this stage. To reach the final phase, one must separately analyse all sentences, assign them to groups, and then groups to categories. The categories must be analysed, verified, and, finally, the theory needs to be elaborated. This process is very time-consuming and requires much patience. On the other hand, it facilitates a better understanding of the phenomenon under research, in this case the evangelization of Generations Y and Z in the special setting of the Surf Church Porto community. Due to its demanding nature, the research spanned one year. Research sample characterization The research included seven respondents commissioned by Surf Church Porto, based in Portugal. There were four men aged 25, 20, 19, and 33 and three women aged 23, 21, and 24. The first respondent, a man of 25, comes from Germany and was raised in a believing family. Since he was a regular attendee of a Christian community together with his family, faith came to be a matter of course for him. When he turned seven, he started attending a Christian boy scout group where he had a chance to spend time with God for the first time. When he was nine, he gave his life to Jesus. Since then, faith has played the decisive role in his life. Together with his wife, he currently works as missionary and assistant in a Surf Church community project. The second respondent was a female of 23 who lives with her mother and brother in Porto. Her father died when she was 14. Besides her brother she has three other siblings by another marriage of her parents. She started attending worship services when she was 6 but quit when she reached 12. After that she lived as an atheist. She met Jesus again in the Surf Church community where she was inspired by Christian mindset and openness. As a result, she started attending worship services and converted. Since she found her place in the community, her life has changed. She reads and study the Bible and tries to find ways to apply it in everyday life. The third respondent is a 21-year-old woman who lives with her parents and a younger sister. Her parents are Catholic but do not practice their faith. Despite that she attended holy mass until she turned 17. Then she quit because she did not feel good in the church community. She believed neither what she heard there nor the traditions, sensing that rules are more important than people in that setting. She was invited to the Surf Church Community by a friend who was a new member of the community back then. Later, she came to believe in Jesus and her life changed in many ways. She actively participates in worship service, and reads and studies the Bible, trying to apply it in her life. The fourth respondent is a woman of 24 who currently lives in Porto. She comes from a believing family. Her mother is Portuguese while her father is American. She has 3 brothers. Her family often moved back and forth between the USA and Portugal. They moved once in 5 years which always led to internal and family conflicts. Amid these conflicts she gave her life to God because she understood that her family s mission was important. Her relationship with God improved when she was studying at an art school in England. Being a dancer, she also performed in Olympics commercials. She frequently felt lonely during her studies which, at the same time, drew her near God. She currently works as a fitness instructor. The fifth respondent is a 20-year-old man. He studies philosophy and psychology at a university. He currently lives in Porto. His family is Catholic. His mother comes from central Portugal

50 THE INFLUENCE OF THE EVANGELIZATION BY THE SURF CHURCH PORTO CHRISTIAN SURFING COMMUNITY ON GENERATIONS Y AND Z: OPPORTUNITIES FOR DIALOGUE WITH A POTENTIAL TO MAKE EVANGELIZATION IN GENERAL MORE ATTRACTIVE ANDRÁS SZABÓ, LADISLAV BUČKO Due to this, her religious faith is very traditional. His father is from Porto. His parents are not practising believers. As a child, the respondent attended both religious education in school and worship services but quit later when he became an adolescent, effectively living as an atheist. He heard about Jesus later, at the age of 16, when he met his future friend, Daniel. Until then he did not want to know anything about God, ignoring everything related to this theme. He became interested in faith later when his friend told him about Jesus and Christianity and invited him to the church in Ermesinde. He then became involved in the Surf Church Porto community where God s word touched his heart. He invited God into his life which led to a significant transformation of his life. As he put it, it was especially his personality and communication that changed. As a result of this transformation he started spreading the gospel among his friends. The sixth respondent is a male of 19 who comes from a believing family. His father is Portuguese, and his mother comes from Switzerland. He has a sister. The parents often spoke about Jesus with their children and he gave his life to God at the age of 12 while he was praying with his mother one day. He had his first personal experience with God when he was 13. It was during a TeenStreet congress and his life has completely changed ever since; in his understanding, faith in God relates to positive experiences. He currently evangelizes to his friends and participates in worship services to which he also invites non-believers and seekers. The seventh respondent is a 33-year-old man who comes from the USA. He grew up in a family where his mother found God when he was around 3-4. However, his father remained irreligious. He has a brother and two sisters. He heard about Jesus when he was still a child and has tried to live his life accordingly ever since. When he became somewhat older, he separated from God. While he was very popular in elementary school, he suddenly became very unpopular as an adolescent. He had to face mockery from his classmates and friends. When he lost all his friends, he started searching for God. Although God entered his life through painful experiences, he was still able to feel God s love. Subsequently, he graduated with a degree in theology. As a student he started surfing, and surfing came to be his passion. He currently works, together with his wife, as a missionary in the Christian Surfers Porto community. The respondents met the research sample requirements; to make sure that the sample was as varied and representative as possible, the respondents included both new believers and older members of Christian groups belonging to the Surf Church Porto community. The respondents were given information about the conducted research, its aims, procedure, and interview themes pursued using the oral history method. They were also informed about the aspects of evangelization and the necessity to talk about personal opinions and memories related to the research focus. The interviews were 45 minutes in length and conducted in English and Portuguese. Results We focused on two aspects in our analysis of the interviews. During biographical analysis we first collected biographical information, subsequently placing it in chronological order. Having analysed this information, we did a biographical reconstruction, thanks to which the crucial points of their stories became identifiable in the context of evangelization, a new Christian identity, and subjective motivations. The other aspect included research investigations, followed by codification and grounded theory research. In this part we explored categories such as the transformations in personal life, social relations, and lifestyle, and details of the relationship with the Church, Jesus, the gospel, etc. Based on the data and result analyses we subsequently elaborated a theory. We now turn to an analysis of individual categories. Background: social norms, identity, and learned identity This category describes social phenomena and the environment into which the respondents were born and socialized. When forming this group, we considered the fact that the respondents do not come from Portugal only. The national mindset is one of the factors that are very visible in the interaction of two nations. This category also includes issues related to religion. Regardless of their nationality and whether they come from a Christian family or not, the respondents were interested in God and faith in their childhood. The reason why religion-related issues were not included in a separate category, for example one referred to as spirituality, is the fact that the context in which they spoke about religion was exclusively related to the habit of going to church. The respondents (N=3) said about religion the following: I used to go to church from when I was six and until I reached twelve because everybody used to go to a Catholic church. Those respondents who gave their lives to Jesus at an early age (N=3) as well as those who converted later (N=3) spoke of religion as something that has strict rules and is stern in nature. They did not understand what meaning it has for their lives; it was beyond them what the point of religion is. Therefore, they acquired a false image of God. In the case of the respondents, however, abstract spirituality emerged only explicitly, that is, through personal life stories, and not through traditions. This was the case with the respondents (N=3) who came from non-believing or traditionally religious families. Several respondents also mentioned the church atmosphere. Particularly, they spoke of the atmosphere at church services regardless of denomination. In their view, this atmosphere is connected to tradition and expectations. In this regard, for instance, all respondents (N=7) also mentioned clothing as an example why they feel like outlaws when visiting a more traditional church. For Generations Y and Z, some traditions are both incomprehensible and not as important as they were for previous generations. Even within the realm of religion, when they are attending worship service, young people look for something like a home, a place where they can be the way they are without having to cling to traditions. It is for this reason that they view traditions in worship services and church as an obstacle. This category also includes elements such as study and socialization. These represent a very important aspect of identity and have a great impact on one s personality as well as life principles. The same principles also appeared when the respondents spoke of the transformations in their lives after their conversion. The principles, therefore, interlink this category with other categories. Leaving one s comfort zone: crisis of identity, social gap Leaving one s comfort zone in this category means that some respondents were forced to leave their comfort zone and live through difficult life periods. We included two smaller subgroups in this category: namely, crisis of identity and social gap. We connected the crisis of identity with issues related to one s self-image in a period when the respondents were experiencing a crisis of their identity because what they had believed in until then stopped working. Some respondents (N=3) already experienced such a crisis at a younger age when their personality was not yet sufficiently mature. Later, transformations that normally cause stress, such as puberty, did not bring about any markedly turbulent changes in their lives. In any case, however, they have undergone a paradigm shift. The dynamics of this phenomenon in the respondents life was as follows: a crisis comes; the crisis leads to self-reflection; a decision is made; a paradigm shift occurs. This transformation is very similar to conversion. The social gap subgroup included issues that indicate, refer to or describe social distance at several levels (e.g., friendship with certain social groups, including even the church). While in one story (N=1) this gap was a driving factor for the quest for God, the exact opposite was the case with other respondents (N=3). It was an encounter with the gospel and other believers that ignited transformation in their 98 99

51 THE INFLUENCE OF THE EVANGELIZATION BY THE SURF CHURCH PORTO CHRISTIAN SURFING COMMUNITY ON GENERATIONS Y AND Z: OPPORTUNITIES FOR DIALOGUE WITH A POTENTIAL TO MAKE EVANGELIZATION IN GENERAL MORE ATTRACTIVE ANDRÁS SZABÓ, LADISLAV BUČKO lives transformation in the sense of searching for God when the respondents began to realize and note these changes. In this regard they expressed themselves as follows: To be honest, it was difficult at first... I have a group of friends, there are ten of us and we have been friends since before high school [...] the things they think and say or the way they behave... I cannot identify with that anymore... The other respondents (N=3) were those who gave their life to God at a young age. They experienced and acknowledged this gap later, when their life situation changed after they had moved to study in another city, etc. We also included the subconscious in this subgroup. It was very interesting to discover that the respondents perceived all negative phenomena to be included in this subgroup both retrospectively and presently. This awareness accompanied all stories and was often connected with a degree of frustration since the respondents could not influence certain life occurrences. Reformation of identity: role models and catalysts, sources of energy for change, social network This category represents a kind of response to the previous category. This category includes such groups that help the respondents to overcome a difficult life situation. The group of role models and catalysts include such matters and phenomena that helped the respondents in difficult life situations, for example, help and support in the case of a loss in the family, moving to another place, an overall reconstruction of one s life, etc. to get up and move on, while also growing up as a personality and growing up in faith. We also included, especially, time spent with God in the reformation of identity category. This refers to one s personal time, at home, alone just God and the person. The form for this communication was provided by books, such as The Chronicles of Narnia or the Bible. All respondents (N=7) regularly read the Bible. In addition to reading, they also talk with others and seek to live and focus their personal goals according to what they read. According to them (N=7) it works and makes sense in practice. However, the problem is they often do not understand the interpretation and symbolism of what they read... This is especially the case with the respondents who only converted recently and need help with interpreting biblical texts correctly. This help can be provided, for example, by mentors understood in the sense of educated leaders; in the church context these are pastors or priests. Each respondent needs their mentor with whom they can talk openly, who creates a safe space where they can ask questions without any fear. Such mentors not only interpret the gospel, and live accordingly, but also seek to teach and form the respondents in accordance with the gospel. They hold a mirror up to young people, including the respondents, and give them tasks. On this topic the respondents said the following: During the week we meet with a pastor to study the Bible together. I like it very much; it is something I constantly discover and have a chance to talk about with somebody, to share it... That s what I like a lot. Another group of respondents has already gone through a process of biblical interpretation with their mentors and are now engaged in discipleship. Discipleship is more than mere learning; it implies much more. Jesus not only taught his disciples, but he also shared his life with them. He let them observe and explore his life and his way of life. He let them observe, study, and experience his relationship with the Father. For the disciples, these experiences with Jesus were decisive. Even today, mentors apply the same method in their work with young people. They let young people have a look into their lives to create an atmosphere that has a great impact on the young people. This experience was very important for the respondents (N=4) as their own words show: After this experience of discipleship I felt something immediately... I cannot explain it but after this experience I started attending church service every Sunday and felt happier and calmer (...) I thought it was because of the people who I met and who are really unselfish. At the same time I felt I was selfish... and started asking questions, why it was so, why I too could not share my life with others so that they can, through me and my way of life, experience God s love and, as a result, change their lives. The respondents stories show that the functioning Christian community helped them understand that they used to have a distorted image of God. They discovered that, contrary to their beliefs, God is gracious, good, and amazing. To understand this, however, they needed to be immersed in an atmosphere that is gracious, and to apprehend God s love appropriately through such a community. Furthermore, they had a chance, based on their own experience (N=6), to experience that God is real and active. Such experiences with discipleship and community have the greatest influence on young people. The sources of the energy for change group essentially belong to the previous role models and catalysts group, yet there is a difference. While in the previous group the respondents were mere recipients of help and support from mentors and the community, they are here the initiators of such help and support (N=3). It was not surprising to discover that social network was a frequent element which featured in both the research and the interviews. Social network represented a basis for the previous groups including social norms, identity, crisis of identity, social gap, mentors, role models, and sources of energy for change. Furthermore, it has a very special connection to the last-mentioned subgroup. Social network provides a basis for both change and growth; it is closely connected with all areas of human life. In this group we included not only family, friends, community, fellowship, and home, but also communication as information flows through various communication channels. In this regard, it was most intriguing to observe what relationship the respondents have with Jesus and how they perceive him. The respondents (N=7) described this relationship with words such as brother, father, mentor, best friend, somebody they can rely on regardless of the situation, the aim and reason of existence, saviour, the source of life and joy, etc. For them, therefore, Jesus is not a mere imaginary character but a real person with whom they have a close relationship. They put it as follows: When I am walking on the street, I talk to him. When something good is happening to me, I thank him immediately. My relationship with Jesus is something important for my everyday life he is with me in every moment. Even when I am surfing, for example, I talk to him and he is ever present in my life. I can feel his presence, and it is wonderful. For me, it is a very close relationship. As these statements show, this category is very powerful, robust, and important in the framework of the research. Having analysed the data, we also discovered a hierarchy of relationship within the community, especially, in the particular case of Surf Church Porto. At the beginning there were contacts which eventually developed into closer relationships, then friendships and fellowships, which turned into a family and a community. This community, like the whole surfing community in Porto, interacts with other communities. This interaction relates to the Surf Church Porto s mission and, more broadly, with the mission of the whole church community. Participation: activities and challenges In this category we included groups that we labelled as activities and challenges. Our analysis of the research showed us that the respondents view participation as a matter-of-course. Therefore, we included in the activities group especially the work and leisure time activities that the respondents (N=3) changed after their lives and, subsequently, also priorities which had been changed. These activities are by and large connected with the community. Some respondents (N=2) left their previous careers and financially well-secured jobs as these were not compatible with the gospel and their new lifestyle. Here we find another point of connection with the principles. We also included the leisure time activities group in the more general activities group. The bulk of the respondents leisure time activities consists of surfing which is their first choice (N=7) and then also skating. They also participate in various creative activities (N=3) as part of their

52 THE INFLUENCE OF THE EVANGELIZATION BY THE SURF CHURCH PORTO CHRISTIAN SURFING COMMUNITY ON GENERATIONS Y AND Z: OPPORTUNITIES FOR DIALOGUE WITH A POTENTIAL TO MAKE EVANGELIZATION IN GENERAL MORE ATTRACTIVE ANDRÁS SZABÓ, LADISLAV BUČKO recreation and entertainment. Furthermore, as the respondents claim, their leisure time activities include studying the Bible, which they are enthusiastic to participate in (N=7). The interviews with the respondents brought another interesting activity-related finding. The respondents feel great self-confidence in what they do or have very detailed plans for what they would like to do in the future (N=7): After I had changed my lifestyle, I started to feel that even I can and also want to do things differently in my life... something more than just work, make money, and pay the bills... I felt I had an opportunity to do something also for other people and I wanted to make that reality in my life... I sensed that it was God who put this desire and possibility in my heart. We can see that this self-confidence is very closely interconnected with the groups from the category discussed previously, including social network and mentoring. The second group in this category describes challenges. The challenges include discovering, exploring, experiencing or acquiring experience. Challenges are important. They represent a key factor for growth. In addition, this group is closely connected with mentoring and social network. As an example of this social network and its expansion to the surrounding world, we can say that some respondents (N=3) got in touch with Surf Church Porto through invitation by and the initiative of other members. As early as during the transcription process we found out that the discovering, exploring, experiencing or acquiring experience group only emerged later, during the evangelization process. During the analysis we discovered that this group is a result of the transformation of the respondents personality, their curiosity and inner impulsion. Discovering includes: the discovering of the gospel as a meaning of life, the discovering of God in everyday life, relationships, nature, feelings, etc. As already indicated, this group also includes experiences. Even though the respondents (N=4) had already had some experiences with God and religious faith before their conversion, they did not perceive it as experience or something important at that time: I was five when I first heard about God, I had experience with God... but I did not live accordingly and did not care for God at all. Looking back, however, I realize that God has always been with me, during all this time. We can see that the respondents began realizing these experiences following their inner transformation that became an inspiration for them. For example, based on these experiences they started to see their social relationships differently. The respondents seek situations in which they can go through and acquire similar new experiences. Today, young people in general subconsciously seek this type of experience of inner transformation and a different view on life and relationships. This group is also interconnected with mentoring and social network. Product: the fruit of inner transformation, mission The final category referred to as product includes the group of the fruit of inner transformation and mission. In the fruit of inner transformation group, we included already visible or revealed issues and characteristics that are a result of evangelization or the impact of the gospel in the hearts of the respondents. Having selected and analysed the codes, we discovered a very interesting fact. This group consists of faith, hope, love, joy, peace, sacrifice, trust, modesty, etc. This is very similar to what Paul the Apostle wrote in the Epistle to the Galatians in the fifth chapter:... the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control... (Gal 5:22-23). With respect to these qualities, the respondents (N=3) said that they are more adaptive and quicker to accept and tolerate others. To their minds, the term faith needs to be interpreted as faith in God, the faith that everything which God has promised is truth. The term hope, then, is to be understood as a hope that life does not end with death (N=7). They expressed it as follows: Jesus rose from the dead. For me, this claim is very comforting, together with the assurance that God is the victor over everything, regardless of what we now see or how badly situations are currently developing in our lives... For me, this brings hope and is very encouraging. The term love is to be taken in reference to the atmosphere that God s love and grace create. Joy means to be in fellowship with others and with God. According to the respondents (N=7), life with God is full of joy and peace. For them, sacrifice means that they are willing to sacrifice their time and resources to spread the gospel. Of much importance is the fact that the respondents do not regret sacrificing or having sacrificed something. Rather, they experience it as a blessing; they believe they can thus be a blessing for others. Trust is related to hope and faith. The respondents (N=7) trust God that everything that happens is for their benefit. The focus of their life has changed. Before they encountered God, they used to behave in selfish ways (N=6). However, their encounter with Jesus brought about a change in their behaviour. When we explore the qualities described above as indicators of the gospel being at work, we can say that the Holy Spirit is actively working in the lives of the respondents. Consequently, these qualities (the fruit) represent a further motivation to remain in a Christian community, thus continuing to grow spiritually and personally. The other group in this category was mission. We included motivation and service in this group. The respondents (N=7) are highly motivated to pass the gospel on to their family, friends, and even strangers. Giving their reasons, they said that they would be very happy if other people, too, felt and experienced what they do and that they wished the lives of other people changed as well. This mindset implies service to others, including fellowship or community. As part of this service, the respondents (N=7) organize various events that aim at responding to the needs of the fellowship and community (such as surfing, common dinner meals, beach cleaning, etc.). Further analysis showed that we can integrate the categories described above to a yet higher unit as follows: categories of background, leaving one s comfort zone, and reformation of identity that follow from external impulses and factors: the respondents have no power over them and, even if they do, it is to a very limited extent; categories of participation and product are a result of one s inner transformation; in the case of the respondents it was due to evangelization. These represent a kind of response to the gospel and to the transformation of their lifestyle and personality. These changes and God s love they experience is like an echo; it spreads on the inside and motivates the respondents to do and spread it further. For the respondents, it represents a kind of new message which brings them fulfilment, balance, and harmony in their lives. The units described above can be further categorized. As we can see, inner transformations and generated factors bring about a change in lifestyle at all levels of human life, including psychological, social, financial, family, intellectual and physical. Relations among categories Evangelization is pursued by way of complex processes. It is a central phenomenon, and the gospel is located in its midst. It means that everything takes place around it. As we can see from the analyses of the categories and groups described above, their connections construct an image that resembles a wheel. The starting point of this wheel is one s background; that is, the environment one comes from. This is followed by leaving one s comfort zone, reformation of identity, activity, and products. However, these are all connected with background because transformation does not stop at this point. In this respect we mentioned a significant change in the life and lifestyle of the respondents and their desire and motivation to do something good for the sake of others, including the community they live in but also strangers. We can see how transformation affects background. In its nature it is like deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Its molecule is very long and spiral-shaped. It is called alpha-helix. In the case of the conducted re

53 THE INFLUENCE OF THE EVANGELIZATION BY THE SURF CHURCH PORTO CHRISTIAN SURFING COMMUNITY ON GENERATIONS Y AND Z: OPPORTUNITIES FOR DIALOGUE WITH A POTENTIAL TO MAKE EVANGELIZATION IN GENERAL MORE ATTRACTIVE ANDRÁS SZABÓ, LADISLAV BUČKO search, however, one cannot speak of alpha-helix only because the DNA on the inside does not contain anything. More precisely, although its strands emerged through the connection of nucleotides, there are no other connections besides the former. The conducted research describes, so to speak, changes on the outside with the gospel being at the centre to which everything else is connected. To use the earlier example with DNA: after we add the gospel to the spiral, we get a form that is reminiscent of sweet cream-filled pastry rolls: there are layers of sweet dough on the outside with the dough continuity representing the continuity of the progress that takes place simultaneously. This structure is practical and holds the community together. However, it is also fragile, and therefore in need of a solid structure. The gospel and evangelization represent the delicious cream inside the pastry rolls that provides support for the fragile dough shell. As far as the consumer is concerned, the cream inside the pastry rolls remains invisible. Only after they take a bite of the roll will they discover that there is more to it than mere dry, fragile dough. Analogically, the process of evangelization is like a filled pastry roll. In what follows, we would like to propose a brief theory that we acquired based on the results of the research. We refer to it as the filled pastry rolls theory. - Evangelization is a very intense process of transformation in one s life, lifestyle, and, ultimately, personality. This transformation is both external and internal, and it influences not only the individual but also the environment, society, and community in which one lives. - Transformation begins with background and continues cyclically; it often occurs through life crises and one s internal reformation. At the end, one makes an impact on the environment in which one lives, on one s community, society, and the surrounding world. This cyclical transformation accompanies the gospel and God s love, like the dough of the pastry roll covers its cream filling. The cream filling provides support. - Form of evangelization for example, surfing does not play an ultimately decisive role. - However, a crucial factor is the Christian community and the mindset of this community. - Some traditions, language, methods or worship services that are typical for a church community can often be incomprehensible and rigorous in the view of Generations Y and Z. This is an undesirable factor for evangelization because it creates an unacceptable setting for young people and people unfamiliar with it who in turn feel frustrated. - A Christian community without the gospel is not an evangelizing community. - When evangelization functions well, people are motivated both to be evangelized and to evangelize. The community provides them with support for their spiritual and personal growth and transformation; it enables them to get to know God and God s love. - Young people get to know God especially through Christian communities. When they feel God s love is present in a community, they will want to stay and be inspired. - If evangelization is pursued appropriately and effectively, the gospel will fulfil young people and answer their questions. - It is crucial that community leaders are available for community members as well as young people and strangers. They must serve as role models and mentors, be present, and share their lives with other community members. - Transformation as a result of evangelization leads to community members being motivated to serve others and spread the gospel. It becomes their second nature. Discussion The conducted research showed us several very important findings: Generations Y and Z have a problem with understanding previous generations; generational differences are enormous. Some traditions, language, methods or worship services that are typical for the church community can often be incomprehensible to these generations. This gives rise to unpleasant feelings and frustrations and, ultimately, also has an impact on the evangelization process; The gospel remains topical. The sending out of the disciples is still valid. Even though Jesus teaching is more than 2000 years old, it remains timely. The human soul reacts to it the same way it did two millennia ago the gospel resonates in the soul, and the soul responds to it. The principles that Jesus taught people are still working. In the sped up and modern world of today, practically a whole generation has forgotten how to communicate and reach out to other people. To get to know the gospel, God, and God s love, a different approach is needed that would help overcome enormous generational differences. Jesus teaching remains valid and is still capable of finding its way into young people s hearts. However, it is essential that evangelization is comprehensible for young people using means that are close to their minds and hearts, such as surfing and that it works effectively. This can also be facilitated by the filled pastry rolls theory. Conclusion Young people evaluate everything they are concerned with or encounter through sensations and feelings, constantly looking for captivating new experiences. Offering such sensations is also important in the evangelization process as it is thanks to them that evangelization can become more comprehensible for young people, including especially Generations Y and Z. In addition to this emphasis, however, it is necessary to make sure that one avoids hollow Christianity which Paul the Apostle also had to face. In the time of Paul s ministry, just like today, Christianity was threatened by the view that placed sensation at its centre. (...) However, Paul did not want to allow this, insisting on interpretation. It is true that he did not seek to suppress any authentic emotional response to Christian truth (and we should not do so either). There is and should be a place for emotion within Christianity. However, we should not allow emotion to become the basis for faith. 329 Therefore, contemporary pastoral care and evangelization tend to offer sensations. However, they do so in sober ways, using methods that modern technology devours or cannot offer. One example of such sensation with a solid basis is the surf evangelization by the Surf Church Porto Christian community. It is a leisure time activity that is attractive for young people as it offers them a means of entertainment, relaxation, and a kind of sensation. It goes hand-in-hand with the context of a functioning Christian community that makes God s love present, enjoys the presence of community leaders, mentors, and other members, provides them with support in various situations of life, and fosters their personal and spiritual growth. All of these represent further sensations for young people which can give them fulfilment and joy, and naturally motivate them to be interested in evangelization. The process of evangelization continues even after the transformation brought about by the evangelization with the community providing the young people with further support, mentors, space for their activities, and initiatives; it gives them an opportunity to serve others and spread the gospel because this becomes their second nature. Again, for young people these are sensations that are most positively connected with evangelization the gos- 329 James Boice Montgomery, Základy křesťanské víry (Praha: Návrat domů, 1999),

54 THE ELEMENT OF DIALOGUE PRESENT IN EVANGELIZATION EVANGELIZATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE BY YOUNG PEOPLE; RESEARCH ON VIEWS OF THE CATHOLIC YOUTH ON EVANGELIZATION, THEIR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND ENGAGEMENT IN THE AREA OF EVANGELIZATION IGOR KRÁĽ pel. The functioning Surf Church Porto community can become an inspiration for communities, fellowships, and churches that have been negatively impacted by stereotype, even though not every Christian community has surfing available to reach out to young people. Nevertheless, this case challenges us and gives us an opportunity to search for similar ways within communities, fellowships, and churches and create similarly attractive community models. The influence of the evangelization pursued by Surf Church Porto on the life, lifestyle, and personality of young people also offers an opportunity for dialogue that has a potential to make evangelization in general more attractive. These opportunities for dialogue are readily visible through the filled pastry rolls theory, both at the level of the presentation of this theory and the pursuit of further research on grounded theory in the field of evangelization. The presentation of the filled pastry rolls theory can contribute to making the evangelization process more attractive for both the evangelists and the evangelized. Considering the implications of these opportunities for further research, this article therefore suggests designing continued grounded theory research in the field of evangelization. With respect to the results of this research, including the filled pastry rolls theory, it proposes the following: to reflect these results in the preparation of studies focused on ways of evangelization that are attractive for young people; to present the results of these studies in scholarly discussions and reflections with a similar focus related to evangelization. Evangelization and its more attractive ways, as well as dialogue about these ways, are currently becoming more and more urgent, and not just due to trends in modern pastoral care of young people. Bibliography Allan, George. A critique of using grounded theory as a research method. EJBRM 2, no.1 (2003): Creswell, John W. Research Design Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. SAGE Publications, Inc Hilary, Engward. Understanding grounded theory. Nursing Standard 28, no 7, (2013): doi: / ns e7806 Chesebro, James W. and Borisoff, Deborah J. What Makes Qualitative Research Qualitative? Qualitative Research Reports in Communication 8, no. 1, (2007): Kathy, Charmaz. Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide through Qualitative Analysis. SAGE Publications, Inc Montgomery, James Boice. Základy křesťanské víry. Praha: Návrat domů, Moyer, Judith. Step-by-Step Guide to Oral History. Strauss, Anselm and Corbin, Juliet. Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Sage Publications, Inc THE ELEMENT OF DIALOGUE PRESENT IN EVANGELIZATION EVANGELIZATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE BY YOUNG PEOPLE; RESEARCH ON VIEWS OF THE CATHOLIC YOUTH ON EVANGELIZATION, THEIR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND ENGAGEMENT IN THE AREA OF EVANGELIZATION Igor Kráľ 330 Faculty of Theology of Trnava University, Bratislava (SK) Submitted: 15 July 2018 Accepted for publication: 3 March 2019 First published: 15 October 2019 Acta Missiologica No. 2 Vol Abstract Backround: The author, in this paper, draws attention to the importance of evangelisation. The author analyses the results of the questionnaire survey for active young Slovak Catholics. The aim of the quantitative research was to find out the practice of the faith in everyday life with the emphasis on their views on evangelisation, their personal experiences and involvement in the field of evangelism which makes this research unique. Results: The results brought forth some challenges for the community leaders to create opportunities for personal conversion, which should anticipate the evangelization efforts. It is not enough to emphasize the obligation to preach the Gospel, but also to explain why this is important. The conducted research has shown that there is an important need for mutual proximity, personal encounter, testimony of authentic life and need for belonging to the community, than attractive evangelistic events and the use of modern information technology. Conclusion: Evangelization, as it is understood as a form of dialogue and mutual exchange, appears to be an appropriate way of educating and leading young people to the fullness of life. Based on the respondent s answers, the article presents several application implications for the practice and implications for further research opportunities in the field of effective evangelisation of young people. Keywords: Evangelisation Mission Youth ministry Spirituality Formation. Introduction En essential part of effective and authentic evangelization is its dialogical dimension as one of the primary pillars on which it stands. From the perspective of missions ad gentes, the dialogical dimension of evangelization includes inculturation stemming from the dynamic relationship between faith and culture seen in its broadest sense. Within inculturation, faith is placed in a cultural environment where it finds its self-expression and it gradually transforms, purifies and refines this specific culture. The method used for inculturation is dialogue, which implies the fact that a Christian who finds him- or herself in a dialogue with a non-believer will be open to self-reflection, self-criticism and change of his or her misconceptions. The encyclical Redemptoris Missio also perceives dialogue as an important part of evangelization: Contact on author: ThLic. Mgr. et Mgr. Igor Kráľ, PhD. SVD. kral.igor@gmail.com

55 THE ELEMENT OF DIALOGUE PRESENT IN EVANGELIZATION EVANGELIZATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE BY YOUNG PEOPLE; RESEARCH ON VIEWS OF THE CATHOLIC YOUTH ON EVANGELIZATION, THEIR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND ENGAGEMENT IN THE AREA OF EVANGELIZATION IGOR KRÁĽ Inter-religious dialogue is a part of the Church s evangelizing mission. Understood as a method and means of mutual knowledge and enrichment, dialogue is not in opposition to the mission ad gentes; indeed, it has special links with that mission and is one of its expressions.(...) Dialogue should be conducted and implemented with the conviction that the Church is the ordinary means of salvation and that she alone possesses the fullness of the means of salvation. (RM 55). The inculturation dialogue method can be the basic starting point used to address a specific person during evangelization with the perspective of accepting salvation given by Jesus Christ. With today s focus on individuality, an individual himself represents a set of values, religious searching, opinions and evaluations of the world and his place and meaning inside it. From this point of view, evangelization requires patient and active listening shared by people who are actively engaged in evangelization with the people with whom they live. At the same time, they should help others with a sensitive interpretation of the Gospel by understanding their living conditions, while this mutual meeting in a sharing dialogue can be enriching for the evangelizers as well. This is one of the ways of reflecting on the concept of new evangelization 331 which has become more common in the environment of the Roman-Catholic Church over the past few decades. Therefore, this article discusses solely the Roman-Catholic environment. In the development of the concept of new evangelization, the most relevant factor was the struggle to address Christians who had left the community of believers, who had become lukewarm in their faith or non-believers with no personal experience with the Christian faith. 332 Initial enthusiasm linked to the development of this concept has inspired immense faith in new efficient methods and modern tools that will facilitate contact with others and regain lost influence and impact. 333 At times, it may have seemed that evangelization efforts were built on the search for efficient strategies rather than on the conviction that the missionary spirit of Christian spirituality must be supported by honest conviction that the knowing and love of Jesus Christ has a major impact on all human beings and it is the intention and desire to share the Lord. 334 By publishing the apostolic exhortation Evangelium Gaudium, Pope Francis offered a key to the understanding of any evangelization effort arising from the missionary mandate given to all members of the Church. While new evangelization was interested in secularized countries, according to Pope Francis, the challenge of evangelization is addressed to all geographical areas and life situations and depends on the testimony of communities of believers and not on new methods, strategies and expressions. 335 In this manner, the Pope laid the first foundations for cultivation of authentic missionary spirituality without which one could hardly talk about efficient evangelization. This is another step forward towards the fulfilment of the call of the Second 331 A concept of new evangelization is a reflection of Jesus call to spread the Gospel (Cf. Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:47-48). 332 In Redeptoris Missio, John Paul II writes about the specific situation of communities where entire groups of the baptised have lost a living sense of the faith, or even no longer consider themselves members of the Church, and live a life far removed from Christ and his Gospel. The Pope says that what is needed is a new evangelization or a re-evangelization. (RM 33). 333 Imgrich Gazda recalls that despite the disadvantages of modern evangelization tools, their impact is of major importance. In today s age of the media, resignation to these means of communication would mean rejecting God s gifts. (...) They can be a useful tool for initial evangelization that invites the recipient for further reflection. (Imrich Gazda, Svedkovia viery ako kľúčový prvok pri mediálnej prezentácii duchovného posolstva, Studia Theologica 14, no. 3, (2012): Reilly, M. C.: Developing a Missionary Spirituality, Missiology: An International Review 4, no. 8, (1980): Steven Bevans, New Evangelization or Missionary Church?, Verbum SVD 55, no. 2-3, (2014): 175. Vatical Council which does not offer systematic learning of evangelization; however, it reminds us of the missionary character of the entire Church and the basic calling of all believers to join the spreading of the Gospel, which results in an invitation: to a deep inner renewal that will help us realize our own share of responsibility for the spreading of the Gospel and participation in missionary work between nations. (AG35). Pope Francis does not necessarily talk about new evangelization, but rather about a new phase (EG 1, 17, 287), new ways (EG 1,11, 31), a new process of evangelization (EG 69), a new evangelization fervour (EG 29), a community of martyrs missionaries, and about the rising Church (EG 24) which is called to go forth from our own comfort zone in order to reach all the peripheries in need of the light of the Gospel.(EG 20). W. Kasper points out that the call for evangelization is a spiritual ca)ll that) calls upon us all Christians, communities and the Church - to be inviting and convincing through the testimony of faith that we experience every day. 336 This call and mission is usually seen from the perspective of what needs to be done and the search for activities that need to be performed. However, relationships come before action in evangelization. It is especially about living mercy before communicating it to others. It is about sharing a lively joy stemming from the experience of a personal meeting with Christ. 337 L. Bučko believes that such sharing results in the fulfilment of relationships on the horizontal level as well as on the vertical level with God this can be perceived as missionary spirituality. From the perspective of sharing, the koinonia of the entire Church can become a community of people who are Jesus friends and for whom the Gospel has such value that they decided to live according to it. They are trying to live the Gospel and some even have the love and courage to share it with others. 338 On the one hand, the actions of men are preceded by their meeting with God; on the other hand, the sharing of the message of joyful tidings is preceded by love just like God loved us first (see John 3:16). Listening, specific practical help, and the search for unity and closeness in various human needs is man s best preparation for accepting Christ in his life. 339 Pope Francis in his encyclical Evangelii Gaudium repeatedly invites young people to have the courage to change the world and become protagonists in the sharing of the Gospel. 340 By using understandable language full of metaphors, he stresses the potential that young people have. He reminds us that their enthusiasm, creativity and skills in using modern communication technologies open new ways of evangelizing their peers thanks to easy access. In stimulation of healthy and mature missionary spirituality of the young, pastoral workers face many challenges, as they have to offer young people space for personal conversion and a meeting with Jesus Christ, ensure serious formation in the area of evangelization and provide supervision on the journey to becoming authentic witnesses of the joy of the Gospel. Evangelization can be seen as fundamental part of the life of belief of all Christians. Its source and aim lie in a personal relationship with God. In an individual, it stems from a calling and finds its course in the interaction with others towards the offer of a fulfilled life. The final document of the synod on Young People, Faith and Vocational Discernment which took place 336 Walter Kasper, La nuova evangelizzazione: una sfida pastorale, teologica e spirituale, In La sfida della nuova evangelizzazione, eds. Walter Kasper and George Augustin, (Brescia: Queriniana, 2012), Ozioko J. U., Evangelii Gaudium: A Precious Treasure for Cultivating the Missionary Spirituality, Alpha Omega 19, no. 2, (2016): Ladislav Bučko and Ondrej Botek, Sprituality for mission, Acta Missiologica 9, no. 1, (2015): Jaroslava Poloňová, New trends in mission: Particularities of contemporary mission in the rular and urban areas, Acta Missiologica 8, no. 2, (2014): Pope Francis largely focuses on these topics in his speeches and meetings with young people on several levels, as well as in his addresses at the occasion of World Youth Days and missions

56 THE ELEMENT OF DIALOGUE PRESENT IN EVANGELIZATION EVANGELIZATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE BY YOUNG PEOPLE; RESEARCH ON VIEWS OF THE CATHOLIC YOUTH ON EVANGELIZATION, THEIR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND ENGAGEMENT IN THE AREA OF EVANGELIZATION IGOR KRÁĽ in Rome in 2018 stresses the need to evangelize young people and to make young people co-protagonists in the life and vocation of the Church in mutual relationship with their human and spiritual formation on the way to realization of the calling to holiness. 341 Impulses created by the synod and its conclusions are valuable inputs for the realisation of this quantitative research. The aim was to analyse the practice of faith in the everyday lives of young Christians with special attention paid to the mapping of their opinions, personal experience and engagement in the area of evangelization. The research offers an overview of opinions held by young people on evangelization in the context of their spiritual life and related drivers for efficient pastoral work and accompaniment. The topic of views of the Slovak Catholic youth on evangelization, their personal experience and engagement in the area of evangelization has been discussed by very few authors, therefore, one of the important aims of this research is to open space for expert discussions and reflections on this topic. Largely theoretical knowledge used for the realization of this research was drawn especially from Slovakia, namely from publications by domestic authors, the most relevant ones being: J. Poloňová, who discussed the issue of evangelization and new evangelization as factors of new trends in missionary work 342. L. Bučko and O. Botek analysed spirituality in missionary work. 343 J. Matulík and J. Žuffa 344 in their contributions analysed various other aspects of the religiousness of young people, although they did not focus directly on the topic of evangelization. L. Bučko and M. Bučková analysed evangelization as an example of best practices in an interesting manner. 345 Contributions of foreign authors were studied for the purpose of this research especially in relation to the topic of evangelization. Given the fact that dialogue is an important part of evangelization, contributions were studied especially in the area of prophetic dialogue as a tool for missionary work, which was discussed by the following authors: S. Bevans. 346 M.C. Reilly, W. Kasper and J. U. Ozioko analyse the issue of missionary spirituality as such. 347 Methods The survey was conducted using a quantitative research strategy. Given the absence of a standardised questionnaire on this important topic, a special survey tool an online questionnaire was created for the survey. When creating it and determining its important features, 341 Documento finale e Votazioni del Documento finale del Sinodo dei Vescovi al Santo Padre Francesco (27. ottobre 2018) 56, 119, 125, 137, , pubblico/2018/10/27/0789/01722.html#doc. 342 Jaroslava Poloňová, New trends in mission 1. part: Evangelization and new evangelization, Acta Missiologica 8, no.1, (2014): 35-48; Jaroslava Poloňová, New trends in mission: Particularities of contemporary mission in the rular and urban areas, Acta Missiologica 8, no. 2, (2014): Ladislav Bučko and Ondrej Botek, Sprituality for mission, For more information on this see, for example: Jozef Žuffa, Vybrané aspekty religiozity mládeže na Slovensku a v Holandsku, Studia Aloisiana 8, no. 3, (2017): 65-74; Jozef Žuffa, Vybrané ukazovatele katolíckej mládeže, Communio Missio no. 1, (2018): Bučko, Ladislav, Bučková, Mária: Example of best practices on pastoral care of families: The spiritual and social aspect, Acta Missiologica 12, no. 1, (2018): For more information on this see, for example:: Steven Bevans, New Evangelization or Missionary Church? Walter Kasper, La nuova evangelizzazione: una sfida pastorale, teologica e spirituale, For more information on this see, for example: Ozioko J. U., Evangelii Gaudium: A Precious Treasure for Cultivating the Missionary Spirituality, Alpha Omega 19, no. 2, (2016): ; Reilly, M. C.: Developing a Missionary Spirituality, Missiology: An International Review 4, no. 8, (1980): I found the publication by P. Gavora to be rather useful: Tvorba výskumného nástroja pre pedagogické bádanie (Creating a Research Tool for Educational Research) 348. The final questionnaire was also consulted with a team of researchers of the Department of Prevention and Research of Youth, Slovak Centre of Scientific and Technical Information in Bratislava, Slovakia. The issue of the religiosity of young Catholics in Slovakia was addressed in previous years by a research team led by J. Matulník 349, but the sample of respondents was significantly different, and so the results could not be compared. The questionnaire survey was applied to young people aged 15 to 30 across Slovakia. It was also attended by respondents through personal contact who took part in pastoral services offered at certain parishes. Subsequently, they were asked to spread the questionnaire among their believing peers. All the respondents completed an online questionnaire via an easy-to-distribute hyperlink that they ed or shared via Facebook. In this context, it is important to point out that the sample does not meet the representativeness criteria with respect to the basic research sample, which consists of believers, mostly active and faith practising young people. For this reason, the presented results are of an informative character, but they are not negligible. The survey results were statistically processed in the SPSS programme. For mathematical-statistical analysis, we used first-stage data analysis, sample characteristics based on demographic features and second-stage data analysis (Chi-square test, Cramer s V). Only the data that were statistically significant at a significance level of P <0.05 were interpreted. Research results Subsequently, the research results will be presented with appropriate commentary, which have been evaluated in accordance with predetermined identifying features (gender, age, size of place of residence, region, economic activity and educational attainment); parameters characterising the respondents spirituality; their views, personal experience and commitment to evangelisation. The second-stage analysis mapped the interrelations of variables. General survey sample indicators 523 respondents, 186 (35.6%) men and 337 (64.4%) women, participated in the survey. The differing number of respondents by gender was caused by an online questionnaire where it was not possible to ensure an equal number of respondents in relation to gender. The respondents were divided into three age categories. The youngest respondents were aged 16 to 19 ( %) and this group covers the secondary education. The middle age group consisted of respondents aged 20 to 25 ( %), and we assume that they are not only university students but also employed young people. The highest age group consisting of respondents aged 25 to 30, represents about a quarter ( %) of those surveyed, and it is clear that these young people are in a period of gradual integration into the working process. 348 For more information on this see, for example: Peter Gavora, Tvorba výskumného nástroja pre pedagogické bádanie. (Bratislava: SPN, 2012). 349 For more information on this see, for example: Jozef Matulník, et al. Analýza religiozity mladých katolíkov na Slovensku. Poznatky zo sociologického výskumu, (Trnava: Dobrá kniha, 2014)

57 THE ELEMENT OF DIALOGUE PRESENT IN EVANGELIZATION EVANGELIZATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE BY YOUNG PEOPLE; RESEARCH ON VIEWS OF THE CATHOLIC YOUTH ON EVANGELIZATION, THEIR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND ENGAGEMENT IN THE AREA OF EVANGELIZATION IGOR KRÁĽ Table 1: Highest educational attainment (n = 523) n % Primary Secondary Higher Total Parameters characterising the respondents spirituality Parameters characterising the respondents spirituality were also monitored in the survey sample. Of the total number of respondents, up to 94.3% have all the sacraments of initiation. The remaining number of respondents lack the sacrament of confirmation. When asked about the frequency of respondents prayer habits, the survey results showed that up to 65.2% of respondents pray daily, 17.4% almost daily. Less than 10% do not pray more often than they do (9.2%). The survey was attended by 224 (42.8%) respondents who were still studying and less than one third ( %) of the respondents were employed full-time. At the same time, 86 (16.4%) respondents were working students. A relatively small number of respondents were unemployed at that time (28-5.4%) or engaged in other activities (maternity leave, entrepreneurship: %). (Cf. Table 2). Table 2: Economic activity (n = 523) n % Pupil, student Employee Working student Unemployed Other (maternity leave, entrepreneur) Not specified Total The distribution of respondents based on the region indicates that most of the respondents involved in the survey were from the Žilina region (20.5%) and the Prešov region (19.7%). Respondents from other regions who took part in the survey: Bratislava 16.1%, Trnava 7.3%, Trenčín 14.0%, Nitra 9.6% and Košice 8.2%. The lowest number of respondents according to this indicator have their permanent residence in the Banská Bystrica region (4.6%). Most respondents (31.7%) came from municipalities with less than 2,000 inhabitants. The lowest number of respondents lived in towns with population between 20,001 and 100,000. Table 3 shows the number of inhabitants of the young people s permanent residence. Table 4: Prayer (n = 523) n % Daily Almost daily Occasionally there are more days when I pray than those without prayer I do not pray more often than I do I do not pray at all The result is that 82.6% of young people pray daily or almost daily. When asked about the preferred kind of prayer, it was found that 53.3% of respondents prefer to pray in their own words and a third prefer to recite learned prayers (30.4%). Significantly fewer respondents (9.8%) prefer e.g. prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours to sanctify time or various kinds of silent prayer (5.7%). Table 5: Preferred kind of prayer (n = 523) n % Learned (Our Father, Hail Mary, Rosary, Litany, Novenas, etc.) Spontaneous (in one s own words, song, etc.) Liturgical (Holy Mass, Liturgy of the Hours to sanctify time) Silent (meditation, adoration, contemplation) Other (no response) Total Table 3: Population of permanent residence (n = 523) n % Less than 2, From 2,001 to 10, From 10,000 to 50, From 50,001 to 100, More than 100, Other (no response) Total Two thirds of the respondents (68.3%) attend church services several times a week. 15.3% of the respondents attend church services only on Sunday and 14.3% of the respondents attend church services occasionally. A relatively high number of respondents participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation at least once a month (76.5%), about 15.1% of respondents two or three times a year. Only a small percentage of respondents (3.4%) do not go to confession at all. The answers are given in Table

58 THE ELEMENT OF DIALOGUE PRESENT IN EVANGELIZATION EVANGELIZATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE BY YOUNG PEOPLE; RESEARCH ON VIEWS OF THE CATHOLIC YOUTH ON EVANGELIZATION, THEIR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND ENGAGEMENT IN THE AREA OF EVANGELIZATION IGOR KRÁĽ Table 6: Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) (n = 523) n % Every two weeks Once a month Two to three times a year I do not go to confession Other (as appropriate) 26 5 Total More than half of the respondents read the Holy Scripture several times a week (52.2%). Of this group, 44.3% read the Holy Scripture daily. 23.5% read the Scripture a few times a month and 18.4% a few times a year. 5.9% of the respondents do not read the Holy Scripture at all. Table 7: Holy Scripture Reading (n = 523) n % Yes, daily Yes, several times a week Yes, but only a few times a month Yes, but only a few times a year No, I do not read the Holy Scripture Total Table 8 shows the respondents answers regarding their identification with the statements about the Holy Scripture. The results show the declining power of statements that attribute binding or motivating function to God s Word. Table 8: What is God s Word (n = 523) SOURCE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOD A LIVING WORD SPEAKING TO ME PERSONALLY BINDING TO THE LIFE OF FAITH STRONG MOTIVATION FOR ACTION 0 not applicable 1.7% 1.7% 4.2% 3.6% 1 2.5% 3.6% 4.6% 4.6% 2 4.2% 6.5% 8.8% 9.2% % 13.6% 20.7% 20.5% % 22.4% 25.8% 26.0% 5 I fully agree with this 53.7% 52.2% 35.9% 36.1% Total 100% 100% 100% 100% Of the total number of respondents, up to 60.6% belong to a parish community. Of the respondents who do not belong to any community, about one half (51%) would welcome the opportunity to participate in a community. Of the 523 respondents, up to 52.8% have regular and permanent service in the parish or in the community to which they belong. Perception of evangelisation and its goal Respondents answers show that 62.1% of young people see evangelisation as a form of proclamation of the gospel, the good news, the Word of God, the love of God, the will of God or the person of Jesus Christ. More than a fifth of the respondents (22.8%) identify evangelisation with the authentic testimony of life in fullness, which comes from a personal encounter with God, and 13.3% of respondents associate evangelisation with ministry and a specific form of helping others. With the increasing age of the respondents, the number of those who attribute the importance to testimony increases (age group years 20.5%; years 31.7%; years 32.8%), while the understanding of evangelisation as a proclamation of the gospel is more important for the youngest (age group years 85.2%; years 79%; years 74.8%). Similarly, with increasing educational attainment, the emphasis on testimony increases (primary school 17.9%; secondary school 30%; university 33.3%) and the emphasis on proclamation of the gospel slightly decreases (primary school 82.1%; secondary school 80%; university 76.9%). Along with higher education, there is a noticeable increase in those who associate evangelisation with ministry (primary school 6.4%; secondary school and university 12.9% each). Up to 89.6% of respondents perceive personal conversion and consequently an authentic relationship with God as one of the goals of evangelisation. More than half of the respondents stated sinners conversion (51%) among the goals of evangelisation. 39.8% of respondents perceive as a result of evangelisation efforts active involvement in the Church, a fifth (20.5%) baptism of the non-baptized and 17.9% joining the Church. Although respondents in all the age groups most often identified as the goal of evangelisation the conversion and authenticity of the relationship with God, it can still be seen that with increasing age the frequency of these responses is higher (age group: years 85.6%; years 90.7%; years 92.3%). A significant difference is seen in the perception of the conversion of sinners as one of the goals of evangelisation (age group: years 61.2%; years 52.2%; years 38.5%). When respondents were to give a quote from the Holy Scripture that they associate with the proclamation of the gospel and evangelisation, up to 85% of the young people chose Jesus Great Commission (cf. Mk 16:15; Mt 28:19). Among the many quotes that are irrelevant due to their rarity in comparison with the Great Commission were Jesus calls to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world (cf. Mt 5:13), to love the neighbour (cf. Mt 22:39; Mk 12:31; Lk 10:27) or to love one another (cf. Jn 13:35); Paul s call It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me (Gal 2:20) or an invitation to rejoice in the Lord always (cf. Phil. 4:4). Personal experience of young people with evangelisation Young people have quite a lot of experience in evangelising. Up to 66.3% of respondents said that they were already actively involved in evangelising. Almost a third of respondents (32.5%) knowingly never participated in evangelisation, although half of them said they were evangelised in the past. Table 9 provides answers to the question of the active involvement of young people in evangelisation

59 THE ELEMENT OF DIALOGUE PRESENT IN EVANGELIZATION EVANGELIZATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE BY YOUNG PEOPLE; RESEARCH ON VIEWS OF THE CATHOLIC YOUTH ON EVANGELIZATION, THEIR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND ENGAGEMENT IN THE AREA OF EVANGELIZATION IGOR KRÁĽ Table 9: Active involvement in evangelisation (n = 523) n % Yes No Other (no response) Analysis of the collected data has shown that girls and women are more active in evangelisation. 69.3% of women and 63.2% of men evangelise. Examining different age groups shows a certain balance in the involvement of young people: 66% evangelise in the age group, 68.3% of people are active in evangelisation in the age group and 66.4% in the age group. There were only slight differences in respondents answers based on their place of residence and their economic activity. However, more significant differences can be seen in examining the impact of the spirituality of respondents on the group of those who evangelise and those who do not, in all the parameters we have chosen as indicators of religiosity. Table 10 shows that a higher percentage of respondents who evangelise pray every day. For those who do not evangelise, the number of respondents who pray irregularly, rarely, or not at all, is increasing. More than three-quarters of young people who evangelise (78.7%) participate in church services several times a week, while in the second group of respondents who do not evangelise it is 56.3%. Of the respondents who evangelise, 18.4% attend church services only on Sundays and 2.9% of respondents attend church services occasionally. Among the respondents who do not evangelise, more than a third (36%) attend church services only on Sundays, 6% occasionally and 1.7% do not attend church services at all. Table 12: Involvement in evangelisation and participation in church services PARTICIPATION IN CHURCH SERVICES Those who evangelise Those who do not evangelise Several times a week 78.7% 56.3% Only on Sundays and holidays 18.4% 36% Occasionally 2.9% 6% Not participating 1.7% Total 100% 100% Another parameter points to the fact that differences between groups were also recorded in participation in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Respondents involved in evangelisation go to confession more often. The results are shown in Table 13. Table 10: Involvement in evangelisation and prayer life PRAYER Those who evangelise Those who do not evangelise Every day 72.6% 51.1% Almost daily 16.4% 19% Irregularly (praying more often than not praying) 5.8% 9.2% Occasionally (not praying more often than praying) 5.2% 16.7 Not praying - 4% Total 100% 100% Differences are also seen in the form of prayer that respondents practise and prefer. In the question related to prayer preferences, there is a higher share of spontaneous prayer and participation in liturgical prayers among those who evangelise, while reciting of learned prayers is higher among the respondents who do not evangelise. The results are shown in Table 11: Table 11: Involvement in evangelisation and prayer preferences FORM OF PRAYER Those who evangelise Those who do not evangelise Spontaneous prayer 55.4% 48.9% Learned prayer 27.7% 37.6% Liturgical prayer 10.8% 8.2% Silent prayer 6.1% 5.3% Total 100% 100% Table 13: Involvement in evangelisation and going to confession PARTICIPATING IN THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION Those who evangelise Those who do not evangelise Every two weeks 22.4% 16.1% Once a month to 3 times a year Depends on the circumstances 4.4% 5.7 Not participating Total 100% 100% Similar differences were also reported in how often they read the Holy Scripture. Respondents involved in evangelisation read it more often. Table 14: Involvement in evangelisation and Holy Scripture reading HOLY SCRIPTURE READING Those who evangelise Those who do not evangelise Daily 25.7% 17.8% More times a week 33.8% 20.8% A few times a week 23.9% 22.4% A few times a year 14% 26.4 Not reading Total 100% 100%

60 THE ELEMENT OF DIALOGUE PRESENT IN EVANGELIZATION EVANGELIZATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE BY YOUNG PEOPLE; RESEARCH ON VIEWS OF THE CATHOLIC YOUTH ON EVANGELIZATION, THEIR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND ENGAGEMENT IN THE AREA OF EVANGELIZATION IGOR KRÁĽ Significant differences (up to 30%) were observed between those who evangelised and those who were not involved in evangelisation in relation to their membership in a community. The differences are shown in Table 15. Table 15: Involvement in evangelisation and membership in a community COMMUNITY Those who evangelise Those who do not evangelise Yes 66.5% 34.1% No, but I would like to belong 19.8% 21.2% No 13.7% 44.7% Total 100% 100% It is also interesting to note that 78.2% of those who do not evangelise are aware of the fact that it is the duty of every baptised person. Other respondents reported that it is the duty of priests and clericals. In the group of those who evangelise, three quarters consider important in their involvement personal commitment (77.25%), friends (59.5%), support of church leaders (30.9%) and formation (35.6%). Differences are also noticeable in characterising the life of faith in the families from which the young people come from. Of those who do not evangelise, up to 57.2% of respondents characterised the life of faith in their family as traditional Catholicism, 26% of respondents perceive their family members as active believers and 16.8% reported that their family members are non-practising Catholics. Compared to the group of young respondents who evangelise, 44.5% come from families where parents live actively their faith, 45.6% have traditionally believing parents and 9.9% have non-practising parents. Respondents views on the importance of evangelisation In general, the absolute majority of respondents are aware of the importance of the evangelisation efforts. Up to 79% of young people see it as important and 14% of respondents consider it to be partially important (cf. Table 16) Table 16: Importance of evangelisation (n= 523) n % Yes Partially No I do not know Other (no response) % of women and 75.7% of men think it is important to evangelise. Depending on the size of the place of residence, there is a noticeable difference for respondents from towns of more than 100,000 inhabitants, who consider evangelisation to be 6% less important than others (72.4%). In relation to higher education, there is an increase in young people who consider evangelisation to be at least partially important and important (primary school 90.3%; secondary school 92.7%; 95.7%). In the group of young people who actively evangelise, up to 88.9% consider evangelisation to be important and 11.1% as partially important. In the sample of people who do not evangelise, 60.3% consider it to be important; 34.5% consider it to be partially important. The survey showed that a quarter (25.7%) of all respondents who are aware of the importance of evangelisation do not evangelise at all. Of the respondents who consider evangelisation to be important, 90.5% are aware of the fact that it is the duty of every baptised person. Respondents desire to be involved in evangelisation According to Table 17, almost 80% of respondents have a desire to evangelise. This is a surprising finding, since only 65.6% of the respondents are involved in evangelisation. Table 17: Desire to evangelise (n = 523) n % Yes No Sometimes Other (no response) % of women wish to evangelise at least sometimes, while 78.87% of men gave the same answer. For all age groups of respondents, there is a reported desire above 80% to evangelise at least sometimes. In correlation with the achieved university education, a slight regression of the desire to evangelise (primary school 12.1%; secondary school 15.8%; university 17.2%) can be observed. Research into a group of non-evangelising respondents revealed the fact that as many as 66.2% of them have the desire to evangelise at least sometimes. The remaining third does not evangelise because they lack this desire. Young people who do not evangelise, but have the desire to evangelise, said that they would need personal commitment (70.2%), support and encouragement from friends (56.1%), formation (30.7%) and support from church leaders (22.8%) to become involved in the field of evangelisation. Of the respondents who consider evangelisation to be important, up to 90.7% desire to evangelise. In comparison to the number of respondents who consider it only partially important, only more than half (53.5%) of them feel the desire to evangelise. This fact draws attention to the relationship between realising the importance of evangelisation and the desire to pursue it. 15.3% of respondents do not have the desire to evangelise, while three quarters of them consider evangelisation to be the duty of every baptised person. The remaining part of the respondents presume that priests and clericals should be responsible for evangelisation. In this category, more than a third (35%) consider evangelisation important. Up to 40% rate it as partially important and 25% as unimportant. More than half of the respondents (56.3%) who said they had no desire to evangelise perceive a peer to be a suitable evangeliser. Three quarters of those who have no desire to evangelise are aware of the fact that this is the duty of every baptised person. In the group of respondents who evangelise, 17% of them evangelise without internal desire. They do so just on the basis of their belief that it is important

61 THE ELEMENT OF DIALOGUE PRESENT IN EVANGELIZATION EVANGELIZATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE BY YOUNG PEOPLE; RESEARCH ON VIEWS OF THE CATHOLIC YOUTH ON EVANGELIZATION, THEIR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND ENGAGEMENT IN THE AREA OF EVANGELIZATION IGOR KRÁĽ Reflection of the respondents on their positive impact An analysis of the answers to the question of whether respondents perceive that they somehow help people around them grow spiritually showed that 65.8% of young people are aware of their positive impact on their surroundings. A quarter of the young people do not think so of themselves (cf. Table 18). Table 18: Young people helping others grow spiritually (n = 523) n % Yes No Sometimes I do not know Other (no response) Approximately the same number of men and women responded positively (women 62.1%; men 61.1%) in having a positive impact on the spiritual growth of people around them. Respondents from municipalities with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants were the most sceptical about their positive impact on the people around them. Only 53.7% of those respondents think that they help people in their neighbourhood to grow spiritually, while 31.1% of respondents are convinced of the contrary. Up to 69.4% of the respondents from cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants believe that they have a positive impact on the people around them. Only 16.3% of respondents living in big cities do not think so about themselves. In the group of respondents who are actively involved in evangelisation, up to three quarters of the respondents (75.1%) think that they help people around them grow spiritually, while only a third of respondents present this view in the group of young people who do not evangelise (36.5%). Ideas on the characteristics of evangelisers, means and forms of evangelisation In presenting the three most relevant qualities that should characterise a person who evangelises young people, more than 300 different types of qualities have been identified among the responses indicating the characteristics of a suitable evangeliser of young people. Up to 39.6% of respondents think they should be understanding, merciful, kind, and have a human approach. A living relationship with God and an authentic way of life were reported by more than a quarter of the respondents (25.6%). Cheerfulness and a joyful spirit are an important characteristic for 21.6% of the respondents. Almost a fifth of young people (19.1%) mentioned sincerity and openness in their responses. Patience (10.7%), courage and friendliness (10.3% each) as well as humility (9.9%) were also often repeated characteristics of a good evangeliser. As many as 68% of actively evangelising young people reported external signs (clothing, wearing a cross, Christian fish symbol on a car, etc.) as the most common way in which they evangelise the people around them. Almost 60% of respondents reported a testimony of life (59.76%). 50.1% of young people are involved in evangelisation by active ministry in their parish, and 47.8% of respondents evangelise through interviews and discussions with non-believers and seekers. Of the young people who do not evangelise, only 37.4% answered how they could become involved in evangelisation. One-third (30.1%) could think of a particular form of ministry as a way of evangelising, and 27.7% of the respondents preferred to evangelise by talking to other people. Almost half of the respondents consider the Internet (49.3%) and videos (37.5%) to be an effective means of evangelisation of young people. More than 80% of respondents called attention to the need for a personal meeting (81.1%). Almost 70% of young people have identified community membership (69.4%) useful in the evangelisation process. In their view, organising attractive events and social meetings for young people (74.4%) and interesting lectures (62.5%) is also a suitable means of evangelisation. As many as 75% of young people who evangelise have expressed the benefit they feel in their lives through the service of proclamation of the gospel. The most common responses were the revival and deepening of the relationship with God, the growth in faith, the establishment of new relationships, the invitation to the authenticity of life, the recognition and use of gifts and talents, being aware of one s place in God s plan and the opportunity to see God s action. Discussion This survey of young people s views and involvement in evangelisation has involved young Catholics, most of who attend church services frequently, even several times a week. Many of them regularly participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation at least once a month. Half of the respondents read the Holy Scripture several times a week, belong to a community and actively participate in the ministry of their parish. If these young people belonged to one parish, we could speak of a young, lively and dynamic parish because more than 80% of them would attend church services at least once a week and 90% of the young people would participate in the Sacrament of reconciliation at least 2-3 times a year. From this perspective, it can be stated that this is a survey of a sample of active Catholic youth. In spite of the strong religious practice of young Catholics, their pastoral worker should take into consideration noticeable ignorance in understanding the importance of the Holy Scripture in the life of faith. The declining power of respondents answers to questions that attribute the binding or motivating function to the Word of God, points to the need to form a relationship with the Word of God, which is vivid, effective and also today judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart (cf. Heb 4:12). Most of the young Catholics who participated in the survey agree that evangelisation is related to the proclamation of the gospel. With increasing age and education, the need to understand evangelisation in the context of the authenticity of life and the particular form and deeds of ministry becomes more visible to them. Young people consider personal conversion and an authentic relationship with God as the clear goal of evangelisation. We could see that although most of the respondents know about the biblical motivation of the evangelisation commitment in Jesus Great Commission, older respondents came with a greater variety of biblical quotes. This points to the natural development and growing of youth in understanding the content and goals of evangelisation, which can be achieved by the formation and personal experience of individuals. In this context, it is necessary to draw attention to the quality formation of young people. It should precede and accompany their evangelisation commitment, as their own experience is often insufficient for effective evangelisation, and the lack of quality formation can cause many complications and irreversible misunderstandings in evangelisation. Up to two thirds of respondents are actively involved in the field of evangelisation. Despite the fact that the survey did not notice significant differences between respondents sex, age, origin or economic activity in relation to their involvement in the field of evangelisation, the impact of a life of faith on active involvement is noticeable and relevant. Among young people with a reduced habit of prayer, their involvement in evangelisation also decreases. In general, among those who evangelise, there is a greater representation of those who pray regularly, attend church services more frequently, participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, read the Holy Scripture more

62 THE ELEMENT OF DIALOGUE PRESENT IN EVANGELIZATION EVANGELIZATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE BY YOUNG PEOPLE; RESEARCH ON VIEWS OF THE CATHOLIC YOUTH ON EVANGELIZATION, THEIR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND ENGAGEMENT IN THE AREA OF EVANGELIZATION IGOR KRÁĽ frequently and belong to a community of young believers. Non-evangelising respondents come mainly from families that are traditionally religious and non-practising, while the percentage of those involved in evangelisation is significantly higher in those respondents who come from families who actively live their faith. It is clear that conversion and growth in personal relationship with God, accompanied by the acquisition of the habits of Christian life, precedes the evangelisation activity of the individual. The result of living faith is the proclamation and mediation of the gospel based on personal experience. The priority of pastoral workers and community animators should be to create opportunities for personal conversion and a relationship with God. Evangelisation thus becomes a response to God s invitation to serve other people in love. At the same time, it does not place the service before the relationship and the mission before the experience. The absolute majority of respondents are aware of the importance of evangelisation and the fact that it is the duty of every Christian. It is noteworthy that a quarter of them, despite this knowledge, do not consciously evangelise at all. This can be explained by the observation that, with less awareness of the importance of evangelisation, the desire to evangelise young people is also noticeably reduced. Thus, it seems that, in pastoral leadership of the youth, it is not sufficient to emphasise the duty to proclaim the gospel, but also to explain, to provide relevant reasons why this is important. The missionary commitment of the Church can be nurtured by emphasising certain theological themes (e.g. emphasising the value of the human soul, revival of the spiritual life and desire to follow Jesus Christ who has renounced everything to save man (cf. Phil 2:5), rediscovering the value of sacrifice and self-denial). For this reason, it would be appropriate to offer a study on the above-mentioned correlation. Examining a sample of the respondents who do not evangelise has shown that two-thirds of them have the desire to evangelise at least sometimes. It was this group of respondents who stated that they needed personal commitment, support and encouragement from friends, formation and support from pastoral workers to become involved in evangelisation. For this reason, the task of pastoral work should also be to stir this desire among passive members of the communities in relation to evangelisation. The results of the survey confirmed that evangelisation is enrichment and growth in two ways. Of the respondents who are actively involved in evangelisation, up to three-quarters of them think they help people around them grow spiritually, while in the case of respondents who are passive in the field of evangelisation, only a third of them are aware of their positive impact on the people around them. Active respondents in the field of evangelisation also emphasised the great benefits that involvement in evangelisation bring them. Starting with the impact on the growth of the relationship with God and faith, they also perceive the benefits of evangelisation efforts at the level of interpersonal relationships and personality shaping. Evangelisation can thus be understood as a form of dialogue and mutual enrichment. Therefore, in the pastoral activities of priests and community leaders, evangelisation is seen as an appropriate way of educating and leading young people, which interferes in the formation of several dimensions of a person. Thanks to the respondents answers in the survey, we can see that even present-day young people have an urgent need for closeness, personal meeting, mutual sharing, testimony of authentic life and a need to belong to a community. From this perspective, attractive evangelisation events and the use of modern information technologies appear to be secondary. On the other hand, their importance cannot be denied at the level of primary contact, of arousing interest, or as a means for the systematic work of the leadership and formation of young people. Attracting young people to this kind of evangelisation is also important for the proclamation of the gospel itself, while creating and providing a perspective of usefulness and meaningfulness. Conclusion In this research which mapped the opinions of the Slovak Catholic youth on evangelization, their personal experience and engagement in the area of evangelization, we have noticed a group of young and active Catholics (based on certain indicators of their religious practice) who are the joy and hope of any parish community. The responses of respondents, the majority of whom had some personal experience with evangelization, are becoming useful for responsible pastoral workers and provide applicable implications, as well as implications for further research in the area of evangelizing young people and their engagement in the area of evangelization. Based on respondents answers, applicable implications for practice in the area of evangelization for pastoral workers can be synthetized into several relevant areas: Young people engaged in evangelization pointed out the fact that service should not come before relationship and missionary engagement before personal experience. The turning and growth in a personal relationship with God accompanied by the acceptance of Christian habits should therefore precede the evangelical activities of an individual and instead accompany them. From this perspective, pastoral workers and community animators should create space for personal conversion and development of personal faith, formation of individuals and later supervision in the process of evangelization. Such evangelization is perceived as a response to God s calling and an expression of the service of love towards our neighbour. At the same time, it seems to be an appropriate means of education and leading young people which is used in the formation of several dimensions of man, as it consists of mutual enrichment whose benefits are visible on the level of personal relationship with God, human relationships and personal growth; In pastoral leadership of young people, it is not sufficient to point out the importance of evangelization or present evangelization as a Christian duty resulting from the missionary mandate of the Church. It might also be helpful to provide explanations, relevant reasons and theological motivations for why evangelizing efforts are important. In addition, this approach is suitable for stimulating the desire to become evangelized by passive members of Christian community; The use of modern technologies, as well as other attractive forms of evangelization, has proven to be a suitable means for initial evangelization, efficient tools for leading and forming communities and for the self-realization of young people in a way which is familiar to them; Respondents believe that the most important and efficient forms of evangelization are personal meetings and the authentic testimony of persons living in faith. Therefore, it is important that responsible pastoral workers remind young people involved in evangelization of the dialogical dimension of evangelization, mutually meeting in a sharing dialogue with the evangelized, which can be enriching for them; The formation of young people is a good investment for responsible pastoral workers in Christian communities, as young people are the right basis with the potential to address their peers who are often not open to priests and community leaders. From the perspective of implications for potential further research in the area of efficient evangelization of young people, it is necessary: to open space for more detailed expert discussions and reflections dedicated to: further detailed analysis of the views of the Slovak Catholic youth on evangelization; the personal experience of young people in the area of evangelization;

63 UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS APPROACH TO MARRIAGE AND FORMS OF COHABITATION AS THE STARTING POINT TO INITIATE DIALOGUE ON TRADITIONAL FAMILY VALUES LÝDIA LEŠKOVÁ, ANTON FABIAN the scope of young people s engagement in the area of evangelization; to draw up a relevant study that would analyse the correlation between reasons and theological motivations for why evangelization is important and theological topics that focus on the value of the human soul and improvement of spiritual life. UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS APPROACH TO MARRIAGE AND FORMS OF COHABITATION AS THE STARTING POINT TO INITIATE DIALOGUE ON TRADITIONAL FAMILY VALUES* 350 Bibliography Ad gentes. Bevans, Steven. New Evangelization or Missionary Church?, Verbum SVD 55, no. 2-3, (2014): Bučko, Ladislav and Botek, Ondrej. Sprituality for mission, Acta Missiologica 9, no. 1, (2015): Documento finale e Votazioni del Documento finale del Sinodo dei Vescovi al Santo Padre Francesco (27. ottobre 2018) html#doc. Francis. Evangelii Gaudium: Apostolic Exhortation on the Proclamation of the Gospel in Today s World. Gazda, Imrich. Svedkovia viery ako kľúčový prvok pri mediálnej prezentácii duchovného posolstva, Studia Theologica 14, no. 3, (2012): Gavora, Peter. Tvorba výskumného nástroja pre pedagogické bádanie. (Bratislava: SPN, 2012). John Paul II. Redemptoris missio, On the permanent validity of the Church s missionary mandate, Kasper, Walter. La nuova evangelizzazione: una sfida pastorale, teologica e spirituale. In La sfida della nuova evangelizzazione. edited by Walter Kasper and George Augustin, Brescia: Queriniana, Matulník, Jozef et al. Analýza religiozity mladých katolíkov na Slovensku. Poznatky zo sociologického výskumu. Trnava: Dobrá kniha, Ozioko J. U., Evangelii Gaudium: A Precious Treasure for Cultivating the Missionary Spirituality, Alpha Omega 19, no. 2, (2016): Poloňová, Jaroslava. New trends in mission 1. part: Evangelization and new evangelization, Acta Missiologica 8, no.1, (2014): Poloňová, Jaroslava. New trends in mission: Particularities of contemporary mission in the rular and urban areas, Acta Missiologica 8, no. 2, (2014): Reilly, M. C.: Developing a Missionary Spirituality, Missiology: An International Review 4, no. 8, (1980): Žuffa, Jozef. Vybrané aspekty religiozity mládeže na Slovensku a v Holandsku, Studia Aloisiana 8, no. 3, (2017): Žuffa, Jozef. Vybrané ukazovatele katolíckej mládeže, Communio Missio no. 1, (2018): com/institutcommunio/docs/communio_missio_1_2018 Lýdia Lešková 1,2, 351 Anton Fabian 3,4 2 1 Faculty of Entrepreneurship and Quality of Gdynia Maritime University (PL) 2 Faculty of Theology in Košice Catholic University in Ružomberok (SK) 3 Jan Grodek State Vocational Academy in Sanok (PL) 4 St. Elizabeth University of Health and Social Sciences, Bratislava (SK) Submitted: 28 October 2018 Accepted for publication: 11 June 2019 First published: 15 October 2019 Acta Missiologica No. 2 Vol Abstract Background: The article brings the examination of current approaches of undergraduate students in Slovakia, who are planning their future, to motivation, form and time of marriage or to cohabitation and sharing home without institutionalized marriage respondents provided their opinion to the subject matter of the qualitative research. The article aims at approaches and value orientation of young people. The purpose of the article is to develop objective evaluation of the truth about life, happiness of people and hunger for love. Results: Performing similar researches in the field of social work and Christian religion brings suggestions for prevention of unsuccessful marriage and divorce. It may contribute to formation of the strategies and programmes that will enforce the institution of marriage and eliminate increasing of unsuccessful relationships, currently typical for many married and unmarried couples and families with children as well. Conclusion: The current situation that reflects university students approach to marriage and different forms of coexistence opens the door for a more intense dialogue on the topic of the family and its importance for individuals and entire society. Keywords: Marriage Motivation Approaches Cohabitation Cohabitation trial. *350 This article is based on the project denominated: Approaches to marriage and parenthood sociological research as the basis for completing complex multimedia study materials for the subjects Social Work Marriage and Family Counselling has been approved under Cultural and Educational Grant Agency Number 022KU-4/2013 and performed at the Faculty of Theology in Košice of the Catholic University in Ružomberok in Project leader was prof. Anton Fabian, with other researchers doc. Lýdia Lešková, JUDr. Mária Sedláková, postgraduate students Mgr. Peter Žido, Mgr. Lenka Urbanová, who actively participated in collection of information. Contact on author: Doc. PhDr. Ing. Lýdia Lešková, PhD. lydia.leskova@ku.sk Contact on author: Prof. ThDr. JCDr. Anton Fabian, PhD. fabian.ant50@gmail.com

64 UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS APPROACH TO MARRIAGE AND FORMS OF COHABITATION AS THE STARTING POINT TO INITIATE DIALOGUE ON TRADITIONAL FAMILY VALUES LÝDIA LEŠKOVÁ, ANTON FABIAN Introduction The answer to the question: What do people expect to bring them the most of happiness and the purpose of life? would be the statement: Love and common marital partnership. This human desire is in strict contrast with the reproductive behaviour of the population in Slovakia referred to as the second demographic transition. It is characterised by the decline in birth-rate, change of family behaviour and shifting in the value system. Living together without marriage or so-called cohabitation is gradually gaining more popularity and social acceptance. Many anti-family trends that have an increasing tendency and are very similar to those in western countries contribute to the current state of reproductive behaviour of the population in Slovakia or are copied in Slovakia over time. of revenge. 355 Last century represents the proof of contrast between ideas of both mentioned approaches to marriage. Due to main official grounds for divorce as different characters, different interests and opinions, adultery, alcoholism and frequent arguments 356, the purpose of the article is to objectively examine the truth of life, human happiness, hunger for love and justice. Performing similar researches in the field of social work and Christian religion brings suggestions for prevention of unsuccessful marriage and divorce. At the same time, it may contribute to formation of the strategies and programmes that will enforce the institution of marriage and eliminate increasing of unsuccessful relationships, currently typical for many married and unmarried couples and families with children as well. Nowadays it is typical for the society to postpone the marriage as an institution of establishing family. Many people prefer cohabitation over marriage living in a non-formal, not legally based bond, without marriage, which represents a pre-marriage cohabitation trial and for part of population even permanent cohabitation. Cohabitations represent imitation of marriage and social tolerance of bringing up children in cohabitation is increasing. People living in cohabitation or trying to live together focus on other than family life strategies, especially if they are young. Despite increasing anti-family trends, institutions establishing family as marriage and nuclear family are inimitable. The article brings statistical results of research and survey related to the above-mentioned fields. The purpose of the research was to detect current approaches of undergraduate students, who are planning their future, to motivation, form and time of marriage or to cohabitation and sharing home without institutionalized marriage. Undergraduate students of selected technical and humanities universities from the whole Slovakia were asked to express their opinions to these facts. We consider the development of knowledge about marriage the most important for young adult people who are considering cohabitation and living together without institutionalized marriage. We may consider marriage naturally as a natural behaviour of a man and a woman or as a sign of God s love resulting from a gift to man. Only from the perspective of religious faith we may consider the role of a man and a woman as a gift for mutual enrichment. It is decisive whether we recognize institution of marriage from Biblical aspect as God s establishment, 352 with applicable rights and obligations or whether we rationalistically claim that it is human establishment and therefore deliberately changeable. In the latter approach, we need to be aware of the consequences of divorce, being a great trauma for all involved ones with very negative and often long-term impact at the economic, psychological and social level. 353 Cohabitation of family is often threatened by various impacts of the environment, by much turbulence in legislation of family policy, and emerging alternatives to cohabitation of family. 354 There is a reciprocal exchange of people parents and children in form of exchange of goods at the marketplace. Children often participate in the divorce in role of intermediaries or as a means Methods The research aimed at family, reproductive behaviour and relation of young people to marriage and parenthood. The main purpose of the research include: Identification of selected characteristics of family and reproductive behaviour among young people; Demonstration of changes in target group s approaches and value orientation regarding marriage and parenthood; Identification of approaches to alternative forms of partner behaviour and divorce; Examination of different opinions and approaches to marriage and parenthood, comparison of value orientation, opinions and approaches regarding marriage and parenthood of men and women in our research sample; Examination of different approaches to marriage and parenthood among practicing faithful and non-religious people; Comparison of the result with demographic statistics regarding real family and reproductive behaviour of population; Comparison of the research results with data acquired during previously conducted researches of other authors; Development of innovative models with several variants that may support orientation of the target population related to the discussed issue. The research is focused solely on the undergraduate students opinions related to marriage and forms of cohabitation considering gender, primary family, religion and the field of study. Qualitative strategies have been applied during the research; Mapping was used as the main research method due to its orientation to deeper analysis of the issue and descriptive recording of problems, approaches, knowledge, without searching relations. The data was collected through questionnaire with 19 questions (open and closed). Authors of the questionnaire are the members of the project team. Due to the purpose of the research, the questions were influenced by research questionnaires providing information from the years 1997 and and the research performed at the Faculty of Theology of the Catholic University in Ružomberok in 2009 in the academic year The structure of the questionnaire was based on 4 pillars of marriage: love, children, fidelity, and inseparability. The questions aimed at finding out approaches to the four pillars. This contribution presents evaluation of the first pillar of marriage. The last part of the questionnaire consists of 5 questions regarding personal data. The collection of data in field was 352 Róbert Lapko, Family and marriage in the book of Tobit: sociological and anthropological aspects (Kraków: Wydawnictwo Karmelitów Bosych, 2011), Petr Piler, The influence of Urs Baumann on the understanding of partner relationships and the ethical approach to divorces, Acta Missiologica 10, no. 2 (2016): Pavol Tománek, Suicidality trend or threat for contemporary families?, Acta Missiologica 9, no. 1 (2015): Petr Piler, The influence of Urs Baumann on the understanding of partner relationships and the ethical approach to divorces, Petr Piler, The influence of Urs Baumann on the understanding of partner relationships and the ethical approach to divorces, Jana Marenčáková, Jana Širočková, and Jozef Mládek, Vybrané charakteristiky demografického správania vysokoškolákov Slovenska, in Naša demografia súčasnosť a perspektívy (Bratislava: SSDS, 2005), Lýdia Lešková, Vzťah vysokoškolákov k manželstvu a rodičovstvu (vybrané charakteristiky rodinného a reprodukčného správania), in Manželstvo dnes, ed. Anna Žilová (Ružomberok: VERBUM, 2010),

65 UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS APPROACH TO MARRIAGE AND FORMS OF COHABITATION AS THE STARTING POINT TO INITIATE DIALOGUE ON TRADITIONAL FAMILY VALUES LÝDIA LEŠKOVÁ, ANTON FABIAN performed in person to ensure high return rate. The questionnaires were collected immediately after completion by the respondents. For processing and assessing the research and questionnaire entries were used mathematical and statistical methods. Characteristics of the respondent sample 1361 respondents participated in the research students of universities in the academic year 2014/2015. The sample included 750 (55.11%) respondents from technical universities and faculties and 611 (44.89%) students of humanities. For the purpose of conducting the research, the respondents were differentiated according to the following aspects: gender, religion, primary family environment of respondents. The number of valid answers of the respondents answering the question on planning the future life was 1359: 530 (38.99%) men and 829 (61.01%) women. As the equal proportion of men s and women s answers was not ensured, it has to be taken into consideration when assessing the resulting data. The respondents were differentiated according to the religion to: 561 (41.59%) practicing faithful respondents, regularly participating in worship; 534 (39.58%) respondents who consider themselves to be faithful and occasionally participate in Mass or take sacrament; 92 (6.82%) undecided respondents; and 162 (12.01%) non-religious respondents. 12 respondents did not express their state of religion. We may present the research results in various fields. Due to the extent of the acquired data, the article focuses on the part of the undergraduate students answers regarding their plans for future lives. The question for this part of research was: When planning your future life, in case you would like to share it with other person, which of the following alternatives are you considering?... The questionnaire offered 4 alternatives: marriage without previous cohabitation; cohabitation without marriage; marriage after a period of cohabitation; not considering living with other person. The answers were examined from various perspectives: age, gender, nuclear family, religion and field of study. Planning future life and age of respondents We observe change of value orientation of a person during whole life. The same is observed in planning future life. The acquired data according to the age of respondents is indicated in Table 1. Table 1: Planning future life living with other person The next aspect inquired in the research was primary family environment where the respondents grew up and developed personally (or the environment they currently live in) (83.43%) respondents come from complete family; 14.1% (191) come from divorced family and 37 (2.74%) were raised by single parent. The respondents were distributed into two large groups according to their age: younger than 21 years old and older than 21 years old. Average age was 22 years (exactly 21.65), the youngest respondent was 18 years old and the oldest one was 39. The age of 727 (53.42%) respondents was 21 years inclusive and 634 (46.58%) were older than 21 years. The research presents the opinions and approaches to marriage and parenthood mostly of religious young people that come from complete families. Partial results of the research on the undergraduate students approach to marriage and forms of cohabitation Substantial change in family and reproductive behaviour has been observed in Slovakia since the 1990s. The trend of recent years is reflected in people s decision to prefer cohabitations and different forms of living together to marriage (informal bonds). Despite of this tendency, the research of ISSP (International Social Survey Programme) 359 on the approaches to marriage at international level suggests that Slovakia is one of the countries with prevailing conservative approach to marriage when compared to other participating countries. No particular difference was observed among men and women in Slovakia, yet at the international level men tend to be more conservative than women. Generally, tendency toward more liberal approach to marriage has been observed. Respondents Sorting according to age Alternative together until 21 years old more than 21 years old N % N % N % Marriage without previous cohabitation Cohabitation without marriage Marriage after a period of cohabitation Not considering living with other person TOGETHER Respondents Answer not indicated - gender 2 No significant difference was observed between age groups of respondents choosing Marriage without previous cohabitation % respondents (hereinafter referred to as R ) aged more than 21 and 27.23% respondents aged less than 21 chose this alternative % respondents aged less than 21 and 62.93% respondents aged more than 21 preferred the alternative Marriage after a period of cohabitation. Slightly fewer respondents aged more than 21 preferred Cohabitation without marriage (3.85% less than 21, 4.89% more than 21). Planning future life and gender of respondents Respondents could choose from 4 alternatives. The respondents approaches to planning their future life according to gender are indicated in Table Jozef Výrost, Rodina a zmena rodových rolí v optike údajov medzinárodného projektu ISSP (International Social Survey Programme) (Košice: Institute of Social Sciences of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, 2011),

66 UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS APPROACH TO MARRIAGE AND FORMS OF COHABITATION AS THE STARTING POINT TO INITIATE DIALOGUE ON TRADITIONAL FAMILY VALUES LÝDIA LEŠKOVÁ, ANTON FABIAN Table 2: Planning future life living with other person Alternative Respondents together Sorting according to gender Men Women N % N % N % Marriage without previous cohabitation Cohabitation without marriage Marriage after a period of cohabitation Not considering living with other person TOGETHER Respondents Answer not indicated - gender Most of the respondents chose the alternative Marriage after a period of cohabitation (N= %), with the vast majority of women (N=521). Ratio of gender representation shows that the alternative was chosen by 70.38% men and 62.85% women. The second most frequently chosen alternative was Marriage without previous cohabitation 391 respondents (28.73%). Preferences of this alternative among men and women were different, as it was chosen by 22.07% of men (N=117) and 33.05% of women (N=274). 59 (4.34%) respondents preferred Cohabitation without marriage with slightly more male respondents (5.47% men and 3.50% women). Only 16 (1.1%) of all respondents are not considering living with other person: 2.08% men and only 0.60% of women. Planning future life and primary family of respondents Next compared differences of the research results were observed in terms of primary family of respondents. The acquired data are stated in Table 3. Table 3 Planning future life and primary family of respondents Sorting according to primary family Alternative Complete Divorced Single parent N % N % N % Marriage without previous cohabitation Cohabitation without marriage Marriage after a period of cohabitation Not considering living with other person TOGETHER Answer not indicated primary family 9 by 9.09% respondents coming from divorced families. Marriage after a period of cohabitation as the most preferred alternative among respondents was represented the most by divorced families (73.26%) and the least by complete families (64.45%). Not a single respondent raised by single parent chose Not considering living with other person. Planning future life and religion of respondents. The research aimed at identification of the relation between planning the future life and religion of respondents. Four groups were formed for this purpose: practicing faithful, occasional faithful, undecided and non-religious. The collected information according to religion is listed in Table 4. Table 4 Planning future life and religion of respondents Sorting according to religion Alternative practicing occasional faithful faithful undecided non-religious N % N % N % N % Marriage without previous cohabitation Cohabitation without marriage Marriage after a period of cohabitation Not considering living with other person TOGETHER Answer not indicated valid answers were recorded in the question of religion, 12 respondents did not indicate their answer. Practicing faithful most frequently chose Marriage without previous cohabitation (55.61%). This alternative was chosen less frequently by the other three groups of respondents (occasional faithful 11.61, undecided 5.43 and non-religious 6.79). Practicing faithful mostly rejected Cohabitation without marriage (1.25%) and not considering living with other person (0.89). Occasional faithful respondents preferred marriage after a period of cohabitation (83.15%). Undecided and non-religious respondents preferred marriage after a period of cohabitation (77.26% and 81.48%). Planning future life and field of study of respondents. The research aimed also at the differences of the approach to future planning among respondents of different field of study. The total number of valid answers of respondents that answered the question of planning future life and primary family was Marriage without previous cohabitation was mostly preferred by respondents coming from complete families (31.12%) and the least frequently by respondents coming from divorced families (15.51%). Only 3.37% respondents coming from complete families preferred Cohabitation without marriage but this alternative was preferred

67 UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS APPROACH TO MARRIAGE AND FORMS OF COHABITATION AS THE STARTING POINT TO INITIATE DIALOGUE ON TRADITIONAL FAMILY VALUES LÝDIA LEŠKOVÁ, ANTON FABIAN Table 5 Planning future life and field of study of respondents Alternative Sorting according to field of study Technical Humanities N % N % Marriage without previous cohabitation Cohabitation without marriage Marriage after a period of cohabitation Not considering living with other person TOGETHER Substantial differences were observed between approaches planning future life with other person of respondents of different fields of study. The greatest difference was observed with the results of alternative Marriage after a period of cohabitation, which was preferred by 72.53% respondents studying technical universities and 57.45% of the respondents studying humanities. The second mostly preferred alternative was Marriage without previous cohabitation chosen by 229 students of humanities (37.48%) and 162 students of technical universities (21.60%). Table 6 Reasons for planning future life in form of: Marriage without previous cohabitation according to gender Alternative Respondents answers together Sorting of answers according to respondents gender Men Women N % N % N % I was raised to do so I am religious and I want to live according to my faith I would feel a higher certainty of the relationship when married I would be forced to do so by my parents under threat of breaking contact I consider any other form as self-seeking For the reason of establishing ordered home for future children Other reason Alternatives chosen TOGETHER Marriage without previous cohabitation was chosen by 391 respondents of the total number of 1361 respondents (28.73%) and the reason of the choice was indicated only by 367 respondents (93.86% of 391 respondents). As the respondents had various alternatives reasons to choose, the total number of answers was 488. Respondents planning Marriage without previous cohabitation selected as the reason for their answer the option of being raised in such way 175 answers of respondents (36.86%). The second most frequently indicated reason was that they are religious and want to live according to their faith (169 answers 34.63%) and the third most frequently indicated reason was that they would feel a higher certainty of the relationship when married (59 answers 12.09%) Responders reasons for planning future life in form of: Cohabitation without marriage is indicated in Table 7. Respondents were able to choose more answers from alternatives. Table 7 Reasons for planning future life in form of: Cohabitation without marriage Alternative Respondents answers together Sorting of respondents answers according to gender Men Women N % N % N % I consider marriage to be just an anachronism and formality Breaking up is easier than divorce Love is more important the marriage certificate I know unmarried couples living together having nice relationship Other reason Alternatives chosen TOGETHER Cohabitation without marriage was chosen by 59 respondents of the total number of 1361 respondents (4.34 %) and the reason of the choice was indicated only by 51 respondents (86.44 % of 59 R). Respondents planning Cohabitation without marriage most frequently chose the reason of importance of love, not the marriage certificate (20 R 37.74%). The second most frequently chosen was the reason that marriage is an anachronism and formality (15 R 28.3%) and the third most frequently chosen reason indicating strong pragmatism is easier break up (10 R 18,87%). More significant difference was observed when considering gender and the reason Love is more important the marriage certificate, which was indicated by 46.67% of female respondents. Discussion The performed research has demonstrated several results indicating opinions of undergraduate students to marriage and forms of cohabitation in terms of age, gender, primary family and religion. Results of 1361 responders indicated that 65.76% would prefer marriage after a period of cohabitation, while 7.53% men preferred this alternative more frequently than women. From the point of view of respondents primary family, this alternative was most frequently chosen by respondents coming from divorced families (73.26%) and less frequently by respondents coming from complete families (64.45%). Marriage after a period of cohabitation was preferred more frequently by younger respondents: respondents older than 21 years (68.23%) and younger than 21 years (62.93%). Considering religion, 83.15% occasional faithful, 77.26% undecided and 81.48% non-religious preferred this alternative. In relation to this fact, we would like to mention the results of Mládek and Širočková s research, who observed that there is a prevailing conservatism in

68 UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS APPROACH TO MARRIAGE AND FORMS OF COHABITATION AS THE STARTING POINT TO INITIATE DIALOGUE ON TRADITIONAL FAMILY VALUES LÝDIA LEŠKOVÁ, ANTON FABIAN Slovakia, mostly due to dominant Christian value orientation of Slovaks. 360 The largest difference was observed between fields of study, as 72.53% respondents who chose this alternative were students of technical universities and only 57.45% respondents were students of humanities. According to the results of Mládek and Marenčáková and Širočková, 361 who assessed demographical behaviour of undergraduate students in Slovakia, 56.5% of respondents considered cohabitation without marriage as an appropriate trial before getting married. 16.8% respondents considered cohabitation as better partner life together than formal marriage. In relation to the results of this research, the results of other Canadian study suggest positive approach of women to cohabitation before marriage, but on the other hand they consider marriage an important point in their lives and are planning to get married in the future. They see cohabitation rather as a pre-marriage trial than as an alternative or substitution of marriage % respondents chose Marriage without previous cohabitation with significant majority of women (women 33.05%; men 22.07%). Respondents coming from compete families chose this alternative two times more frequently when compared with respondents coming from divorced families (31.12% : 15.51%). This alternative was chosen more frequently by older respondents (27.23 until 21; above 21). Copying of the nuclear family patterns was confirmed, as the practicing faithful most frequently indicated marriage without previous cohabitation (55.61%). Students of humanities chose this alternative much more frequently (37.48%) than respondents from technical universities (21.60%). The most frequent reasons for choosing this alternative was: I was raised to do so (35.86%), religion and living according to the religion (34.63%), certainty in the relationship (12.09%). Stability and certainty in the marriage bond is also supported by Pastor, who suggests that according to published researches, cohabitation is less stable than marriage. It is surprising that marriage without previous cohabitation is two times more stable than marriage that was previously tried as cohabitation. It is likely that those who have decided to wait have better self-discipline and respect to marriage % Respondents preferred Cohabitation without marriage with slightly more male respondents (5.47% men and 3.50% women). Results presented by Fialková et al., 364 suggesting that 68% respondents prefer cohabitation without marriage as cohabitation trial rather than marriage. They also emphasize the fact that young people have created a new ideal partner relationship: living together and then getting married. The research also suggests that 90% of young single people want to get married, yet most of them after trying life with their partner. Podmanická et al. also suggest that since the early 1990s there is a trend of increasing number of single and decreasing number of married people % of respondents inclined to this alternative from the point of view of primary family. Nearly all practicing faithful rejected the alternative of cohabitation without marriage (1.25%), 360 Jozef Mládek and Jana Širočková, Kohabitácie ako jedna z foriem partnerského spolužitia obyvateľstva Slovenska, in Sociológia Slovak sociological review 36, no. 5 (2004): Jozef Mládek, Jana Marenčáková and Jana Širočková, Demografické správanie vysokoškolákov Slovenska. 2. časť rodinné správanie in Slovenská štatistika a demografia 16, no. 2 (2006): See: Zheng Wu, Cohabitaton. An Alternative Form of Family Living (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2000). 363 Karol Pastor, Manželstvo základ rodiny, in Viera a život. Časopis pre kresťanskú orientáciu 14, no. 4 (2004): Ludmila Fialová et al., Představy mladých lidí o manželství a rodičovství (Praha: Slon, 2000), Zuzana Podmanická et al., Štatistika v súvislostiach Hlavné trendy populačného vývoja v SR v roku Demografia a sociálna štatistika 2018 (Bratislava: Štatistický úrad Slovenskej republiky, 2018), so our results correspond with the results of foreign researches 366, that the people in cohabitation are more likely younger and less religious. It is likely that people would live in cohabitation if they experienced divorce of their parents as children, or are divorced themselves. From the point of view of responders age, this alternative was preferred by more responders of the highest age group (until %; above %). This finding is supported by report of research project of Nemcová et al. 367 that with increasing age: the number of partnership of young people, the number of young in cohabitation and not married increases. The results of Tomanová s research suggest that aspect as: stable income, employment, own living are very important for young people but marriage is rather less important for them. 368 In relation to young people and their married life, Možný also suggests that following the Velvet revolution of 1989 and subsequent change of political regime, the marriage rate of single rapidly decreased, which means that young people probably try to substitute marriage with cohabitation, but also warns that majority of the youngest generation consider marriage as the right form of establishing family, which was observed in various researches. 369 The research results indicate that only 1.18% respondents are not considering living with other person, with slightly more frequent preference of this alternative by men than women (2.08% men and 0.06% women). No single parent selected this alternative and it was rejected by nearly all practicing faithful (0.89%). When conducting research on alternative forms of partner life among single people, Fialová et al. observed that only very small number of respondents (2.2%) is planning individualistic strategy of life as staying without permanent partner. 370 it is great that 94.49% of respondents are planning their future life married, some after a period of cohabitation (65.76%) or without previous cohabitation (28.73%). Research of Bieliková et al. performed in also demonstrated that the value of happy marriage has been increasing lately and in 2009 it was selected by 63% respondents. 371 Results of research on the lifestyle of young people in Slovakia suggest that young people consider happy marriage and children, employment, happy and harmonic life, friendship and health as the most important values. 372 When comparing planning future life and religion of respondent it was observed that more practicing faithful and occasional faithful prefer marriage without previous cohabitation more frequently than undecided and non-religious respondents. The number of undecided and non-religious respondents planning their future life in other forms of cohabitation or not planning life with other person at all was significantly higher, which means that people with such preferences are less religious. 366 Cf. Glenn T. Stanton, The Ring Makes All the Difference. The Hidden Consequences of Cohabitation and the Strong Benefits of Marriage (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2011), 98 99; Cf. Lynette F. Hoelter and Dawn. E. Stauffer, What Does It Mean to Be Just Living Together in the New Millennium? An Overview, in Just Living Together: Implications of Cohabitation on Families, Children, and Social Policy, ed. A. Booth and A. Crouter (Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc, 2002), ; Kiernan, Kathleen Cohabitation in Western Europe: trends, issues and implications, in Just Living Together: Implications of Cohabitation on Families, Children and Social Policy, eds. Alan Booth and Ann. C, Crouter (Mahwah: Lawrence Erblaum Associates Inc, 2002), Lívia Nemcová et al., Autonómia mládeže na Slovensku ako multidimenzionálny jav. Záverečná správa z výskumného projektu (Bratislava: Iuventa, 2011), Alena Tomanová ed. Mladí ľudia a rodiny: Potreby mladých ľudí pri zakladaní rodiny a potreby mladých rodín: výskumná správa (Bratislava: IUVENTA, 2013), Ivo Možný, Rodina a společnost (Praha: Slon, 2006), Fialová, Představy mladých lidí..., Marcela Bieliková et al., Mládež a životný štýl trendová analýza na roky : výskumná správa (Bratislava: IUVENTA, 2013), Petr Macek, Adolescence (Praha: Portál, 1999),

69 UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS APPROACH TO MARRIAGE AND FORMS OF COHABITATION AS THE STARTING POINT TO INITIATE DIALOGUE ON TRADITIONAL FAMILY VALUES LÝDIA LEŠKOVÁ, ANTON FABIAN Conclusion With regard to the observed data it is necessary to mention that based on the question Do you agree that marriage is an anachronism?, the international research program European Values Study recorded 6.4% positive answers in 1991, 10.6% in 1999 and 13.9% in 1998, which means that this opinion is of increasing tendency in Europe and may gradually threaten institution of family in society even in Slovakia. 373 Kusá and Zeman stated that from research of European values conducted in 2008 implies that family was selected as one of the most important values by more than ninety percent respondents and they do not see marriage as anachronism, but rather as an institution that contributes to happiness of oneself. 374 We fully agree with the opinion that family represents the world of values for its members. Family has material, cultural, ethical, personal and spiritual potential that is constantly formed and transferred to its members. 375 Ideas of young people about marriage or cohabitation and their value orientation in this area have lately significantly shifted. If cohabitation was rare in the past, the situation is different today. An increasing number of couples living in cohabitation without marriage results in increasing interest in research on this phenomenon. Despite the fact that marriage keeps its position of institution for protection of human reproduction, it should uphold the good of both husband and wife and their children and establish lifelong community. We believe that a stable marriage-based family is the best prerequisite for ensuring stability in society, and therefore, in social work, the importance of a stable marriage for society should be highlighted and a stronger pro-family policy supporting young families through direct and indirect instruments of social policy. The article opens space for professional discussions and reflections on traditional values and the necessity of strengthening the institution of marriage and family. The space is open for a more intense dialogue that aims at deeper examination of the causes of declining institution of marriage, inclination to cohabitation or preferring single life. There are possibilities to study other groups of young people, in terms of education (secondary school) or nationality. It would be definitely interesting to start a longitudinal research that may demonstrate changes of participants preferences related to family values, although not providing fast results. In practice, we see potential in professions providing assistance that may contribute to family recovery and change of approaches to institution of marriage by primary prevention in form of lectures, non-formal education in premarital preparation and pastoral preparation of the engaged before entering marriage. Bibliography Bednárik, Rastislav and Žuffa, Jozef. Selected Value Indicators of Slovak Families, in Acta Missiologica 12, no. 2 (2018): Podklady k tlačovej besede Sociologického ústavu SAV k zisteniam výskumu európskych hodnôt EVS 2008 na Slovensku, SOCIOLOGICKÝ ÚSTAV SAV, accessed January 5, 2018, php?id=1180&r=1 374 Zuzana Kusá and Milan Zeman et al. Výskum európskych hodnôt 2008 (Bratislava: Iris, 2008), Rastislav Bednárik and Jozef Žuffa, Selected Value Indicators of Slovak Families, in Acta Missiologica 12, no. 2 (2018): 91. 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70 THE IMPORTANCE OF CHRISTIAN UNITY AND FAMILY LINKED TO SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE S MESSAGE FOR EDUCATION AND DIALOGUE JÁN ĎAČOK, URBANUS MWINZI NDOLO, ANTON LISNIK, JANA JANIČKOVÁ, RENÁTA JAMBOROVÁ, STANISLAV VOJTKO, ANNAMÁRIA NADDOUROVÁ, HELENA LUKIANOVÁ, MÁRIA JAKCULIKOVÁ THE IMPORTANCE OF CHRISTIAN UNITY AND FAMILY LINKED TO SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE S MESSAGE FOR EDUCATION AND DIALOGUE* 376 Ján Ďačok 1, Urbanus Mwinzi Ndolo 2, Anton Lisnik 3, Jana Janičková 3, Renáta Jamborová 5, Stanislav Vojtko 3, Annamária Naddourová 4, Helena Lukianová 5, Mária Jakculiková 6 1 Pontifical Gregorian University, (Rome, IT) 2 The Catholic University of Eastern Africa 3 Catholic university in Ružomberok (SK) 4 University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava (SK) 5 Trnava university, Faculty of Theology, Trnava (SK) 6 St. John Paul II. Institute of Missiology and Tropical Health at St. Elizabeth University of Health and Social Science, (Bratislava, SK) Submitted: 3 September 2018 Accepted for publication: 5 July 2019 Introduction Each person wishes to belong somewhere and to not be alone. Young people in particular look for friends a group that would accept them. Community is one of the forms of spiritual life. What cannot be experienced in solitude and what cannot be fully understood and experienced in a large group can be developed by the mind, experienced and accepted by the will in a small community of like-minded people. 377 That is why a young person wants to give his or her love to a single person and start a family, which is the most intimate and fundamental community. Family is the basic cell of the state and of the Church, it creates a space that we call home. Home is a place that creates a background and the feeling of safety not only for a child but also for an adult. It is an asylum, a refuge that we can count on when life gets tough ( ) a place where we experience the unity of all family members in the most intense way expressed by a deep feeling: we love each other. 378 The aim of this article is to characterize Christian unity and family in a specific context and to present the link between Christian unity and education. All these characteristics and links are set in the Roman-Catholic environment and are intertwined with the message of St. Paul the Apostle, and together they create space for dialogue that is essential for a well-functioning family and education. First published: 15 October 2019 Acta Missiologica No. 2 Vol Abstract Background: The aim of this article is to characterize Christian unity and family in a specific context and to present the link between Christian unity and education. All these characteristics and links are set in the Roman-Catholic environment and are intertwined with the message of St. Paul the Apostle. This article contains several significant issues which are part of St. Paul s theological teachings present in his letters. The way they are drafted and linked to forms of education of children and youth creates space for dialogue that is beneficial for education towards unity and for balance in family upbringing carried out by a mother and father. Conclusion: From the perspective of implications for further research, this article proposes that studies are carried out to analyse individual issues included in St. Paul s theology and subsequent opportunities for practical application in the area of pedagogy and Christian education especially with non-adult believers. Keywords: St. Paul. Unity. Christian Family. Education. Dialogue. * This article has been supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency under the contract no. APVV Contact on all authors: prof. ThD. MD. Ján Ďačok SJ, PhD. dacok@jezuiti.sk Dr. Urbanus Mwinzi Ndolo, Doc. PaedDr. ThDr. Anton Lisnik PhD., Ing. Jana Janíčková, PhD., PhDr. Renáta Jamborová, PhD., Prof. ThDr. Stanislav Vojtko, PhD., Mgr. Annamária Naddourová, Mgr. Helena Lukianová, Mgr. Mária Jackulíková The importance of Christian unity for education During his lifetime, Jesus was surrounded by a group of people who listened to him, loved him and accepted him as their Master. After his resurrection and ascension, this group of people became more organized and, gradually, despite political hostility, it grew in size. At first, it was a single Christ s Church. Christ the Lord founded one Church and one Church only. However, many Christian communions present themselves to men as the true inheritors of Jesus Christ; all indeed profess to be followers of the Lord but differ in mind and go their different ways, as if Christ Himself were divided. Such division openly contradicts the will of Christ, scandalizes the world, and damages the holy cause of preaching the Gospel to every creature. (Unitatis redintegratio 1) Jesus desire expressed in his prayer was that his followers be united, as unity is a significant testimony of faith for those who look at the entire community from the outside (see John 17:20 23). At present, there are many Christian denominations that profess to be followers of Christ; however, their faith has different expressions and teachings. All they have in common is the gateway to the Church and its sacramental life, i.e. baptism, which unites them in their differences. The Church knows that she is joined in many ways to the baptised who are honoured by the name of Christian, but do not profess the Catholic faith in its entirety or have not preserved unity or communion under the successor of Peter. (LG 15) The beginnings of the first Christian communions were not easy, as divergent groups and states needed to be reconciled. Paul was the man of unity: There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galicians 3:28). 377 J. Horváth, Čo pre mňa znamená rodinné spoločenstvo, in Nová evanjelizácia : Zborník sympózia s medzinárodnou účasťou. (Bratislava: Teologický inštitút sv. Alojza Spoločnosti Ježišovej na Slovensku, 1994) M. Valábek, Výchova v rodine pre budúcnosť, in O výchove v rodine : Zborník referátov z konferencie (Bratislava: Slovenská spoločnosť pre rodinu a zodpovedné rodičovstvo, 2001)

71 THE IMPORTANCE OF CHRISTIAN UNITY AND FAMILY LINKED TO SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE S MESSAGE FOR EDUCATION AND DIALOGUE JÁN ĎAČOK, URBANUS MWINZI NDOLO, ANTON LISNIK, JANA JANIČKOVÁ, RENÁTA JAMBOROVÁ, STANISLAV VOJTKO, ANNAMÁRIA NADDOUROVÁ, HELENA LUKIANOVÁ, MÁRIA JAKCULIKOVÁ For Paul s contemporaries, variety consisted mainly of religious origin, there were either Jews or pagans, and of social status there were either slaves or free men. ( ) Today, there are plenty of other differences. Some people have gone through various spiritual journeys and religions before becoming Christians. Some grew up in traditional Christian families, others in a certain spiritual fallow. 379 Some parents tell me that they broke up, but as far as their children are concerned, everything is completely alright. Fine. I don t mean to lay the blame on divorced parents in any way. However, I listen to the kids. I hear them say what a chasm opened under their feet on that day and how terribly lost they feel. There are so many torn children around us. We meet them often. Their screams full of suffering punch me straight to the heart. 383 Although the division of Christians is painful and it is one of the factors that does not shed a good light on Christianity, it cannot be perceived as a tragedy that would mean that the entirety of Jesus teaching is wrong or deceptive. God makes no distinctions. Distinctions are the product of men and human pride that separated the first men from God s bliss. Many Christians strive for unity, however, unity cannot be reached in a violent manner. The unity of Christians cannot be achieved by some political coup or by a sword that would cut the Gordian knot. ( ) In faith, no one can command others. Some ecumenical projects predicted that Church leaders would tell its members, friends, let us back off here and let us push forward there this simply cannot be done. ( ) No, faith is a living organism, we entrusted ourselves to the Lord and he will not lead us towards compromises through some political manipulations. 380 We are supposed to seek Christian unity in its broadest sense and do everything we can to achieve it. In the narrower sense, Church is a community of baptised people who believe in Jesus and who discover the beauty of unity within the Catholic Church, which is diverse in many cultures and on various levels and professions (see Ephesians 4:4 12). A person who becomes Christian feels this unity. He or she was more or less alone. Then it changed. Apostle Paul expressed this fact in his letter to the Ephesians: Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God s people and also members of his household. (Eph. 2:19). 381 Like in the large spiritual family of Christians, there are divisions and conflicts which arise from varying opinions and views in the Church as well. This happens even in the smallest domestic Church, which is the family. Each family is a unity of individuals with their views, bad habits, dreams, desires and values. Conflicts cannot be avoided. They can destroy, harm and cause pain. Therefore, it is vitally important to learn how to control this potential pain-causing bomb. The solution is to accept the personalities of others, their sovereignty. People change only if they know that others like them or if they are accepted by others just the way they are. 382 Unfortunately, human flaws and weaknesses often tend to disrupt this basic unity which causes pain especially to children. French priest and educator of the youth Guy Gilbert said the following: In the process of creating the most fundamental community, order is important the Church prefers that marriage as a holy union of two people of the opposite sex who genuinely love each other comes first, only then followed by family. In their giving love, husband and wife create a new life that is supposed to be the result and expression of their love. This order first marriage and then children seems to be outdated, unacceptable and reversed. In order for a family to work well, marriage must work well. This can be illustrated in the following example: How does the child know that everything is alright in the family? The child s answer would be simple: When I see mum and dad kiss. It s something that all children feel: love that unites parents is a rock they can build their life on. ( ) That is why they need to find the time to talk, harmonize opposing views and grow in mutually affective maturity instead of pronouncing conflicting words. 384 St. Paul s words also invite parents to be united: I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought (1 Corinthians, 1:10). According to us, given the above, psychological, social and spiritual competencies are important for family life, and they rely mainly on the maturity of one s own personality in the role of husband or wife, partner and mother or father. 385 The importance and impact of Christian family on education There are many characteristics, expert articles, conference contributions, and scientific and public discussions related to family Family is still at the centre of many authors attention, experts working in various scientific areas, including pedagogues and psychologists. It is because family is the centre of complex human feelings and relationships, it is an admirable work of art. 386 Apostle Paul grew up in a family that we know almost nothing about. However, in the Scripture, we can get a glimpse of his family background and the impact of education which formed the future apostle of nations: Saul was probably a stubborn boy who was difficult to bring up. 387 As a young boy, he was very independent, attracted by eccentricity, his rage was intense and full of energy. 388 He may have followed the example of his father when he later wrote the following pedagogic advise in his letter to the Ephesians (6:4): Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger! Back then, this problem must have already existed: tyrant fathers irritable sons, old-fash- 379 Aleš Opatrný, Apoštol Pavel (Kostelní Vydří: Karmelitánské nakladatelství, 2008) Joseph Ratzinger, Boh a svet (Trnava : SSV, 2002) James Boice Montgomery, Základy křesťanské víry (Praha : Návrat domů, 1999) Bruno Ferrero and Marianna Pacucciová, Šťastná výchova (Bratislava: Don Bosco, 2007) Guy Gilbert, O dětech a výchově (Praha : Portál, 2009) Bruno Ferrero, Šťastní rodičia (Bratislava : Don Bosco, 1998) Mária Machalová, Láska a komunikácia v rodine. Prohuman Mária Potočárová, Poznanie rodinného prostredia z hľadiska výchovy, in O výchove v rodine : Zborník referátov z konferencie. (Bratislava: Slovenská spoločnosť pre rodinu a zodpovedné rodičovstvo, 2001) Mária Potočárová, Poznanie rodinného prostredia z hľadiska výchovy, Émile Baumann, Apoštol národov (Trnava : SSV, 1947)

72 THE IMPORTANCE OF CHRISTIAN UNITY AND FAMILY LINKED TO SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE S MESSAGE FOR EDUCATION AND DIALOGUE JÁN ĎAČOK, URBANUS MWINZI NDOLO, ANTON LISNIK, JANA JANIČKOVÁ, RENÁTA JAMBOROVÁ, STANISLAV VOJTKO, ANNAMÁRIA NADDOUROVÁ, HELENA LUKIANOVÁ, MÁRIA JAKCULIKOVÁ ioned parents new youth. We know nothing about Saul s siblings, we only know that he had a sister who later married in Jerusalem (Acts 23:16). It s a pity that we know nothing about his mother! 389 The environment in which a child is raised and the people he lives with influence him, form him, offer him values, world views and life philosophy. However, it is very different when today s modern man a child or young adult grows up in the countryside, in the mountains, in a larger or smaller community; in a city centre, in the suburbs or in a housing project; in a religious or non-religious family; in a complete or incomplete family, etc. This was the case of Apostle Paul. Thanks to the environment in which he grew up, which formed him intellectually and spiritually, he could become better for all. For example, as he spoke Greek and knew pagan culture, he could better understand the pagans of the Roman Empire and offer them Jesus Christ. 390 Of course, he had freedom and he could freely make decisions and use the gift of reason and differentiation. That is why Apostle Paul and his teachings are a very good example for today s men living on the verge of a new era of humankind, which can, similarly to Paul and his contemporaries, have distorted and unintentionally wrong views about Jesus. Or Christ similarly to Paul before his journey to Damascus 391 becomes unknown in a modern cosmopolitan European society and it is necessary to talk about him again on the new Areopagus. The Church values family highly and considers it to be the basis of the community of believers. It is a small domestic church which carries the message of the universal Church. The role of family admirably matches the role of the Church, as they both come from God in similar ways. In the natural order, God gives family fertility, the basis of life and thus the basis of education towards life, along with authority, which in turn is the basis of order. (See: Divini Illius Magistri.) Man acquires the largest knowledge during the first years of life. When a small child learns its first words, it becomes a major philosopher. The child keeps asking many questions that reveal its desire to know the truth. That is why it needs a patient person who will respond to all questions. The time for communication is extremely important for a small child. Who is usually a significant pedagogue during the first years after we are born? Ideally, both parents. In some situations, it is only one parent or a guardian. Nobody chooses their family 389 Holzner Jozef, Svätý Pavol (Trnava: SSV, 1945) Paul s native town was important because it was a bridge between western and eastern culture. It was also a port where trade ships of the western and eastern worlds met, so Tarsus was an important trade hub renowned for making felt cloth. (Mireia Ryšková et al., Stručný úvod do Písma sv. Starý zákon.(praha: Scriptum, 1991). 53. The fact that Paul grew up in Tarsus predestined him to his life as an apostle and his mission with pagans, as he knew the variety of cultures very well Roman, Greek and his own Jewish culture he could fulfil Jesus words in an excellent way: I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 8:11). In Paul s words to the leader of the fort, one can feel his pride in his hometown: I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city (see Acts 21:39). 391 Paul s original view of the Messiah before he met Jesus who appeared to him on his journey to Damascus was completely different than the one presented by Christians in Christ. (Ján Chryzostom Korec, Ježiš zďaleka a zblízka (Bratislava : Archa, 1990). 107.) Based on this view, Paul could not accept that a man who was humiliated, crucified and who died could be the Messiah. In his eyes, the Messiah was a victor. Paul believed that Christianity which celebrated a crucified Messiah was an offence and a blasphemy. (Ján Chryzostom Korec, Ježiš zďaleka a zblízka,107.) and the environment in which they are brought up. Education methods and tools vary, and values do too. However, we face the following question: is upbringing and education different in a Christian and non-christian or non-believing family? Each family has a certain philosophy of family life, which is closely linked to the central values and feelings of its members, especially to the philosophy of life of the couple who started the family. 392 Christian family includes an important element of faith that can significantly influence the mental, social and moral life of children. Family education is irreplaceable in its role of emotional education. People with no feelings are usually rough and course. Family education uses a method which is preferable to other institutions, namely the method of the personal example of the parents lives. (...) The child watches the lives of its parents and actively participates in the process in the role of a child. 393 In a believing family, with the help of its parents, the child practices a life in line with the Commandments. 394 The Ten Commandments are an important moral codex for family upbringing. One could say that God s Commandments can be moral principles used in education. There are also sacraments that the Catholic Church offers as an important part of man s spiritual life. And not just the spiritual one. They influence our entire value system. For example, in the Catholic Church, the sacrament of marriage is perceived as the lifetime status of two people an inseparable status, which St. Paul confirms in his letters: For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but, if her husband dies, she is released from the law that binds her to him. So then, if she has sexual relations with another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man. (Romans 7, 2:3); A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord (1 Corinthians 7:39). Marriage and the sacrament of reconciliation related to the Ten Commandments which helps to form human consciousness are not perceived in the same way by 392 Mária Machalová, Láska a komunikácia v rodine, Prohuman This life and family philosophy of a partnership couple is very closely linked to the couple s lifestyle. However, this is a very complex construct which is very difficult to define or identify in detail. It is composed of a variety of elements, components, aspects and is influenced by many factors. (Ján Mašán, Fyzioterapia vertebrogénnych ochorení (Bratislava: Cathedra, 2019) ) Its meaning coincides with the meaning of other terms, such as way of life, quality of life, life path and oftentimes cannot be distinguished even from life conditions. (Ján Mašán, Fyzioterapia vertebrogénnych ochorení, 120. ) 393 It is in this period that their spiritual development begins. (Monika Nová, Spirituální výchova v dětských domovech, in Antonín Kozoň, et al. Návrat pedagogiky do dětských domovů. (Trenčín: SpoSoIntE, 2017). 174.) They emulate what they see, they can pray, they begin discerning good and evil, they take note of the ways holidays are celebrated, etc. In preadolescence they experience disillusionment their prayers are not necessarily answered. They begin reasoning their faith for themselves. In adolescence they decide whether they will integrate faith in their own behaviour. Adults have already formed religious values, seeking to expand them and understand the values of younger people. (Monika Nová, Spirituální výchova v dětských domovech, 174.) 394 H. Rozinajová, Význam rodiny pri mravnej a náboženskej výchove, in Nová evanjelizácia: Zborník sympózia s medzinárodnou účasťou (Bratislava: Teologický inštitút sv. Alojza Spoločnosti Ježišovej na Slovensku, 1994)

73 THE IMPORTANCE OF CHRISTIAN UNITY AND FAMILY LINKED TO SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE S MESSAGE FOR EDUCATION AND DIALOGUE JÁN ĎAČOK, URBANUS MWINZI NDOLO, ANTON LISNIK, JANA JANIČKOVÁ, RENÁTA JAMBOROVÁ, STANISLAV VOJTKO, ANNAMÁRIA NADDOUROVÁ, HELENA LUKIANOVÁ, MÁRIA JAKCULIKOVÁ all Christian denominations, we mention this in relation to the Roman-Catholic environment and the message of St. Paul the Apostle. The large family of the Church is composed of small domestic families. What is a family? One of many definitions is the following: Family can be defined as the original emotional affective core. A happy family is a family living in a real, deep, honest and stable environment of love. This solid core is the starting point and basis for the development of a capable me. 395 This is the essence of family to create a home, a place full of love, which raises future generations towards healthy development. A Christian family should not care about the amount of wealth, but rather the amount of love, because without it, the purpose of values that we seek disappears (see 1 Corinthians 13:1-3). Love between family members is essential for the family to develop in a healthy way. The Christian religion strives to fulfil this crucial need without which the family dies in its teachings. The spirit of religious freedom is paramount for this purpose, although some people want to suppress it by banning religious expression. The realization of the unalienable dimension of religious freedom, which is a fundamental human right, and the stressing of the dimension of love as a starting convergent point of one s own actions in the dimension of interpersonal relationships can be perceived as one of the main pillars of family development. 396 Unless a Christian family is Christian only in name, it must really live the faith pray, attend masses, accept sacraments, etc. This has a very positive impact on the lives of all family members, as Christianity is a religion of love and therefore all its values should be part of a Christian family. The Catholic Church with its more than two thousand years of tradition is rich in liturgical holidays. To remember them all would be very difficult. It would be beneficial for a religious family to choose a holiday each month and hold a special celebration. These twelve holidays per year can significantly enrich and embellish religious life in the family. 397 In his Letter to the Ephesians, Paul writes about Christian marriage and family. Husbands should love their wives as their own bodies and wives should value their husbands. Children should obey their parents and fathers should not provoke children to anger but educate them in a strict way (see Ephesians 5:25 6:4; Colossians 3:20-21). In 1929, Pope Pius XI. in his encyclical Divini Illius Magistri quotes Paul s Letter to the Ephesians in which he says that fathers should not provoke their children to anger (see Ephesians 6:4). The Pope says that such actions are the result not so much of excessive severity than of impatience and of ignorance of means best calculated to effect a desired correction. In addition, he talks about the relaxation of parental discipline which leads to the immorality of children which cannot be fixed by parents. In his encyclical, the Pope calls upon parents to make right use of the authority given them by God, without which order, tranquillity and prosperity, whether in the family or in society, would be impossible. (See Divini Illius Magistri). From the perspective of correct education, children need clear rules and boundaries. Parents who are indifferent in the education of their children often opt for bans and punishment instead of setting clear rules. 398 These should help them forget disappointment and 395 Bruno Ferrero, Šťastní rodičia, Ivan Kútny, Nescudziteľnosť religiózneho aspektu slobody a lásky v rodine, in Rodina na prelome tisícročia: Zborník referátov z medzinárodnej vedeckej konferencie (Bratislava: UKF v Nitre, 2005) Danielle Beanová, Mamy mamám. Praktické rady na zvládnutie materstva z pohľadu katolíckeho vierovyznania (Trnava : Dobrá kniha, 2009) Jan-Uwe Rogge, Děti potřebují hranice (Praha: Portál, 2007). 31. anger and cover up the fact that parents cannot handle the situation. 399 Punishments and bans are not a suitable tool to set boundaries: they have a negative impact on children bans provoke children to keep secrets and to lie (...) 400 It is much harder to explain something to the child than to impose punishment. However, explanations bring much better results than bans and punishments. In a family, mothers and fathers always have different approaches to education. A mother makes a home warmer and kinder. A mother who carried her child in her belly for nine months considers the baby to be a part of her entire life. She primarily makes sure that the child does not suffer. Paul says very nice things about the role of women in Letter to Titus: Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands (Titus 2:3 5). The father s role is to take care of his family financially and maintain a healthy discipline to be the authority and head of the family. He shows the child a (painful) journey towards accepting reality and his caring, sensitive words should make the child aware of its limitations. At the same time, he does not consider the child to be able to deal with its imperfection and he tries to protect it from (inevitable) confrontation with reality. The father encourages the child to accept reality, to live in certain conditions and to believe that life is liveable despite imperfections and despite the pain it causes. 401 He asks the child to have the courage to know what is right and wrong and to give up on the childish illusion that reality can be controlled. He gives the child the strength to be human and give up on the idea that the child is a demigod who has power over truth and who can manipulate justice with little lies. 402 Both parents give different things to the child in terms of upbringing and education. They are both essential, but they both need to be harmonized in the interest of education towards unity as well as unity of family education. St. Paul the Apostle s message for dialogue In order for the unification of Christians to continue, we need communication, dialogue between the main representatives of individual Christian communities. Likewise, with no communication or dialogue between mother and father, nor between parents and children, no education can work and no unity of love and peace can be achieved. Communication and dialogue in a family is the mutual sharing of: Energy Feelings Thoughts Affections Values Attitudes Interests Moods of all members of primary family. 403 A healthy communication and interaction dialogue means bilateral interpersonal communication where its participants are somewhere between invasion and deprivation in their feelings and actions Bruno Ferrero and Marianna Pacucciová, Šťastná výchova, Jan-Uwe Rogge, Děti potřebují hranice, Osvaldo Poli, Srdce otca (Bratislava: Don Bosco, 2008) Osvaldo Poli, Srdce otca, Mária Machalová, Láska a komunikácia v rodine Prohuman Mária Machalová, Láska a komunikácia v rodine Prohuman

74 THE IMPORTANCE OF CHRISTIAN UNITY AND FAMILY LINKED TO SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE S MESSAGE FOR EDUCATION AND DIALOGUE JÁN ĎAČOK, URBANUS MWINZI NDOLO, ANTON LISNIK, JANA JANIČKOVÁ, RENÁTA JAMBOROVÁ, STANISLAV VOJTKO, ANNAMÁRIA NADDOUROVÁ, HELENA LUKIANOVÁ, MÁRIA JAKCULIKOVÁ The following example demonstrates the importance of communication and dialogue and what the absence of both can cause in a human life. Emperor Frederick wanted to know what the original language spoken in Paradise was. So he decided to make an experiment with new-born babies. He deprived them of human speech and waited to see what language they would use. He thought it might be Greek, Hebrew or Latin. The result of the experiment was shocking the babies died. Their death was caused by silence and absence of communication. 405 Communication and dialogue are essential for life in a family and for life as such. If interpersonal communication and dialogue are correct from the beginning, i.e. from the start of a new family, it forms children and young adults by focusing on the following: family communication in a domestic atmosphere; issues of fundamental values of human life and family; matters related to the unique talents of family members; their mutual love expressed in mutual communication in the family, the behaviour and actions of each family member; 406 and respect towards parents which does not end once the child leaves home and starts its own family. Family unity, which is so important and necessary, should not end at that moment. Family should consist of a wider circle of relatives, including grandparents, who can enrich the family in a beautiful way with their life experience and wisdom. Children should look at older people with respect and they should later show respect to their parents when they grow old. Many old people have children and grandchildren, but they stay lonely and abandoned. For them, the way of communication and dialogue expressed by poet Rainer Maria Rilke, who died of leukaemia, is important: He told his friend a doctor: Come in silence and do not talk to me. Put your hand on mine. And I will know that you are here and I am not alone. These words I see every day in the eyes of old people who, after years of giving, sacrificing and service, merely wait for death. (...) The most natural form of self-realization for old people is the closeness of a relationship. 407 The message of Apostle Paul for a dialogue on Christian unity and family can be found in his letters, teachings and morality. We can synthetize it into the following main characteristics: morality; virtuousness; honesty; respect; freedom perceived in the right way beneficial to an individual, to the people around him and consequently to society; religiousness; gratitude. It can help in the formation of human personality, family and martial life and in the area of interpersonal communication to eliminate blocks in the expression of spontaneity and emotions. Conclusion The person of Apostle Paul with his teachings and example has been present in the history of the Church for almost two thousand years. Apostle Paul and his message are still relevant for the study of theology, but also other supporting sciences and his letters and their message are a source of inspiration for expert articles or books on various topics. This article tries to characterize Christian unity, family and education in the light of theological teachings 405 E. Žatková, O komunikácii v rodine in O výchove v rodine : Zborník referátov z konferencie. Bratislava : Slovenská spoločnosť pre rodinu a zodpovedné rodičovstvo, 2001, s Mária Machalová, Láska a komunikácia v rodine, Prohuman M. Šuláková, Rodina to nie sú len deti, in Nová evanjelizácia : Zborník sympózia s medzinárodnou účasťou (Bratislava: Teologický inštitút sv. Alojza Spoločnosti Ježišovej na Slovensku, 1994) and the letters of St. Paul. His theology, although difficult, is relevant for Christian education of children and young people. Today, more than ever before, when we clearly see that faith has been weakened in the practical lives of believers, especially children and young people, as well as in all Christian families. This article contains several significant issues which are part of St. Paul s theological teachings present in his letters. The way they are drafted and linked to forms of education of children and youth creates space for dialogue beneficial for education towards unity and for balance in family upbringing carried out by a mother and father. From the perspective of implications for further research, this article proposes that studies be prepared to analyse individual issues included in St. Paul s theology and subsequent opportunities for their practical application in the area of pedagogy and Christian education especially with non-adult believers. Bibliography Beanová, Danielle. Mamy mamám. Praktické rady na zvládnutie materstva z pohľadu katolíckeho vierovyznania. Trnava : Dobrá kniha, Baumann, Émile. Apoštol národov. Trnava: SSV, Divini Illius Magistri. enc_ _divini-illius-magistri.html Ferrero, Bruno and Pacucciová Marianna, Šťastná výchova. Bratislava: Don Bosco, Ferrero, Bruno. Šťastní rodičia Bratislava: Don Bosco, Gilbert, Guy. O dětech a výchově. Praha: Portál, Holzner, Jozef. Svätý Pavol. Trnava: SSV, Horváth, J. Čo pre mňa znamená rodinné spoločenstvo. In Nová evanjelizácia: Zborník sympózia s medzinárodnou účasťou. Bratislava: Teologický inštitút sv. Alojza Spoločnosti Ježišovej na Slovensku, Korec, Ján Chryzostom. Ježiš zďaleka a zblízka. Bratislava: Archa, Kútny, Ivan. Nescudziteľnosť religiózneho aspektu slobody a lásky v rodine, In Rodina na prelome tisícročia: Zborník referátov z medzinárodnej vedeckej konferencie (Bratislava: UKF v Nitre, 2005) Lumen Gentium. Machalová, Mária. Láska a komunikácia v rodine. Prohuman Mašán, Ján. Fyzioterapia vertebrogénnych ochorení. Bratislava: Cathedra, Montgomery, James Boice. Základy křesťanské víry. Praha: Návrat domů, Nová, Monika. Spirituální výchova v dětských domovech, In Antonín Kozoň, et al. Návrat pedagogiky do dětských domovů. Trenčín: SpoSoIntE, Opatrný, Aleš. Apoštol Pavel. Kostelní Vydří: Karmelitánské nakladatelství, Osvaldo Poli, Srdce otca. Bratislava: Don Bosco,

75 THE TOPIC OF SIN IN SELECTED VIEWS OF PAUL THE APOSTLE AND THE OPENING OF A DISCUSSION WITHIN SPECIFIC DEMONSTRATIONS OF THE LOSS OF THE SENSE OF SIN JÁN MAŠÁN, MATIAS SIAGIAN, JURAJ DOLINSKÝ, ZOFIA SZAROTA, MONIKA NOVÁ, MAREK HECZEI, ANDREJ FILIPEK, MILAN URBANČOK, MÁRIA NEMČEKOVÁ, IVAN KRÁĽ, TOMÁŠ JELLÚŠ Potočárová, Mária. Poznanie rodinného prostredia z hľadiska výchovy. In O výchove v rodine: Zborník referátov z konferencie. Bratislava: Slovenská spoločnosť pre rodinu a zodpovedné rodičovstvo, Ratzinger, Joseph. Boh a svet. Trnava : SSV, Rozinajová, H. Význam rodiny pri mravnej a náboženskej výchove, In Nová evanjelizácia: Zborník sympózia s medzinárodnou účasťou. Bratislava: Teologický inštitút sv. Alojza Spoločnosti Ježišovej na Slovensku, Rogge, Jan-Uwe. Děti potřebují hranice. Praha: Portál, Ryšková, Mireia et al., Stručný úvod do Písma sv. Starý zákon. Praha: Scriptum, Šuláková, M. Rodina to nie sú len deti, In Nová evanjelizácia : Zborník sympózia s medzinárodnou účasťou. Bratislava: Teologický inštitút sv. Alojza Spoločnosti Ježišovej na Slovensku, Unitatis Redintegratio. unitatis-redintegratio_en.html Valábek, M. Výchova v rodine pre budúcnosť. In O výchove v rodine: Zborník referátov z konferencie Bratislava: Slovenská spoločnosť pre rodinu a zodpovedné rodičovstvo, 2001). 89. Žatková, E. O komunikácii v rodine In O výchove v rodine : Zborník referátov z konferencie. Bratislava : Slovenská spoločnosť pre rodinu a zodpovedné rodičovstvo, THE TOPIC OF SIN IN SELECTED VIEWS OF PAUL THE APOSTLE AND THE OPENING OF A DISCUSSION WITHIN SPECIFIC DEMONSTRATIONS OF THE LOSS OF THE SENSE OF SIN* Ján Mašán 1, Matias Siagian 2, Juraj Dolinský 5, Zofia Szarota 3, Monika Nová 4, Marek Heczei 5, Andrej Filipek 5, Milan Urbančok 5, Mária Nemčeková 5, Ivan Kráľ 5, Tomáš Jellúš 5 1 University of Thessaly (GR) 2 University of Sumatera Utara Indonesia (ID) 3 Pedagogical University of Cracow, (PL) 4 Hussite Theological Faculty of Charles University in Prague (CZ) 5 Trnava university, Faculty of Theology, Trnava (SK) Submitted: 23 August 2018 Accepted for publication: 13 May 2019 First published: 15 October 2019 Acta Missiologica No. 2 Vol Abstract Background: Paul the Apostle and his letters present in the Holy Scriptures contribute in a significant way to the moral development of man. On numerous occasions, Paul writes and ponders over the topic of sin and freedom that was won by Christ. The loss of the sense of sin is a characteristic trait of the current moral crisis in society. The topic of the loss of the sense of sin is very topical as it is a phenomenon present in the current time period. The presented article will, therefore, first provide a brief reflection on the topic of sin in connection with the selected views of Paul the Apostle that we consider relevant, and at the very least interesting, in connection with the article s topic. The loss of the sense of sin, which constitutes a shift in the moral values of contemporary society, is a serious threat, especially to future generations, which is why the article pays particular attention to the young. Conclusion: The conclusion presents specific demonstrations of the loss of the sense of sin and in order to allow for further research proposes creation of a space for a discussion focusing on moral values. Keywords: Freedom Sin St. Paul Banal Evil Moral Values. Introduction In order to function in peace and enable the co-existence of different people, human society needs certain rules standards that people would abide by. Even though God * This article has been supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency under the contract no. APVV Contact on all authors: MUDr. Ján Mašán, PhD. masanjan@gmail.com Drs. Matias Siagian, M.Si., Ph.D., prof. PhDr. ThLic. Juraj Dolinský, PhD., dr. hab Zofia Szarota, PhDr. Monika Nová, PhD., ThLic. Marek Heczei, PhD., Doc. ThDr. Andrej Filipek SJ PhD.,ThDr. Ing. Milan Urbančok SDB PhD., Mgr. Mária Nemčeková, Mgr. Ivan Kráľ, Mgr. Tomáš Jellúš

76 THE TOPIC OF SIN IN SELECTED VIEWS OF PAUL THE APOSTLE AND THE OPENING OF A DISCUSSION WITHIN SPECIFIC DEMONSTRATIONS OF THE LOSS OF THE SENSE OF SIN JÁN MAŠÁN, MATIAS SIAGIAN, JURAJ DOLINSKÝ, ZOFIA SZAROTA, MONIKA NOVÁ, MAREK HECZEI, ANDREJ FILIPEK, MILAN URBANČOK, MÁRIA NEMČEKOVÁ, IVAN KRÁĽ, TOMÁŠ JELLÚŠ has given freedom to men, men cannot do what they want a man s freedom ends where another man s freedom begins. Freedom is one of the fundamental and precious human values. This value, however, is but one of numerous values necessary for a meaningful and balanced human existence. It, therefore, cannot be boundary-free, it must coexist in harmony with other important human values. This is especially true in the field of morality. It is of great importance how freedom is treated whether negatively by refusing moral standards, or positively by abiding by moral standards in order to develop one s personality and achieve one s life goals quickly and as safely as possible. 410 Paul the Apostle and his letters present in the Holy Scriptures contribute in a significant way to the moral development of man. On numerous occasions, he writes and ponders over the topic of sin and freedom that was won by Christ. The loss of the sense of sin is a characteristic trait of the current moral crisis in society. One of the main causes behind this situation is the deformation of human conscience. Looking at the elements of contemporary culture may help us to better understand the continuous decline of the awareness of sin and the crisis of conscience of contemporary man. These elements may be found in several streams of the modern way of thinking, which place emphasis on human freedom as if it were the only source and originator of values. This is the stance behind theories that lose sight of transcendence or are purely atheistic in nature. The ultimate goal of such modern philosophies is to firmly bind man in chains of strict determinism, and as quickly as possible, in order for him to not feel responsible for his own failures and wrongdoing so he cannot be blamed for them. In this context, evil (sin) is presented as something that is imposed on man from the outside, i.e. something man himself did not create. This inevitably implies that if man is not responsible for the evil he commits, he cannot alter or change it in any way. 411 The article shall provide a brief introductory reflection on the topic of sin in connection with: the selected views of Paul the Apostle; musings over the issue of what happened to sin; specific examples demonstrating the loss of the sense of sin; the negative impact of loss of the sense of sin on future generations; the proposal to open a discussion on moral values. Life without sin There are certain societal standards and codes of conduct that we know we have to adhere to. Society maintains this social discipline by establishing laws that punish those who breach them. Christianity as a religion also presents people not only with a code of conduct but with something extra as well. Its intention is to help achieve people s desire for freedom and perfection. Men desire good by nature. After all, Saint Augustine himself wrote in the introduction to his Confessions that our heart is restless until it finds its rest in Thee (God). 412 Whatever desires men satisfy, they will always crave the highest good God himself. Jesus preached this highest good to be the kingdom of heaven, which the people should prepare for by repenting (cf. Matthew 4:17). Acts of repentance should purify men of their sins, of that which makes it impossible for men to access God. Augustine defines sin as: The deviation of a spoiled will towards the lowest things; a will that wants to discard 410 Rajmund Ondruš SJ, Život bez mravných noriem? Svedectvo viery, 2 zväzok, Ľudská a kresťanská mravnosť (Dobrá kniha, Trnava 1992) For more information on this see, for example: John Paul II. Veritatis splendor. 32; ; and Dorothy L. Sayers, Víra nebo chaos? (Universum, Praha 1948). 412 Sv. AUGUSTÍN Vyznania (Bratislava: Lúč, 1997). 29. all its inner goodness and turn towards external things. 413 Sin is, therefore, an insult to God, a man s undoing. By committing sin we oppose God s love and we are guilty against reason, truth, and conscience. 414 Christianity also wants to teach people what sin is. It does not want to serve solely as an ethical code that dictates how we should and shouldn t behave. The psychiatrist Dr. Karl Menninger poses the question: Whatever Became of Sin? The only sin to which the modern man admits is the social sin committed by the state, government and capitalists. If a person commits evil, he is weak, but not a sinner. (...) The worst is the denial of sin. If I am blind yet I deny the existence of light, I will never be able to see. If I am deaf and I deny the existence of sound, I will never be able to hear. If I deny the existence of sin, I make forgiveness impossible. 415 In this case, the lawmaker is not man, but God who puts the law inside the man. The voice of this law telling us what is right and what is wrong is called conscience. Conscience is man s most secret core and his sanctuary. There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths. In a wonderful manner conscience reveals that law which is fulfilled by love of God and neighbour. (GS 16). Paul the Apostle refers to a different law in his Epistle to the Romans. It is a collection of commands and prohibitions, or standards, that allows people to discern what is wrong in their lives, i.e. what is sinful. Through the law comes knowledge of sin (Romans 3:20). This way of moving towards perfection was rather hindering to people. There were many standards but the question was who was able to abide by them all. Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers (Luke 11:46). Augustine s well-known saying: Love and do what you will! encapsulates perfectly the message of the Gospel of Jesus that contains within itself the law of freedom that is based on love and not on obligation. Jesus brings freedom to the Old Testament standards and love to the obligations and commands. The law of Christ is freedom that is the paradox of Paul s message in Galatians. This freedom has content, then, it has direction, and it therefore contradicts what only apparently liberates man, but in truth makes him a slave. The Torah of the Messiah is totally new and different but it is precisely by being such that it fulfils the Torah of Moses. 416 Man feels bad when he is bound by obligations. However, if he understands that he is to act out of love for someone, this obligation becomes love that does not bind but instead brings freedom. Even if we know and understand what we should do and how we should do it, it is not always easy. As a result of the original sin we are prone to evil. Paul put it this way: for I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing (Romans 7:18 19). Blaise Pascal, the great French thinker, spoke of a second nature, which superimposes 413 Sv. AUGUSTÍN Vyznania Katechizmus katolíckej Cirkvi (Trnava: SSV, 1999). b Fulton J. Sheen, Život Krista (Trnava: Dobrá kniha, 1998) Joseph Ratzinger Benedikt XVI. Ježiš Nazaretský (Trnava: Dobrá kniha, 2007)

77 THE TOPIC OF SIN IN SELECTED VIEWS OF PAUL THE APOSTLE AND THE OPENING OF A DISCUSSION WITHIN SPECIFIC DEMONSTRATIONS OF THE LOSS OF THE SENSE OF SIN JÁN MAŠÁN, MATIAS SIAGIAN, JURAJ DOLINSKÝ, ZOFIA SZAROTA, MONIKA NOVÁ, MAREK HECZEI, ANDREJ FILIPEK, MILAN URBANČOK, MÁRIA NEMČEKOVÁ, IVAN KRÁĽ, TOMÁŠ JELLÚŠ our original, good nature. This second nature makes evil appear normal to man. Hence, even the common expression he s human has a double meaning. He s human, can mean: this man is good, he really acts as one should act. But, he s human can also imply falsity: evil is normal, it is human. Evil seems to have become our second nature. 417 Nevertheless, Paul the Apostle maintains an optimistic outlook where he does not get discouraged by sin and human weakness, but instead sees things and gives advice in an optimistic way: Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). In other words: Do not concentrate on evil but do good instead! Paul recognises sin as a result of the law, i.e. as a result of a standard that is fixed. What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet, if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said: You shall not covet. (Romans 7:7). Law is, therefore, not perceived as something bad. Paul sees sin as slavery, a state where one does not feel free (cf. Romans 6:20, 22). Sin, therefore, binds a man internally. This happens only when we are aware of sin, when we recognise sin. In the Book of Genesis, the first people are depicted as feeling ashamed after committing sin and hide from God because they are aware of their disobedience towards him, of violating his rules (cf. Genesis 3:7 10). Sin has accompanied mankind since ancient times and man as an individual from the dawn of time. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:22b 23). That is why man must continually fight for his internal freedom. However strong we feel physically, intellectually, technically or scientifically, it is in the field of morality that we learn our limits and find out that being internally strong and acting according to our conscience is not easy. Slavery to sin and the meaning of life in the grace of God was aptly summarised by Don Bosco: If you are not at peace with God, you cannot be at peace with yourself, nor with others... The one without trust is the one with secrets to guard, the one who is afraid the secrets will become known and bring him shame and trouble. If his heart is not at peace with God (...) he will be prey to restless anxiety, intolerant of obedience, and get upset over nothing. 418 In a similar vein to Don Bosco, Paul the Apostle also talks of the means of liberation from this slavery to sin. This means or mediator is always Jesus Christ from whom we obtain forgiveness of sin and whose presence in our lives protects us from the danger of enslavement to sin. God considered it righteous when the one who was just and without sin died for the unjust, the sinners (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:19, 21; Galatians 1:4; Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14). Whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins; it was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Romans 3:25 26). Every sin in our lives is an insult to God s love which we ignore by committing sins. Metaphorically speaking, it is as though somebody wanted to give us a present which we ignore. Paul the Apostle writes what man deserves for committing sin: For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). The 417 Joseph Ratzinger Benedikt XVI. Apoštol Ježíše Krista (Kostelní Vydří: Karmelitánské nakladatelství, 2009) E. Bianco. Nestačí ich milovať. Rím: SÚSCM, s. 21. consequence of the original sin is physical death. Even though Jesus brought forgiveness and reconciliation, the consequences of the original sin remain. It is important to note that Paul identifies sin with death. That does not mean physical death, but death as the loss of eternal life in communion with God, which God has prepared for us. Catholic theology teaches that sins are committed by finite persons, who are created. These finite persons cannot rectify the insult to an infinite person. Only Christ, as an infinite person, could have done this he rectified the insult to God that was caused by our sins. 419 Evil, i.e. sin, is present in the world. According to Christian doctrine and philosophy, God is only good and, as such, he did not create anything that is evil. Everything that originated from him is good. Evil does not arise from the source of being, it is not original. Evil arises from created freedom, a freedom that has been abused. How is that possible? How has this happened? This remains unclear. Only God and goodness are logical, only they are light. 420 We cannot view man as a source of evil because of his asocial behaviour, aggressiveness or the various mistakes and evils he commits. Man who succumbs to evil in his life becomes its victim and suffers consequences here on Earth, which Paul describes as death. The spiritual death on Earth is often a corrupt life. For instance, the corrupted life of young delinquents, which could have been prevented, e.g. by a proper upbringing. There are many young delinquents who could be helped out of slavery to evil if only there were someone who would lend them a helping hand. We consider it essential that recognising evil is an inherent human disposition that can be either developed by upbringing, traditions, and culture, or guided in the wrong direction. One of the acute dangers in this area is what we have hinted at at the beginning of the article the phenomenon of the so-called banal evil. (...) In this case, a person (especially a young person) loses the ability to recognise evil, be aware of it and name it as such. The mass media, in particular, contribute to this in a significant way. 421 Adolescents in particular, but children in both early and later school years as well, should be given more guidance in the educational process on the media s portrayal of different values. (...) In order for them to develop in a healthy way and gain the proper understanding of these values, children and young people in the educational process should start reflecting more on the real significance of media for people and discovering in which cases the media s depiction of reality distorts these values Jozef Krupa, Pôvodca večnej spásy (Bratislava: Univerzita Komenského, 2004). s Joseph Ratzinger Benedikt XVI. Apoštol Ježíše Krista, Peter Ondrejkovič, Globalizácia a individualizácia mládeže (Bratislava: VEDA, 2002) Viera Kačinová, Rozvoj mediálnych kompetencií u ročných adolescentov a možné spôsoby ich rozvíjania v rámci inštitucionalizovanej výučby mediálnej výchovy na stredných školách, in Adolescenia, Aktuálne otázky predčasného a predĺženého dospievania : Zborník referátov z konferencie. (Bratislava : Slovenská spoločnosť pre rodinu a zodpovedné rodičovstvo, 2006) At the same time, however, it is also necessary to point out to children and young people the positive significance of the means of social communication, namely, the latter s role in overcoming the distance related to the prompt need to aid people in all their needs. (Beáta Áčová et al., Evanjelizácia emeritného pápeža Benedikta XVI. (Trnava: Ivona Matúšová, Trnava 2017). 24.) This applies to the suffering caused by various forms of material poverty (Beáta Áčová et al., Evanjelizácia emeritného pápeža Benedikta XVI. 24), including, for instance, a lack of food, clothing, housing, hospitality. (Beáta Áčová et al.,evanjelizácia emeritného pápeža Benedikta XVI. 24). To demonstrate positive impact of social tools on the needs of people in need, we could use the example of a family in financial need which received financial donations from strangers based on an

78 THE TOPIC OF SIN IN SELECTED VIEWS OF PAUL THE APOSTLE AND THE OPENING OF A DISCUSSION WITHIN SPECIFIC DEMONSTRATIONS OF THE LOSS OF THE SENSE OF SIN JÁN MAŠÁN, MATIAS SIAGIAN, JURAJ DOLINSKÝ, ZOFIA SZAROTA, MONIKA NOVÁ, MAREK HECZEI, ANDREJ FILIPEK, MILAN URBANČOK, MÁRIA NEMČEKOVÁ, IVAN KRÁĽ, TOMÁŠ JELLÚŠ The ages between 14 and 18 years are probably the most vulnerable times in the life of young people. Young people are getting to the age when they develop their value system and strive to break free from the influence of parents. It is a time of life when the influence of their peer group either drives them toward positive choices or toward negative choices. 423 The young person feels a need to be original and unique, while also looking for a sense of fellowship and belonging. 424 Adolescence gives them more reference groups and collectives to which they can belong to. 425 At the same time, it is important to realise, that every young person has higher self-perception and craves to be accepted, and that it is in the mentioned reference groups and collectives, where young people desire to find it. 426 This acceptance is an affirmation of his dignity. 427 The problems of the young are the reflection of the problems of the entire society of family, state and the entire religious community. Adolescents especially are split between what is ideal and what is real. The adolescent s stance towards reality is subject to sudden changes that depend on the development and growth in knowledge of the individual a young person who is coming of age. That is why his evaluation cannot be static. The current generation of young people exhibits increased susceptibility to experiencing everything themselves, to verifying everything, to trying things out first-hand and seeing for themselves whether everything is as it is said to be. 428 article published in Catholic News Ktolícke noviny. In another article, the family expressed their gratitude for the financial help, for the testimony of faith and spiritual support in the form of text messages, phone calls, letters or voluntary sacrifices. (Beáta Áčová et al., Evanjelizácia emeritného pápeža Benedikta XVI. 24). 423 Libuša Radková, et al., The impact of Christian-based leisure peer activities in the incidence of social pathology among youth, in Etické otázky socializácie sociálnej práce a príbuzných odborov ed. Antonín Kozoň et al., (Trenčín: SpoSoIntE, 2013) Anna Árpová, Subkultúry mládeže, in Úlohy zdravotníctva a sociálnej práce v dnešnej spoločnosti. Zborník príspevkov vedeckej konferencie 2018 (Rimavská Sobota: Asociácia pre sociálny rozvoj a podporu občanov SR, 2018) Libuša Radková, et al., The impact of Christian-based leisure peer activities in the incidence of social pathology among youth, in Etické otázky socializácie sociálnej práce a príbuzných odborov ed. Antonín Kozoň et al., (Trenčín: SpoSoIntE, 2013) Mária Šmidová, Krzysztof Trebski and Jozef Žuffa, Vybrané aspekty sociálnej starostlivosti o seniorov a dlhodobo chorých Mária Šmidová, Krzysztof Trebski and Jozef Žuffa, Vybrané aspekty sociálnej starostlivosti o seniorov a dlhodobo chorých Young people thus find themselves facing a difficult situation: they must cope with a pluralistic offer of value orientations, patterns of behaviour, faith, life goals, and political thinking. (Anna Árpová, Subkultúry mládeže, in Úlohy zdravotníctva a sociálnej práce v dnešnej spoločnosti. Zborník príspevkov vedeckej konferencie 2018 (Rimavská Sobota: Asociácia pre sociálny rozvoj a podporu občanov SR, 2018). 57.) One of the possible solutions to this difficult situation is to adopt elements from the cultural identity of different youth subcultures, their values, and specific lifestyles, while retaining a sense of independence. The subculture thus function as a kind of life model, a role model that young people can hold on to while dealing with the uncertainties related to the pursuit and discovery of their own identity and alternatives to their own lifestyle. Adolescence is the period when the young person can order their own values, views, attitudes, and goals so that they can use the basic attributes of adulthood, such as freedom and responsibility, in the future. During their adolescence, young people experiment with ideas, looking for answers to the questions and issues that are important to them. They seek to find a balance between the requirements imposed on them by society, on the one hand, and their own wishes and aspirations on the other. 429 Whether they will succeed in finding, and maintaining, this balance depends on the individual socialization factors that have a significant influence on the success of the overall process of the young person s development and his or her functioning in the future. 430 The adolescents moral perception is shaped primarily by family, but also by school, social interactions with their peers the street and society, whether in the form of the state or a specific religious community and its institutions. A state s policies must bear in mind the education of the future generation. Individual states policies (including Slovakia s), should, therefore, create adequate conditions for children and adolescents in order to: transform young people into independent, empathetic, responsible and involved personalities; shape the value orientation of children and adolescents in line with the moral and social standards; provide preventive protection against negative phenomena that constitute a threat to the healthy development of children and adolescents. 431 The entire religious community is also striving to eliminate the spread of evil (sin) that is posing a threat to children and adolescents by providing positive Christian values. One inspiring example is the Christian movement Focolare that seeks to impart three teachings to the young regardless of their religion: 1) God loves everyone equally. We must, therefore, also try to impart love, acceptance and respect to other people. 2) If the other person reciprocates our love, acceptance and respect, Jesus is present among us. 3) If our love, acceptance and respect is not reciprocated, our efforts are not in vain, because we may (Anna Árpová, Subkultúry mládeže, in Úlohy zdravotníctva a sociálnej práce v dnešnej spoločnosti. Zborník príspevkov vedeckej konferencie 2018 (Rimavská Sobota: Asociácia pre sociálny rozvoj a podporu občanov SR, 2018). 58.) Today, the term youth subculture is taken to, especially, refer to an empirically observable, specific, and integrated world of values, norms, and symbols that are typical for the behaviour of young people. At the same time, it needs to be emphasized that it is part of the culture of global society which it might be simultaneously opposed to. (Anna Árpová, Subkultúry mládeže, in Úlohy zdravotníctva a sociálnej práce v dnešnej spoločnosti. Zborník príspevkov vedeckej konferencie 2018 (Rimavská Sobota: Asociácia pre sociálny rozvoj a podporu občanov SR, 2018). 56.) 429 Anna Árpová, Mediácia ako alternatívne riešenie patológie u adolescentov, Mládež a spoločnosť no. 3, (2016): 43. (Bratislava: Ministerstvo práce sociálnych vecí a rodiny a Centrum vedecko-technických informácii). 430 Anna Árpová, Mediácia ako alternatívne riešenie patológie u adolescentov, Mládež a spoločnosť no. 3, (2016): 43. (Bratislava: Ministerstvo práce sociálnych vecí a rodiny a Centrum vedecko-technických informácii). 431 Štefan Žárnay, Problémy adolescentnej mládeže ako výzvy pre politiku štátu voči mládeži, in Adolescenia, Aktuálne otázky predčasného a predĺženého dospievania : Zborník referátov z konferencie (Bratislava: Slovenská spoločnosť pre rodinu a zodpovedné rodičovstvo, 2006)

79 THE TOPIC OF SIN IN SELECTED VIEWS OF PAUL THE APOSTLE AND THE OPENING OF A DISCUSSION WITHIN SPECIFIC DEMONSTRATIONS OF THE LOSS OF THE SENSE OF SIN JÁN MAŠÁN, MATIAS SIAGIAN, JURAJ DOLINSKÝ, ZOFIA SZAROTA, MONIKA NOVÁ, MAREK HECZEI, ANDREJ FILIPEK, MILAN URBANČOK, MÁRIA NEMČEKOVÁ, IVAN KRÁĽ, TOMÁŠ JELLÚŠ love Jesus on the cross, who is the life-giving pain, and thus contribute to a positive change in ourselves, people around us, society, and ultimately the entire world. 432 On the basis of the above, we can say that although many people are distant from faith and Christian values and ruin their lives by accommodating sin in various forms, they too are urged by Paul: If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God! Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things! And this is the mission of Homo sapiens to look above, towards heaven, towards God, towards higher values and stop staring at the Earth that is but a temporary part of our being. Christian parents who have given their children the best and yet see their lives heading somewhere far from God still have hope. Only from a Christian perspective, we may believe that something good awaits a child who is guilty of sin. Only from a Christian perspective is it possible to capture the mystery, the grace and so hope for a better future and see what may become of a child: something else from what he seems to be. 433 Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI aptly summarised Christian life in his first Encyclical: We have come to believe in God s love: in these words the Christian can express the fundamental decision of his life. Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction. (Deus Caritas Est. 1). Conclusion In the current period especially emerges not only the phenomenon of the loss of the sense of sin, but also the phenomenon of losing Christian values and tools that a man should use especially a young man to refine his character and likeness to God and to cultivate sensibility to God s consciousness that is closely connected to the moral conscience, the openness of conscience, the search for the truth, and the willingness to perceive freedom in a responsible way. All of this is connected to the most important value, to which everybody is internally bound, and that is the sense of sin. The sense of sin committed against man and human values is not being strengthened when there is an absence of perception of God and of the insult committed against Him. We would now like to mention specific examples demonstrating the loss of the sense of sin, which are given particular attention at present, including at the level of expert as well as laic discussions in a secularized society and religious circles. These examples represent the loss of the sense of sin and thus a shift in the moral values of contemporary society. They pose a significant threat to the current generation and educational guidance of the future generation because such a shift in moral values has not occurred in the previous generations of our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. The first manifestation of the loss of the sense of sin is abortion, which the current profane society no longer sees as immoral, despite the many arguments behind the absolute opposition against it and the advocacy for human life. The second example is euthanasia, despite the many arguments expressing an explicit opposition against it and appeals for the recognition of human dignity at every stage of human life. 432 Jozef Petrek, Predstavenie výchovy k bratstvu medzi dospievajúcimi. in Adolescenia, Aktuálne otázky predčasného a predĺženého dospievania: Zborník referátov z konferencie (Bratislava: Slovenská spoločnosť pre rodinu a zodpovedné rodičovstvo, 2006) Giuseppe Colombo, Provokácie dospievajúcich (Bratislava : LÚČ, 2007). 70. Another example is non-marital cohabitation, for example, a trial marriage or living together without commitments. This example is related to the very serious problem with negative consequences for the future generation in particular the degradation of marriage, high divorce rate and disintegration of families. This issue persists despite the significance and importance of family in everyone s lives, the need for love and the presence of both parents, the parents obligation to educate their children, the irreplaceable role of family and marriage in society. This issue is also connected with the misconception of human freedom, the causes behind crises in marriage, and the high number of children living in single-parent families. The last manifestation of the loss of sense of sin is the issue of registered partnerships. This phenomenon is relatively new in our society, but the multicultural concept of society intends to expand it further. In this context, it is important to take into consideration the view of the Holy Scriptures on this phenomenon, the arguments pointing out the inappropriateness of such cohabitation arrangements and the Church s teachings. We may conclude that it is necessary to realise the causes and consequences of the loss of the sense of sin, specific examples and the actual state of contemporary society. In order to allow for further research, based on the above information, the article proposes the following: emphasising moral ideals, including the necessary assessment skills and discourse capacity through scientific studies, reflections and both expert and laic discussions. creating a space for a discussion focusing on moral values that would lead to: education: in order for the next generation to use moral values and principles correctly and consistently in everyday life, which would, in turn, develop into a mature moral behaviour; reflection and perhaps even specific results on how one may contribute to bringing the current erosion of civilisation s values to a halt, or at the very least to eliminate it as much as possible. Bibliography Áčová, Beáta. et al., Evanjelizácia emeritného pápeža Benedikta XVI. Trnava: Ivona Matúšová, Trnava Árpová, Anna. Subkultúry mládeže, In Úlohy zdravotníctva a sociálnej práce v dnešnej spoločnosti. Zborník príspevkov vedeckej konferencie Rimavská Sobota: Asociácia pre sociálny rozvoj a podporu občanov SR, Árpová, Anna, Mediácia ako alternatívne riešenie patológie u adolescentov. Mládež a spoločnosť no. 3, (2016): 43. (Bratislava: Ministerstvo práce sociálnych vecí a rodiny a Centrum vedecko-technických informácii). Sv. AUGUSTÍN Vyznania. Bratislava: Lúč, Bianco. E. Nestačí ich milovať. Rím: SÚSCM, Benedikt XVI. Joseph Ratzinger. Ježiš Nazaretský. Trnava: Dobrá kniha, Benedikt XVI. Joseph Ratzinger. Apoštol Ježíše Krista. Kostelní Vydří: Karmelitánské nakladatelství, Colombo, Giuseppe. Provokácie dospievajúcich. Bratislava : LÚČ, Deus Caritas Est

80 TODAY S INFLUENCE OF THE APOSTLE PAUL ON THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO DIALOGUE VLASTIMIL DUFKA, EMMANUEL JANAGAN JOHNSON, BERNARDO RAMIREZ, ŠIMON MARINČÁK, BOHDAN HROBOŇ, JOZEF TIŇO, ADRIÁN KACIÁN, JOZEF KYSELICA, KAMIL KOLEJÁK Gaudium et spes. const_ _gaudium-et-spes_en.html Kačinová, Viera. Rozvoj mediálnych kompetencií u ročných adolescentov a možné spôsoby ich rozvíjania v rámci inštitucionalizovanej výučby mediálnej výchovy na stredných školách. In Adolescenia, Aktuálne otázky predčasného a predĺženého dospievania : Zborník referátov z konferencie. Bratislava : Slovenská spoločnosť pre rodinu a zodpovedné rodičovstvo, Katechizmus katolíckej Cirkvi. Trnava: SSV, b Krupa, Jozef. Pôvodca večnej spásy. Bratislava: Univerzita Komenského, Ondrejkovič, Peter. Globalizácia a individualizácia mládeže. Bratislava: VEDA, Ondruš SJ, Rajmund. Život bez mravných noriem? Svedectvo viery, 2 zväzok, Ľudská a kresťanská mravnosť (Dobrá kniha, Trnava Petrek, Jozef. Predstavenie výchovy k bratstvu medzi dospievajúcimi. In Adolescenia, Aktuálne otázky predčasného a predĺženého dospievania: Zborník referátov z konferencie. Bratislava: Slovenská spoločnosť pre rodinu a zodpovedné rodičovstvo, Radková, Libuša. et al., The impact of Christian-based leisure peer activities in the incidence of social pathology among youth. In Etické otázky socializácie sociálnej práce a príbuzných odborov edited by Antonín Kozoň et al., Trenčín: SpoSoIntE, Sayers, Dorothy L. Víra nebo chaos? Universum, Praha Šmidová, Mária, Trebski Krzysztof and Žuffa, Jozef. Vybrané aspekty sociálnej starostlivosti o seniorov a dlhodobo chorých. Sheen, Fulton J. Život Krista. Trnava: Dobrá kniha, Veritatis splendor. enc_ _veritatis-splendor.html Žárnay, Štefan. Problémy adolescentnej mládeže ako výzvy pre politiku štátu voči mládeži. In Adolescenia, Aktuálne otázky predčasného a predĺženého dospievania : Zborník referátov z konferencie. Bratislava: Slovenská spoločnosť pre rodinu a zodpovedné rodičovstvo, TODAY S INFLUENCE OF THE APOSTLE PAUL ON THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO DIALOGUE* 434 Vlastimil Dufka 1, Emmanuel Janagan Johnson 2 Bernardo Ramirez 3 Šimon Marinčák 1, Bohdan Hroboň 1 Jozef Tiňo 1, Adrián Kacián 1, Jozef Kyselica 1, Kamil Koleják 4 1 Trnava university, Faculty of Theology, Trnava (SK) 2 The University of the West Indies (JM) 3 University of Central Florida (US) 4 Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra (SK) Submitted: 15 April 2018 Accepted for publication: 17 December 2018 First published: 15 October 2019 Acta Missiologica No. 2 Vol Abstract Background: Paul s writings as a source of teaching and means of raising good and faithful young people, despite their vastness and complexity, are useful in shaping young people s character and personality. Therefore, the basic knowledge of this apostle should be included in the family educational system and in the basic religious knowledge of the believer. Suitably, in the family education, this apostle can be made visible and worshipped for his liturgical feasts, or, for example, by various quotations from his letters, which may be present in the family home and thus offered for reflection and formation. His writings are cited in the documents of the Church, Popes, and in the theological books, articles, scripts, or other Christian-oriented literature. St. Paul s personality speaks to us in its depth also nowadays. His personality is exceptional, almost inimitable, but still very stimulating. The objective of the article is therefore to describe St. Paul as a possible example for contemporary educators and teachers. The article will also point at some of the relevant aspects of Paul s teachings in the context of updating his impact on education of children and youth and the contribution to dialogue. Conclusion: From the viewpoint of the implications for further research the article suggests the preparation of studies individually analysing the teachings of St. Paul that could be beneficial for both the educational process and Christian education. In this context, it is also necessary to undertake a more in-depth analysis of his teaching in such a way as to enable us to understand comprehensively how the Apostle Paul loves the Church and brings his people closer to God and to each other through his explanations and considerations. And then to apply this understanding through dialogue, expert discussions and reflections in practice and also in Christian pedagogy and education. * This article has been supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency under the contract no. APVV Contact on all authors: Prof. Vlastimil Dufka SJ SLD. vlastodufka@gmail.com Dr. Emmanuel Janagan Johnson, Bernardo Ramirez, M.D., MBA, PaedDr. Šimon Marinčák, PhD., Ing. Bohdan Hroboň, PhD., MA., Doc. Dr. Jozef Tiňo, PhD., Doc. RNDr. Adrián Kacián, PhD., Doc. ThDr. Jozef Kyselica SJ, PhD., MUDr. Koleják Kamil PhD

81 TODAY S INFLUENCE OF THE APOSTLE PAUL ON THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO DIALOGUE VLASTIMIL DUFKA, EMMANUEL JANAGAN JOHNSON, BERNARDO RAMIREZ, ŠIMON MARINČÁK, BOHDAN HROBOŇ, JOZEF TIŇO, ADRIÁN KACIÁN, JOZEF KYSELICA, KAMIL KOLEJÁK Keywords: The teachings of St. Paul Influence on education Role model New generations Pedagogy. Introduction Children and young people need role models they could follow. St. Paul can be such role model for Christian youth and children. Although he lived in the first century, i.e. in a completely different time than we live today, his ideas and values are still relevant to the contemporary world of youth education. This world offers upbringing through computers, games and technology, which can be thin ice that breaks easily when one steps on it and finds dirty water beneath it. Christian education, also with the help of the Apostle of Nations in this complex world, wants to help avoid the thin ice on which today s children and youth often play. Underneath there is the danger of bad society, drugs, alcohol, spoiled and ruined lives. One does not become a teacher or educator for nothing; it is a profession that must be performed with love. He/she can then successfully pass on to others the knowledge necessary for their lives and thus shape future generations. The relationship between a teacher and a pupil can be very similar to the relationship between a parent and a child. Just as the father sees himself in his son, the teacher can see himself in his pupil. Paul is the teacher of the nations because he preached the gospel to various people of different cultures. For the Church communities he visited and to whom he addressed his letters, he appears as a teacher who leads, forms and educates, as he saw himself in them. The objective of the article is to describe St. Paul as a possible model of a teacher for contemporary educators and teachers. The role of educators following Paul s example The role of educators following Paul s example already in the ancient antiquity, in addition to philosophy as a science that seeks the truth, loves the truth, the interest in education, they called paideia, comes to the forefront. Paideia is an expression that cannot be translated but only interpreted. (...) It is a process of the sensation of the soul, of metanoia, of transformation, which is carried out in the process of education so that the educated knows himself, his opportunities and can realize them meaningfully. (...) Paideia is a form of soul care, a basic educational activity that aims to awaken and mobilize mental powers to develop being in the sense of being human. 435 The educator tries to influence the character of the educated and to shape his behaviour. The educator can be an individual, but also a group or a community that has certain opinions and rules that create a certain educational environment. The most important role is played by those who spend the most time with the educated. They are not only educators, but also the government with its collection of laws and, last but not least, the Church, religious communities, groups of various interests, friends, classmates, and especially parents. It has been proven by a number of researches that we adopt the basic rules of how and what to think, feel and do based on early family experiences. What thoughts, feelings, and actions are acceptable, how and under what circumstances the generally valid ways of interaction and basic attitudes are to be expressed - all of this is stored in our early and recurring transactions with parents. 436 To some extent, every person can influence the lives, the attitudes, behaviour and the lives of people in his vicinity. It can include transfer of information, knowledge, but also experience, different models of behaviour, life attitudes or values. The task of the educator and teacher firstly is to pass on knowledge or act as behavioural example. Other factors are also needed to succeed. It is the overall personality of the educator or teacher, his particular charm by which he can get attention of the pupils and win them. The teacher must possess necessary knowledge, skills and talents who cannot pass on to others because he cannot pass what he does not have himself. It is not only his preparation, which can be long-term or short-term, but it is also a certain natural dimension the ability of the educator, which cannot be learned, as it is the gift, the talent with which he was born. It is the ability to lead and have a natural authority. An important part of his success is his ability to motivate others. Motivation comes from the Latin word motivus inducing movement. Indicates a set of processes that are involved in the intensity, direction and way in which proceedings are conducted. In its essence, it is an internal force that energizes the body. Motivation is also defined as the strength in an organism that activates or directs behaviour towards certain goals. It can be an object or a result that the motivated behaviour is focused on. 437 Methods of raising children must be changed as they grow up. In particular, Christian upbringing must contain the dimension of love. It is not only about passing on knowledge, but also about passing on yourself-your life. So we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well (1Thes 2:8). Without the emotional upbringing that children and adolescents need to feel, they could grow into insensitive people, unable to embrace or caress their own children. This love must be unconditional. If we love unconditionally, we demonstrate our love for the child no matter what is happening. We show him that we love him no matter what he looks like; regardless of its positive characteristics, shortcomings or limitations; no matter what we want it to be; and - what is the most difficult thing no matter how he behaves. 438 Every child is unique and therefore needs a special approach, especially from parents, where this is more possible than in a school where there are many children or students. For a child to feel love, we must learn to speak his unique language of love. Every child perceives love in his own special way. There are basically five languages in which children (and indeed all people) express and understand emotional love. These are: physical contact, words of assurance, attention, gifts and deeds of service. 439 At the same time, educators must not forget their own example, which the children follow very closely. For example, they may ask: Our daddy forbids us from eating chocolate and he can smoke? In children, naturally, the authority of parents, which many times has an imperative character, works, but in the case of young people it is different. Young people listen to everything carefully, learn everything, but cannot accept it when our words are in conflict with our actions. 440 On following the example of a teacher St. Paul writes to his disciple Timothy: You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings (2 Tim 3:10). The advantage of Christian education is that educators can rely not only on their own strength but also on God s help. The Christian educator should try to make the child or young 435 M. Mráz, Antické inšpirácie výchovného procesu, in O výchove v rodine : Zborník referátov z konferencie, (Bratislava: Slovenská spoločnosť pre rodinu a zodpovedné rodičovstvo, 2001) P. Šulák, Rozvoj osobnosti a socializácia detí, in Nová evanjelizácia: Zborník sympózia s medzinárodnou účasťou. (Bratislava: Teologický inštitút sv. Alojza Spoločnosti Ježišovej na Slovensku, 1994) Jozef Daniel, Prehľad všeobecnej psychológie (Nitra: Enigma, 2003) Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell, Děti a pět jazyků lásky (Praha: Návrat domů, 2007) Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell, Děti a pět jazyků lásky, Guy Gilbert, O dětech a výchově (Praha: Portál, 2009)

82 TODAY S INFLUENCE OF THE APOSTLE PAUL ON THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO DIALOGUE VLASTIMIL DUFKA, EMMANUEL JANAGAN JOHNSON, BERNARDO RAMIREZ, ŠIMON MARINČÁK, BOHDAN HROBOŇ, JOZEF TIŇO, ADRIÁN KACIÁN, JOZEF KYSELICA, KAMIL KOLEJÁK person resemble Christ. The very and immediate aim of Christian education is to work with the grace of God to create a true and perfect Christian, i.e. Christ himself in the people newly born during baptism according to the stunning expression of the Apostle: My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you (Gal 4:19). (See Divini Illius Magistri). Theology has the following thesis grace follows nature, so no one can be a good Christian unless he is a good man first. The true Christian, the fruit of Christian education, is therefore a supernatural man who thinks, judges and acts persistently and consistently according to the principles of common sense, illuminated by the supernatural light of the example and teaching of Christ, or according to today s common expression: he is perfect, noble person. (See Divini Illius Magistri). Although parents and teachers, as the most important educators, strive to give children and young people the best education, they encounter competition from the environment and the influence of their peers, who can offer completely different values than those required in education. The current trend is that children and young people tend to compare themselves in everything. Especially in what to wear, what food and where they can afford to buy and the like. Educating responsible children and youth in a culture that encourages selfish consumption of everything the world has to offer and in a culture in which so many people fear losing their status among peers requires considerable courage. 441 The efforts to raise children into good citizens depend first and foremost on us as the citizens, and consequently on whether we have the courage to put high demands on ourselves and on the future young generation. In other words, educators sometimes have hard times resisting the pressure of the environment and the era and not to allow everything to those whom they lovingly lead to the desired educational goal. It was beautifully expressed by St. Paul: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear (2Tim 4:2 3). Paul teacher of gratitude and diligence In his writings, Paul not only elaborated the doctrine of the Church, but expressed gratitude to individual church communities, to which he himself leads others by his personal example by often calling out gratitude to God (cf. Rom 1, 8; 6, 17; 7, 25; 1Kor 1, 4; 15, 57; 2 Cor 2, 14; 8, 16; 9, 11; 9, 15; 2 Thes 1, 3; 2, 13; 1 Tim 1, 12). Gratitude in Latin gratitudo is derived from the word gratia, grace. Gratitude according to this etymology is a response to grace. Although we must also be grateful for the gifts that others give us because they are obliged to give them to us, i.e. for we are, in fact, according to this meaning, gratitude most applicable to the gift given free of charge. Young children are accustomed at an early age to receive everything from their parents or educators. It is natural for them that others take care of them and give them everything they need for a happy life. Children have no natural instinct of gratitude. As they learn to talk, walk, as they learn hygiene habits, it is necessary to teach them to be grateful for everything they receive. Only then will they realize that they would not even have to, and learn to value the work of other people, and later their own. Children should be grateful to their parents, especially for intangible gifts, by knowing through their experience that their parents would also sacrifice their lives for them. This was also experienced by St. Paul: They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the 441 William J. Doherty, Kdo koho vychovává? (Praha: Návrat domů, 2006) Gentiles are grateful to them (Rom 16:4). A person who works can appreciate and be proud of the outcome of his work rather than a person who receives something that is ready. Here comes the gratitude by which one expresses that he did not have to get something, did not have it, but he has (received) it, for which he is grateful. Paul's gratitude in his writings is directed mainly towards God, to which he encourages, but also gratitude to people (cf. Flp 4:9; Rom 16:4). We express our gratitude to God especially in the liturgy of the Holy Mass (cf. KKC 1148). In the Catechism of the Catholic Church it is written that the fourth commandment: It request us to show respect, kindness, and gratitude to grandparents and ancestors. Finally, it also applies to the obligations of pupils to teachers, employees to employers, subordinates to their superiors, citizens to their homeland and to those who manage and govern it. 442 Another dimension of Paul, which can be appropriately applied to the education of children and adolescents, is diligence. Christianity revolutionized the world of crafts and work. It was Christianity that began to proclaim the dignity of work, sanctification and mission. The Christian view of work gave meaning to every occupation, because by working one is perfecting oneself and serving others. (...) If some Christians in Paul s time thought it was no longer worthwhile to work because the day of Christ s coming (the end of the world) was approaching, Paul showed them by both the doctrine and work that they were wrong, and making a living makes sense. 443 Paul is not only the son of a Pharisee, he is not only a proclamator of the word who would live from his missionary proclamation of the Gospel, but he is also a hard-working person who values and calls for work. He made his living by the demanding work of tent manufacturing (cf. Acts 18:3; 1 Thes 2:9; 1 Cor 4:12). One s work is fulfilling and develops one s personality. The work of young children is playing. It is important for the father to find time to play with his little baby because it is as important to him as the work is to adult. Gradually, it is necessary to engage the child in common household chores such as cleaning, bedding, waste disposal, washing dishes and the like. Children need deeds of service rendered by adults. These services should correspond to the age of the children. Parents should do for children what they cannot do for themselves. When they are six, they no longer need to be fed. An eight-year-old can already make a bed. There is no need to wait for them to turn 18 to operate the washing machine. Parents who do not allow children to take care of themselves are crippling them. 444 Through his work, the child becomes more aware of what others are doing for him and begins to appreciate it more. He is gradually getting rid of childish egoism. The great mission of parents is to educate their children blissfully with their work and dedication and to teach them to have a positive and joyful attitude towards work and responsibilities. 445 For adolescents, their situation changes when they have to think about their lifelong profession, 442 Katechizmus Katolíckej cirkvi (Trnava: SSV, 1999) art Štefan Kováč, Pro sacerdote (Topoľčany: Prima print, 1999) Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell, Děti a pět jazyků lásky, Štefan Kováč, Pro sacerdote,

83 TODAY S INFLUENCE OF THE APOSTLE PAUL ON THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO DIALOGUE VLASTIMIL DUFKA, EMMANUEL JANAGAN JOHNSON, BERNARDO RAMIREZ, ŠIMON MARINČÁK, BOHDAN HROBOŇ, JOZEF TIŇO, ADRIÁN KACIÁN, JOZEF KYSELICA, KAMIL KOLEJÁK their future job, before they start high school. Therefore, it is necessary to discover their abilities and talents already in childhood, to develop them as far as possible and not to put excessive demands on children. At present, the demands on education are increasing, and therefore the number of university educated people is increasing, which has an impact on both the economy and the family. People with university education thus fall into the process of individualization. The almost massive approach to higher education, coupled with a longer period of residence in the education system and hence postponing economic activity, is particularly contributing to the process of individualization. This fact, education and time create favourable conditions for the processes of self-esteem and self-reflection, which almost always result in efforts to break free from the environment and the origin from which they originated. 446 Paul, as a great educator, is an example of a hard-working person, which is also required of the parents of children to be a role model. Apart from personal examples of parents in hard work and good interpersonal relationships, it is very important for the child to have enough positive incentives in the family. (...) If a child is humiliated, insulted, and doubts about his abilities, his future, or his participation in society, the child also acts accordingly begins to suffer from an inferiority complex. His parents have hurt him very and have badly prepared him for life. 447 The school and education can also be considered as a duty for children and young people, as their work activity. Learning obligations result in that children and young people have responsibility, which is particularly important in the productive age at work. Successful are those children who are gradually led to independence and self-responsibility for their work. If parents check all their homework, they go through all curricula of their children at home, go to school to be arrange for better grades, arrange for protection, such parents almost confidently lead children to be irresponsible. 448 The work is also associated with remuneration in the form of wages, which is the employer s duty towards the employee, as Paul writes: Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation (Rom 4:4). Unfortunately, it sometimes seems that children and young people are already motivated to work, learn and be successful, especially for money and welfare. If parents reward their children with money for their hard work and achievements at school, then they lead them to the greatest dependence, which is the love of money. Then spiritual values are lost and space for hedonism, materialism and egoism is created. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs(1 Tim 6:10). Guy Gilbert offers the following opinion: In terms of success, it usually refers to money. You have money, you re Someone. You have no money, you mean nothing, this thesis is constantly repeated to children and young people. I say that the strongest person in the world is the one who can despise money, because he will never want to buy anyone, nor will anyone buy him. 449 On the other hand, it is impossible to survive without money; money is reward for work done, it can be use in various ways for good and bad purposes, it can be saved for worse times... Don Bosco, the great educator of the young in the nineteenth century, was able to use them in his educational system. His desire was for the young to become 446 Peter Ondrejkovič, Globalizácia a individualizácia mládeže (Bratislava: VEDA, 2002) See: Ľudovít Repáň, Psychológ bez čakárne (Bratislava: Obzor, 1980). 448 H. Gottweisová, Hodnoty života ako východisko z civilizačných rizík, in Dialóg rodičov s dospievajúcimi (Bratislava: Slovenská spoločnosť pre rodinu a zodpovedné rodičovstvo Slovenská rada rodičovských združení Metodické centrum Bratislava II, 1998) Guy Gilbert, O dětech a výchově, 51. accustomed to behaving as if they were living in the world. Therefore, he taught them to save and handle the money. Every day, in addition to soup for lunch and dinner, he gave 25 centisims, for which they could buy bread and something extra. In any case, education towards responsibility with Don Bosco goes through trust. In 1849 he entrusted all the money to the community at Valdocca Buzzeti. And Giuseppe Buzzeti was only 17 years old. 450 Many young people now desire to live in prosperity but without work. Modesty and humility seemed to have vanished from them, and were consumed by their spirit of consumer society. This era raises the question of what one must have to be happy. As if we did not even exist if we do not own the latest models of the trading market. Although many obstacles are nowadays in the way of educational activity, parents must firmly and confidently raise children to the basic values of human life. Children are to grow up in the right freedom for material values so that they can accept a simple and sober way of life, believing that man is more worthy of what he is than he has. (See: Familiaris consortio). Another serious reason, apart from worsening health and lack of jobs, why young people do not work is their own laziness. Especially the present time creates suitable conditions for laziness of children and youth. Computer games and television are often their main employers. Paul responds to this problem in the Second Letter to Thessalonians: For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat. We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat (2 Thes 3:10 12). Updating the influence of the Paul on the education of children and youth and its contribution to dialogue Out of the wisdom of the Apostle Paul, the Church has drawn throughout her history. He and his spiritual heritage are still up-to-date and provide room for inspiring dialogue 451, therefore we will have a look at some of the relevant aspects of his teaching in updating his impact on child and youth education and its contribution to dialogue. St. Paul s teachings could have been used by the Church for the good of people and society, but it has also been the subject of individual interpretation and adaptation, which has often been dangerous in the Church. Augustine s theology is not conceivable without Paul s rediscovery, and even less a breakthrough in the reformist knowledge of Luther and Calvin; nor the John Wesley movement in England a few centuries later. Finally, let us remind you of that the dialectical theology, without which the Church would have been unthinkable opposition to the seduction and delusion of national socialism, announced its arrival with a revolutionary new interpretation of the letter to the Romans by Karl Barth. 452 Paul s writings are not to compete with the gospel of Christ, nor does he want to compete for popularity with Jesus in the Church. For he did not come to preach any gospel other than Christ, nor to anyone else but Christ alone. Paul, of course, is not interested in Christ as a historian, does not collect all the details of Jesus life, he does not want to describe in detail his life, his habits, and his whole work. He does not want to reconstruct any true historical picture. «If we also knew Christ by flesh, we do not know now,» he writes later. (...) Paul s testimony of historical Christ is all the more valuable because he struggled a long 450 Bruno Ferrero, Šťastní rodičia (Bratislava: Don Bosco, 1998) Benedikt XVI. Myšlenky o svatém Pavlovi (Praha: Paulínky, 2009) G. Bornkamm, Apoštol Pavel (Praha: Kalich, 1998)

84 TODAY S INFLUENCE OF THE APOSTLE PAUL ON THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO DIALOGUE VLASTIMIL DUFKA, EMMANUEL JANAGAN JOHNSON, BERNARDO RAMIREZ, ŠIMON MARINČÁK, BOHDAN HROBOŇ, JOZEF TIŇO, ADRIÁN KACIÁN, JOZEF KYSELICA, KAMIL KOLEJÁK way to it. 453 It was a struggle for accepting Jesus and his Church as his own. Even this dramatic struggle, first of all the persecutor of the Church and later its loving son, is a living example even today for the education of especially young people who as if were persecuting the Church with their attitudes because they do not understand it and might want to be full of good and holy people. How can Paul be a role model and educator for contemporary children and youth when the world in which he lived is diametrically different to the present? The world to which his letters were written was in many ways different from the world of today. But not in everything. In his time, Paul met those who knew Judaism and thought that they could not learn anything new. (...) Even today, the Gospel proclamator encounters people who think they know Christianity (though it is not so) and do not expect anything new and inspiring for their lives. 454 Presence of St. Paul in the Church can be witnessed by his liturgical memories during the church year: the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul - 25 January and 29 June, when St. Paul together with St. Peter are celebrated by the whole Church. Clement of Rome wrote about Paul: Because of jealousy and outrage, Paul was obliged to show us how to earn the reward for patience... After preaching righteousness to the whole world and arriving at the very edge of the West, he undertook martyrdom before the rulers; so he left this world and reached a holy place, and thus became the greatest pattern of perseverance. 455 His shining example attracts many even today. If his teaching is difficult, his adherence to Christ is a simple enough expression of his person, offering us the basis of his pedagogy, as he writes in a letter to Corinth: Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. (1Cor 11:1; also cf. 1Cor 4:16; Flp 3:17). During the opening of the Year of St. Paul on 28 June 2008 the Pope Benedict XVI said: Dear brothers and sisters, as in early times, today too Christ needs apostles ready to sacrifice themselves. He needs witnesses and martyrs like St. Paul: a former violent persecutor of Christians, when he fell to the ground dazzled by the divine light on the road to Damascus, did not hesitate to change sides to the Crucified One and followed him without second thoughts. He lived and worked for Christ, for him he suffered and died. How timely is his example today! 456 Paul s writings as a source of teaching and means of raising good and faithful young people, despite their vastness and complexity, are useful in shaping young people s character and personality. Therefore, the basic knowledge of this apostle should be included in the family educational system and in the basic religious knowledge of the believer. Suitably, in the family education, this apostle can be made visible and worshipped for his liturgical feasts, or, for example, by various quotations from his letters, which may be present in the family home and thus offered for reflection and formation. The Apostle Paul is an exceptional, almost inimitable, but very stimulating figure for us. He stands before us as an example of total devotion to the Lord and His Church, but also of great openness to humanity and human cultures. So it is right not only to give him a special place in our esteem, but also to try to understand what he wants to tell us the Christians Ján Chryzostom Korec, Ježiš zďaleka a zblízka (Bratislava: Archa, 1990) Aleš Opatrný, Apoštol Pavel (Kostelní Vydří: Karmelitánské nakladatelství, 2008) Benedikt XVI. Apoštoli a prví učeníci Ježiša Krista (Trnava: Dobrá kniha, 2008) Jozeph Ratzinger Benedikt XVI. Pavol, apoštol národov (Trnava: SSV, 2008) Benedikt XVI. Apoštol Ježíše Krista (Kostelní Vydří: Karmelitánské nakladatelství, 2009). 7. New generations represent the potential strength and hope of humanity s future. It is they who will draw on the wisdom of previous generations and the education they can give them today. Looking at today s hope of the world and the Church we have in young people, many can be fearful because they see many young people without a vision of their future, bored and uninterested, a computer generation of many individuals who are often lazy and egoistic. Some countries, especially developing countries, have more than half the population under twenty-five or thirty years. This means millions and millions of children and young people preparing for their adulthood future. (...) These innumerable young people, though dominated by insecurity and fear, or by escaping into indifference and the drug, even tempting nihilism and violence, are largely a force that wants to build a future civilization in the midst of considerable risks. (See Catechesi tradendae). If the pessimistic view of the future prevails in some general views on young people today, it should be pointed out that this is a mistake that has appeared in all periods of mankind: Contemporary youth is rude, ridiculed by authorities and has no respect for the elderly. It does not stand up when an elderly enters the room, talks back to the parents and has fun instead of work. It is completely spoiled Socrates ( BC) (...) These young people are bad to the bone. Young people are malicious and lazy. They will never be like young people in the past. Today s generation cannot preserve our culture. 458 A clay plate found in the ruins of Babylon, 3000 years old. 459 However, it is important to realize that reflections, discussions, and various controversies about the moral state of society, now or in the past, have been and are an integral part of all human history since our ancient ancestors came to a state of self-awareness. Nowadays, when everything is allowed, one is increasingly asking for a reassessment of the values we have lived with. New values should lead mankind out of a situation in which man is, due to the overestimation of his abilities, but mainly the position of material values on the highest pedestal. One wants values that respect human dignity, and these moral values should become an essential concern of man and the social community. 460 Hu- 458 Guy Gilbert, O dětech a výchově, Guy Gilbert, O dětech a výchově, Anna Árpová, Hodnoty človeka v sociálnej práci, in Úlohy zdravotníctva a sociálnej práce v dnešnej spoločnosti. Zborník príspevkov vedeckej konferencie (Rimavská Sobota: Asociácia pre sociálny rozvoj a podporu občanov SR, 2018), 162. With this regard, it is important to ask questions related to structure of such values which add meaning to life. (Miroslav Maňak, Je možné viac porozumieť otázke o zmysle ľudského života pomocou konceptu existenciálneho zážitku? Studia Aloisiana 10, no. 2, (2019): 36.) How can structure of such values be brought closer? One of the alternatives how to come closer to the value system of an individual is to (Miroslav Maňak, Je možné viac porozumieť otázke o zmysle ľudského života pomocou konceptu existenciálneho zážitku? 35.) focus on the concept of existential experience. (Miroslav Maňak, Je možné viac porozumieť otázke o zmysle ľudského života pomocou konceptu existenciálneho zážitku? 35.) It is existential experience that should primarily help find answers to the following two questions: (1) What is the source of values that add meaning to human life? and (2) When do we find values that add meaning to life? If we assume that certain values add meaning to our lives, the first question should reveal the subject of research within the topic of meaning of life. The role of the second question is to find out when man starts to be seriously interested in the issue of meaning of life. (Miroslav Maňak, Je možné viac porozumieť otázke o zmysle ľudského života pomocou konceptu existenciálneho zážitku? 36.)

85 TODAY S INFLUENCE OF THE APOSTLE PAUL ON THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO DIALOGUE VLASTIMIL DUFKA, EMMANUEL JANAGAN JOHNSON, BERNARDO RAMIREZ, ŠIMON MARINČÁK, BOHDAN HROBOŇ, JOZEF TIŇO, ADRIÁN KACIÁN, JOZEF KYSELICA, KAMIL KOLEJÁK manity has come to a situation where its survival requires a re-evaluation of the values we recognize, our needs and desires, behaviour. 461 So if we shape the lives of children and young people according to the life of Jesus Christ, who represents the love sacrificed to the extreme, the love given to all, then there is the hope that such education will raise spiritually healthy people who focus their lives on God s love. For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone (Rom 14:7), is St. Paul s theorem in which he offers us theology of service to others through the person of Jesus Christ. Children and young people not only need normal services out of love from their educators, especially their parents, but we need them to grow up as people of services and sacrifices and therefore they need to perceive and feel this love. 462 The ultimate goal of deeds of service is to help children turn into mature adults who are able to give love to others through deeds of service. It is not only to help their dearest, but also to serve people who cannot pay them back in any way. When children see the example of parents who serve the family and the people behind the walls of their homes every day, they also learn to serve. 463 Conclusion It has always been difficult to raise good people from children and adolescents. It requires a self-sacrificing and loving approach to the whole person, who would not only give the educated the information and skills, but also a piece of himself - from his life, time, 461 Anna Árpová, Hodnotová orientácia človeka vo svete globali(zácie, in Úlohy zdravotníctva a sociálnej práce v dnešnej spoločnosti. Zborník príspevkov vedeckej konferencie 2018 (Rimavská Sobota: Asociácia pre sociálny rozvoj a podporu občanov SR, 2018), Therefore, it is necessary to also consider children and young people with an accent on their human uniqueness (Monika Nová, Chudoba a sociální vyloučení jako společenský problém, in Komunitná starostlivosť v pomáhajúcich profesiách. Recenzovaný zborník z III. Medzinárodenj vedeckej konferencie. ed. Peter Vansač, Daniela Barkasi and Mária Popovičová, (Warsaw: wyzsza szkola finansow i zarzadzania w warszawie. 2017), ) in the light of Christian ethics that anchors the understanding of the human person as a dignified being created in the image of God, emphasizes the commitment of loving one s neighbour, cares for the weak, and fosters compassion and mercy. It does not define conditions under which one can be accepted but rather shows a way towards reconciliation and forgiveness. At the same time, however, it leads back to the right order of things without any glamorization, seeing the human being as erring and sinful. (Monika Nová, Chudoba a sociální vyloučení jako společenský problém, 176.) Such an attitude that is both accepting and realistic is often missing in Christianity in the European context today. (Monika Nová, Chudoba a sociální vyloučení jako společenský problém, ) One example is the lives of those who suffer the most due to the environmental devastation caused by human negligence and climate change (Beáta Áčová, et al., Changes and trends of Pope Francis in social teaching in the Catholic Church, in Zmeny a trendy v medziľudskej komunikácii (Trnava: Ivona Matúšová, 2017). 14) (...) often live in abject poverty and their nations are globally the most vulnerable. (Beáta Áčová, et al., Changes and trends of Pope Francis in social teaching in the Catholic Church, 14). It is Christian ethics that calls for the care of others. (Monika Nová, Chudoba a sociální vyloučení jako společenský problém, 176.) It is, therefore, our duty to responsibly use Earthly goods. This implies acknowledgement of and respect for each human being and all living creatures. The urgent call and challenge to care for the creation are addressed to the whole of humankind that is to strive for sustainable and integral development. (Beáta Áčová, et al., Changes and trends of Pope Francis in social teaching in the Catholic Church, 14). The interconnection of the education and upbringing of children and young people in the context of the understanding of Christian ethics as described above simultaneously leads to a responsible attitude. (Monika Nová, Chudoba a sociální vyloučení jako společenský problém, 176.) Furthermore, it can be viewed as an invaluable contribution to the discussion on the approaches to poverty. (Monika Nová, Chudoba a sociální vyloučení jako společenský problém, 177.) 463 Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell, Děti a pět jazyků lásky, wisdom and especially the example. At present, upbringing is all the more difficult and demanding, because it is eroded and destroyed by competition in the form of peers, media, modern technology, ads, various computer games and so on. To offer children and young people values and teachings that would outweigh the thrilling action scenes of movies, or the various computer effects that you may not even be able to capture and that pull them out of reality is a sisyphean job. Through its educators and teachers, Christianity wants to offer an alternative to the meaning of life to this world of inner disorder and chaos, namely lead them to Jesus Christ. Such an educator was and through his work still is St. Paul, who directed all his life, work and doctrine to Christ from the moment he was addressed by Jesus himself. Saul of Tarsus does not bring up the stunning images and sounds of the screen, but the tenacity and perseverance of love for Christ, for whom he wrote a riveting story in his life. Christian parents and educators can draw upon impulses, strength, wisdom and courage of great Christianity, its faith, doctrine and morality for the upbringing of their children and young people and for their family life. The article from the viewpoint of the implications for further research suggests the preparation of studies that will individually analyse the teachings of St. Paul that could be beneficial for both the educational process and Christian education. In this context, it is also necessary to undertake a more in-depth analysis of his teaching in such a way as to enable us to understand comprehensively how the Apostle Paul loves the Church and brings his people closer to God and to each other through his explanations and considerations. And then to apply this understanding through dialogue, expert discussions and reflections in practice and also in Christian pedagogy and education. Bibliography Áčová, Beáta. et al. 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86 OPEN SPACE FOR A DIALOGUE ON THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE SECOND DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION ON FAMILY JOZEF ŽUFFA, ROMAN KOLLÁR Chapman, Gary and Campbell, Ross Děti a pět jazyků lásky Praha: Návrat domů, John Paul II.: Familiaris consortio. familiaris-consortio.html Katechizmus Katolíckej cirkvi. Trnava: SSV, art Korec, Ján Chryzostom. Ježiš zďaleka a zblízka. Bratislava: Archa, Kováč, Štefan. Pro sacerdote. Topoľčany: Prima print, Maňak, Miroslav. Je možné viac porozumieť otázke o zmysle ľudského života pomocou konceptu existenciálneho zážitku? Studia Aloisiana 10, no. 2, (2019): Mráz, M. Antické inšpirácie výchovného procesu. In O výchove v rodine : Zborník referátov z konferencie, Bratislava: Slovenská spoločnosť pre rodinu a zodpovedné rodičovstvo, Nová, Monika. Chudoba a sociální vyloučení jako společenský problém. In Komunitná starostlivosť v pomáhajúcich profesiách. Recenzovaný zborník z III. Medzinárodenj vedeckej konferencie. edited by Peter Vansač, Daniela Barkasi and Mária Popovičová, Warsaw: wyzsza szkola finansow i zarzadzania w warszawie Ondrejkovič, Peter. Globalizácia a individualizácia mládeže. Bratislava: VEDA, Opatrný, Aleš. Apoštol Pavel. Kostelní Vydří: Karmelitánské nakladatelství, Pius XI. Divini Illius Magistri. enc_ _divini-illius-magistri.html Repáň, Ľudovít. Psychológ bez čakárne. Bratislava: Obzor, Šulák, P. Rozvoj osobnosti a socializácia detí. In Nová evanjelizácia: Zborník sympózia s medzinárodnou účasťou. Bratislava: Teologický inštitút sv. Alojza Spoločnosti Ježišovej na Slovensku, OPEN SPACE FOR A DIALOGUE ON THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE SECOND DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION ON FAMILY* 464 Jozef Žuffa 1,2, Roman Kollár Faculty of Theology of Trnava University, Bratislava (SK) 2 Uniwersytet Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego w Warszawie (PL) 3 Slovak Centre of Scientific and Technical Information Bratislava (SK) Submitted: 22 May 2018 Accepted for publication: 6 December 2018 First published: 15 October 2019 Acta Missiologica No. 2 Vol Abstract Backround: Rapid development of the society has an impact on conditions and life of families. The institution of a traditional family has lost its importance over the last decades, and society forms alternatives to the family. This brief study analyses the reasons and impacts of the demographic transition from the sociological perspective. Conclusion: The combination of traditional and postmodern value attitudes creates for families a frame of continuity but also forms of life that we have not been used to. The issue is so extensive that it offers many interpretative options for social change of families, long-term and current demographic behaviour of population, partnership and family cohabitation. In order to allow for further research, the article proposes to open expert discussions and reflections on these many possibilities for interpretation. These will then provide incentives for the preparation of relevant studies that would examine in more detail the individual areas and new, yet unexplored, correlations within the following topics: social changes in families, long-term and current demographic behaviour of the population, cohabitation of families and couples. Keywords: Family Demography Culture Natality Postmodernism. Introduction Over the past three decades, we can talk about several socially significant changes in Slovakia: in the politics, the totalitarian state system has been replaced by democracy, in the economy, socialism has replaced capitalism, and, in the culture, the one-colour ideology has changed into the worldview of freedom of thought. Since the fall of the so-called Iron Curtain, the world is not easier 466 ; we are also witnessing significant changes in the demographic behaviour of Slovak society. These changes are related, and from the perspective of family issues, it is possible to identify impacts such as the overall decline in birth rate, marriages, increase in divorce rate as well as the number of children born outside of marriage. These changes are associated with the weakening of the institution of the family based on the marriage of man and woman, and in *464 The study was developed as part of the APVV project: Selected Factors of Pro-Family Strategy and Support of a Stable Family in a Multicultural Environment. 465 Contact on author: Doc. Jozef Žuffa, PhD. jozef.zuffa@truni.sk Contact on author: PhDr. et Mgr. Roman Kollár, PhD. roman.kollar@cvtisr.sk 466 Pavel Nováček, The Rise and Fall of Civizations Lessons Learnt from History to Create a Sustainable Future, Acta Missiologica 10, no. 2 (2016):

87 OPEN SPACE FOR A DIALOGUE ON THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE SECOND DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION ON FAMILY JOZEF ŽUFFA, ROMAN KOLLÁR literature they are linked with the concept of the second demographic transition. It has brought declining birth rate that is below the level of natural reproduction. At the same time, parenting has been postponed and the age of marriage rises. 467 Some changes in the development of the second demographic transition in the CEE region occurred in the 1990s, when confronted with limited state options, slowdown in economic growth, and rise in unemployment. 468 In terms of a long-term evaluation of the second demographic transition, however, it can be said that its consequences are generally so serious that in some scientific and social circles we talk about the possibility of downfall of Western culture and civilization. Therefore, some authors speak of challenges and threats of such magnitude and depth that have no parallel in history. 469 According to them, the greatest challenge for the future of sustainability and prosperity of Western culture is the pursuit of stronger commiserating with the people and communities that are culturally and geographically distant from us. 470 The topic of the second demographic transition is complex and it is the subject of scientific research of demographers, sociologists, economists, political scientists, psychologists, theologians and philosophers. The aim of this brief introductory study is to analyse the process of the second demographic transition the assumptions of its origin, the main dimension, and its impacts. Its intention is to contribute to its clarification, especially from the sociological perspective. Demographic Theories of Birth Factors Demographer Dirk J. van de Kaa gives a typology of theories for which he uses the term subnarrative: The search for birth determinants and the change in demographic behaviour during the last half-century can be interpreted as the development of a series of theories from different scientific disciplines and perspectives. 471 The individual demographic theories have been categorized by the author depending on which factors are emphasized while interpreting demographic changes. In this way he identified the following groups of theories: theories emphasizing biological and technological determinants, theories emphasizing economic factors, theories emphasizing social determinants, theories emphasizing the processes of innovation and diffusion, ideological and cultural changes, and theories emphasizing the role of institutional changes. A series of theories emerged as an alternative to the original classical demographic theory. Its central idea is the idea that societies in the process of modernization go through demographic developments from high birth rates and mortality to low birth rates and mortality, i.e. from one balance to the other. This means that the demographic processes of declining birth rate and mortality are the essence of social changes marked collectively as the modernization of society and are therefore de facto a historical necessity. 467 Petr Piler, The influence of Urs Baumann on the understanding of partner relationships and the ethical approach to divorces, Acta Missiologica 10, no. 2 (2016): , 94, 95, 96, 98, Petr Piler, The influence of Urs Baumann on the understanding of partner relationships and the ethical approach to divorces, , 94, 95, 96, 98, Pavel Nováček, The Rise and Fall of Civizations Lessons Learnt from History to Create a Sustainable Future, Pavel Nováček, Potential Development Opportunities for Future Enhancement of Development Cooperation, Acta Missiologica 11, no. 2 (2017): Dirk J. van de Kaa, Anchored Narratives: The Story and Findings of Half a Century of Research into the Determinants of Fertility, Population Studies 50, no. 3 (1996): 20, 21, 389. After World War II, a period of political stabilization, economic boom, and a strong family empowerment took place in Europe. Particularly high marriage and birth rate are the evidence that the family was a significant social institution in the post-war period. An important role in the family during this period was played by economic security, child upbringing, bonding to previous generations and social support 472 For example, as noted by French sociologist Evelyne Sullerot, The baby boom is primarily a work of very young parents. Fertility increases in women younger than 24 years of age. On the contrary, the fertility of women who are more than 30 years old is decreasing everywhere. 473 The author adds that in the whole Europe, from 1946 to 1964, the birth rate is more than 2.5 children per woman. Another author, French demographer Gérard Francois Dumont 474, calls this period European Spring. 475 The second demographic transition originated in Western societies in the mid-1960s as the silent revolution. The second demographic transition was preceded by the first demographic transition. Its origins date back to the early 19th century, when mortality declined sharply in modernizing Western societies as a result of the development of science (particularly medicine) and technology. This change has increased birth rate, and while infant mortality decreased, we can explain the demographic transition that has taken place 476 This opens up the space for strengthening of family patterns and the search for adequate lifestyles. The work became the world of men and the family the world of women. The women had a fixed role in marriage and family - as a devoted wife and mother whose central role was to be there for others. 477 The difference between the first and the second demographic transition is described by Dirk J. van de Kaa in his works through a pair of key words describing the values, norms and attitudes standing behind these processes. In his basic study titled The second demographic transition in Europe he uses the term altruistic for the first and the term individualistic for the second demographic transition. While the first transition underlined the family and the offspring, the latter emphasizes the rights and self-fulfilment of an individual. The above-mentioned typology by Dirk J. van de Kaa has been inspired by an American sociologist and director of the World Values Survey Ronald F. Inglehart of Michigan University, who distinguishes materialistic and postmaterialist values, while the transition from the first to the second demographic transition he perceives as a shift from materialism to post-materialism. 478 The second demographic transition, therefore, represents in particular cultural change. The biggest change brought about by the second demographic transition is, according to van de Kaa, the formation of a postmodern culture. It is characterized in particular by distrust of authorities and great theories (Metanarratives) the grand stories, but also belief in the progress and value of the work are weakened Petr Piler, The influence of Urs Baumann on the understanding of partner relationships and the ethical approach to divorces, , 94, 95, 96, 98, Evelyne Sullerot, Krize rodiny (Praha: Karolinum,1998), 50, See: Gérard Francois Dumont, Kronova hostina Sociálno-demografický vývoj Európy (Bratislava: Charis,1995) Dirk J. van de Kaa, Anchored Narratives, 20, 21, Paul Johnson, Zrození moderní doby. Devatenácté století. (Praha: Academia, 1998) , Petr Piler, The influence of Urs Baumann on the understanding of partner relationships and the ethical approach to divorces, , 94, 95, 96, 98, Johnson, Zrození moderní doby, , Dirk J. van de Kaa, The Idea of a Second Demographic Transition in Industrialized Countries, National Institute of Population and Social Security. (Tokyo: 2002): 6, 14,

88 OPEN SPACE FOR A DIALOGUE ON THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE SECOND DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION ON FAMILY JOZEF ŽUFFA, ROMAN KOLLÁR The main demographic consequence of the second demographic transition is the decline in birth rate up to the retention level, i.e. 2.1 children per woman. As shown by general fertility data in selected countries of the world (Table 1), the second demographic transition is taking place in all developed countries. Table 1: Total Fertility in Selected States of the World (2017) Australia 1.9 South Korea 1.3 Romania 1.5 Belgium 1.8 Canada 1.6 Russia 1.7 Bulgaria 1.6 Lithuania 1.6 Slovakia 1.4 Czech Republic 1.5 Latvia 1.5 Slovenia 1.6 Denmark 1.7 Republic of Macedonia 1.6 Serbia 1.6 Estonia 1.6 Hungary 1.4 Spain 1.4 Finland 1.8 Malta 1.5 Switzerland 1.6 France 2.0 Germany 1.4 Sweden 1.9 Greece 1.3 Norway 1.8 Italy 1.5 Netherlands 1.8 Poland 1.3 Ukraine 1.6 Croatia 1.5 Portugal 1,2 USA 1.9 Japan 1.5 Austria 1.5 Great Britain 1.8 Source: World Population Review Another demographic consequence of current demographic changes is the increase in extramarital fertility. Due to the fact that marriage has lost the status of the institution and the general context of child bearing and childcare, the number of children born outside of marriage has also grown in developed societies. The Scandinavian countries have the highest number of children born outside of marriage. The process of change from marital to extramarital fertility progressed very quickly. For example, while in Denmark in 1965 there was not even one child born outside of marriage per 10 born children, in 1975 it was already every fifth child and in 1983 almost every second child. 480 In addition to the fact that fewer marriages were found in modern societies, a considerable part of them began to disintegrate. Basically all of these countries experienced a significant increase in divorce rate. In the period from 1975 to 1985, the divorce rate in Austria increased from 19.7 to 30.8, in France from 15.6 to 30.4, in Norway from 20.2 to 32.6, in the Netherlands from 20 to 34.4 and in England from 16.2 to In England, in 1938, the rate was only 1 divorce per 58 marriages. But nowadays, almost every third marriage there ends with divorce. 482 The change in age structure and subsequent population aging in advanced Western societies will soon result in a gradual decline of population. According to demographic forecasts of Dirk J. van de Kaa, compared to other countries in the world, all European countries should have expe- rienced a significant population decline by While in 1985, 25 most populated countries in the world included 7 European countries, it will be probably only 2 countries in Socio-demographic changes in Slovakia As can be seen from the data in Tables no. 2, 3 and 4, these changes are also significant in the region of Central and Eastern Europe and can be characterized as a decline in birth rates, marriage, and abortion (especially in younger age groups) and an increase in divorce rate, contraceptive use and the number of children born outside of marriage. Table 2: Overview of indicators of fertility behaviour in Slovakia Indicator Live-born Born outside of marriage (%) Total fertility Net reproduction rate Average age of woman at birth ,085 (7.57) 2, (40.23) 1, Artificial abortion Artificial abortion gross rate Total Artificial Abortion Number of women in fertile age taking contraception Of which: Hormonal (%) Intrauterine (%) Another Sources: Infostat, National Health Information Center ,229 Table 3: Overview of marital behaviour indicators in Slovakia Year 1995 Year (7.1) (8.3) Indicator Marriages Gross marriage rate Average age of men at marriage Average age of women at marriage Divorces Gross divorce rate Divorce Index Source: Infostat (18.1) (3.7) Dirk J. van de Kaa, The Idea of a Second Demographic 6, 14, Evelyne Sullerot, Krize rodiny (Praha: Karolinum,1998), 50, Matthew Fforde, Desocializácia. Kríza postmodernity (Bratislava: Lúč, 2010), Dirk J. van de Kaa, Europe s Second Demographic Transition, Population Bulletin 42, no. 1, (1987):

89 OPEN SPACE FOR A DIALOGUE ON THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE SECOND DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION ON FAMILY JOZEF ŽUFFA, ROMAN KOLLÁR Table 4: Overview of some other indicators of demographic behaviour in Slovakia Indicator Population size Natural increase Migration increase Total increase Deaths The gross mortality rate Infant mortality Average age Ageing index Source: Infostat , , After 1990, Slovakia also experienced other demographic changes, such as a decrease in infant mortality and an increase in the average age of citizens lives. These changes are very closely related, they have been carried out as mutually intertwined, when often one was the cause of the latter, and their central feature has been the decline in childbirth to deep below the retention level, i.e. 2.1 children per woman. At present, the overall fertility indicator 484 in Slovakia is 1.4, which is almost the lowest figure in Europe. Conclusion The second demographic transition is associated with a change in the understanding of a family that is based on marriage. Dirk J. van de Kaa notes that while the family was a stable and important social institution during the first demographic transition, during the second demographic transition, its status in Western societies was significantly weakened. 485 The author interprets this fault as follows: What emerges from the demographic perspective as a key element of the change is the fact that the relationship between man and woman becomes more and more a means of reciprocal emotional fulfilment, to which the birth of a child may, but also may not contribute. The values of self-esteem, dignity and freedom of individuals (...) are often emphasized in this relationship as the rights of self-realization. Interpersonal relationships are expected to be based on love, mutual attraction, and openness, and will end when the independence of individuals is violated. (...). Marriage as an institution providing economic security and as an important permanent social structure focused on saturation of the functions of biological reproduction and socialization of children is no longer universally considered necessary. 486 Despite the weakened marriage institution, however, the need for the development of sealing bonds, personal development and spiritual needs remains unchanged. 487 The development of families reflects significant changes in society. In Slovakia, almost the lowest number of children is born today compared to other European countries. These changes in patterns of demographic behaviour occurred in Slovakia in parallel with changes in politics, economics and culture after the fall of the Iron Curtain in The combination of traditional and postmodern value attitudes creates for families a frame of continuity but also forms of life that we have not been used to. The issue is so extensive that it offers many interpretative op- tions for social change of families, long-term and current demographic behaviour of population, partnership and family cohabitation. In order to allow for further research, the article proposes to open expert discussions and reflections on these many possibilities for interpretation. These will then provide incentives for the preparation of relevant studies that would examine in more detail the individual areas and new, yet unexplored, correlations within the following topics: social changes in families, long-term and current demographic behaviour of the population, cohabitation of families and couples. Bibliography Dumont, Gérard Francois. Kronova hostina Sociálno-demografický vývoj Európy. Bratislava: Charis,1995. Fforde, Matthew. Desocializácia. Kríza postmodernity. Bratislava: Lúč, Johnson, Paul. Zrození moderní doby. Devatenácté století. Praha: Academia, Nováček, Pavel. The Rise and Fall of Civizations Lessons Learnt from History to Create a Sustainable Future. Acta Missiologica 10, no. 2 (2016): com Nováček, Pavel. Potential Development Opportunities for Future Enhancement of Development Cooperation. Acta Missiologica 11, no. 2 (2017): com Piler, Petr. The influence of Urs Baumann on the understanding of partner relationships and the ethical approach to divorces. Acta Missiologica 10, no. 2 (2016): com Sullerot, Evelyne. Krize rodiny. Praha: Karolinum, Tomiczek, Václav and Slaný, Jaroslav. Spiritual Support for Families in the Context of Early Childhood Care. Acta Missiologica 11, no. 2 (2017): com Van de Kaa, Dirk J. The Idea of a Second Demographic Transition in Industrialized Countries. Tokyo: National Institute of Population and Social Security, , 14, Van de Kaa, Dirk J. Anchored Narratives: The Story and Findings of Half a Century of Research into the Determinants of Fertility. Population Studies 50, no. 3 (1996): 20, 21, 389. Van de Kaa, Dirk J. Europe s Second Demographic Transition. Population. Bulletin 42, no. 1 (1987): Total fertility is the average number of children born to one woman throughout her life. 485 Dirk J. van de Kaa, The Idea of a Second Demographic, 6, 14, Dirk J. van de Kaa, The Idea of a Second Demographic 6, 14, Václav Tomiczek, and Jaroslav Slaný, Spiritual Support for Families in the Context of Early

90 HEALTH CARE OF SLOVAK HOMELESS IN THE PERIOD : A SPACE FOR A DIALOGUE IN INTERDISCIPLINARY COOPERATION AIMED AT EXAMINING ECONOMIC ASPECTS MARTIN SAMOHYL, PAVOL BENO, KATARINA HIROSOVA, LUBICA ARGALASOVA, PAVEL STUKOVSKY, LUCIA LUDVIGH CINTULOVA, JANA JURKOVICOVA HEALTH CARE OF SLOVAK HOMELESS IN THE PERIOD : A SPACE FOR A DIALOGUE IN INTERDISCIPLINARY COOPERATION AIMED AT EXAMINING ECONOMIC ASPECTS Martin Samohyl 1 488, Pavol Beno 2 Katarina Hirosova 1 Lubica Argalasova 1 Pavel Stukovsky 3 Lucia Ludvigh Cintulova 4 Jana Jurkovicova 1 The brief descriptive and economic study is the first of its kind and a rather sporadic one regarding its topic, as it aims at improvement of homeless patients health condition in Slovakia, suggesting several relevant implications for further research, for example in the field of individual economic aspects of the provision of medical assistance to such patients. Keywords: Homelessness Annual Percent Change Health Care Dialogue Homeless Treatment. 1 Institute of Hygiene, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava (SK) 2 Department of Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences and Social Work, Trnava University in Trnava (SK) 3 Institute of Public Policy, Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava (SK) 4 St. Elizabeth University of Health and Social Science, Bratislava (SK) Submitted: 24 November 2018 Accepted for publication: 4 September 2019 First published: 15 October 2019 Acta Missiologica No. 2 Vol Abstract Background: Homeless are vulnerable group in receiving of healthcare. Homeless treatments plays an important role health insurance system, health policy. Results of our study support the assumption that decreasing the rates of homelessness will assist the health system at large. The data for descriptive and economic study were obtained from the health insurance company, which evaluated number and cost of treatments in homeless without health insurance. It was analysed 826 of homeless treatments. The trend analysis in two-subperiods was evaluated by the average annual percent change indicator. Results: The highest number of homeless treatments (97.1%) was observed in the first half of 2015 years (p<0.01). Higher number of homeless treatments was found also in the first half of 2016 years (73.5%; p<0.01) but in 2017, it was observed higher number of homeless treatments in the second half of years (57.1%; p<0.05). In the first sub-period of , the average annual percent change of homeless treatments cost were found significant decrease about 3.3%. Conclusion: Homelessness in Slovakia and also in countries of Central and Eastern Europe needs community based strategies to reduce homelessness, to prevent social exclusion (through charity, organizations providing social services) and national health policy based regulations/guidelines for providing of healthcare with a view to improve health status (health outcomes) of homeless people. Contact on author: PhDr. Ing. Martin Samohyl, PhD. martin.samohyl@fmed.uniba.sk Contact on author: Asoc. prof. PharmDr. Pavol Beno, CSc. pavol.beno18@gmail.com Contact on author: RNDr. Katarina Hirosova, PhD. katarina.hirosova@fmed.uniba.sk Contact on author: Asoc. prof. MUDr. Lubica Argalasova, PhD., MPH. lubica.argalasova@ fmed.uniba.sk Contact on author: Mgr. Pavel Stukovsky pavel@stukovsky.eu Contact on author: PhDr. Lucia Ludvigh Cintulova, PhD. luciacin83@gmail.com Contact on author: prof. MUDr. Jana Jurkovicova, CSc. jana.jurkovicova@fmed.uniba.sk Introduction The homelessness is socio-pathological phenomena. 489 The most of the homeless people need the complex health and social services based on the case management. 490 The causes of homelessness are migration, unemployment and poverty, health problems, ageing, affordable housing, relationship breakdowns (e.g. divorce). 491 The OECD data suggests that 8 people in working-age people have no stable housing and 8-10% of families have difficulty housing costs. 492 The homelessness prevalence is increasing in high-income countries. 493 It is very difficult to count all people living on the street including those who take it as own lifestyle. 494 At present, we do not know the exact number of people without home in the Slovakia. OECD estimated homeless people number in selected countries (the Czech Republic: 0.65%; Hungary: 0.10%; Poland: 0.10%) but not Slovakia. 495 Worldwide, there were found health inequalities in homeless people for example frequent use of hospital services, higher morbidity, shorter life expectancy, limited access to preventive, primary health services, and later diagnosis of disease risk. 496,497 The routine medical treatment is extraordinarily difficult in homeless. The frequently diseases in homeless are traumatic disorders, skin lesions, respiratory diseases (tuberculosis), alcoholism, infectious and mental diseases. Homeless people have a death-increased risk. In present, it is no available data about number and cost of treatments in homeless in Slovakia. For this reason, this unique descriptive study has analysed the number and cost of treatments in the period Peter Laca, Prostitúcia ako sociálno-patologický jav, Acta Missiologica 5, no. 1, (2011): Libuša Radková and Anna Pavlovičová, Management of Social Services in the Post Communist Country-Slovakia, in Business and Health Administration Proceedings, Chicago: Avinandan Mukherjee Editor, Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion, European Commission, accessed November 15, 2018, Homelessness, the homeless, and integrated social services, In Integrating Social Services for Vulnerable Groups. Bridging Sectors for Better Service Delivery Commission staff working document. Confronting homelessness in the European Union, European Commission, accessed November 15, 2018, F/?uri=CELEX:52013SC0042&from=EN 494 Ladislav Šoltés, Libuša Radková, Mária Davideková and Anna Pavlovičová, Sociálna komunikácia v zdravotníctve, in Vybrané kapitoly z medicínskej etiky, eds. Ladislav Šoltés and Rudolf Pullman et al., (Martin : OSVETA, 2008). 495 HC3.1 Homeless Population, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, accessed November 15, 2018, Katherine Rieke, Ann Smolsky and Erin Bock et al. Mental and nonmental health hospital admissions among chronically homeless adults before and after supportive housing placement, Social Work in Public Health 30, no. 6, (2015): Stafford A and Wood L. Tackling Health Disparities for People Who Are Homeless? Start with Social Determinants, Int J Environ Res Public Health 14, no. 12, (2017): pii: E

91 HEALTH CARE OF SLOVAK HOMELESS IN THE PERIOD : A SPACE FOR A DIALOGUE IN INTERDISCIPLINARY COOPERATION AIMED AT EXAMINING ECONOMIC ASPECTS MARTIN SAMOHYL, PAVOL BENO, KATARINA HIROSOVA, LUBICA ARGALASOVA, PAVEL STUKOVSKY, LUCIA LUDVIGH CINTULOVA, JANA JURKOVICOVA Material and methods The data for descriptive and economy study were obtained from the General Health Insurance Company in Slovakia on our request, which evaluated number and cost of treatments in homeless. The homeless treatments cost are paid by the Ministry of Health and than the cost are charged to the General Health Insurance Company in Slovakia. It was analysed 826 of homeless treatments who did not prove the insurance relationship with the insurance card and they had the debt in public health insurance in two-subperiods in Slovakia. The trend analysis in two-subperiods was evaluated by the average annual percent change (AAPC), an indicator 498 which analysed growth/decline of selected factors in evaluated period ( ): where x was represented input vector of treatments number or homeless treatments cost in year i in period n. Results The average annual percent change of treatments number and homeless treatments cost in the period in Slovakia can be seen in Table 1. The highest number of homeless treatments (97.1%) was observed in the first half of 2015 years (p<0.01). Higher number of homeless treatments was found also in the first half of 2016 years (73.5%; p<0.01) but in 2017, it was observed higher number of homeless treatments in the second half of years (57.1%; p<0.05). In the first sub-period of , the AAPC of homeless treatments number were achieved significant decrease while it was found increase the AAPC of homeless treatments number about 0.7% in the second sub-period of The highest cost of homeless treatments (20,333 ) was observed in the first half of 2015 years (p<0.01). The significant higher cost of homeless treatments was achieved also in the first half of 2016 and 2017 (p<0.05). In the first sub-period of , the AAPC of homeless treatments cost were found significant decrease about 3.3%. Tab 1 Number and cost of homeless treatments and AAPC, (n=826) Characteristics Periods of the year AAPC n (%) p n (%) p n (%) p (%) < (73.5) < (42.9) < * Number of Treatments 1 1 st half 2 nd half 410 (97.1) 12 (2.9) 30 (26.5) 166 (57.1) 0.7 Cost of 1 st half 20,333 2,730 2, * Treatments <0.01 <0.05 < nd half 1,317 3,416 1, * p<0.05 in the period (Nonparametric Wilcoxon test) 1 no prove the insurance relationship with the insurance card 498 Limin X. Clegg, Benjamin F. Hankey and Ram Tiwari, Estimating average annual per cent change in trend analysis, Statistic in Medicine 28, no. 29, (2009): Discussion We found none study in MEDLINE dealing with economic aspects in receiving healthcare in homeless patients in Slovakia. It is one of the first descriptive and economic study which evaluates health care of homeless in Slovakia. In Slovakia homeless people have a right to emergency health care. It the second half of years 2015 and 2016 was found lower homeless number of treatments. It can be explained that homeless who was treated in December was conducted as treatment in January (in the first half of 2015 and 2016) by health insure company. During the winter, it was recorded a higher trend of homeless treatments for undercoating, frostbite, injuries and other complications resulting from street life. In the study by Schanzer et al. 499 evaluating health status of 445 newly homeless was observed significant improvements of homeless health status who were insured. It is difficult to collect health care data from homeless who are insured. It was be possible involved non-governmental and charitable organizations. For the future, we plan to collect data from homeless according to the international classification of diseases because in the study Kaduszkiewicz et al. 500 which analysed non-scientific and scientific publications in the period was found that 75% of homeless suffer a mental illness. In this study, the somatic problems was observed in 6-14% of homeless, cardiovascular disorders (7-20%), intoxications and injuries (5-15%), parasitic diseases and infectious (10-16%). The treatment failure from reasons the lack of co-operation in homeless was observed in more studies. 501,502 In the study Matsumoto et al. 13 were evaluated 433 homeless tuberculosis patients and 3,047 non-homeless tuberculosis patients. Homeless tuberculosis patients had a higher rate of default failure. Conclusion Homelessness is growing and serious social, health, and public health problem. Homeless people are vulnerable group in receiving health care. Homeless treatments plays an important role in health insurance system and in national health policy. In the first sub-period of , it was achieved significant decrease of the AAPC of homeless treatments number while it was found increase of the AAPC of homeless treatments number in the second sub-period of Our study support the assumption that decreasing the rates of homelessness will assist the health system at large in addition to increasing the employment rate. Homelessness in Slovakia and also in countries of Central and Eastern Europe needs community based strategies to reduce homelessness, to prevent social exclusion (through charity, organizations providing social services) and national health policy based regulations/guidelines for providing of healthcare with a view to improve health status (health outcomes) of homeless people. 499 Bella Schanzer, Boanerges Dominguez and Patrick E. Shrout, et. al., Homelessness, Health Status, and Health Care Use, American Journal of Public Health 97, no. 3, (2007): Hanna Kaduszkiewicz, Benjamin Bochon, and Hendrik van_den_bussche, et al., The Medical Treatment of Homeless People, Dtsch Arztebl Int. 114, no. 40, (2017): Matsumoto K, Komukai J and Kasai S, et al. Medication support and treatment outcome in homeless patients with tuberculosis, Kekkaku 88, no. 9, (2018): Otavio T. Ranzani, Carlos R. R. Carvalho, Eliseu A. Waldman et al. The impact of being homeless on the unsuccessful outcome of treatment of pulmonary TB in São Paulo State, Brazil, BMC Medicine 14, 41, (2016):

92 HEALTH CARE OF SLOVAK HOMELESS IN THE PERIOD : A SPACE FOR A DIALOGUE IN INTERDISCIPLINARY COOPERATION AIMED AT EXAMINING ECONOMIC ASPECTS MARTIN SAMOHYL, PAVOL BENO, KATARINA HIROSOVA, LUBICA ARGALASOVA, PAVEL STUKOVSKY, LUCIA LUDVIGH CINTULOVA, JANA JURKOVICOVA The brief descriptive and economic study in question, so far the first and one of a kind in this field, proposes the following to improve the health status of homeless patients in Slovakia in order to allow for further research: preparation of other relevant studies which will examine in detail the individual important economic aspects and new, yet unexplored, correlations in providing healthcare to homeless patients in Slovakia and its evaluation; in order to provide the most interesting and new correlations, the data in this research on the health status of the homeless should also be collected from the International Classification of Diseases; during the preparation of other relevant studies that will examine in detail the important economic aspects of providing healthcare to homeless patients in Slovakia and its evaluation, an interdisciplinary cooperation should be started that is related to these aspects in the widest sense possible this also provides space for a scientific dialogue on the health status of the homeless in Slovakia. It can thus provide new inspiring incentives in the field of new solutions for improvements in this field, which will help to gradually establish new practical applications in this field. Ranzani, Otavio T., Carvalho, Carlos R. R. and Waldman, Eliseu A. et al. The impact of being homeless on the unsuccessful outcome of treatment of pulmonary TB in São Paulo State, Brazil. BMC Medicine 14, 41, (2016): 13. DOI: /s Stafford A and Wood L. Tackling Health Disparities for People Who Are Homeless? Start with Social Determinants. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2017; 14 (12): pii: E1535. doi: /ijerph Schanzer, Bella, Dominguez, Boanerges and Shrout, Patrick E. et. al., Homelessness, Health Status, and Health Care Use, American Journal of Public Health 97, no. 3, (2007): doi: / AJPH Šoltés, Ladislav, Radková, Libuša Davideková, Mária and Pavlovičová, Anna. Sociálna komunikácia v zdravotníctve, in Vybrané kapitoly z medicínskej etiky. edited by. Ladislav Šoltés and Pullman, Rudolf. et al. Martin: OSVETA, Bibliography Clegg, Limin X., Hankey, Benjamin F. and Tiwari, Ram. Estimating average annual per cent change in trend analysis. Statistic in Medicine 28, no. 29, (2009): Homelessness, the homeless, and integrated social services. In Integrating Social Services for Vulnerable Groups. Bridging Sectors for Better Service Delivery EUROPEAN COMMISSION. Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion. accessed November 15, 2018, EUROPEAN COMMISSION. Commission staff working document. Confronting homelessness in the European Union. accessed November 15, 2018, PDF/?uri=CELEX:52013SC0042&from=EN Kaduszkiewicz, Hanna, Bochon, Benjamin and van_den_bussche, Hendrik. et al., The Medical Treatment of Homeless People. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 114, no. 40, (2017): doi: /arztebl Laca, Peter. Prostitúcia ako sociálno-patologický jav, Acta Missiologica 5, no. 1, (2011): Matsumoto K, Komukai J and Kasai S, et al. Medication support and treatment outcome in homeless patients with tuberculosis. Kekkaku 88, no. 9, (2018): ORGANIZATION FOR ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT. HC3.1 Homeless Population. accessed November 15, 2018, pdf Radková, Libuša and Pavlovičová, Anna. Management of Social Services in the Post Communist Country-Slovakia. In Business and Health Administration Proceedings, Chicago: Avinandan Mukherjee Editor Rieke, Katherine, Smolsky Ann and Bock, Erin. et al. Mental and nonmental health hospital admissions among chronically homeless adults before and after supportive housing placement. Social Work in Public Health 30, no. 6, (2015):

93 EARLY DETECTION OF ADVERSE THERAPY REACTIONS IN ORPHAN CHILDREN WITH AIDS (SHORT COMMUNICATION) PERI HAJ ALI, SELVARAJ SUBRAMANIAN, VERONICA SLADECKOVA, JOHN BZYDZOVSKY, BARBARA DURCOVA, ZUZANA KUBALIKOVA, MICHAEL OLAH, LUDMILA MAT- ULNÍKOVA, VLADIMIR KRCMERY, ANTON DOKTOROV, ANNA BERESOVA, FERDINAND KUBIK, MILAN FULA, JANA OTRUBOVA, DAGMAR HELENA KALATOVA, EVA KUKUCKOVA, SUZAN JURINOVA, JURAJ BENCA, ANDREA SHAHUM, LEANGHOIN HOIN, SAOSENG SETA EARLY DETECTION OF ADVERSE THERAPY REACTIONS IN ORPHAN CHILDREN WITH AIDS (SHORT COMMUNICATION) Peri Haj Ali 1 1, 503 Selvaraj Subramanian 1,2, Veronica Sladeckova 1, John Bzydzovsky 1,4, Barbara Durcova 1, Zuzana Kubalikova 1, Michael Olah 1, Ludmila Matulníkova 1, Vladimir Krcmery 5, Anton Doktorov 4, Anna Beresova 1, Ferdinand Kubik 1, Milan Fula 1, Jana Otrubova 4, Dagmar Helena Kalatova 1,4, Eva Kukuckova 3, Suzan Jurinova 1, Juraj Benca 1, Andrea Shahum 1,6, Leanghoin Hoin 1, Saoseng Seta 1 1 St Maximillian Kolbe House of Family, House of Hope, SEUC PhD. and MSc. Programme Phnom Penh (KH) 2 Nutrition MSc. programme SEUC Kuala Lumpur (MY) 3 School of Missiology St. John Paul II. programme in Vietnam (VN) 4 St John Neumann school of Nursing Pribram (CZ) 5 School of Medicine Institute of Microbiology of of Comenius University in Bratislava (SK) 6 Medical University of NC at Chapel Hill, SC (US), STD programme in Kwang Szhou Canton Prov China, PR (CN) especially with orphans, where the parents supervising is absent. 505 Confirmation usually can be easily done by point of care testing of blood, urine etc. Easily performed and cheap point of care rapid tests are available even in developing countries and can confirm or exclude drug-related toxicity in this vulnerable group of children suffering from once deadly disease. 506 The aim of this research communication is to focus on early detection of adverse drug reactions in HIV positive children orphans in an urban HIV tropical paediatric programme in the streets of Phnom Penh Kingdom of Cambodia from 2017 to 2018 and to assess protective factors for early detection of drug-related toxicity. Patients and Methods Two orphanages, first one in Phnom Penh, and second one in Sihanoukville, were designed for early detection of drug-related toxicity in indoor observed orphans, previously street children, and children from incomplete families devastated by parental HIV infection. 82 children receiving full board housing school and health care because of their orphan status within tropical paediatric programme of SEUC in Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville were daily observed by social workers and teachers and once per month checked by the doctor in when the daily presence of medical staff was replaced by social workers, teachers and boarding staff, and doctor s check was done only once a month. Submitted: 6 November 2018 Accepted for publication: 12 July 2019 First published: 15 October 2019 Acta Missiologica No. 2 Vol Abstract Backround: Adverse reactions are one of major limitations of antiretroviral therapy in adults, but also in children despite of better organ reserve, are susceptible for specific types of toxicity of anti-hiv acting agents. Conclusion: This short research communication provides results from the early detection of of adverse reactions in HIV positive children orphans in an urban HIV tropical paediatric programme in the streets of Phnom Penh Kingdom of Cambodia from 2017 to 2018 and to assess protective factors for early detection of drug-related toxicity. Keywords: Paediatric HIV Adverse reactions Antiretroviral therapy Orphan children. Results and discussion By close observation by staff several adverse reaction has been detected in 32 of 80 children (40%) two of them life threatening, resulting to the change of the strategy of monthly observation by doctors or medical staff back to daily check. Life threatening AE were haematological, resulting to severe anaemia due to aplasia of bone marrow after ARV combination plus antibiotics (Cotrimoxazol). Both were saved in very last time by blood transfusions in hospital. Other AE were minor, mainly diarrhoea after antimicrobials due to opportunistic infections, second gynecomastia in males, skin diseases due to drug allergy, all minor. Paradoxically, orphan status was protective in those children, because of daily monitoring due to the full board regimen: 3 daily meals, accommodation, school, daily several contact with teachers and social workers and other mainly local non-medical staff. 507 In comparison to HIV positive children from Africa, (e.g. Uganda), where most children stay with at least one of family members at home, such detection is paradoxically less common and might result to severe toxicity more frequently. 508 Introduction Among children with AIDS, success of the therapy of this otherwise deadly disease strongly depends on the adherence to ARV reflecting also to adverse drug reactions (AE) of antiretrovirals (ARV). 504 Therefore, close monitoring of AE in children with AIDS is mandatory, and is not the role only for pharmacologist or even medical staff but especially teachers and social workers who are spending their time playing, teaching just observing and communicating with to treated children, Contact on all authors: MUDr. Peri Haj Ali, PhD. peri.haj.ali@hotmail.com 504 Hoin, L., Palun, M. Gallo, A. et al. Orphan Status may be Protective Factor Against Severe Toxicity of HIV Therapy in Children from Resource-limited Settings (Case report), Clinical Social Work and Health Intervention 9, no. 3, 2018: Shahum, A., Benca, J. Liskova, A. et al.: Longitudinal survey of ATB resistance reversibility in children with AIDS of genocide survivors in Cambodia, Clinical Social Work and Health Intervention 7, no. 3, 2016: Hoin, L., Palun, M. Gallo, A. et al, Orphan Status may be Protective Factor Against Severe Toxicity of HIV Therapy in Children from Resource-limited Settings (Case report), 71 73; Shahum, A., Benca, J. Liskova, A. et al, Longitudinal survey of ATB resistance reversibility in children with AIDS of genocide survivors in Cambodia, Hoin, L., Palun, M. Gallo, A. et al, Orphan Status may be Protective Factor Against Severe Toxicity of HIV Therapy in Children from Resource-limited Settings (Case report), 71 73; Shahum, A., Benca, J. Liskova, A. et al, Longitudinal survey of ATB resistance reversibility in children with AIDS of genocide survivors in Cambodia, Kafkova, J,Silharova, B.: Lack of knowledge is no excuse HIV positive patient with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy. Case report from Kenya, Neuroendocrinol Lett 38(Suppl.1), 2017:

94 MEDICAL ASSISTANCE IN DYING: THE CONFLICT BETWEEN THE PRINCIPLES OF AUTONOMY AND NON MALEFICENCE AND THE NEED FOR A DIALOGUE MICHAEL M. COSTELLO Tab.1 Commonest AE in infants with AIDS in Phnom Penh Adverse reaction (AE) Symptoms No. of cases Severe aplastic anaemia Fatigue, malaise, depression 6 (2 sub-fatal) Gynecomastia Breast deformation, shame at sport activity 2 Liver toxicity Jaundice, abdominal discomfort, loss of appetite 14 Skin disorders Dermatitis, rash, urticarial, itching 12 Cardiomyopathy Cardiomegaly, disrythmia 1 Hypothyreosis Bradycardia, nanismus 1 MEDICAL ASSISTANCE IN DYING: THE CONFLICT BETWEEN THE PRINCIPLES OF AUTONOMY AND NON MALEFICENCE AND THE NEED FOR A DIALOGUE Michael M. Costello 509 The University of Scranton, Pennsylvania (US) Submitted: 1 October 2018 Accepted for publication: 25 August 2019 First published: 15 October 2019 Acta Missiologica No. 2 Vol Conclusions The commonest AE s among children/orphans with AIDS was bone marrow suppression with anaemia and liver toxicity with jaundince and/or diarrhoea. Cardiac and endocrine disorders were observed as well in two cases, ARV led to subletal sever AE. Gynecomastia, jaundice, dermatitis can be easily diagnosed just by visual observation. Diarrhoea, malaise, foodintolerance, lethargy, easy by anamnesis plus observation by non-medical staff. Bibliography Hoin, L., Palun, M. Gallo, A. et al. Orphan Status may be Protective Factor Against Severe Toxicity of HIV Therapy in Children from Resource-limited Settings (Case report). In Clinical Social Work and Health Intervention 9, no. 3, 2018: Journal DOI /cswhi Issue DOI /cswhi_9_3 Kafkova, J,Silharova, B.: Lack of knowledge is no excuse HIV positive patient with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy. Case report from Kenya. In Neuroendocrinol Lett 38(Suppl.1), 2017: Shahum, A., Benca, J. Liskova, A. et al.: Longitudinal survey of ATB resistance reversibility in children with AIDS of genocide survivors in Cambodia. In Clinical Social Work and Health Intervention 7, no. 3, 2016: 7 9. Journal DOI /cswhi Issue DOI /cswhi_7_3 Abstract Backround: Proponents of assisted suicide and euthanasia, now collectively referred to as medical assistance-in-dying, often argue from the bioethical principle of autonomy. Opponents should consider the principle of non-maleficence in arguing against assisted suicide and euthanasia. It is important to conduct a dialogue. The aim of this brief study is to briefly focus on the concepts of assisted suicide, autonomy and ethical principle of nonmaleficence. Conclusion: In practice, it is necessary to take into account the principle of the so-called nonmaleficence. For this reason, the article in question proposes at the level of application implications to create space for expert reflections and dialogues on this issue both aimed at taking into account the principle of the so-called nonmaleficence and the possibilities of applying it into practice by conducting both expert discussions and non-expert discussions. Keywords: Assisted suicide Euthanasia Medical assistance-in-dying Ethical principle of non-maleficence. Introduction Medical assistance-in-dying is a relatively new term in the vocabulary of bioethics. Part of the title of recent national legislation in Canada, the term combines the concepts of assisted suicide and euthanasia. Proponents of both concepts have sought to lessen the previously recognized distinction between assisted suicide and euthanasia by arguing the similarity between the two. The aim of this brief study is to briefly focus on the concepts of assisted suicide, autonomy and ethical principle of nonmaleficence. Assisted suicide has evolved from the previously recognized notion of physician-assisted suicide; the act by which a physician most typically provided medication to a patient who wished to end his or her life. The physician did not administer the medication to the patient. The decision as to when or if to end the individuals life was to be made by the person themselves. Gradually, the need for physician involvement diminished in the discussion and advocates advanced the idea that assistance from someone other than a physician should be permitted in facilitating the suicide of a patient. Active euthanasia occurs when someone other than the patient undertakes an act to purposely end the life of a patient. The act itself may be performed with or without consent of the patient. Contact on author: Dr. Michael M. Costello JD, MBA, MA michael.costello@scranton.edu

95 MEDICAL ASSISTANCE IN DYING: THE CONFLICT BETWEEN THE PRINCIPLES OF AUTONOMY AND NON MALEFICENCE AND THE NEED FOR A DIALOGUE MICHAEL M. COSTELLO As of the summer of 2018, eight states in the United States have legalized assisted suicide; however, euthanasia is prohibited in all of the United States. 510 Several other states have had legislation introduced for the legalization of assisted suicide but these measures have not been enacted into law. Euthanasia is legal in Canada, part of Australia, and in three European nations. Those countries that permit euthanasia also allow assisted suicide. 511 Tännsjö reported that public support for euthanasia was strong in surveys which he had conducted in Europe. His studies indicated that 63% of Norwegians, 79% of Swedes and 68% of Germans thought that if a patient has an incurable disease and doesn t want to go on living, he or she should be allowed to receive a lethal injection. 512 With an apparent increase in popular support in certain nations in recent years, how do assisted suicide and euthanasia comport with the bioethical principles of autonomy and nonmaleficence? A key consideration of this definition is what constitutes harm. Subjectively, harm is perceived in different ways by different people. From the perspective of an individual patient, Summers writes that An ethical egoist would define harm as that which was opposed to his or her self-interest. 517 A self-interest in need of such protection from harm is human life, the very self-interest harmed in the process of medical assistance-in-dying. Gorsuch cites Aristotle and Aquinas in arguing that human life is a basic good whose value is not instrumental, not dependent on any other condition or reason, but something intrinsically good in and of itself. Gorsuch argues that people instinctively act to protect human life because it is intrinsically good in and of itself. 518 In this context, Herring writes about the importance of conscience and intuition in medical ethics. He says that intuitive reasoning often plays an important role in decision making for healthcare professionals. He quotes an ethical advisor to the British Medical Association who wrote: Autonomy The principle of autonomy is frequently used as a basis for arguing in favor of medical assistance-in-dying. Munson and Lague define autonomy by writing that Rational individuals should be permitted to be self-determining. 513 The choice to accept assistance in suicide or to allow another individual to take action to terminate human life is considered to be within the purview of the individual patient. A patient exercising his or her autonomy in such situations is determining the course of their individual lives according to assisted suicide and euthanasia proponents. However most commentators would recognize limitations to individual autonomy. Munson and Lague write of the harm principle as such a limitation. They write that the harm principle may restrict the freedom of people to act if the restriction is necessary to prevent harm to others. 514 It would seem that a logical extension of this idea would be to restrict any action that would harm the decision maker as well. They also write that the harm principle may also be used to justify laws that exert coercive force and so restrict freedom of action. 515 Laws intended to prohibit assisted suicide and euthanasia would also seem to be examples of such restriction. Nonmaleficence The ethical principle of nonmaleficence would also seem contradictory to the concept of medical assistance-in-dying. Summers attempts to define the principle by referencing the Hippocratic ethical teaching first do no harm, benefit only and then writing that nonmaleficence refers back to the first part of the teaching meaning to do no harm. 516 Doctors also want guidance that seems to them to be intuitively correct and consistent with what they understand to be the core principles of medicine. Moral justifications for various actions are rehearsed but practical solutions sometimes arise quite unexpectedly from intuition or a doctor s hunch that an improbable solution could work, rather than from rational analysis. 519 It is thus important to have a dialogue 520 on assisted suicide, autonomy, the importance of conscience and intuition not only in a professional discourse between doctors, advocates and opponents of the principle of autonomy and other experts, but also present it from the point of view of this article in non-expert discussions, as well. Conclusion While some proponents of medical assistance-in-dying would argue from the bioethical principle of autonomy, many opponents would argue from the principle of nonmaleficence the decision to request assisted suicide or euthanasia goes far beyond a patient s ability to make a request for medical assistance-in-dying. The harmful nature of the practice itself involves consideration of the principle of nonmaleficence. For this reason, the article in question proposes at the level of application implications to create space for expert reflections and open efficient dialogue on this issue both aimed at taking into account the principle of the so-called nonmaleficence and the possibilities of applying it into practice by conducting non-expert discussions, as well. 510 Paul B. Hoffman, The Debate over Aid-in-Dying Laws, Health Care Executive 33 no. 4, July/August (2018): Tännsjö, T. Moral Dimensions, BMJ 331(7518) September 22, (2005): doi: bmj Tännsjö, T. Moral Dimensions, Roland Munson and Ian Lague, Intervention and Reflection: Basic Issues in Bioethics (Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, 2017). 514 Roland Munson and Ian Lague, Intervention and Reflection, 515 Roland Munson and Ian Lague, Intervention and Reflection, 516 Jim Summers, Principles of Healthcare Ethics, In Health Care Ethics, ed. Eillen E. Morrisonm and Beth Furlong (Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning, 2014), Summers, Principles of Healthcare Ethics, Neil, M. Gorsuch, The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2006). 519 Somerville (2003: 282) in Jonathan Herring, Medical Law and Ethics (Oxford UK: Oxford University Press, 2012). 520 The effort to achieve mutual dialogue and understanding based on professionally managed communication in Health Care is the topic that both laymen and professionals are interested in. (Sarka, Tomova and Anna Arpova, Improving Quality of Doctor s Communication Skills, Clinical Social Work and Health Intervention 9, no. 2 (2018): 96.) That is the reason why such effort should come to the foreground in Medical Care. (Sarka, Tomova and Anna Arpova, Improving Quality of Doctor s Communication Skills, 96.) The claim for mutual dialogue and understanding between Doctors and patients is part of improving the quality of Medical Care. (Sarka, Tomova and Anna Arpova, Improving Quality of Doctor s Communication Skills, 95.)

96 AUTHENTIC MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION IN THE PROCESS OF EDUCATION OF KIDS AT SCHOOLS: THE SEARCHING FOR ALTERNATIVES TO OPEN AND EFFECTIVE INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE LEADING TO NON-DEFORMED PERCEPTION OF MULTICULTURALISM ANNA ÁRPOVÁ Bibliography Gorsuch, Neil, M. The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, Hoffman, Paul, B. The Debate over Aid-in-Dying Laws. Health Care Executive 33 no. 4, July/August (2018): Herring, Jonathan. Medical Law and Ethics. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, Munson, Roland and Lague, Ian. Intervention and Reflection: Basic Issues in Bioethics. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, Somerville (2003: 282) In Herring, Jonathan. Medical Law and Ethics. Oxford UK: Oxford University Press, Summers, Jim. Principles of Healthcare Ethics. In Health Care Ethics, edited by Eillen E. Morrisonm and Beth Furlong, Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning, Tännsjö, T. Moral Dimensions. BMJ 331(7518) September 22, 2005: doi: bmj Tomova, Sarka and Arpova, Anna. Improving Quality of Doctor s Communication Skills. Clinical Social Work and Health Intervention 9, no. 2 (2018): Joural DOI /cswhi Issue DOI /cswhi_9_2 AUTHENTIC MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION IN THE PROCESS OF EDUCATION OF KIDS AT SCHOOLS: THE SEARCHING FOR ALTERNATIVES TO OPEN AND EFFECTIVE INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE LEADING TO NON-DEFORMED PERCEPTION OF MULTICULTURALISM Anna Árpová 521 Poliambulatorio Oberdan, Brescia (IT) St. Elisabeth University of Health and Social Sciences, Bratislava (SK) Submitted: 5 November 2018 Accepted for publication: 10 October 2019 First published: 15 October 2019 Acta Missiologica No. 2 Vol Abstract Backround: Multiculturalism is getting very topical subject nowadays, which turns to be important in the area of Slovakia, as well, at the level of international discourse, but also in amateur talks. This concept is at the same time relatively demanding in the terms of deepening intercultural understanding in between cultures on the grounds of diversified attitudes, which the society assumes towards that. This is the reason to open up the alternatives for the open dialogue to multiculturalism, which can support distinctive way the multiculturalism to be perceived the qualified way as something that brings the society in Slovakia together, and not something that puts some hard obstacles in between the members of the society. The goal of the introduced article is the effort to find the alternative, that will contribute to mutual understanding of multiculturalism via the qualified and unbiased knowledge of the kids at school, in public, in massmedia, within individuals and groups. The article following this goal tries to bring the basic pros of the authentic multicultural education close in the area of education of children at schools, as well as its weaknesses or dangers, in which it is important to carry on the above mentioned dialogue mode. Conclusion: The article provides in the area of multicultural education at schools relevant implications at the level of applicative implications and the implications of further research possiblities, which can help to evaluate the negatives and dangers of multiculturalism and at the same time eliminate its deformed perception. Within the applicative implications it suggests to create the introduction schemes of multiculturalism and authentic multicultural education in a class of pupils, which could enable teachers to implement the topics of multiculturalism and authentic multicultural education the way, so that they hit the pupils attention. The aim of this process is to provide the opportunities for the pupils to make their own undeformed opinion and subsequently communicate within specified discussions carried on by teachers. Keywords: Upbringing Education Multiculturalism - Dialogue Anthropological thinking. Contact on author: PhDr. Anna Árpová, PhD., MBA araneta5@gmail.com

97 AUTHENTIC MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION IN THE PROCESS OF EDUCATION OF KIDS AT SCHOOLS: THE SEARCHING FOR ALTERNATIVES TO OPEN AND EFFECTIVE INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE LEADING TO NON-DEFORMED PERCEPTION OF MULTICULTURALISM ANNA ÁRPOVÁ Introduction The term of multiculturalism is relatively difficult to define, because we come across with its multimeaning. It is based on difference and diversity. We can understand it as cultural diversity (relations beween cultures), intercultural dialogue, transculture. It underlies the right of an individual for equal treatment, for free application of own customs, traditions, beliefs, for keeping the differences, for the protection against discrimination. Since its beginings it has experienced relatively long evolution characterized by multiple changes and adaptations. In its entity it tries to keep good relationships in any society, to avoid closing up certain groups of population, but to keep an open approach to others. It is the element that makes the strategies for coexistence and intercultural dialogue. Recently, it is commonly used term also within Slovakia. The reason is, that Slovakia gradually turns into the shape of a multicultural country. Especially in the connection with the fact, that more ethnic minorities live in its area. It is more exact to state this issue as multiethnic rather than multicultural, just because multiculture of Slovakia is about the existence of number of local cultural domains. 522 Multiculturalism faces both, as any other school of thought, its supporters and also opponents. We can point out, that the implementation of individuals of different cultures itself into the Slovak population markedly divides the society in Slovakia into two antipoles. The part of the society which has positive attitude to the issue of multiculturalism, the other part has negative attitude. The mutual slandering often appears, which is mainly caused by everyday events and conflicts based on discrimination, or racial intolerance, or xenophobia, which are often presented in world-wide or home massmedia. In spite of all the effort to reach meaningful refinement of intercultural understanding in between cultures recently, it is still questionable, if the understanding is ever possible. For this reason, it is important to search for possiblities of an open dialogue to multiculturalism, which can help the multiculturalism to be perceived in erudite way as something, that joins the society in Slovakia together, but nothing like something that puts some obstacles in between the members of the society. The goal of this article is to try to find the means to open and effective intercultural dialogue. 523 It is the kind of dialogue, which contributes to the mutual understanding of multiculturalism via the erudite and unbiased knowledge of the kids at schools, in public, in massmedia, and of the individuals and social groups, too. This article has the purpose to try to elucidate briefly the basic pros of authentic multicultural education in the area of children s education at schools, and some of its weaknesses or dangers, in case of which it is important to apply the above mentioned dialogue method. 522 See: Igor Kominarec and Edita Kominarecová. Multikulturalita a edukácia (Prešov: Prešovská univerzita v Prešove, 2005). 523 Currently, there is much discussion in the socio-cultural context about encounters among various cultures and spiritual traditions. It is, therefore, necessary to seek understanding in most diverse areas and search for common ground on shared fundamental values within cultures. (Monika Nová, Kulturní rozmanitost aspekty vnímání odlišností, in Koncipovanie osobnosti člověka v dialogov výchovy. Recenzovaný zborník z medzinárodnej vedeckej konferencie. ed. Emil Turiak, (Ružomberok: Katolícká univerzita v Ružomberku, 2015). 166.) For the sake of common understanding it is therefore necessary (...) to master living in a diversity of cultures, existing side-by-side and being capable of practising the kind of dialogue mentioned above. (Monika Nová, Kulturní rozmanitost aspekty vnímání odlišností, in Koncipovanie osobnosti člověka v dialogov výchovy. Recenzovaný zborník z medzinárodnej vedeckej konferencie. ed. Emil Turiak, (Ružomberok: Katolícká univerzita v Ružomberku, 2015). 166.) The benefit of authentic multicultural education in the branch of children s education at schools The important factor and the means of multiculralism is intlectual education. 524 Multiculture is a complicated problem, which consists of several subgroups, which are closely linked, and one of them is the branch of multicultural education, that makes one of the assumptions of real fulfillment of multiculture in our society. Due to this, the multicultural informing is not sufficient, but there is the need to be authentic multicultural education of kids (education at schools), adults, massmedia influence, which would provide information and form the attitudes and behaviour of the public in the terms of multiculture, it means in practice, that an individual, group, or the society have to be led and educated to this kind of attitude and culture since their birth, because this way of thinking is not natural for them. 525 Authentic multicultural education ought to become one of the most relevant parts of education at schools nowadays. School is the place where they can come across with otherness or difference for the first time in their lives, that s why it is important to focus on it within the whole educational process and explain the attitude to otherness, diversity of another human being, really sensitively. The basis of authentic multicultural education tends to be tolerance, thoughtfulness and respect to people, who are different in some way, then to one s environment and to oneself, as well. Something that can contribute to this is mutual social interaction of a teacher with a pupil and suitable sensitive presentations of differences, including intercultural differences. Authentic multicultural education is often misunderstood as the education, but it is rather the process od education, thus the process, which presenst intentional organized knowledge teaching. Subsequently, just on the basis of this encountered knowledge, it is possible to develop tolerant attitudes. There s doubt to assume, that via the authentic multicltural education it is directly possible to effect pupils behaviour a change it into the desired condition. 526 There are more alternatives how to implement authentic multicultural education into the branch of children s education at schools, there are more examples to be found in the professional literature aimed at teachers. The central position in this is occupied by the teachers themselves. One of the key arguments in favour of authentic multicultural education implementation into the branch of education at schools is not just the ability to influence the formation of certain atitudes directly or respectively avoid their birth at all. It is especally the fact, that a school should not resign on its democratization function, but on the contrary, it should try to provide the pupils with the most balanced position in getting the education, for example the way, that it will not implicitely, but explicitely make certain social groups superior over others. 527 Authentic multicultural education implied in the area of children s education has to correspond with the specific lesson in its topic within certain school subject, the most ideal it should support the curricular school subject relations, and hand in hand with other related topics it should guarantee particular continuity and interconnection the same way as it is in the case of common social reality. The implementation of the specified practice of the authentic multicultural education in the branch of children s education corresponds to the basic goal, that is the integration of an individual 524 Daniela Ďurajková and Dáša Vargová, Multikultúrna výchova, áno, alebo nie? (Bratislava: Metodicko-pedagogické centrum Bratislavského kraja, 2007) See: Lýdia Lehoczká, Kultúrna identita Rómov (Nitra: Univerzita Konštantína Filozofa v Nitre, 2006). 526 Jan Průcha, Multikulturní výchova: příručka (nejen) pro učitele. (Praha: Triton, 2011) See: Elena Galová Kriglerová et al., Kultúrna rozmanitosť a jej vnímanie žiakmi základných škôl na Slovensku (Bratislava: Nadácia otvorenej spoločnosti Open Society Foundation, 2009)

98 AUTHENTIC MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION IN THE PROCESS OF EDUCATION OF KIDS AT SCHOOLS: THE SEARCHING FOR ALTERNATIVES TO OPEN AND EFFECTIVE INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE LEADING TO NON-DEFORMED PERCEPTION OF MULTICULTURALISM ANNA ÁRPOVÁ into the general multicultural environment while keeping the personal and cultural identity 528, as one of the important criteria of this integration it is possible to define the respect towards human moral qualities and basic human and civil rights, which constitute hundreds of years old experience of the mankind, they are of the universal pattern, and the educational goal issued from them, they are the basic platform for the human and civil coexistence on the present as well, they tend to be the resource of the multicultural education oriented in humanistic way. 529 In respect to authentic multicultural education, another significant element is intecultural education. It is the longlife process impossible to limit to school education, but longlife development is important. There are traditions, life styles, customs, beliefs, learned and copied ways of behaviour of different social-cultural groups. They are marked with conflicts, disputes, but at the same time with the suplementary and concentrating elements. Right in this branch, the intercultural education is relevant, since they enable students to understand the diversity of cultures and the differences as the positive case, not as the source of potential conflicts, and it enables them to learn abut the ways of life of different cultures, their ways of thinking, to communicate and cooperate with the members of different social-cultural groups, respect and accept the diversity of cultures, to evaluate and judge the differences between them as enrichment of own culture. And here is the necessity of the conceptual approach to the education to the human rights according to the spirit of interculturalism. 530 Exactly this kind of education can in outstanding way help to resolve the reality-given appeals and conflicts, in which we live. We can understand it as the process of acquiring the key intercultural competence, thus the knowledge and information, abilities and attitudes and skills, which are related to the fact, that modern societies are diffferent in more aspects and interaction is for those who live in these communities, everyday reality. Its key aspect is to display every piece of effort to reach continual progress, understanding and empathy with differences, realizing one s own stereotypes and prejudice, because the differences and otherness between individuals or groups of people tend to be the factor which contributes for the conflicts. Qualified and unbiased knowledge for the children at schools, in public, in massmedia, for individuals and the groups of people by means of open and effective intercultural dialogue ought to be performed on the basis of the effort to realize, that we, as a society, public, groups or individuals are not indifferent and our view of ourselves and on others is subjective. 531 Considering that just on the basis of this effort it is possible to carry on the actions, that can subsequently eliminate the preoccupation and in larger degree strengthen the ability to respect the differences. 532 The authentic multicultural education in order to reach qualified and unbiased understanding of multiculture can apply following important components, which can help significantly to develop the sense of own identity, pleasant experience with own cultural-ethnic heritage, even the feeling of pride. 533 This sense is impossible to interchange with the sense of own cultural-ethnic superiority. 534 It deals with dominant ethnicity and minorities; to learn about other cultures and ethnic groups. It is not possible to perceive them sensitively unless we have as least partial information in disposal, accurate and unbiased information in case of learning other cultural and ethnic groups, that is very important. 535 to provide the actual examples of similarities in between people, revealing multiple similarities, that really exist, creates the basis to overcome the anxiety 536 to encourage the understanding the racial, cultural, ethnic, religious differences, the ability to learn from them, not just tolerate them. To understand that if someone is different than the dominat ethnicity, it does not mean, that he is better or worse- he is just different ; to distinguish the obstacles of mutual understanding, the barriers of mutual contact, stereotypes, prejudice ; to develop the abilities improving the communication between ethnic groups, the ability to listen to, to avoid signing the others, understanding the non-verbal behaviour; to create the consciousness, that the whole world is one human family, where people struggle and work on the common piece of art. Their lives could be richer thanks to developing this consiousness and better cooperation. 537 The key factor within the authentic multicultural education and education of the children is to lead them to understanding, that every single human being has his own rights and responsibilities, lead them to understanding the value entity truth, the good and the evil; to understanding, that each person can contribute for the discussion with some thought, the purpose of the human life is to live in a society with other people; the general quality of human relationships depends on each individual, and subsequently the group of people. Creating the atmosphere of tolerance, cooperation, partnership and respect within the education in the school environment is presentday long and difficult journey. 538 At the formation of the multicultural education conception and its follow up action is very important to apply the systematic approach, that takes into consideration following points: biological and ethnic conditions such as culture, language, history, values and ideals; mental conditions psychological pressure; social conditions, such as status in a society, the boom of racism, unwillingness to solve anything; and also the current school system arrangement. 539 A major breakthrough in the field of multicultural education in education generally occurred after the adoption of the report of the UNESCO International Commission in 1996, Learning is Hidden Wealth. This report defines four main competences that will be crucial for the development of human society in the future. The first competence is learning to know - it means to control the tools used to search, observe, understand anything new and develop oneself for the whole life, because the real knowledge is the one, which a human being designs 528 Jozef Sabol and Ingrid Zubková, Kultúra, multikultúrnosť (Žilina: EUROFORMES, s.r.o., 2003) Jozef Sabol and Ingrid Zubková, Kultúra, multikultúrnosť, See: Daniela Ďurajková and Dáša Vargová, Multikultúrna výchova, áno, alebo nie? (Bratislava: Metodicko-pedagogické centrum Bratislavského kraja, 2007). 531 Dušan Ondrušek, et al., Výchova k tolerancií hrou (Bratislava: Partners for Democratic Change Slovakia, Bratislava, 2007) Ondrušek, et al., Výchova k tolerancií hrou, Ondrušek, et al., Výchova k tolerancií hrou, Ondrušek, et al., Výchova k tolerancií hrou, Ondrušek, et al., Výchova k tolerancií hrou, Ondrušek, et al., Výchova k tolerancií hrou, Ondrušek, et al., Výchova k tolerancií hrou, Ondrušek, et al., Výchova k tolerancií hrou, See: Martina Balogová-Slobodníková, Edukácia Rómov. Bratislava: Euroformes, s.r.o.,

99 AUTHENTIC MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION IN THE PROCESS OF EDUCATION OF KIDS AT SCHOOLS: THE SEARCHING FOR ALTERNATIVES TO OPEN AND EFFECTIVE INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE LEADING TO NON-DEFORMED PERCEPTION OF MULTICULTURALISM ANNA ÁRPOVÁ himself. 540 The second relevant competence is learning to act, which deals about how to become an active solver of the life situations, but not passive manipulated object, but to be a human being able to make decisions willingly. The third competence means to appreciate, respect, tolerate the differences of others, cooperate with them, but not fight with them, avoid the effort to control them, but act in responsible and moral way, and this is conceived as learning to live together. The last, the fourth competence learns people to become an authentic personalities who know, what they want, they govern their own life, they are themselves, they manage to find the meaning of their own life, their own happiness and identity, and its called learning to be. The mentioned competences we can consider to be the general goals in the branch of multicultural education. They are not derived from the scientific disciplines and objective theories, but from the human being who is the active subject of his own life and the life of the society. 541 Searching for the alternatives to the open and effective intercultural dialogue leading to nondeformed perception of multiculturalism. Each school of thought including multiculturalism has its weaknesses, dangers and faults, which significantly contribute for its wrong interperetation and consequently to the fact that it is perceived in the major part of society in negative way. It is the same in the case of multiculturalism issue,too. The biggest faults and cons of multiculturalism, that the antagonists worries are build upon, are the following: it is prefered to have a lot of differences in a society. It is based on positive approach to otherness, while it evokes them to heavens ; it appreciates the differences, but it tries so that the society was more open, its goal is the society which is more diverse and the opinion prevails, that more differences, more benefit. Ultimately, the rising tendency of preferences towards any differences can supress traditions and values of families, individuals of predominant original ethnicty. For example, the great deal of the population in Slovakia is worried because of prefering any differences increasing, because it could fight back the original identity and the values of traditional Slovak family, including their Christian and cultural values. it can act as harmless challenge to tolerance, but as a social experiment, too, project or strategy, which gives priority to the diversity of values, standards, ideas compared with cultural homogenity. It rather becomes the scheme, pattern of the social situation than theoretical concept; it does not encourage reflection on its relationship to globalization and European culture. However, it appears as something unhistoric and the cross-cultural, the opposite is true because it is still based on the values of Western civilization, which it considers as a model. As a result of this, in the context of multicultural coexistence, it does not tolerate what is perceived as a violation of human rights within the values of Western civilization, but within the culture and its traditions it is considered to be natural and important (the examples are for example wrapping the women or such as phimosiectomy of boys, etc.); 540 Beáta Kosová, Etická výchova a jej miesto v edukácií pre 21.storočie, in Etická výchova: problémy teórie a praxe: Zborník príspevkov z Zborník príspevkov z vedeckej konferencie vedeckej konferencie vedeckej konferencie s medzinárodnou ú medzinárodnou účasťou, ed. Martin Žilínek, Erich Petlák and Anna Ondrejková, (Banská Bystrica: Pedagogická fakulta Univerzita Mateja Bela v Banskej Bystrici, 2007) Beáta Kosová, Etická výchova a jej miesto v edukácií pre 21.storočie, another relevant danger and cons of multiculturalism is the problematic perception of cultural identity of a human being, whose identiy is reduced solely on ethnic, national or cultura onel. An individual then shrinks just on his cultural identity and his personality is fought back. This kind of cultural identity perception of a human being can consequently act counter-productively,while the individuals or groups are ultimately driven back from outsice to keep their original tradition and values despite of their will to integrate or even assimilate into the society, the above described cultural identity perception of a human being and his effort to integrate and assimilate is getting complicated; this danger and disadvantage of multiculturalism is closely connected to the previous one, because within multicultural thinking, cultures are certain way defined, but they are not searched into the depth, that is one of the conditions to understand something right and on this bases to be tolerated and respected; multiculturalism antagonists warn, that it is the multiculturalism that makes some Muslim communities representatives declare, that they will introduce the Šariá law in the area, where they live, that means the violation of democracy multiculralism opponents also draw the attention on the fact, that multiculturalism can become dominant form of racism, for the reason, that the term of racism in multiculturalism is replaced by the term of culture, that can be perceived as primary attribute of groups of people. Based on this image of cultural attributes constancy, it is possible to define, which culture has the right to be superior over the other one. 542 The fact, that supports these dangers and faults of multiculturalism ultimately, is that in spite of longlasting existence of this concept from the aspect of global perspective, it constantly fails, the problems of mutual coexistence have never been resolved any way, we can just observe the opposite. Diversity and symbolic borders between ethnic and other different groups within the whole Europe are getting deeper rather than being resolved. For this reason, within the frame of the society of various countries in which we can see the effort to implement multicultural education at different level, the reasonable worries appear, which escalate with gradually bigger part of the population and we can consider them to be competent, as well as the critisism of this concept. All these complications are subsequently projected into the perception of multicultural education and into the positive effort to be established. When understanding these dangers and disadvantages of multiculturalism, open and effective intercultural dialogue is important. The relevant alternative that leads to this dialogue is anthropological thinking, that is linked to authentic multicultural education including multiculturalism as such. Anthropological thinking disposes of the tools and knowledge, that can help to mutual coexistence of individuals and groups coming from different environment thanks to suggesting on what they have in common, to find common elements in order to develop mutual tolerant relationship. In this shape of personal level of authentic multicultural education in combination with anthropological thinking, which provides the space for open and effective intercultural dialogue, the intelectual tendency of knowledge, tolerance and respecting the differences can be beneficial. Exactly at this level we can see the benefit and advantage of authentic multicultural education perceived as the process at microlevel of relationships within the class society of pupils at schools. There are the schools which solve 542 For relevant information in relation to the negatives and dangers of multiculturalism, see for example: Thilo Sarrazin, Německo páchá sebevraždu (Praha: Academia, 2011); Michal Hauser, Limity multikulturalismu. ; Hana Horáková, Kultura jako všelék?: kritika soudobých přístupů (Praha: Sociologické nakladatelství (SLON), 2012)

100 AUTHENTIC MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION IN THE PROCESS OF EDUCATION OF KIDS AT SCHOOLS: THE SEARCHING FOR ALTERNATIVES TO OPEN AND EFFECTIVE INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE LEADING TO NON-DEFORMED PERCEPTION OF MULTICULTURALISM ANNA ÁRPOVÁ the problems, that anthropological thinking can in connection with authentic multiculture react to. This is for example the case of rising the aggression and extremism between pupils, children s behaviour against their classmates based on prejudice, who are in some way different from the majority of the pupils in a class, ethnically or culturally, but they come from different social environment or they show the signs of otherness. Anthropological thinking can also improve the development of multicultural thinking within the class society at schools in these points: acquiring the knowledge for example about democracy, citizenship; forming the opinion of pupils for example on democracy, citizenship and own responsibility for social problems, etc.; acquisition of attitudes and values such as for example the feeling of national fellowship and solidarity, loyalty to democratic values; forming the attitudes, including the will to create own opinion and respecting the opinion of others, etc.; ability to perceive certain cases as the opposite to civil values, these cases are for example: political cynicism, racism, violent problem solution, etc. In connection to this it is important to clarify to pupils the term of freedom,because it is poorly emphasized, that the freedom of an individual ends at the point, where the freedom of the other person is being bound. 543 Conclusion In the area of education of kids at school, teachers consider the topic of authentic multicultural education in Slovakia to be increasingly topical. The relevance and topicality of these themes is stated in connection with the education of Roman community and the work with it. Teachers are those, who complete very important mission in presentation of multiculturalism and authentic multicultural education within the education at schools as well as the certain class community of pupils. Their target task is accomplished via the mutual social interaction of a teacher and a pupil where the values are interchanged and there is suitable sensitive presentation of differences of individuals, or groups, including diversified intercultural differences. For this reason, exactly the teachers ought to evaluate positively the diversity of pupils and support them in their diversity. They should understand the necessity and complexity of diversity in cultural traditions, they ought to understand the diversity as inherent quality of the mankind and realize the non-recurring value of an individual in the area of education at schools, the pupil. They should appreciate the unity of the mankind and the cooperation, to understand the importance of the cooperation between pupils as the survival and healthy development condition. At the same time they ought to develop their own self-reflection, search for, analyse and recognize different views on the world, they ought to be employed as the protagonists of cultural relativism and they should not make any culture superior over the other. They ought to avoid putting some social groups as predominant to the others, and any discrimnation, they ought to appreciate and respect the democracy principles and in free time they should try to develop the culture of pupils. In the mutual social interaction of teachers and pupils and their professional engagement in the area of education at school, it is very important to lead open and effective dialogue, which can significantly help to get nondeformed perception of authentic multicultural education, including multiculturalism, as such. On the basis of the stated knowledge and the subsequent analysis, the article that is on the level of application implications in the area of multiculturalism education at 543 Viera Hoffmanová, Predchádzajme intolerancii výchovou k dodržiavaniu ľudských práv (Prešov: Metodicko-pedagogické centrum v Prešove, 2005). 8. schools, the article suggests to create the scheme of multiculturalism presentation and authentic multicultural education within the classroom community of pupils. These schemes ought to consist of prototypal lessons aimed at pupils. Their goal is to implement the topic of multiculturalism into the teaching process, so that it generated as big interest as possible. Within these exemplary lessons, the pupils should be offered the presented important information, in adequate way- due to their age, which deal with the topic of multiculturalism; basic principles of multiculturalism; argumentation of its supporters and positive points, but it is important to explain, that nothing is perceived as black and white and this concept of society has negative points and fails, too which evoke valid worries and the argumentations of antagonists, too; it is essential to present certain examples of countries, where this concept of society has already been established for years and it works (also the examples of countries, which were homogenous and conservative in past, - where the situation was similar to the presentday situation in connection with multiculturalism in Slovakia); the attitude of Slovakia to multiculturalism the reasons of diverse attitudes in connection to this there is the neccessity of open and effective intercultural dialogue because of the drawbacks and faults of multiculturalism and worries of its opponents about its implementation into the society also the argumentation, that some minorities in countries, which try to act on the basis of multiculturalism major part of Arabian population tend to be problematic and they are for example closely linked to rising crime and sometimes even the responsibility for terroristic attacks, that is often highlighted by the opponents of multiculturalism and immigration that ultimately casts reflections on minorities as well as on multiculturalism as such; in connection to this, the argumentation of multiculturalism opponents is important, since they call attention to the fact, that right thanks to multiculturalism some of the Muslim communities representatives openly declare implementation of the principles of their own culture and religion, that could endanger the principles of democracy; make the space for the pupils to build their own opinion about multiculturalism, their vision to provide them with essential information primary intention of these schemes designed into exemplary lessons should be so that pupils were not protruded about multiculturalism and so that they did not copy them after others (this deals with teachers, pupils,etc.); arrange special discussions for pupils (adequate to their age) focusing on communication about their opinions, thoughts, attitudes to multiculturalism and non-deformed perception supported exactly by open and effective intercultural dialogue. The article in question suggests deeper research at the level of implications for further possiblities in the area of multiculturalism education at schools, that would devote itself to above mentioned negatives and cons of multiculturalism and search for alternatives to open and effective dialogue about the possiblities of their re-evaluation. This deeper research ought to open the space for professional reflexions and discussions and dialogue about the possibilities of re-evaluation of certain faults and drawback of multiculturalism. The relevant example of the dialogue on the basis of anthropological thinking could help the concept of multiculturalism concerning the cons and negatives to re-evaluate it, so that the identiy of a human being was his free and voluntary choice, instead of taking it as being ordered by others For relevant information in relation to this see for example: Marek Jakoubek, Soudobé spory o multikulturalismus a politiku identit: (antropologická perspektiva) ed. Tomáš Hirt. (Plzeň: Vydavatelství a nakladatelství Aleš Čeněk, 2005)

101 QUALITY IN LONG-TERM CARE: CENTRAL EUROPEAN PEOPLE-CENTRED ASSESSMENT PRINCIPLES AND THEIR CALLS FOR AN EFFICIENT INTER- DISCIPLINARY DIALOGUE MÁRIA ŠMIDOVÁ, KRZYSTOF ADAM TREBSKI, MÁRIA NEMČÍKOVÁ Bibliography Balogová-Slobodníková, Martina. Edukácia Rómov. Bratislava: Euroformes, s.r.o., Ďurajková, Daniela and Vargová, Dáša. Multikultúrna výchova, áno, alebo nie? Bratislava: Metodicko-pedagogické centrum Bratislavského kraja, Galová Kriglerová, Elena. et al., Kultúrna rozmanitosť a jej vnímanie žiakmi základných škôl na Slovensku. Bratislava: Nadácia otvorenej spoločnosti Open Society Foundation, Horáková, Hana. Kultura jako všelék?: kritika soudobých přístupů. Praha: Sociologické nakladatelství (SLON), Hauser, Michal. Limity multikulturalismu. Hoffmanová, Viera. Predchádzajme intolerancii výchovou k dodržiavaniu ľudských práv. Prešov: Metodicko-pedagogické centrum v Prešove, Jakoubek, Marek. Soudobé spory o multikulturalismus a politiku identit: (antropologická perspektiva) edited by Tomáš Hirt, Plzeň: Vydavatelství a nakladatelství Aleš Čeněk, Kominarec, Igor and Kominarecová. Edita. Multikulturalita a edukácia. Prešov: Prešovská univerzita v Prešove, Kosová, Beáta. Etická výchova a jej miesto v edukácií pre 21.storočie. In Etická výchova: problémy teórie a praxe: Zborník príspevkov z Zborník príspevkov z vedeckej konferencie vedeckej konferencie vedeckej konferencie s medzinárodnou ú medzinárodnou účasťou. edited by Martin Žilínek, Erich Petlák and Anna Ondrejková, Banská Bystrica: Pedagogická fakulta Univerzita Mateja Bela v Banskej Bystrici, Lehoczká, Lýdia. Kultúrna identita Rómov. Nitra: Univerzita Konštantína Filozofa v Nitre, Nová, Monika. Kulturní rozmanitost aspekty vnímání odlišností. In Koncipovanie osobnosti člověka v dialogov výchovy. Recenzovaný zborník z medzinárodnej vedeckej konferencie. edited by Emil Turiak, Ružomberok: Katolícká univerzita v Ružomberku, Ondrušek, Dušan et al., Výchova k tolerancií hrou. Bratislava: Partners for Democratic Change Slovakia, Bratislava, Průcha, Jan. Multikulturní výchova: příručka (nejen) pro učitele. Praha: Triton, Sabol, Jozef and Zubková, Ingrid. Kultúra, multikultúrnosť. Žilina: EUROFORMES, s.r.o., Sarrazin, Thilo. Německo páchá sebevraždu. Praha: Academia, QUALITY IN LONG-TERM CARE: CENTRAL EUROPEAN PEOPLE-CENTRED ASSESSMENT PRINCIPLES AND THEIR CALLS FOR AN EFFICIENT INTERDISCIPLINARY DIALOGUE* 545 Mária Šmidová 1, Krzystof Adam Trebski 1, Mária Nemčíková Trnava university, Faculty of Theology, Trnava (SK) Submitted: 6 April 2018 Accepted for publication: 12 February 2019 First published: 15 October 2019 Acta Missiologica No. 2 Vol Abstract Backround: The article analyses WHO, EU and Central European approaches concerning principles of work in long-term care facilities. Authors recall and evaluate these criteria in order to share their own long theoretical and practical experience in this field. The principles of integral and person centred long-term care are the right foundation which should be enriched by the effort to touch also to other aspects of the life of an older or sick client. They draw attention to the fact that the aspects of existential frustration and desire for self-realisation are often forgotten but the main assumptions for the quality of life. Conclusion: The article s conclusion outlines the calls for an efficient interdisciplinary dialogue aimed at the broadest possible context of long-term people-centred care and two relevant challenges: aspects of existential frustration and the desire for self-fulfilment, both of which are inevitably related to the improvement of access to clients in long-term care facilities. In order to allow for further research in the field of provision of long-term people-centred care, the article proposes holding professional discussions, reflections, and studies that would address in detail the various aspects of the mentioned calls for an efficient interdisciplinary dialogue and the related diverse, relevant, and interesting correlations. The aim is to apply the results of these interesting studies into practice in the most efficient way, both at a professional and non-professional level, in the field of long-term care provided to people in the individual Central European countries, where such forms of application into practice are urgently needed. Slovakia is definitely one of these countries. Keywords: Long-term care Quality Elderly People centred Integrated. Introduction People are living longer. This fact is not just a step towards some kind of a victory, but rather a reflection on what is the meaning of life, whether life is really limited without any real response, * Project ERAZMUS plus 2017: Q Europe quality management systems and impact measuring in providing long term care (LTC) services realized within the period of , Slezska diakonie, Czech Republic, KA2 Cooperation for Innovation and the Exchange of Good Practices, KA204 Strategic Partnerships for adult education, No CZ01-KA Contact on author: Prof. PhDr. Mária Šmidová, PhD. mariasmidova@hotmail.com Contact on author: ThLic. Krzysztof Adam Trębski, Ph.D. krzysztof.adam.trebski@truni.sk Contact on author: MSc. Mária Nemčíková, PhD. majka.nemcikova@gmail.com

102 QUALITY IN LONG-TERM CARE: CENTRAL EUROPEAN PEOPLE-CENTRED ASSESSMENT PRINCIPLES AND THEIR CALLS FOR AN EFFICIENT INTER- DISCIPLINARY DIALOGUE MÁRIA ŠMIDOVÁ, KRZYSTOF ADAM TREBSKI, MÁRIA NEMČÍKOVÁ and what kind of life it is in general. It is not possible to give accurate and satisfactory answers only by science or numbers. However, it is possible to work toward the assurance that the quality of life of older people is more satisfactory. We are also confronted with answering questions about long-term care for the elderly. The need for long-term care and assistance is increasing. In the last decade population ageing has become a key challenge for the EU Member States. Most of elderly people live at home and only a minority are cared for in a residential care facility and care is mainly provided by informal careers. However, these families are often very difficult to handle their situation, from known reasons. Ageing of the population has become a problem of the 21st century. The 20th century was considered to be the century of children and the 21st century could be nicknamed the century of the elderly. 547 However, a few numbers on perspectives. People aged 65 years or over will account for 29.5% of the EU-27 s population by 2060 (from 17.4 % in 2010). Public long-term care expenditure accounted for 1.2% of GDP in 2008 on average in OECD countries, and is expected to at least double and possibly triple by To transform this longer life expectancy into longer active and healthy life years seems to be a clear necessity. Our ageing population should receive the care and assistance they need to age in a real human dignity. The aim of the article is to: analyse the approaches of the WHO, the European Union, and Central European countries to the principles of long-term care facilities; outline the calls for an efficient interdisciplinary dialogue aimed at the broadest possible context of long-term care provided to people and two relevant challenges: aspects of existential frustration and the desire for self-fulfilment, both of which are inevitably related to the improvement of access to clients in long-term care facilities; propose implications of further research opportunities in the field of long-term care provided to people which could be applied into practice in the most efficient way, both at a professional and non-professional level, in the field of long-term care provided by facilities to clients in the individual Central European countries, where such forms of application into practice are urgently needed. The WHO Concept WHO concept regarding quality of life of elderly people as clients in long-term care facilities may be successfully derived from the resolution No. A/RES/70/1 adopted by the WHO General Assembly on 25 September 2015 titled Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This is particularly the case with the goal 3 to ensure health lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages and the target 3.8 to achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all. 548 The expressions at all ages should be obviously underlined in relation to long-term care for elderly people. On the other side, it should be emphasized that the objectives of sustainable development relate to very urgent matters of the world in general, and long-term care for the elderly people is probably not the focus of attention. The key objectives focus on the most urgent questions of poverty, hunger, basic health issues, education, equality, access to water, gender issues, energy, economic growth, infrastructure, reduction of inequality, safe cities, consumption, climate changes, oceans resources, ecosystems and biodiversity, access to justice for all and global partnership environment in these areas. Targets to implement the goal 3 are explicitly concentrated on such questions as maternal mortality, deaths of new-borns and children, epidemics, mental health, premature mortality from non-communicable diseases, substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol, global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents, access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential health care services and medicines and vaccines for all, universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination, strengthen the implementation of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in all countries, research and development of vaccines and medicines for the communicable and non-communicable diseases that primarily affect developing countries, increase health financing and the recruitment, development, training and retention of the health workforce in developing countries, and strengthen the capacity of all countries, in particular developing countries, for early warning, risk reduction or management of national and global health risks. In conjunction with the UN development agenda, World Health Organization policy seems to be in line. The latest requirements of this UN organization are well-suited to long-term care for the elderly. These WHO global strategies address the social determinants of health. This is an important fact for building the long-term health services. Its people-centred and integrated nature are two main conditions for future. Of course, there is no exact and unified model. The conditions have been implemented in different country contexts encouraging community-based care. The goal is to push the ability of health systems to provide universal, equitable, high-quality and financially sustainable care. People-centred health services principle is an approach to care that consciously adopts the perspectives of individuals, families and communities, and sees them as participants as well as beneficiaries of trusted health systems that respond to their needs and preferences in humane and holistic ways. 549 It requires that people have the education and support they need to make 547 Monika Nová, Mezigenerační solidarita in Nová sociálna edukácia človeka VII. Recenzovaný zborník z medzinárodnej vedeckej konferencie. ed. J. Husár, M. Machalová, T, T, T, Hangoni, B. Kuzyšan, (Prešov: Prešovská univerzita v Prešove, 2018). 108). 548 WHO global strategy on people-centred and integrated health services, The WHO Document Production Services, Geneva, Switzerland, No. WHO/HIS/SDS/2015.6, available at the WHO website or directly on the web address: or it can be purchased from WHO Press, World Health Organization, 20 Avenue Appia, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland. This publication can be considered as the fundamental study material that has been later improved by the serial of later WHO documents adopted within this topic, for instance well known reports from the sixty-ninth World Health Assembly: A69/39 of April 15, 2016 Framework on Integrated, People Centred Health Services or WHA69. 24, May 28, 2016 Strengthening integrated, people centred health services. There exists a significant level of alignment in terms of language, principles and health system elements among all the initiatives. 549 In this context, it is essential to provide high-quality, timely and complex rehabilitation with active involvement of the patient in the rehabilitation process, which is crucial (E. Musilová and Z. Surovčíková, Self-sufficiency after pertrochanteric fracture in seniors, Rehabilitácia 52, no 1.(2015): 12) for maximum improvement of the patient s quality of life and, if possible, for the return to their previous way of life, in which they were more mobile. (E. Musilová and Z. Surovčíková, Self-sufficiency after pertrochanteric fracture in seniors, Rehabilitácia 52, no 1.(2015): 12)

103 QUALITY IN LONG-TERM CARE: CENTRAL EUROPEAN PEOPLE-CENTRED ASSESSMENT PRINCIPLES AND THEIR CALLS FOR AN EFFICIENT INTER- DISCIPLINARY DIALOGUE MÁRIA ŠMIDOVÁ, KRZYSTOF ADAM TREBSKI, MÁRIA NEMČÍKOVÁ decisions and participate on their own care. It is organized around the health needs and expectations of people rather than diseases. 550 Integrated health services are health services that are managed and delivered in a way that ensures people receive a continuum of health promotion, disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment, disease management, rehabilitation and palliative care services, at the different levels and sites of care within the health system, and according to their needs throughout their life course. 551 There are five interdependent strategies to help cumulatively to build more effective health services: (1) empowering and engaging people and communities; (2) strengthening governance and accountability; (3) reorienting the model of care; (4) coordinating services within and across sectors; and (5) creating an enabling environment. 552 To accomplish the picture of the requirements for long-term care services, several key WHO core conditions for people-centred and integrated health services should be taken into consideration. The care should be offered comprehensively, and should be equitable, sustainable, coordinated, continuous across the life course, holistic focusing on physical, socioeconomic, mental and emotional well-being, preventive and tackling the social determinants, supporting people to manage and take responsibility for their own health, goal oriented, respectful of people s dignity, social circumstances and cultural sensitivities, collaborative, endowed with rights and responsibilities, governed through shared accountability, evidence-informed, led by whole-systems thinking, ethical. Water exercises can be used in many different ways. However, it is necessary to assess whether it is better for the patient to participate in individual or group exercise. Group activity can be beneficial for the patient s mental health and increase their motivation. (Ján Mašan and S. Golská, Súčasné techniky hydrokinezioterapie po úrazoch, XXIV. Sjezd společnosti rehabilitační a fyzikálni medicíny. Luhačovice. Sborník abstrakt ( Contemporary post-injury hydrokinesiotherapy techniques, XXIVth Meeting of the Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine Society. Luhačovice. Compilation abstract 2017) The term lifestyle is very complex and can be looked at from numerous points of view. It is composed of a variety of elements, components, aspects and is influenced by many factors. Its meaning coincides with the meaning of other terms, such as way of life, quality of life, life path, (Ján Mašán, Fyzioterapia vertebrogénnych ochorení (Bratislava: Cathedra, 2019) ) and oftentimes cannot be distinguished even from life conditions. (Ján Mašán, Fyzioterapia vertebrogénnych ochorení (Bratislava: Cathedra, 2019) ) Lifestyle is, therefore, the way we voluntarily behave in given life situations, and such behaviour is based on an individual choice from the available options in different areas of human life.(ján Mašán, Fyzioterapia vertebrogénnych ochorení (Physiotherapy of vertebrogenic diseases) (Bratislava: Cathedra, 2019) ) According to the WHO, adult behaviour and lifestyle is the result of our development during childhood and adolescence, so it is important to focus on this age as well when educating on a healthy lifestyle. (Ján Mašán, Fyzioterapia vertebrogénnych ochorení (Physiotherapy of vertebrogenic diseases) (Bratislava: Cathedra, 2019). 120.). Most authors agree that lifestyle cannot be defined by a concrete formulation. It is related to the way of life, to life standards (quality of life) from the material perspective, while from the cultural perspective, lifestyle can be related to attendance of cultural, sports or other events. (Ján Mašán, Fyzioterapia vertebrogénnych ochorení (Physiotherapy of vertebrogenic diseases) (Bratislava: Cathedra, 2019). 120.). 551 Other relevant and related aspects are social and pedagogical rehabilitation and ergotherapy. Social rehabilitation ensures optimum integration of disabled patients and individuals temporarily or permanently excluded from work into the society. It is important to actively implement a long-term rehabilitation process and use all options. The role of social rehabilitation is to achieve the highest possible level of social integration. This is a practice of self-care, special communication skills, social communication, etc. (Ján Mašán and S. Golská, Kinezioterapia pri ochoreniach chrbtice (Kinesiotherapy in backbone disorders) UCM Trnava: Vaško- Prešov, pp.) Pedagogic rehabilitation targeted educational care focused on development of a disabled person s personality. The main goal is to achieve optimum personal development of disabled patients and their social, work and cultural integration. (Ján Mašán and S. Golská, Kinezioterapia pri ochoreniach chrbtice (Kinesiotherapy in backbone disorders) UCM Trnava: Vaško-Prešov, pp.) Ergotherapy maintains maximum self-sufficiency in everyday activities, work activities and free-time activities. It uses specific methods, techniques and counselling as therapeutic tools and it adjusts the environment to practice concrete activities. To restore affected functions, ergotherapy uses meaningful activities or work. In vertebrogenic diseases, the school of spine is used as an example. (Ján Mašán and S. Golská, Kinezioterapia pri ochoreniach chrbtice (Kinesiotherapy in backbone disorders) UCM Trnava: Vaško-Prešov, pp.) The school of spine includes maintenance of basic ergonomic principles at work and in everyday activities, it teaches the methodology of the right movement stereotypes. (Ján Mašán and S. Golská, Kinezioterapia pri ochoreniach chrbtice (Kinesiotherapy in backbone disorders) UCM Trnava: Vaško-Prešov, pp.) Everything must be accompanied by just health education 553 to increase people knowledge or influencing their attitudes. As the weaknesses of a long-term care are considered - poor access to quality and safe services and lack of adequate funding for chronic, long-term and end-of-life conditions, weak coordination with rest of care providers, including home care and no accountability for results. As the strengths can be considered the facts that long-term care facilities are expanded and start forming an integral part of the health services delivery network, the care is coordinated to ensure continuity of care for patients, its quality and safety are routinely monitored and reported. In the best case long-term care could be transformed step-by-step into the high quality care that is safe, effective, people-centred, timely, efficient, equitable, integrated and holistic. The last means the care to the whole person that considers psychological, social and environmental factors rather than just the symptoms of disease or ill-health. The EU Approach The EU principles slightly differ from the WHO view. However, both can be considered as an attempt to get closer to the ideal vision of person centred care. 554 Therefore, we would like to emphasise essential European principles that the long-term care service is built on. 552 Perspectives of next development we can find at the Universal Health Coverage Forum 2017, Tokyo Declaration on Universal Health Coverage: All Together to Accelerate Progress towards UHC. Published at the web address: With this regard, it is necessary to raise awareness of the importance of intense kinesiotherapy, which has impact on the patient s improved mobility and self-sufficiency. (E. Musilová and Z. Surovčíková, Self-sufficiency after pertrochanteric fracture in seniors, Rehabilitácia 52, no 1.(2015): 12). 554 European approach can be found clearly in the document European Quality Framework for long-term care services: Principles and guidelines for the wellbeing and dignity of older people in need of care and assistance, The web address is pdf while WEDO is a European project ( ) co-financed by the European Commission. It was led by a steering group composed of 18 partners from 12 European Union (EU) Member States interested in working together to improve the quality of life of older people in need of care and assistance. The project s aim was to set up a lasting and open European partnership of European, national and regional/ local stakeholders committed to improving the quality of services for older people in need of care and assistance and to fight elder abuse. The project ended in December 2012 with the launch of this European Quality Framework for long-term care services. More information, including examples of the implementation of the EU Quality Framework for long-term care services, is available on the WEDO project website

104 QUALITY IN LONG-TERM CARE: CENTRAL EUROPEAN PEOPLE-CENTRED ASSESSMENT PRINCIPLES AND THEIR CALLS FOR AN EFFICIENT INTER- DISCIPLINARY DIALOGUE MÁRIA ŠMIDOVÁ, KRZYSTOF ADAM TREBSKI, MÁRIA NEMČÍKOVÁ EU view is more general, focusing to the human rights and dignity. This contents the respect to the fundamental rights and freedoms of older people, their families and carers as outlined in national, European and international human rights instruments. A long-term care should be further person-centred, flexible, individual, fully respecting his/her personal integrity; preventive and rehabilitative to restore the older person s health and capacity to live independently; available with an appropriate response to the needs of older people and where appropriate, to their families and carers; accessible, thus easily accessible to elderly people and to their families; affordable, at a price which is affordable without unduly compromising their quality of life 555, dignity and freedom of choice; comprehensive, to be delivered in an integrated manner which reflects the needs and preferences of the older person and, when appropriate, their families; continuous, according to a life-cycle approach, uninterrupted range of services from early interventions to palliative care; outcome-oriented and evidence based, oriented towards improvements in a person s and their families health, wellbeing and independence; transparent, provide clear and comprehensive information and advice and also gender and culture sensitive pay due attention to gender and culture in care. 556 Project Q Europe: an example of co-operation towards people-centered and integrated long-term care services Multinational European project realized within the period of under the title Q Europe - quality management systems and impact measuring in providing long term care (LTC) services is about strengthening the capacity building among management workers, social workers and other subjects active in LTC services for elderly people. This project supports so-called knowledge triangle (education-research-innovation) connected with the involvement of the other social partners (Czech, Netherlands, Italian and Austrian Diaconate), researchers partner (Trnava University, Slovakia) and the European roof social organization (Eurodiaconia; European network of churches and Christian NGOs providing social and health care services and advocating social justice) in defining measures and methods of their imposing for quality systems and impact measuring in LTC. This requires improving the quality of education, strengthening research performance, promoting innovation and knowledge transfer throughout the Union. The main activity of the project consists of sharing best practices in quality management systems for LTC, improving knowledge, sharing experience and developing a new approach in measuring social impact of the LTC. One of the outcomes should be the Q handbook as a proper instrument that helps to support quality management among European social service providers, local authorities and other stakeholders active in LTC, to combat social exclusion of elderly and to promote professionalization in elderly care in Europe. All activities are based on the participatory approach that includes different methods used: e.g. focus group discussions; matrix scoring; flow chart; Venn diagrams etc. The extended learning means as the primary acquisition of knowledge and skills through study outside the traditional methodology like online course or private instruction are supported. Project outputs should provide answers to questions in areas of quality management systems in LTC, concretely how to train staff members to assure quality principles, to assess the quality in LTC, how to educate people in this area and how to provide for innovation within the local environments of individual European countries. Slovakia could be a good example of this sensitive and human issue. 558 Several activities of this type also respond to such activities of Central European countries; for example, in Slovakia this year s law on long-term care is being prepared. 559 The preparation of this law requires analyzing the WHO, EU principles, as well as the results of the projects involving various non-governmental organizations, including Christian and other religious or socially oriented entities. The good news is that in a broad society the idea of responsible behavior towards elderly people comes to life; perhaps also in the connection with the awareness concerning own personal perspective, as well as the need to address the economic situation caused by clear demographic changes and development. By 2025 more than 20% of Europeans will be 65 or over, with a particularly rapid increase in the number of over 80s. Since we do not want old age to become synonymous with poverty, we must provide for quality of life to the elderly as soon as possible. A quality of life in these contexts is understood mainly as health as well as high-quality social conditions for a satisfactory standard of living. 557 Discussion: The possibility of connecting long-term care with efficient interdisciplinary dialogue through two principles The WHO and EU principles concerning older people in long-term care are in my opinion wise and positive without any doubts. The principles are for instance taken into consideration in Slovakia, too. 560 We would especially like to mention two other principles or challenges regarding 555 More figures on economics in social services at Rastislav Bednárik and MilošTumpach, Nákladovosť v sociálnych službách: prieskum nákladov vo vybraných zariadeniach sociálnych služieb (Costs in Social Services: Cost Survey in Selected Social Services Facilities) (Bratislava: Institute for Research on Labor, Social Affairs and Family, Bratislava, 2016). 556 More information on individual European countries on the LTC can be found for instance at: Roberto Dandi, et al., Long-term care quality assurance policies in European countries. ENEPRI research report No. 111, work package 5, LUISS. Slovakia Available for free downloading from the CEPS website ( and the ANCIEN website ( This report focuses on the future of long-term care for the elderly in Europe, funded by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme (FP 7 Health , Grant no ). 557 With this regard, it is necessary to realize that today, many seniors live apart from the rest of the society or in social care centres or who are not respected begin to doubt their own worth. The seniors are dependent on their experiences with others and also with social workers for clues to how they should view and value themselves. The seniors feel loneliness, even when in touch with others in the care centre due to strict pro- grams; residual care; time table of activities; the narrow time management of social workers. (Lucia Ludvigh Cintulova and Pavol Beno, Implementation of the Code of Ethics in Social Services, Clinical Social Work and Health Intervention 9, no. 2, (2018): ) To improve the quality of life of the elderly, it is necessary to find more precise and complex solutions to the above-mentioned issues. 558 The Act on Social Economics and Social Enterprises, Published: No. 112/2018 C.L.S.R., April 14, 2018; effect from May 1, Drafting version of Návrhu konceptu a zákona Dlhodobej starostlivosti (Draft of the Concept and Wording of the Long-term Care Act 2018) to March 2018, author Ministry of Health of the SR. Does not published yet within the framework of a legislative process. 560 Miroslav Cangár and Mária Machajdíková, Dlhodobá starostlivosť v Slovenskej republike: potreba systémovej zmeny (Long-term Care in the Slovak Republic: Need for a Systematic Change), Bratislava: Council for Social Work Counseling, Bratislava, The publication was issued within the framework of the performance of the Two-year co-operation agreement between the Ministry of Health and Regional office of WHO for Europe for the years , Programme field Disability and rehabilitation; Miroslav Cangár, Slavomír Krupa and

105 QUALITY IN LONG-TERM CARE: CENTRAL EUROPEAN PEOPLE-CENTRED ASSESSMENT PRINCIPLES AND THEIR CALLS FOR AN EFFICIENT INTER- DISCIPLINARY DIALOGUE MÁRIA ŠMIDOVÁ, KRZYSTOF ADAM TREBSKI, MÁRIA NEMČÍKOVÁ approach to clients in long-term care facilities. Both are related to the real quality of life of clients in these facilities. In both cases it is not the will to talk too much about them, not even to solve them. These principles get used to lacking in our concepts as well as the criteria for assessing the quality of long-term care in the designated facilities. However, on the basis of our knowledge and life experience, we would like to say that for clients, answers to these questions are a key factor in their condition. This is particularly important for the Central European and Slovak regions. Both principles are in line with the WHO and EU guidelines on long-term care, in particular with the principles of integrated and person-centred healthcare. In our opinion, the first challenge is existential frustration or the absence of a clear answer to the basic questions of the meaning of life and its time constraint. We can bypass this question or look for answers in metaphors and philosophical conceptions or in various materialistic views. At the end, however, there will always be a question about the meaning of a particular person s life and whether death will end his or her life, that is, whether human life is really limited by the time between birth and death. It seems that there is no other effective answer to existential frustration than one that transcends the boundary of human life by death and gives it an answer or a starting point. It is not the purpose of this article to point to a specific answer but emphasise to its necessity to seek to support its search for the quality of life of a person who is a client in a longterm care facility. It is about dealing with areas that relate to what humanity exaggerates, what is related to the Greek expression anthropos, the person looking up, the meaning of life, dealing with questions of aging and death. It should be noted that the fulfilment of WHO and EU criteria to address existential frustration is not sufficient to solve such a deep life question up today. The second challenge is the possibility of self-realization of the client and his conviction of his own usefulness. Too one-sided focus on adherence to measurable standards may reduce attention to the natural, extremely important and fundamental aspects of the client s life. For instance, we concentrate on whether or not we secure all the client s requirements. We used to perceive the client just as a service recipient and the long-term care facility as a donor that provides life to the client. Focusing on meeting quality standards of a service does not yet have to focus on the client as on a person. One of the basic requirements of an older person is the continuity of own usefulness, self-realization. A person in any age or situation suffers particularly if nothing is expected from him. In addition to the fact that man wants to be accepted and unconditionally loved, everyone wants to be important to others, to have own world of dignity and independence. The elderly persons have limited ability to express themselves. On the other side, they have the ability as well as the desire to share own knowledge and experience with others. In a senior age, he finds himself or she herself in a hard and contradictory situation. He used to give and not to receive only during life. He or her used to provide something for own family, children, colleagues, to earn and be breadwinner. That was his or her dignity. Now it is very different. To be the recipient of Terézia Palanová, Kvalita a dlhodobá starostlivosť: štúdia o aspektoch kvality v dlhodobej starostlivosti (Quality and Long-term Care: Study on the Aspects of Quality in Long-term Care) Bratislava: Council for Social Work Counseling, Bratislava, The publication was issued within the framework of the performance of the Twoyear co-operation agreement between the Ministry of Health and Regional office of WHO for Europe for the years , Programme field Disability and rehabilitation; Miroslav Cangár and Krupa Slavomír, Význam podmienok kvality sociálnych služieb v procese transformácie deinštitucionalizácie: podmienky kvality sociálnych služieb v komunite (The Importance of Quality of Social Services in the Process of Transformation of Deinstitutionalisation: Conditions of Quality of Social Services in the Community) Bratislava: Implementing Agency of the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic, Bratislava, all the care in a facility, to get meals, medicines, all kind of support. And to feel clearly everyday s expectations of a facility personal and others around of him or her: full satisfaction and avoiding problems. However, a man does not change inside. A subject does not become an object in the old age. If the facility wants to provide for a real quality and client-oriented service, it needs to take these facts into account and with a great deal of creativity look for ways to improve his or her life in their real situation. To think of the fact that old man or woman is able to hear another, whether he or she has experience to share within or outside the facility. It is necessary to look, communicating with an old man or woman, how could be used their potential. Was not any of the clients a teacher in the past? Could be not possible to find two or three other clients to be new students just today? Conclusion Experience in this area, including the principles of integral and person centred long-term care of the highest quality, should be underpinned by the depth of the concept of the spiritual view to a human person who is in the centre of long-term care facility: Man is called to a fullness of life which far exceeds the dimensions of his earthly existence, because it consists in sharing the very life of God. The loftiness of this supernatural vocation reveals the greatness and the inestimable value of human life even in its temporal phase. Life in time, in fact, is the fundamental condition, the initial stage and an integral part of the entire unified process of human existence. It is a process which, unexpectedly and undeservedly, is enlightened by the promise and renewed by the gift of divine life, which will reach its full realization in eternity (Evangelium Vitae 2) There is an urgent need to recover a correct perspective on life as a whole. The correct perspective is that of eternity, for which life at every phase is a meaningful preparation. Old age too has a proper role to play in this process of gradual maturing along the path to eternity. And this process of maturing cannot but benefit the larger society of which the elderly person is a part. Elderly people help us to see human affairs with greater wisdom, because life s vicissitudes have brought them knowledge and maturity. They are the guardians of our collective memory, and thus the privileged interpreters of that body of ideals and common values which support and guide life in society. To exclude the elderly is in a sense to deny the past, in which the present is firmly rooted, in the name of a modernity without memory. Precisely because of their mature experience, the elderly are able to offer young people precious advice and guidance. In view of all this, the signs of human frailty which are clearly connected with advanced age become a summons to the mutual dependence and indispensable solidarity which link the different generations, inasmuch as every person needs others and draws enrichment from the gifts and charisms of all. 561 These intentions open a relevant and very useful space for efficient interdisciplinary dialogue that should be based on the two very relevant principles mentioned above: existential frustration or absence of a clear answer to the fundamental questions of life s purpose and life s limited duration. the opportunity for the client s self-fulfilment and his conviction of his own usefulness. 561 John Paul II. Letter of His Holiness Pope John Paul II to the Elderly, Vatican, October 1, 1999, part 10: w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/letters/1999/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_ _elderly.pdf

106 QUALITY IN LONG-TERM CARE: CENTRAL EUROPEAN PEOPLE-CENTRED ASSESSMENT PRINCIPLES AND THEIR CALLS FOR AN EFFICIENT INTER- DISCIPLINARY DIALOGUE MÁRIA ŠMIDOVÁ, KRZYSTOF ADAM TREBSKI, MÁRIA NEMČÍKOVÁ It is necessary to reflect on these principles, discuss them at both a professional and non-professional level, as two much-needed concepts that sooner or later become important for every person s life as they become part of their life. The article in question proposes application implications for practice as well as implications for further research in the field of long-term people-centred care. At the level of application implications for practice in the field of long-term people-centred care, the article proposes that: social care workers adapt their knowledge, skills, and abilities to the patient conditions that are changing as a result of an ageing population 562 (for instance by developing specific skills, e.g. handling dementia behaviour); long-term care workers be more aware that their cooperation and communication with long-term care users and their family members is going to increase over the coming years, and as a result, practice their communication skills and other social skills 563 ; 562 Older clients in particular feel excluded from the society due to inactive lifestyle, failing in obtaining new life goals; being needed by others. Because of these factors, they are more likely to express powerlessness. Social Workers have to put much more effort to motivate the seniors to be active and to empower their abilities while avoiding making them exhausted and burned out. (Lucia Ludvigh Cintulova and Pavol Beno, Implementation of the Code of Ethics in Social Services, Clinical Social Work and Health Intervention 9, no. 2, (2018): 17.) Therefore, it is necessary to realize that older clients must be perceived individually from the perspective of their interests and visions. (Beáta Áčová, Čo mi dala vysoká škola ako ma pripravila pre prax, ako možno pokračovať z pohľadu skúsenosti a názorov absolventa školy, in Rozvoj sociálnej práce a sociálnej solidarity v podmienkach Slovenskej republiky so zameraním na prínos Vysokej školy zdravotníctva a sociálnej práce sv. Alžbety: Zborník z odbornej konferencie. ed. Miloslav Hetteš, Milan Schavel and Oľga Škorecová, (Bratislava: Vysoká škola zdravotníctva a sociálnej práce sv. Alžbety v Bratislave, 2012). 9) so that they feel that something is still expected of them, that they can be helpful (!) and to provide them with efficient help in a sensitive way with a well-selected tactical approach to solve the problems. (Beáta Áčová, Čo mi dala vysoká škola ako ma pripravila pre prax, ako možno pokračovať z pohľadu skúsenosti a názorov absolventa školy, 8). 563 When interacting with older clients, the right communication is especially important. (Beáta Áčová, Čo mi dala vysoká škola ako ma pripravila pre prax, ako možno pokračovať z pohľadu skúsenosti a názorov absolventa školy, 8). Social work, which is a helping profession as such, requires the person s biological, psychological, social and spiritual wholeness. Social workers are often under immense time pressure, they need to deal with many requests and great responsibility. (Monika Nová, Otázka vztahu spirituality a sociální práce, in Spôsoby prepojenia systému sociálnych služieb a zdravotnej starostlivosti na úrovni komunitných a pobytových služieb regionálneho charakteru: Recenzovaný zborník z IV. Medzinárodenj vedeckej konferencie. (Warsawa: Katedra Filozofii, Wydział Psychologii, Wyższa Szkoła Finansów i Zarządzania w Warszawie 2018). ed. Peter Vansač, Daniela Barkasi and Mária Popovičová, 246). Some recent studies have shown that supervision can motivate the social worker to improve the quality of their work and training of skills if it provides them with recognition in the work they do and helps them use their skills and shows them how to help and support clients. (L, Ludvigh Cintulová and J. Novotná, The aspects of implementation of supervision into practical work of social workers. Health and Social Work 13, no. 1, (2018): 37.) According to the social workers, supervision, and above all, the opportunity to meet with supervisors on a daily basis is a very valuable part of their daily life. (Kráľová, Zuzana, and Dominika Kuklová. Volunteer work as a specific form of aid to refugees in refugee camps. 29.) These meetings make them feel that they are emotionally not alone in dealing with challenging situations they are confronted with on several occasions a day. (Kráľová, Zuzana, and Dominika Kuklová, Volunteer work as a specific form of aid to refugees in refugee camps. Acta Missiologica 11, no. 2, 2017): 29.) These meetings make them feel that they are emotionally not alone in dealing with challenging situations they are confronted with on several occasions a day. (Kráľová, Zuzana, and Dominika Kuklová. Volunteer work as a specific form of aid to refugees in refugee camps. 29.) As a result, they are relieved from emotional stress and are emotionally well-rested and as such, may continue in their work activities. (Kráľová, Zuzana, and Dominika Kuklová. Volunteer work as a specific form of aid to refugees in refugee camps. 29.) With this regard, it is also important to consider where social workers can restore their energy. One of the possibilities social care workers increasingly consider using shared decision-making processes in order to meet the needs of long-term care users and patients; long-term care professionals invest more in new technologies as well as increase their knowledge on how to integrate these technologies into their daily work and in what ways may long-term care users and patients use these technologies in the most efficient way. In this context, it is also necessary for the individual organisations/social care providers to start reflecting on how current trends and challenges translate into their daily work; it is important that long-term care organisations/providers evaluate how these trends and challenges affect care provision and what measures should and can be taken to ensure high-quality provision of long-term care in the following years. For instance, in order to meet the requirements of the current trends and challenges mentioned, long-term care organisations/providers should: invest more money, marketing resources and time in recruiting and retaining employees in order to address the current and future shortages of employees caused by (among other things) population ageing (e.g. by promoting employee satisfaction); adapt their services to the number of patients that is expected to increase as a result of an ageing population (for instance by introducing specialised care for an increasing number of dementia patients); long-term care organisations/providers should be aware of the specific cultural and religious needs and wishes of users and patients (e.g. by offering pork-free meals, etc.); long-term care organisations/providers should seek to provide people-centred care (e.g. by implementing individual client-centred care plans). In order to allow for further research in the field of provision of long-term people-centred care, the article proposes holding professional discussions, reflections, and studies that would address in detail: the individual aspects of the mentioned principles and the related diverse, relevant, and interesting correlations. The aim is to apply the results of these interesting studies into practice in the most efficient way, both at a professional and non-professional level, in the field of long-term people-centred care in the individual Central European countries, where such forms of application into practice are urgently needed. Slovakia is definitely one of these countries; The professional discussions, reflections, and studies mentioned above in the field of long-term people-centred care in the individual Central European countries and their incentives and results should go hand in hand with relevant, efficient and interdisciplinary dialogue. This unique type of dialogue should be focused on the dignity of people who require longfor everyday life is Christian spirituality. (Monika Nová, Otázka vztahu spirituality a sociální práce, 246). This is especially healthy spirituality of life which manifests in the health of the soul and body and in his helping profession. (Monika Nová, Otázka vztahu spirituality a sociální práce, 246). It is very beneficial when the social worker respects values and considers them preferable and thus respects human rights and human dignity. (L, Ludvigh Cintulová and J. Novotná, The aspects of implementation of supervision into practical work of social workers. Health and Social Work 13, no. 1, (2018): 37.) Respect to values significantly helps social workers to fulfil their mission. (L, Ludvigh Cintulová and J. Novotná, The aspects of implementation of supervision into practical work of social workers. Health and Social Work 13, no. 1, (2018): 37.)

107 QUALITY IN LONG-TERM CARE: CENTRAL EUROPEAN PEOPLE-CENTRED ASSESSMENT PRINCIPLES AND THEIR CALLS FOR AN EFFICIENT INTER- DISCIPLINARY DIALOGUE MÁRIA ŠMIDOVÁ, KRZYSTOF ADAM TREBSKI, MÁRIA NEMČÍKOVÁ term care especially seniors; by application alternatives focusing on ensuring such people are useful for their community and society as a whole in order to expect something from them, in order for them to consider their life meaningful despite the situation they are in and despite their age. Bibliography The Act on Social Economics and Social Enterprises. Published: No. 112/2018 C.L.S.R., April 14, 2018; effect from May 1, Áčová, Beáta. Čo mi dala vysoká škola ako ma pripravila pre prax, ako možno pokračovať z pohľadu skúsenosti a názorov absolventa školy, in Rozvoj sociálnej práce a sociálnej solidarity v podmienkach Slovenskej republiky so zameraním na prínos Vysokej školy zdravotníctva a sociálnej práce sv. Alžbety: Zborník z odbornej konferencie. ed. Miloslav Hetteš, Milan Schavel and Oľga Škorecová, Bratislava: Vysoká škola zdravotníctva a sociálnej práce sv. Alžbety v Bratislave, Bednárik Rastislav and Tumpach Miloš. Nákladovosť v sociálnych službách: prieskum nákladov vo vybraných zariadeniach sociálnych služieb (Costs in Social Services: Cost Survey in Selected Social Services Facilities). Bratislava: Institute for Research on Labor, Social Affairs and Family, Bratislava, Cangár Miroslav and Machajdíková Mária. Dlhodobá starostlivosť v Slovenskej republike: potreba systémovej zmeny (Long-term Care in the Slovak Republic: Need for a Systematic Change), Bratislava: Council for Social Work Counseling, Bratislava, Cangár Miroslav, Krupa Slavomír and Palanová Terézia. Kvalita a dlhodobá starostlivosť: štúdia o aspektoch kvality v dlhodobej starostlivosti (Quality and Long-term Care: Study on the Aspects of Quality in Long-term Care). Bratislava: Council for Social Work Counseling, Bratislava, Cangár Miroslav and Krupa Slavomír. 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Volunteer work as a specific form of aid to refugees in refugee camps. Acta Missiologica 11, no. 2, (2017): Ludvigh Cintulova, Lucia and Beno, Pavol. Implementation of the Code of Ethics in Social Services, Clinical Social Work and Health Intervention 9, no. 2, (2018): Journal DOI /cswhi Issue DOI /cswhi_9_2 Ludvigh Cintulová, L, and Novotná, J. The aspects of implementation of supervision into practical work of social workers. Health and Social Work 13, no. 1, (2018): Mašan, Ján. Fyzioterapia vertebrogénnych ochorení (Physiotherapy of vertebrogenic diseases) Bratislava: Cathedra, Mašan, Ján and Golská, S. Súčasné techniky hydrokinezioterapie po úrazoch, XXIV. Sjezd společnosti rehabilitační a fyzikálni medicíny. Luhačovice. Sborník abstrakt ( Contemporary post-injury hydrokinesiotherapy techniques, XXIVth Meeting of the Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine Society. Luhačovice. Compilation abstract 2017). Mašan, Ján and Golská, S. Kinezioterapia pri ochoreniach chrbtice (Kinesiotherapy in backbone disorders) UCM Trnava: Vaško-Prešov, pp. Musilová, E. and Surovčíková, Z. Self-sufficiency after pertrochanteric fracture in seniors, Rehabilitácia 52, no 1.(2015): Návrh konceptu a zákona Dlhodobej starostlivosti (Draft of the Concept and Wording of the Long-term Care Act 2018) to March 2018, author Ministry of Health of the SR. (Does not published yet within the framework of a legislative process). Nová, Monika. Otázka vztahu spirituality a sociální práce. In Spôsoby prepojenia systému sociálnych služieb a zdravotnej starostlivosti na úrovni komunitných a pobytových služieb regionálneho charakteru: Recenzovaný zborník z IV. Medzinárodenj vedeckej konferencie. Warsawa: Katedra Filozofii, Wydział Psychologii, Wyższa Szkoła Finansów i Zarządzania w Warszawie edited by Peter Vansač, Daniela Barkasi and Mária Popovičová, , here 246. Nová, Monika. Monika Nová, Mezigenerační solidarita in Nová sociálna edukácia človeka VII. Recenzovaný zborník z medzinárodnej vedeckej konferencie. ed. J. Husár, M. Machalová, T, Hangoni and B. Kuzyšan, (Prešov: Prešovská univerzita v Prešove, 2018). here108). WEDO project WHO global strategy on people-centred and integrated health services, The WHO Document Production Services, Geneva, Switzerland, No. WHO/HIS/SDS/ WHO Press, World Health Organization, 20 Avenue Appia, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland European Quality Framework for long-term care services: Principles and guidelines for the wellbeing and dignity of older people in need of care and assistance, John Paul II. Evangelium Vitae. John Paul II. Letter of His Holiness Pope John Paul II to the Elderly. Vatican, October 1, Perspectives of next development we can find at the Universal Health Coverage Forum 2017, Tokyo Declaration on Universal Health Coverage: All Together to Accelerate Progress towards UHC. int/universal_health_coverage/tokyo-decleration-uhc.pdf

108 THE IMPORTANCE OF DIALOGUE AND RESPECTING ANTHROPOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL ASPECTS IN THE EVANGELISATION OF ROMA PETER VANSAČ, MÁRIA BELOVIČOVÁ THE IMPORTANCE OF DIALOGUE AND RESPECTING ANTHROPOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL ASPECTS IN THE EVANGELISATION OF ROMA Peter Vansač, 1 564, Mária Belovičová Warsaw Management University (PL) 2 The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (PL) 1,2 Institute of bl. M. D. Trčku, Michalovce, St. Elizabeth University of health and social work Bratislava (SK) Submitted: 20 July 2018 Accepted for publication: 17 January 2019 First published: 15 October 2019 Acta Missiologica No. 2 Vol Abstract Backround: The article focuses on the anthropological and missionary aspects of the evangelization of the Roma. The various religious communities involved in the evangelization of the Roma must respect their own identity. Understanding and respecting Roma identity should lead priests and specialists to use specific instruments of evangelization. They are close to the Roma community and then would lead to integration and ultimately to the salvation of the immortal soul. Conclusion: In order to promote the dialogue between Roma and non-roma, strengthen their integration into society and effectively evangelize, the article presents the following implications for the possibility of further exploration in the field of evangelization of the Roma community: Universities operating in the territory of Slovakia should modify and extend their study program also in order to evangelize the Roma community as effectively as possible; evangelism among Roma should be linked to social work. This requires the cooperation of the Church and religious communities with the public administration. Scientific institutions should look more closely at the identity of the Roma in their research In the field of evangelization of the Roma community, it is also relevant to explore and seek new strategies to increase awareness among the laity, priests and special Catholic workers about the differences and specificities of Roma mentality and culture, the division of Roma into individual groups, the identity and traditions of the Roma family, the living the style and values of the Roma, the attitudes of the Roma to religion. Keywords: Dialogue Evangelization Identity Acculturation Roma people. Introduction During the evangelization of the Roma, emphasis must be placed on the call of St. John Paul II. on New Evangelization. This term was used by Pope John Paul II. during his apostolic journey in Poland. In the homily during the Holy Mass in the Holy Cross Sanctuary in Krakow, Contact on author: Prof. ThDr. Peter Vansač, PhD. vansac.p@gmail.com Contact on author: Doc. MUDr. Mária Belovičová, PhD. mriab9@gmail.com Mogile (June 9, 1979), he said, among other things: A new evangelization has begun, as if a second proclamation, although in fact it is still the same proclamation of the Gospel. According to this term, The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People has issued a document on the Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of Gypsies, which is a key document in the article. For this reason, the article is embedded in the Catholic environment. According to the Pontifical Council, the Church recognizes the right of Roma to their own identity and respects their own culture and traditions. Therefore, the Pontifical Council appeals to pastoral workers who are specifically dedicated to the evangelization of the Roma, to live their living conditions with them for some time, and thus to immerse themselves in the way Roma live. Patient dialogue between Roma and non-roma is also important in this process. The result of such evangelization is to raise and improve the Roma culture in Christ. The aim of the present article is to present concrete application and methodological implications in order to support Roma evangelization as effectively as possible. Roma Identity The Pontifical Council emphasizes that the Roma identity is not easy to reveal because it is dynamic, unstable and, moreover, appears only in disturbed relations between Roma and non-roma. The Roma identity according to the Pontifical Council is marked by a tendency to wander. Despite the fact that a large part of the Roma is now or permanently settled, these forms of their lives do not disturb the perception of themselves as being different from the non-roma. 566 According to Bowie, the inner self and the true Roma identity are linked to the body. Okely In: Bowie draws attention to many areas of possible misunderstanding between Roma and non-roma, and non-roma see only the outside of the Roma home and therefore consider Roma as for dirty people. As a national group, Roma are in constant danger 567, despite well-intentioned attempts by non-roma to engage in majority society to motivate them to lead the same life as non-roma. 568 They are seriously concerned that they will be deprived of their 566 Guidelines for the pastoral care of Gypsies, (2005) councils/migrants/documents/rc_pc_migrants_doc_ _orientamenti-zingari_en.html 567 Approximately 350,000 Roma living in Slovakia (see: Libuša Radková and Lucia Cintulová, Positive Influence of Volunteers and Organized Leisure Activities on Roma Children Living in Generation Poverty in Slovakia, in Proceedings of the Business and Health Administration Association, Chicago, IL March, 2017 ed. Jean Sanchez, 68) are in constant danger also due to other relevant factors. Relevant research shows that some of them are integrated to major population, but many of them live in the slums, mostly in the Eastern Slovakia. These slums are not much different from the slums in Africa or Latin America. (Libuša Radková and Lucia Cintulová, Positive Influence of Volunteers and Organized Leisure Activities on Roma Children Living in Generation Poverty in Slovakia, in Proceedings of the Business and Health Administration Association, Chicago, IL March, 2017 ed. Jean Sanchez, 68). Many of them live in excluded communities in generational poverty. There are many problems in these communities. Most of the people are unemployed and live only on social support. People live in shunty houses without electricity, sanitary system and flowing water. There is low level of personal and also communal hygiene, low standard of living facilities, poluted enviroment, unhealthy eating habits and poor nutrition, the increasing rate of alcohol and smoking even during pregnancy and the increasing drug addiction with the associated increased risk of infections. (Libuša Radková and Lucia Cintulová, Positive Influence of Volunteers and Organized Leisure Activities on Roma Children Living in Generation Poverty in Slovakia, in Proceedings of the Business and Health Administration Association, Chicago, IL March, 2017 ed. Jean Sanchez, 68). 568 Fiona Bowie, Antropologie náboženství (Portál s.r.o., Praha, 2008)

109 THE IMPORTANCE OF DIALOGUE AND RESPECTING ANTHROPOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL ASPECTS IN THE EVANGELISATION OF ROMA PETER VANSAČ, MÁRIA BELOVIČOVÁ identity while at the same time reinforcing resistance not only to assimilation but also to integration itself. 569 In particular, considering Roma as a person points out its uniqueness, dignity and vocation. Therefore, one can never be considered a source because he is still the object of action from his nature. In the sense of our theme, the goal of evangelization. 570 In this context, the Pontifical Council emphasizes one more fact that the long history of their isolation, disputes, misunderstanding on the part of the majority society has left a mark on the Roma mentality, manifesting itself in a distrustful attitude towards others as well as a tendency to close themselves. 571 According to Radičová, identity has at least three layers: 1. identity through behavior symbols (language, gestures, habits) 2. Identity defined by common universal values, values of one s own civilization, one s own culture 3. Identity, which lies in the respect of the first two identities to others (the process of awareess). Until now, however, none of the three spheres of identity of the Roma is developed in Slovakia. Therefore, focusing on only on the socio-economic situation cannot result in a full-fledged development of the Roma community as a respected community. Nor does it solve the problem of solidarity within (within) the Roma community itself. 572 Identity of Roma family A central place in the life of the Roma population is the family. Being a Roma means living in a family. The family forms an individual and at the same time educates young people during a non-roma world that keeps them apart, even though it surrounds them. Old people are highly respected in the family, respectful because they have a living wisdom. They die in memories for a long time, and in a sense their presence is still alive. Moreover, the Roma also have a wider family, a network of many related families, leading to an attitude of solidarity and hospitality, especially to members of their own ethnic group. 573 The Roma family bears tradition. It is great not only because of the number of children, but also for family coexistence of several generations. The Roma child grows between a greater number of siblings, sisters and cousins. He lives in a household not only with his parents but also with his grandparents, with his uncles, aunts and their children. They see these relatives as close relatives, so the world of the child has different dimensions. The traditional Roma family, asserted by Kuman and Džambazovič, exhibits signs of a widespread multi-generation family consisting of nuclear families, but whose significance did not reach the meaning of a wider family. From the point of view of the type of authority, he is patriarchal with a strong authority of man (father, husband, son, brother). For example, sons were already preferred at birth, and the status of the family increased significantly from their adolescence. The girls were brought up to 14 to 15 years of age to join the partnership, with their first child at about 16 to 17 years of age. There is therefore a very close, timely synchroni- zation of attained sexual maturity with partner cohabitation as an expression of the community s acknowledged social adulthood. In this way, the phase of professional training, adolescent acquisition of social competences, as well as the period of seeking a partner through several relatively non-binding relationships have been omitted. Partner cohabitation, often without an official marriage, was very permanent in traditional families. The whole large family had a strong sense of belonging, the application of traditions, as well as solid and unalterable relationships and inner family ties. The couple did not leave the house and set up their own family but became part of a large family. Every member of this family had a precisely defined place from which his specific rights and duties arose. The hierarchy was determined by the combination of gender, age, and affinity. 574 Hubschmannová, In: (Horňák, 2005), divides Roma families living in Slovakia into three groups: 1. Families that are most socially integrated and live an orderly life among the rest of the population. Adults are permanently employed, children are regularly sent to school and basically adjusted to the majority by their hierarchy of values. 2. Families who have not yet accepted commonly recognized social norms do not send children regularly to school, parents are unable to provide proper education or basic conditions for the healthy development of their children. 3. Families most deprived, whose members are not interested in changing their life and status in society. They live essentially in ancestral communities, change their settlement from one to another, and do not mind the primitive social and sanitary needs. 575 The specifics of the evangelization of the Roma The Roma culture, emphasized by the Pontifical Council, is so specific that it is not possible to reconcile evangelism led by the outside as if in a forceful way. The other way requires a pastoral attitude characterized by friendship and living together, so it is up to pastoral workers to immerse themselves in the lives of the Roma and live their living conditions together. For these workers, what the Vatican Council II emphasizes is that they should know the people they live with and be with them. 576 The most important element in the evangelization of the Roma or other work with the Roma community is to build a long-term, stable and honest relationship that is open to dialogue. The Salesian way of working with Roma can also make a significant contribution to this form of relationship. It is based on the preventive system of working with Roma and educating children and youth. It consists of three basic components: reason, religion and kindness. The area of application of the components of the Salesian Preventive System is also a method of assistance Guidelines for the pastoral care of Gypsies, (2005) Pavol Dancák, Personalistický rozmer vo filozofii 20. storočia (Prešovská univerzita v Prešove, 2009) Guidelines for the pastoral care of Gypsies, (2005) Iveta Radičová, Hic sunt Romales (Bratislava: S.P.A.C.E., 2001) Guidelines for the pastoral care of Gypsies, (2005) Zuzana Kumanová and Roman Džambazovič, Rómska rodina: na rozhraní medzi tradicionalitou a modernitou, in Čačipen pal o Roma. Súhrnná správa o Rómoch na Slovensku. ed. Milan Vašečka, (Inštitút pre verejné otázky, Bratislava 2002) Ladislav Horňák, Rómsky žiak v škole (Prešovská univerzita v Prešove, 2005) Guidelines for the pastoral care of Gypsies, (2005) For more information see: Peter Bešenyei, Preventívny systém v rómskom svete. Medzinárodná konferencia o pastorácii Rómov Košice ( novembra 2009) (Bratislava: Don Bosco, 2009)

110 THE IMPORTANCE OF DIALOGUE AND RESPECTING ANTHROPOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL ASPECTS IN THE EVANGELISATION OF ROMA PETER VANSAČ, MÁRIA BELOVIČOVÁ Evangelism in the sense of inculturation and integral development According to Pope John Paul II, in proclaiming the Gospel to other cultures, the Gospel should be embodied in the culture of this ethnic group. That is, inculturation means involving internal cultural values in Christianity so that the Church becomes more understandable for Roma culture. (RM 52.). According to the Pontifical Council, evangelization is abusing the abilities, qualities and morals of the Roma ethnicity if they are good. These values enhance and acquire them. Then evangelization, which respects inculturation, leads to the enrichment of the whole Church. 578 The evangelization is supposed to lead the Roma to integral development and this development is not possible without education, the Pontifical Council emphasizes. 579 Pope Francis in the Encyclical Letter Laudato Si writes that human development has a moral character and presupposes full respect for man, paying attention also to the natural world and taking into account the nature of each being. (Laudato Si 5). Evangelism is meant to help understand integration Integration must be unconditionally encouraged, aiming at the full integration of Roma life and Roma traditions into the rest of other cultures, while respecting its own. However, it is necessary to reject assimilation attempts leading to the destruction of Roma culture by dissolving it in the majority culture. Roma integrated into the society of non-roma must remain themselves and retain their own identity. Furthermore, it is desirable to know the Roma community well from the inside. Very often, public authorities, under the pressure of inhumane acts that open public opinion or under the influence of Roma associations and persons pointing to the inhumane living conditions of these families, risk taking rash decisions about what measures to take. The evangelization of the Roma is the mission of the whole Church, and therefore no Christian should remain indifferent to their marginalization or their separation from the Christian community. Even though the pastoral care of the Roma has its own specificity and requires that everyone who devotes to it has an appropriate and specific formation, an open attitude towards their acceptance must be expressed throughout the Catholic community. 580 Benedict XVI in Encyclical Caritas in Veritate writes that the problem of development is closely linked to the understanding of the human soul. Development must include both spiritual and mental growth because the human person is the unity of the soul and body born of God s creative love and destined for eternal life. A human being develops as he grows in spirit. A man distant from God is restless and sick. Social and psychological alienation and many neuroses characterizing affluent societies also point to the causes of spiritual nature. We ask how the weaker person used to welfare will react when he suddenly must experience the limitations and sacrifices of the crisis. A prosperous, materially developed society, oppressing the soul, is not in itself focused on authentic development. New forms of drug slavery and despair, which fall into so many people, are not just sociological and psychological explanations, but fundamentally spiritual. Suffering causes emptiness in which souls feel abandoned despite all physical and mental therapies. There is no full development and universal common good without the spiritual and moral good of the people, understood in the integrity of their soul and body. (Caritas in veritate 76). The center of true development is, according to Benedict XVI, respect for life. It is through developing openness to life that richer countries can understand the needs of the poor. This fact is justified by Benedict XVI: When society focuses on denial and suppression of life, it will end up not finding the motivation and the energy needed to enter into the service of the true good of man. That is why Benedict XVI emphasizes: that the first capital to be protected and valued is man in his integrity: because man and man are the center and purpose of the economic and social life. (Caritas in veritate 1, 3, 28). According to Paul VI, to be able to read and write, to gain vocational training is to gain self-confidence and find that one can progress with others. Literacy is a prime factor for social integration and personal enrichment, while for society it is a privileged means of economic progress and development. (Populorum progressio 35). Recommendations of the Evangelical Practice by the Pontifical Council Passing faith in small groups. They facilitate a personal attitude in passing on the experience of faith, because they all share the same events that are explained in the light of the Gospel, and they can share their own experience with the Lord. 581 Pope Paul VI. in the exhortation Evangelii nuntiandi writes about the small communities that are created to more thoroughly know the truths of faith, to practice love of neighbors, to receive sacraments. These communities created based on age, social and cultural conditions, have the support of the Church. (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 57). The Gospel is to be proclaimed by the one who is solid with them and thus manifested. Moreover, in a context of catechesis, it is important to continue to use a dialogue that allows Roma to present their understanding of God and the experience of their relationship with him. Surviving situations often tell more than too many ideas that are in danger of being lost. 582 The Roma have great imagination and for this reason it is good if the truths of the gospel are given to them in pictures. Based on these images, they can build a true spirituality with them. The translation of religious texts and prayer books into the languages used by the Roma is recommended by the Pontifical Council. In his recommendations, he also mentions the use of music that the Roma greatly value and is a very valuable asset in liturgical celebrations. Pilgrims are a manifestation of religion that the Roma very much value. They offer attractive moments for family meetings. Often, sacred places and meetings with saints are linked to family history. The event, the promise, the path of prayer - lived as a personal encounter with the god of the saint or saint, consolidate the foundations of the faithfulness of the Roma group., religious and laity participate in the prayer of the Roma and try to understand it, if they celebrate their baptism and bless their marriages, then the pilgrimage possesses its participants for the experience of Catholicism, which leads from a particular holy to the person of Christ and to ecclesial relationships with non-roma. Likewise, baptisms held at these pilgrimage sites can be celebrated with greater depth and honesty, because these places are closest to the Roma and 578 Guidelines for the pastoral care of Gypsies, (2005) Guidelines for the pastoral care of Gypsies, (2005) Guidelines for the pastoral care of Gypsies, (2005) councils/migrants/documents/rc_pc_migrants_doc_ _orientamenti-zingari_en.html 581 Guidelines for the pastoral care of Gypsies, (2005) councils/migrants/documents/rc_pc_migrants_doc_ _orientamenti-zingari_en.html 582 Guidelines for the pastoral care of Gypsies, (2005)

111 THE IMPORTANCE OF DIALOGUE AND RESPECTING ANTHROPOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL ASPECTS IN THE EVANGELISATION OF ROMA PETER VANSAČ, MÁRIA BELOVIČOVÁ have long been chosen by them. On these occasions, it will also be possible to deepen faith in Christ through catechesis adapted to adults and based on their own religiosity. 583 Conclusion The missionary message of Jesus Christ: Go, teach all nations, and baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to keep all that I have commanded you (Mt 28: 19-20). This is still valid for all nations, nationalities, ethnic groups. In the sense of this legacy of Jesus Christ, the Roma are also subjecting of evangelization. The Church is aware in her care that Roma need specific pastoral care that respects their identity and culture. The Pontifical Council stresses that: Roma identity is marked by a tendency to stray life. What needs to be seen from the perspective of evangelization is language, gestures, and the customs of Roma ethnicity, but above all the identity of the Roma family, which is characterized by the number of members (parents and children, grandparents, uncles and aunts). Thus, every family in evangelization is a small community where faith can be passed on. The actual evangelization of the Roma should be realized in the spirit of inculturation, that is, the Gospel is to be incarnated into the culture of this ethnic group. Evangelism is to lead the Roma to an integral development that is not possible without education. Development must include mental and spiritual growth because man is the unity of the soul and body. Recommendations of the Pontifical Council and their application to the conditions of the Roma living in Slovakia: In the introduction of the Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of Gypsies, the Pontifical Council states that the identity of the Roma is not easy to reveal as it only comes to light in relationships with non-roma, which are often disturbed. For this reason, we recommend that the scientific institutions pursue the research of the Roma identity itself, as Fiona Bowie says, so that we also know the inner self and the true Roma identity. The Pontifical Council emphasizes that special pastoral workers (priests, religious sisters, animators) have to evangelize the Roma with their living conditions for some time. In order to promote a patient dialogue between Roma and non-roma in strengthening their integration into society, and as much effective evangelism as possible, the following implications are relevant: From the aspect of application implications for practice in this field, it is relevant that Universities in Slovakia, which prepare their graduates for evangelization, have modified and extended their study program also in order to evangelize the Roma community as effectively as possible. The study program, which is currently being addressed in more detail by the Roma community, is still established in the field of social work. However, it is essential that the evangelization of the Roma community is also linked to the area of social work, as the conditions of life of the Roma require appropriate social assistance from social workers. At the level of implications for the possibility of further exploration in the field of evangelization of the Roma, it is essential that the scientific institutions take a more detailed look at the identity of the Roma in their research. Another relevant step in the field of further research is to seek and explore new strategies to increase the level of awareness of the specifics of the Roma community amongst lay people, priests and special pastoral workers through effective, undistorted and knowledgeable ways. 583 Guidelines for the pastoral care of Gypsies, (2005) 61, councils/migrants/documents/rc_pc_migrants_doc_ _orientamenti-zingari_en.html These specifics should relate to: the differences between Roma mentality and culture, the division of Roma into individual groups and subgroups, the identity and traditions of the Roma family, the lifestyle and values of the Roma, the attitudes of the Roma towards religion. If Christians and the mentioned evangelists are at least partially effective and knowledgeable about the nature of Roma and come out of their churches, they will be able to better understand the motives and motives that lead Roma to behave and act. These effective and knowledgeable strategies can make a significant contribution to mutual understanding and forgiveness. Christians, who adopt effective and knowledgeable awareness strategies about the Roma community, perceive the Roma community as well as its evangelism in a different way compared to the Christians, whose Roma issues are only known through the media and the distorted image the media bring. As a result, there are attitudes that lead to misunderstanding and xenophobia. However, the roots of these attitudes result from the lack of knowledge of the culture and its specificities. (The above-mentioned attitudes, as well as their roots, are equally valid for Christians and non-christians.) For example, in the Salesian Way of Working with Roma, we can look for examples of good practice in efforts to integrate and evangelize Roma as well as effective and undistorted information about the Roma community. Bibliography Benedict XVI. Caritas in veritate, on integral human development in charity and truth, content/benedict-xvi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_ _caritas-in-veritate.html Bešenyei, Peter edited by Preventívny systém v rómskom svete. Medzinárodná konferencia o pastorácii Rómov Košice ( novembra 2009). Bratislava: Don Bosco, Bowie, Fiona F. Antropologie náboženství. Portál s.r.o., Praha, Dancák Pavol. Personalistický rozmer vo filozofii 20. storočia, Prešovská univerzita v Prešove, Francis. Encyclical letter Laudto si on care for our common home, en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_ _enciclica-laudato-si.html Guidelines for the pastoral care of Gypsies councils/migrants/documents/rc_pc_migrants_doc_ _orientamenti-zingari_en.html Horňák, Ladislav. Rómsky žiak v škole. Prešov: Prešovská univerzita v Prešove, Pedagogická fakulta John Paul II. Redemptoris missio. hf_jp-ii_enc_ _redemptoris-missio.html Kumanová Zuzana and Džambazovič Roman. Rómska rodina: na rozhraní medzi tradicionalitou a modernitou. In Čačipen pal o Roma. Súhrnná správa o Rómoch na Slovensku, edited by Milan Vašečka, Inštitút pre verejné otázky, Bratislava Paul VI. Evangelii Nuntiandi. vi/en/apost_exhortations/documents/ hf_p-vi_exh_ _evangelii-nuntiandi.html Paul VI. Populorum progressio. Radičová, Iveta. Hic sunt Romales. Bratislava: S.P.A.C.E., Radková Libuša and Cintulová, Lucia. Positive Influence of Volunteers and Organized Leisure Activities on Roma Children Living in Generation Poverty in Slovakia. In Proceedings of the Business and Health Administration Association, Chicago, IL March, 2017 edited by Jean Sanchez,

112 DIALOGUE WITHIN THE SUPPORTING SCIENCES WITH AN EMPHASIS ON L.M.A.A. LITE AND MOVE TO ADVANCE IN AGE : A STAGE OF LIFE SPECIFIC AND AN INDICATION SPECIFIC INTERVENTION FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND HEALTHY EATING FOR OVERWEIGHT AND OBESE PEOPLE IN THE NEW EASTERN STATES OF GERMANY CARSTEN WITTLING DIALOGUE WITHIN THE SUPPORTING SCIENCES WITH AN EMPHASIS ON L.M.A.A. LITE AND MOVE TO ADVANCE IN AGE : A STAGE OF LIFE SPECIFIC AND AN INDICA- TION SPECIFIC INTERVENTION FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND HEALTHY EATING FOR OVERWEIGHT AND OBESE PEOPLE IN THE NEW EASTERN STATES OF GERMANY 584 Carsten Wittling Faculty of Health Care and Social Work of Trnava University in Trnava (SK) Submitted: 10 September 2018 Accepted for publication: 5 July 2019 First published: 15 October 2019 Acta Missiologica No. 2 Vol Abstract Excess weight and obesity are nowadays becoming increasingly significant, particularly in health-care policy and economy, which is associated with the high prevalence and increasing risk of comorbidities and secondary diseases. Excess weight and obesity are especially common in the current adult population of Germany. They can negatively affect a person s social life, mobility, and quality of life. Among the most serious consequences is one of the main factors behind the increase in chronic diseases (metabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, coronary heart disease hospitalisation, loss of employment, or death). The reasons mentioned above demonstrate that from the relevant medical aspects, excess weight and obesity is considered an epidemic that escalates and along with its consequences causes an almost-unstoppable cost increase in the healthcare sector and macroeconomic sphere. The main reason behind its escalation is bad eating habits and inadequate physical activity, which affect the balance of people s energy needs and energy intake, which in turn directly causes excess weight or obesity. A possible solution for overweight and obese people is the L.M.A.A. intervention that boosts physical activity and sets healthy eating habits. This intervention is directly linked to the development of a health-oriented lifestyle whereby overweight and obese people take care of their health and change their behaviour and eating habits accordingly. L.M.A.A. intervention is based on the MoVo-process model which is also given space in the presented article in order to promote a different lifestyle. The MoVo model is focused on prevention and therapy against excess weight and obesity. Voluntary self-regulation plays an important role in this model. Keywords: Obesity Intervention Epidemiology Etiology Costs. Introduction The prevalence of overweight and obesity is in the adult population on a very high level in Germany. According to the study»gesundheit in Deutschland aktuell 2012«are 67.1 % of men (n 26, 4 Mio.) and 53.0 % of women (n 21, 8 Mio.) of the 18- to 79-year-old Contact on author: Carsten Wittling, MA., PhD. Carsten@zweiWittling.com population in Germany are affected with overweight and obesity. 585 Concerning the gender perspective the prevalence of obesity is 23.9 % for women (n 5, 2 Mio.) and 23.3 % for men (n 6,16 Mio.) The age structure of the German population changes strongly for many years. And the development of the body weight has got a strong correlation with age: The prevalence of overweight and obesity increase with the growing older of men and women. In this context it is observed a extreme increase of overweight in young adulthood. 586 So, there are overweight 35.3 % among 18- to 29-year-old men, whereas there are already 62.4 % in the 30 to 39 years old. In both genders can be ascertained an increasing of obesity up to a high age of life 587 However more women are obese at the age of 70 years old than men at the same age (31.3 %). There are special feature in the consideration of overweight and obesity by social state. The prevalence of obesity of women decreases in all groups of age dependent on socioeconomic state, whereas such a trend isn`t identifiable by men 588. However, it can be noticed a decrease of the proportion of obese with the increasing of socioeconomic state both women and men. A regional consideration indicates that obesity of women is more occur in eastern states of Germany than at women in western states of Germany. For men, however, there is no especially regional anomaly. But the women in eastern states of Germany more often suffer at the age of 60 years old on obesity like men at the same age. 589 In this respect, it is important to consider health economics data, including health risks. In the context of the KORA-region of study were ascertained the direct costs of contacts with outpatient physicians and of hospitalization and also the prescribed medicines with the classification of BMI in mind. 590 According to the study the expenses amount to 847,50 EUR per year for normal weight subjects. At a BMI of 30-34,9 kg/m2 (obesity grade I) the expenses already increase at 232,54 EUR. And at a BMI greater than 35 kg/m2 the costs increase more than 200 % to 2.572,19 EUR compared with the costs for normal weight subjects. Extrapolated to the data from the food consumption study II of the Max-Rubner-Institut 591 for 2008 it means, that obesity cause about 6,55 Mrd. EUR of additional costs. However, the therapy of comorbidity associated with obesity is estimated at a total of 11,3 Mrd. EUR. Furthermore, there are also indirect costs because of lost productivity as a result of inability 585 See Robert Koch-Institut (Hrsg.). U bergewicht und Adipositas. Faktenblatt zu GEDA 2012: Ergebnisse der Studie»Gesundheit in Deutschland aktuell 2012«. RKI, Berlin, See G.B.M. Mensink, et. al., U bergewicht und Adipositas in Deutschland Ergebnisse der Studie zur Gesundheit Erwachsener in Deutschland (DEGS1), Bundesgesundheitsdatenblatt 56, no. 5 6, (2013): See G.B.M. Mensink, et. al., Übergewicht und Adipositas in Deutschland Ergebnisse der Studie zur Gesundheit Erwachsener in Deutschland (DEGS1), See G.B.M. Mensink, et. al., Übergewicht und Adipositas in Deutschland Ergebnisse der Studie zur Gesundheit Erwachsener in Deutschland (DEGS1), See G.B.M. Mensink, et. al., Übergewicht und Adipositas in Deutschland Ergebnisse der Studie zur Gesundheit Erwachsener in Deutschland (DEGS1), See T. von Lengerke, P. Reitmeir and J. John, Direkte medizinische Kosten der (starken) Adipositas: ein Bottom-up-Vergleich über- vs. normalgewichtiger Erwachsener in der KORA-Studienregion, Gesundheitswesen 68, no. 2, (2006): See also Max-Rubner-Institut (Hrsg.) Nationale Verzehrstudie II, Ergebnisbericht, Teil 1, Tab. A

113 DIALOGUE WITHIN THE SUPPORTING SCIENCES WITH AN EMPHASIS ON L.M.A.A. LITE AND MOVE TO ADVANCE IN AGE : A STAGE OF LIFE SPECIFIC AND AN INDICATION SPECIFIC INTERVENTION FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND HEALTHY EATING FOR OVERWEIGHT AND OBESE PEOPLE IN THE NEW EASTERN STATES OF GERMANY CARSTEN WITTLING to work, early retirements or early death. 592 The authors quantify these additional costs between 1,4 to 1,6 Mrd. EUR. 593 But in the future, overweight and obesity will probably burden the German system of heath care even stronger. According to the projection of K.-P. Knoll and H. Hauner 594 the direct costs will amount to 22,4 Mrd. EUR in As has already been hinted at above, obesity may be associated with serious health problems and social consequences. This also applies to (pre-)obesity. According to the WHO classification, overweight is defined by a BMI 25 kg/m2. A BMI 30 kg/m2 determine obesity. However, the range between 25 to 30 kg/m2 is named with pre-obesity. 595 Obesity can involve with serious health impairments and social consequences. Thus, people with obesity have more risks for diabetes mellitus II, an increases risk for cardiovascular diseases and different cancers as well as joint trouble and back complaint. 596 As a result, the probability for a reduced expectation of life increase with obesity compared with normal weight persons. 597 In addition, prejudice, discrimination and stigmatization, which obese are confronted, may arise impairments on the psychosocial level. 598 A low self-confidence, a negative impact to the quality of life and social retraction are common consequences. However, the health effects resp. risks of pre-obesity are not so good documented. Following the bio-psycho-social model, overweight and obesity are based on interactions of psychosocial, sociocultural and biological factors, which influence the eating behavior and the behavior of physical activities. 599 The model postulates an imbalance between the consumption of energy and the intake of energy as direct factors influencing the genesis of overweight and obesity. A positive balance of energy is the result. A positive balance of energy implicate, that the organism take more energy than needed. The surplus of energy is changed and accumulated in body fat, whereby overweight and obesity are developed. 600 According to Warschburger and Petermann 601 the existence of a negative balance of energy is inalienable for reducing overweight and obesity. In this regard, the Robert-Koch-In- 592 See K.-P. Knoll and H. Hauner, Kosten der Adipositas in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland: Eine aktuelle Krankheitskostenstudie, Adipositas 4, no. 2, (2008): See K.-P. Knoll and H. Hauner, Kosten der Adipositas in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland: Eine aktuelle Krankheitskostenstudie, See K.-P. Knoll and H. Hauner, Kosten der Adipositas in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland: Eine aktuelle Krankheitskostenstudie, See WHO The SuRF Report 2. Surveillance of chronic disease: Country-level data and comparable estimates. Geneva, See G.B.M. Mensink, et. al., U bergewicht und Adipositas in Deutschland Ergebnisse der Studie zur Gesundheit Erwachsener in Deutschland (DEGS1), See G.B.M. Mensink, et. al., U bergewicht und Adipositas in Deutschland Ergebnisse der Studie zur Gesundheit Erwachsener in Deutschland (DEGS1), See Markus Gerber, Reinhard Fuchs and Uwe Pühse. Einfluss eines Kurz-Interventionsprogramms auf das Bewegungsverhalten und seine psychologischen Voraussetzungen bei U bergewichtigen und Adipösen Die Basler MoVo-Lisa-Studie, Zeitschrift für Gesundheitspsychologie 18, (2010): See S. Lehrke and R. G. Laessle, Adipositas, in Verhaltensmedizin (Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag, 2003), , (Hrsg.) U. Ehlert. 600 See Platte, P. Der Energiestoffwechsel, In Übergewicht und Adipositas. Volker Pudel and Franz Petermann (Hrsg.), Hogrefe Verlag GmbH & Co.KG. Göttingen, See Petra Warschburger and Franz Petermann, Adipositas. Göttingen: Hogrefe Verlag GmbH & Co.KG, stitute (RKI) recommends a reduction of caloric intake, an increasing of the calorie consumption or the combination of both. 602 In this regard, the intervention to modify the behaviour of the overweight or obese is very relevant, i.e. the intervention to modify eating habits and physical activity according to behaviour patterns. We can opt for available healthy alternatives, rejecting those that harm our health. 603 In a systematic review of literature 604 examined 4495 abstracts and in this process discovered, that a modification of behavior promote a change of nutrition habits and the habits of of physical activities. Therefore, the authors conclude, that programs for losing weight should be a combination of a therapy for nutrition, physical activity and behavior. One of the interventions, which fulfill these requirements, called M.O.B.I.L.I.S 605. M.O.B.I.L.I.S was developed and initiated by the department of rehabilitative and preventive sports of the university medical center of Freiburg as well as the institute for cardiovascular research and sports medicine of the German physical education college in Cologne. M.O.B.I.L.I.S means a multicenter movement-oriented initiative for changing the lifestyle considering self-responsibility and it is a cognitive-behavior intervention, which focused adults with overweight. It works interdisciplinary with four main areas: movement, psychology/education, nutrition and medicine 606 For each of the main topics there are manuals, which have been developed by experts. These manuals are continuously advanced and are subject to an ongoing quality control. 607 A major difference between M.O.B.I.L.I.S and other behavior-change-interventions is, that M.O.B.I.L.I.S fulfill three criteria of quality instead of two: it is based on theory, standardized and based on evidence. 602 See Robert Koch-Institut (Hrsg.). Übergewicht und Adipositas. Gesundheitsberichterstattung des Bundes. Heft 16. Geänderte Auflage. RKI, Berlin, 2005; See also: Robert Koch-Institut (Hrsg.). Daten und Fakten: Ergebnisse der Studie»Gesundheit in Deutschland aktuell 2010«. in Beiträge zur Gesundheitsberichterstattung des Bundes. RKI, Berlin, 2012; Robert Koch-Institut (Hrsg.). U bergewicht und Adipositas. Faktenblatt zu GEDA 2012: Ergebnisse der Studie»Gesundheit in Deutschland aktuell 2012«. RKI, Berlin, See Ján Mašán, Fyzioterapia vertebrogénnych ochorení (Physiotherapy of vertebrogenic diseases) (Bratislava: Cathedra, 2019) However, much depends on lifestyle. It is a very complex concept that may be studied from many different viewpoints. (Ján Mašán, Fyzioterapia vertebrogénnych ochorení (Physiotherapy of vertebrogenic diseases) Bratislava: Cathedra, ). It is composed of a whole range of constituents, elements, components, aspects and is influenced by many factors (Ján Mašán, Fyzioterapia vertebrogénnych ochorení (Physiotherapy of vertebrogenic diseases) 120): in relation to the subject-matter of the article in question, e.g. by physical activity, nutrition, liquid intake, recovery, work regime and leisure time, (...) (Ján Mašán, Fyzioterapia vertebrogénnych ochorení (Physiotherapy of vertebrogenic diseases)120), sleep, medical care standards and environmental impact. (Ján Mašán, Fyzioterapia vertebrogénnych ochorení (Physiotherapy of vertebrogenic diseases)120). An important factor is the deterioration of physical activity levels and the resulting decrease in the quality of life. (Ján Mašán, Fyzioterapia vertebrogénnych ochorení (Physiotherapy of vertebrogenic diseases) 120). 604 See Alfred Wirth, Martin Wabitsch, and Hans Hauner. Prävention und Therapie der Adipositas. Deutsches Ärzteblatt. 111, no. 42, (2014): See also F. Hänsel, C. Zocher, F. Ennigkeit and J. Rühl, Evaluation von M.O.B.I.L.I.S. light - ein Gesundheitssportprogramm für U bergewichtige, Deutsche Zeitschrift fur Sportmedizin 64, no. 4, (2013): See Aloys Berg, et al., Bewegungsorientierte Schulung für adipöse Erwachsene. Ergebnisse zum Interventionsprogramm M.O.B.I.L.I.S, Deutsches Ärzteblatt 11, no. 105, (2008): ; See also: A. Berg jr., et al., Das M.O.B.I.L.I.S.-Programm, Zeitschrift Adipositas Ursachen, Folgeerkrankungen, Therapie, 2 (2008): See Aloys Berg, et al., Bewegungsorientierte Schulung für adipöse Erwachsene. Ergebnisse zum Interventionsprogramm M.O.B.I.L.I.S, ; See also: A. Berg jr., et al., Das M.O.B.I.L.I.S.-Programm,

114 DIALOGUE WITHIN THE SUPPORTING SCIENCES WITH AN EMPHASIS ON L.M.A.A. LITE AND MOVE TO ADVANCE IN AGE : A STAGE OF LIFE SPECIFIC AND AN INDICATION SPECIFIC INTERVENTION FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND HEALTHY EATING FOR OVERWEIGHT AND OBESE PEOPLE IN THE NEW EASTERN STATES OF GERMANY CARSTEN WITTLING According to the guideline of the German obesity association the main objectives of M.O.B.I.L.I.S are to reduce the body weight and the risk factors as well as the improvement of the health behavior and the quality of life. 608 A trained interdisciplinary team of experts supports the program participants during the whole year in order to enable them to create personal health concepts with own target values and to integrate the concepts in daily routines. 609 M.O.B.I.L.I.S implies a further special feature two health economists at the University of Konstanz, have proved a positive health economical outcome of M.O.B.I.L.I.S in the context of a cost-benefit-analysis. The M.O.B.I.L.I.S. concept is designed for adults suffering from being overweight and obesity. The L.M.A.A. intervention program, established on the basis of the M.O.B.I.L.I.S concept and introduced later, is somewhat more specific in its focus. The M.O.B.I.L.I.S -concept is addressed to adults with overweight and obesity. The later presented intervention L.M.A.A., which based on M.O.B.I.L.I.S is more target-group-specific. According to epidemiologic data to the regional allocation and to the age-specific allocation of overweight and obesity the focus of L.M.A.A. are overweight and obese adults from 45 years in the in eastern states of Germany. But other improvements of target groups are per se principally thinkable if setting success. Concerning this matter an expansion to children and adolescents or even a national wide expansion could be conceived. The aim of the article is thus to introduce the L.M.A.A. intervention, which significantly helps to eliminate risks associated with excess weight and obesity. The L.M.A.A. intervention within the field of supporting sciences opens up space for an expert and scientific dialogue on the development of healthy lifestyle where the overweight and obese prioritise their health and change their behaviour and eating habits accordingly. The MoVo-approach The L.M.A.A. programme is based on M.O.B.I.L.I.S and uses the MoVo approach implemented as a group programme with the aim of increasing physical activity, as well as changing eating habits. 610 This consists of two parts: the MoVo-process-model and the MoVo-intervention. 611 In the relevant literature for researching, various explanations can be researched for health behavior. Here you come upon the social cognition research from Anglo-American area and the German researching for volition. 612 However, the MoVo-approach relies on an explanatory model, which tries to integrate the key elements of both research directions. It assumes from the knowledge, that there are many people have difficulties to make things what they have intended even so if they are motivated. 613 According to Göhner and Fuchs these people don`t miss the motivation, but they have lacks in the volition. So the processes of self-regulation or self-control, which enable people to realize their intentions, if extrinsic and intrinsic barriers are exist. 614 The MoVo-process-model The MoVo-proces-model is based on the requirement, that the development and maintenance of health-oriented behavior essentially depends on five psychological factors: 1) the existence of a strong goal intention (strength of intention), 2) the highest self-concordance of these goal intention, which is possible, 3) realistic intentions for implementation, 4) effective strategies to control the actions and to shield the intention and 5) the existence of positive experiences of consequences with the new behavior. 615 Fig. 1: MoVo-proces-modell (own illustration according to Fuchs (2006)) The point of start of a health-oriented change in behavior is the motivation according to the model. And the motivation finds its manifestation in the target intention. 608 See Aloys Berg, et al., Bewegungsorientierte Schulung für adipöse Erwachsene. Ergebnisse zum Interventionsprogramm M.O.B.I.L.I.S, ; See also: A. Berg jr., et al., Das M.O.B.I.L.I.S.-Programm, See Aloys Berg, et al., Bewegungsorientierte Schulung für adipöse Erwachsene. Ergebnisse zum Interventionsprogramm M.O.B.I.L.I.S, ; See also: A. Berg jr., et al., Das M.O.B.I.L.I.S.-Programm, Markus Gerber, Reinhard Fuchs and Uwe Pühse, Die Basler MoVo-LISA-Studie, Zeitschrift für Gesundheitspsychologie 18, no. 4, (2010): 162. Hogrefe Verlag Göttingen. 611 See Wiebke Göhner and Reinhard Fuchs, Änderung des Gesundheitsverhaltens (Göttingen: Hogrefe-Verlag, 2007); See also: Wiebke Göhner and Reinhard Fuchs, See Wiebke Göhner and Reinhard Fuchs, Änderung des Gesundheitsverhaltens (Göttingen: Hogrefe-Verlag, 2007); See also: Wiebke Göhner and Reinhard Fuchs, See Wiebke Göhner and Reinhard Fuchs, Änderung des Gesundheitsverhaltens (Göttingen: Hogrefe-Verlag, 2007); See also: Wiebke Göhner and Reinhard Fuchs, See Wiebke Göhner and Reinhard Fuchs, Änderung des Gesundheitsverhaltens (Göttingen: Hogrefe-Verlag, 2007); See also: Wiebke Göhner and Reinhard Fuchs, See Wiebke Göhner and Reinhard Fuchs, Änderung des Gesundheitsverhaltens (Göttingen: Hogrefe-Verlag, 2007); See also: Wiebke Göhner and Reinhard Fuchs,

115 DIALOGUE WITHIN THE SUPPORTING SCIENCES WITH AN EMPHASIS ON L.M.A.A. LITE AND MOVE TO ADVANCE IN AGE : A STAGE OF LIFE SPECIFIC AND AN INDICATION SPECIFIC INTERVENTION FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND HEALTHY EATING FOR OVERWEIGHT AND OBESE PEOPLE IN THE NEW EASTERN STATES OF GERMANY CARSTEN WITTLING Goal intentions are the result of motivational processes of assessment and selection between coexisting needs and wishes and according to P. M. Gollwitzer, (1999; P. M. Gollwitzer, et al., its are relative general statements of intention. 617 In this context, years of research have proved, that the strength of movement-related and sports-related goal intention mainly depends on two factors: of the consequence expectations (= pros and cons of the behavior) and the self-efficiency expectations (= persistent control of behavior). 618 Fundamental for the process of initiating and maintenance the change of behavior is in addition to the existence of a distinct goal intention a best possible self-concordance. The construct of self-concordance is based on the self-concordance model, which was introduced of Sheldon and Elliot. 619 This model describes the relationship between the selection, the pursuit and the achievement of objectives. 620 Following Sheldon and Elliot self-concordance is the extent, whereupon the targets match to the interests and the values of a person. The more a target implies the personal interests, wishes and needs, the more self-concordant the target is. 621 Thus, a target with a high self-concordance cause a more sustainable effort(-willingness) than a target with low a self-concordance. 622 As a result the probability for reaching target will increase at persons, their goals have got a high-developed self-concordance. 623 Also, for these persons it is easier to shield self-concordant-targets against competitive targets. 624 So real action can be followed from a target intention, the development of so-called intentions of implementation is a requirement. The intentions of implementation have got 616 See P. M. Gollwitzer, Implementation Intentions. Strong effects of simple plans American Pschologist 54, no. 7, (1999): ; P. M. Gollwitzer, K. Fujita, and G. Oettingen, Planning and the implementation of goals, In Self-regulation. Research, theory, and applications (New York, NY: Guilford Press, 2004) , eds. R. F. Baumeister and K. D. Vohs. 617 See Wiebke Göhner and Reinhard Fuchs, Änderung des Gesundheitsverhaltens (Göttingen: Hogrefe-Verlag, 2007); See also: Wiebke Göhner and Reinhard Fuchs, See Wiebke Göhner and Reinhard Fuchs, Änderung des Gesundheitsverhaltens (Göttingen: Hogrefe-Verlag, 2007); See also: Wiebke Göhner and Reinhard Fuchs, See Harald Seelig Das Selbstkonkordanz-Modell. n.d. in Kennon M. Sheldon and Andrew J. Elliot. Goal striving, need-satisfaction, and longitudinal well-being: The self-concordance model, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 76, no. 3, (1999): See Harald Seelig Das Selbstkonkordanz-Modell. n.d. in Kennon M. Sheldon and Andrew J. Elliot. Goal striving, need-satisfaction, and longitudinal well-being: The self-concordance model, See Harald Seelig Das Selbstkonkordanz-Modell. n.d. in Kennon M. Sheldon and Andrew J. Elliot. Goal striving, need-satisfaction, and longitudinal well-being: The self-concordance model, See Harald Seelig Das Selbstkonkordanz-Modell. n.d. in Kennon M. Sheldon and Andrew J. Elliot. Goal striving, need-satisfaction, and longitudinal well-being: The self-concordance model, See Harald Seelig Das Selbstkonkordanz-Modell. n.d Wiebke Göhner and Reinhard Fuchs, Änderung des Gesundheitsverhaltens (Göttingen: Hogrefe-Verlag, 2007); See also: Wiebke Göhner and Reinhard Fuchs, the patterns of small action plans. In these action plans a person determines, when, where and how the person want to conduct or continue the intend action. 625 Self-concordant intentions of goal with suitable intentions of implementation are necessary but not sufficient requirements. Because, intentions of implementation, which are been carefully prepared, may have fail to realize, when barriers and resistance (spontaneous) occurs. 626 In such situation, a person faces a challenge the intended action to shield against competitive actions. 627 With the aid of volitional control strategies like e.g. control of attention, mood management and cognitive restructuring, it succeed to shield the intentions of implementation against the influence of internal and external confounding factors. 628 Based on a strong and self-concordant goal intention, an adequate intention of implementation with the complementary strategies of shield, it can succeed to initiate the actions concerned. 629 For the graduate habituation of these actions additional feedback processes are important. A central role is the experience of consequence, a variable, which is postulated by Göhner and Fuchs. At this a person assesses the experiences gained in more or less aware processes of evaluation to which extend the expectation have been previously developed match to the new behavior. If the actual experiences are consistent with the original expectations or exceed them, than a person will develop an attitude of satisfaction with the new behavior and the motivation, to continue. 630 Thus, the probability will increase, that new behavior will be following sustainably. So, it can be concluded, that the construct of experience of consequences is an important predictor for the maintenance of behavior. However, there are few empirical evidence for this yet. 631 Implications for the practice of the intervention L.M.A.A. Based on the theoretical explanations it can be deduced a guide model to develop a health-oriented behavior for the intervention L.M.A.A. 625 See P. M. Gollwitzer, Implementation Intentions. Strong effects of simple plans, ; P. M. Gollwitzer, K. Fujita, and G. Oettingen, Planning and the implementation of goals, See Wiebke Göhner and Reinhard Fuchs, Änderung des Gesundheitsverhaltens (Göttingen: Hogrefe-Verlag, 2007); See also: Wiebke Göhner and Reinhard Fuchs, See Wiebke Göhner and Reinhard Fuchs, Änderung des Gesundheitsverhaltens (Göttingen: Hogrefe-Verlag, 2007); See also: Wiebke Göhner and Reinhard Fuchs, See Wiebke Göhner and Reinhard Fuchs, Änderung des Gesundheitsverhaltens (Göttingen: Hogrefe-Verlag, 2007); See also: Wiebke Göhner and Reinhard Fuchs, See Wiebke Göhner and Reinhard Fuchs, Änderung des Gesundheitsverhaltens (Göttingen: Hogrefe-Verlag, 2007); See also: Wiebke Göhner and Reinhard Fuchs, See Wiebke Göhner and Reinhard Fuchs, Änderung des Gesundheitsverhaltens (Göttingen: Hogrefe-Verlag, 2007); See also: Wiebke Göhner and Reinhard Fuchs, See Wiebke Göhner and Reinhard Fuchs, Änderung des Gesundheitsverhaltens (Göttingen: Hogrefe-Verlag, 2007); See also: Wiebke Göhner and Reinhard Fuchs,

116 DIALOGUE WITHIN THE SUPPORTING SCIENCES WITH AN EMPHASIS ON L.M.A.A. LITE AND MOVE TO ADVANCE IN AGE : A STAGE OF LIFE SPECIFIC AND AN INDICATION SPECIFIC INTERVENTION FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND HEALTHY EATING FOR OVERWEIGHT AND OBESE PEOPLE IN THE NEW EASTERN STATES OF GERMANY CARSTEN WITTLING should create goals, which are consistent with their true needs. Therefore, objectives with conjunctive character (e.g. I should, I would have ) have few chances of realization. 634 Objectives of the intervention According to the interdisciplinary guideline of quality S3 for prevention and therapy of obesity of the German obesity society (DAG) goals should be realistic and to be adapted to the individual requirements. Furthermore, the individual comorbidities, risks, expectations and resources should be more consider than the sole reduction of weight. 635 Thus, the overall objectives of the L.M.A.A. -intervention are: Sustainable reduction of body weight associated with the decreasing of having a disposition to relapse and an improvement of obesity-associated risk factors and diseases and also improvement of quality of living associated with a reduction of psychosocial impairments. In addition the following more specific goals should be aspired within 6 12 months: Ferner sollten folgende BMI 25 to 35 kg/m 2 : Decrease in weight > 5% of the baseline body weight BMI > 35 kg/m 2 : Decrease in weight > 10% of the baseline body weight The overall and the more specific objectives imply the evidence classification expert consensus (LoE4) with the grade of recommendation (EG) A and B. Fig. 2: Guide model (own illustration according to MoVo-process-model, Reinhard Fuchs) The main difference to the MoVo-Processmodel is, to project the individual wishes and needs from the unconscious or sub-unconscious in the awareness at the beginning of the process. As is well known from the neurosciences, the needs and desires are mostly saved in the limbic system the place of the experience memory of emotions. In this, all is saved, what for the psycho-biological well-being of people is useful and what is not useful. 632 As long as the contents of the experience memory of emotions are not yet aware, its can`t be used for conscious intentions of implementation in form of small action plans. 633 This can bring extensive consequences. Especially, when unconscious and subconscious needs are related to conscious motives in conflict. Then, action plans emerge on the level of the conscious motives, which conflict with the unconscious/subconscious wishes and needs. According to Grawe the level of needs has got the highest importance for a successful therapy and counseling. He says, that one should do everything possible, that patients 632 See Maja Storch and Frank Krause, Selbstmanagement ressourcenorientiert. Grundlagen und Trainingsmanual für die Arbeit mit dem Züricher Ressourcen Modell (ZRM). (Verlag Hans Huber Bern, 2006), 66 f. 633 See Maja Storch and Frank Krause, Selbstmanagement ressourcenorientiert. Grundlagen und Trainingsmanual für die Arbeit mit dem Züricher Ressourcen Modell (ZRM), 66 f. Implementation of the intervention Although, scientific data suggest, that a negative energy balance, caused by physical resp. sportive activities, helps to reduce overweight and obesity and also its consequences, however there is a further problem: the affected persons have to be achieved. Health marketing In a commercial marketing campaign all adjusting wheels are designed for a purchase decision, that the opinions and the behavior of the target groups generate the intended commercial success in particular to initiated purchase behavior. 636 This can be applied to the marketing for the public health program L.M.A.A. 1) Step: Clarification of general frameworks Market: What do the competitors and how powerful are they? How does the target group assess the competitors and how well is the feedback, hence? Advertising message: What information are necessary for the intended behavior - in particular participation to L.M.A.A.? How should the information be designed that it are appreciated and stimulate for participation? 2) Step: Acquisition of the target group Initial point for health marketing is very differentiated analysis of the target group in the new eastern states of Germany. At this, the following data are important: 634 See Klaus Grawe, Neuropsychotherapie (Göttingen: Hogrefe Verlag, 2004). 635 See Deutsche Adipositas-Gesellschaft (DAG) e.v. Interdisziplinäre Leitlinie der Qualität S3 zur Prävention und Therapie der Adipositas Version 2.0. Martinsried, See Knaack, N. Der Einsatz von Werbemethoden im Gesundheitsmarketing. In Gesundheitsmarketing Gesundheitspsychologie und Prävention (Verlag Hans Huber Bern, 2010), , (Hrsg.) Hoffmann, Stefan and Müller, Stefan

117 DIALOGUE WITHIN THE SUPPORTING SCIENCES WITH AN EMPHASIS ON L.M.A.A. LITE AND MOVE TO ADVANCE IN AGE : A STAGE OF LIFE SPECIFIC AND AN INDICATION SPECIFIC INTERVENTION FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND HEALTHY EATING FOR OVERWEIGHT AND OBESE PEOPLE IN THE NEW EASTERN STATES OF GERMANY CARSTEN WITTLING Socio-demographic characteristics like income class, age, living environment etc. Pathogenetic characteristics like absences, consultation rates, biological indicators, comorbidities etc. The data, which are needed, can generate about a contact of the four largest statutory health insurances of the new eastern states of Germany. 3) Step: Development of the communication strategie The aim is to improve the individual persuasion to health behaviors and taking over responsibility for health and also to stimulate/motivate affected people for participation in L.M.A.A. Affective provided information (e.g. pictures in combination with impressing short messages) can trigger effective emotions combined with mental images. A frequent repetition of the emotional appeal can cause an attitude, which can determine the behavior. 637 Ideally, emotional elements of design and element of information should be combining. Thus, the active chain of cognitive-emotional processes is enhanced and increases the probability of participation. 638 Conceptual framework of health marketing Which conceptual framework the campaign can have, the following tabular give an overvie Foundations and contents of the intervention L.M.A.A. The training of the participants extends over a period of one year and works interdisciplinary. Following M.O.B.L.I.S. there also is four emphasis of consulting/therapy: movement, pedagogy/psychology, nutrition and medicine. Size of group and requirements for participation A maximum group size of ten persons is be aspired and one group consist of both, men and women. The program is designed for persons, who are over 50. Years old, live in the new eastern states of Germany and would like to change their lifestyle in movement and nutrition. A maximum age limit for participation is not provided. However, interested people have to be trained principally, have got enough competence in motoric and have to be able to do multidisciplinary health sport. It will be admitted overweight and obese adults with a BMI of 25 kg/m2 to 40 kg/ m2 and with obesity-associated comorbidities such as hypertension, insulin resistance, dyslipoproteinemia and/or musculoskeletal complaints. Contraindications, which prohibit a participation are: type I diabetes mellitus, kidney damage and liver damage with indication for a restriction of protein, psychiatric disorders and disorders in eating, taking of anti-obesity medicine, phases after malignant tumors with disease-free period of less than five years and pregnancy. Tab.1: Health marketing campaign for overweight and obesity (own illustration) Primary media More media Frequency and intensity Key messages Networks Evaluation Overweight and obese members of Medicare write (local) TV Local radio stations, articles in newspapers, posters and leaflets in medical offices and pharmacies, internet Intense campaign in the first 6 months with a weekly broadcast in TV and radio during the best switch-on-times and articles in newspapers, then only once a month for 6 months start to move and change nutrition are healthy life becomes easier and lasts longer operative procedures and using medicine are usually not the solve of the problem you can do a lot for yourselves Statutory health insurance, the Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA), German Obesity Society, doctors and pharmacies, regional companies Measuring the characteristics of the visitors for the website and the contacting via Ascertaining of the rates of the response from newsletters, brochures and the letters of the Medicare Ascertaining of registration quotes in every quarter Needed resources The first rollout of the intervention is to take place in the greatest towns of the new eastern states of Germany. Therefor, rooms with surface for the moving units for 10 Persons are needed. Furthermore, the participants will regularly receive suitable work materials. The structure of the program A trained interdisciplinary team of sport and health scientists, psychologists/pedagogues and doctors assist the participants during the whole period of intervention. L.M.A.A. is divided into four phases of programs, which are illustrated as a compressed short overview: Phase 1: term of 8 weeks examination in the begin two units of moving with group sessions per week one theoretical training in nutrition with group sessions every two weeks Phase 2: term of 16 weeks three units of moving with group sessions per week one practical unit in healthy nutrition with group sessions every two weeks provisional deadline for repeated examination Phase 3: term of 26 weeks three moving units with alternative possibilities of movement and with group sessions four times for questions in movement and nutrition final examination Phase 4: term of 26 weeks to ensure sustainability with six times for questions and virtual consultancy 637 See N. Knaack, Der Einsatz von Werbemethoden im Gesundheitsmarketing, See N. Knaack, Der Einsatz von Werbemethoden im Gesundheitsmarketing, The four main areas in therapy and consultancy The moving settings happen indoor and outdoor and are guided by sport scientists in group setting. Thereby, stamina training and specific exercises in order o strengthening

118 DIALOGUE WITHIN THE SUPPORTING SCIENCES WITH AN EMPHASIS ON L.M.A.A. LITE AND MOVE TO ADVANCE IN AGE : A STAGE OF LIFE SPECIFIC AND AN INDICATION SPECIFIC INTERVENTION FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND HEALTHY EATING FOR OVERWEIGHT AND OBESE PEOPLE IN THE NEW EASTERN STATES OF GERMANY CARSTEN WITTLING the muscles and also the training of the coordination are in the focus of the units. The moving parts include additionally elements for knowledge referring to movement and health. The part of nutrition takes place with group sessions, in which theoretical knowledge is imparted in view of health and nutrition. The practical learning of possibilities for making health-promoting meals completes this part. Qualified nutritionists accompany the individual units. The participants will be examined at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the intervention of contributing general practitioner or internists. Apart from a bio-psycho-social anamnesis the blood values are measured, an ECG during exercise, an ECG for 24 hours and an echocardiography are conducted. For the medical field, group sessions are not necessary. However, the medical team has got literature, which is compiled by experts. This literature informs about overweight and obesity and also its relationship between health and disease. Thus, the medical team is able to consult competently in the group sessions or in one-on-one conversations. The design of the evaluation The evaluation is based on the following design: In 12 group sessions of the phases one and two as well as in 12 group sessions of the phase three the topic change of behavior will be discussed with the psychologists/ pedagogues. This involves to activating need, to set realistic goals, to create action plans, to activate internal and external resources, social support, barrier management, to avoid relapses, psychophysical awareness etc. These meetings take place in connection with the exercise and nutrition units. To this end, the participants receive theoretical information and will be instructed and motivated for written and oral tasks. In the time between the group sessions they will be asked to solve concrete tasks about their changing in behavior and to monitor and to reflect their progresses as well as stagnations and setbacks. There are used elements on the basis of a resourced-based self-management. However, a psychotherapeutic exploration of reasons is not run. Evaluation For verification the effectiveness of the intervention L.M.A.A. data of the participant are collected to four time of measurement: Anthropometric indicators, cardiovascular parameters and psychological constructs. Based on the medical documented data, the outcomes of the Freiburger Questionnaire on physical activity (FFKA), the questionnaire on health status (SF-36) and the scale healthy food habits (GEG-Scale) are to be a differentiated review of the performance. In addition, the satisfaction of the participants is to be collected at the various stages of the program with questionnaires. Fig. 3: The design of evaluation of L.M.A.A. (own illustration) The intervention L.M.A.A. shall be evaluated with a control group, because of according to the underlying process model, the exploration of the individual needs/wishes is important in contrast to M.O.B.I.L.I.S. The model of evaluation The correlations between the indicators, which are measured, are guided by a predictor-indicator-model (see fig. 4): Fig. 4: Predictors-indicators-model (own illustration)

119 DIALOGUE WITHIN THE SUPPORTING SCIENCES WITH AN EMPHASIS ON L.M.A.A. LITE AND MOVE TO ADVANCE IN AGE : A STAGE OF LIFE SPECIFIC AND AN INDICATION SPECIFIC INTERVENTION FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND HEALTHY EATING FOR OVERWEIGHT AND OBESE PEOPLE IN THE NEW EASTERN STATES OF GERMANY CARSTEN WITTLING In this model, the predictors are the independent variables and the leading indicators and the lagging indicators are the dependent variables. The leading indicators take a special position. Its can be either independent variables or dependent variables according to the statistic verification. The independent indicators are differenced into behavioral and psychological scales. The eating habit and the health-effective activities of the participants are counted to the behavioral scales. And the psychological scales gather personality traits such as the self-efficacy, the strength of goal intentions, intentions of implementation etc. The objective health describe data of the biological system and sentiments for the individual state of health are counted among the subjective health. Moderator variable are socio-demographic characteristics such as age, education etc. Statistic For data analysis, a covariance with repeated measures at the times t1 to t4 is calculated between the psychological variables, the behavioral variables and the anthropometric data. In order to identify differences between the intervention and the control group, t-tests are calculated for independent samples. In addition, bivariate correlations and multiple regressions are calculated. Conclusion The advantages of L.M.A.A. are obvious: L.M.A.A. is based on M.O.B.I.L.I.S, which is not a commercial program, but a program, which was developed by experts. L.M.A.A. is only to be extended to the exploration of the un- or subconscious needs/ wishes based on the neurobiological knowledge in order to pick the participants at the right place. The contents of the L.M.A.A. -Intervention should be continuously reflected and improved in terms of new insights from the research of obesity. Also based on the evaluation results, L.M.A.A. should be checked for optimization. So, the first steps could be done in further research activities. In order to allow for further research, the article proposes: L.M.A.A. to be extended to examine the unconscious or conscious needs/wants based on neuro-biological knowledge in order to select participants in the right place ; to continually monitor and improve the contents of the L.M.A.A. intervention within new perspectives on obesity research; To review the optimization of the L.M.A.A. program; It is appropriate to take the first steps of the latter two mentioned implications when carrying out further research activities. Bibliography: Berg Aloys, Berg Andreas, Frey Ingrid, König, Daniel and Predel, Hans-Georg. Bewegungsorientierte Schulung für adipöse Erwachsene. Ergebnisse zum Interventionsprogramm M.O.B.I.L.I.S. Deutsches Ärzteblatt 11, no. 105, (2008): Ärzte Verlag GmbH. DOI: /arztebl Berg, A. jr., Frey, I., Hamm, M., Fuchs, R., Göhner, W., Lagerstrøm, D., Predel, H.-G. and Berg, A. Das M.O.B.I.L.I.S.-Programm. Zeitschrift Adipositas Ursachen, Folgeerkrankungen, Therapie, 2 (2008): Schattauer GmbH Verlag für Medizin und Naturwissenschaften Stuttgart. Deutsche Adipositas-Gesellschaft (DAG) e.v. Interdisziplinäre Leitlinie der Qualität S3 zur Prävention und Therapie der Adipositas Version 2.0. Martinsried, Markus Gerber, Fuchs, Reinhard and Pühse, Uwe. Einfluss eines Kurz-Interventionsprogramms auf das Bewegungsverhalten und seine psychologischen Voraussetzungen bei U bergewichtigen und Adipösen Die Basler MoVo-Lisa-Studie. Zeitschrift für Gesundheitspsychologie 18, no. 4, (2010): Hogrefe Verlag Göttingen. Göhner, Wiebke and Fuchs, Reinhard. Änderung des Gesundheitsverhaltens. Göttingen: Hogrefe-Verlag, Göhner, Wiebke and Fuchs, Reinhard. Gollwitzer, P. M., Fujita, K. and Oettingen, G. Planning and the implementation of goals. In Self-regulation. Research, theory, and applications. New York, NY: Guilford Press, , eds. R. F. Baumeister and K. D. Vohs. Gollwitzer, P. M. Implementation Intentions. Strong effects of simple plans American Pschologist 54, no. 7, (1999): Grawe, Klaus. Neuropsychotherapie. Göttingen: Hogrefe Verlag, Hänsel, F., Zocher, C., Ennigkeit F. and Rühl, J. Evaluation von M.O.B.I.L.I.S. light - ein Gesundheitssportprogramm für U bergewichtige. Deutsche Zeitschrift fur Sportmedizin 64, no. 4, (2013): DOI: /dzsm Knaack, N. Der Einsatz von Werbemethoden im Gesundheitsmarketing. In Gesundheitsmarketing Gesundheitspsychologie und Prävention. Verlag Hans Huber Bern, 2010, , (Hrsg.) Hoffmann, Stefan and Müller, Stefan. Knoll, K.-P. and Hauner. H. Kosten der Adipositas in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland: Eine aktuelle Krankheitskostenstudie. Adipositas 4, no. 2, (2008): , DOI: /s Lengerke, T. von, Reitmeir, P. and John, J. Direkte medizinische Kosten der (starken) Adipositas: ein Bottom-up-Vergleich über- vs. normalgewichtiger Erwachsener in der KORA-Studienregion, Gesundheitswesen 68, no. 2, (2006): DOI: /s Lehrke, S. and Laessle, R. G. Adipositas, In Verhaltensmedizin. Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag, 2003, , (Hrsg.) U. Ehlert. Mašán, Ján. Fyzioterapia vertebrogénnych ochorení (Physiotherapy of vertebrogenic diseases) Bratislava: Cathedra, Max-Rubner-Institut (Hrsg.) Nationale Verzehrstudie II, Ergebnisbericht, Teil 1, Tab. A Mensink, G.B.M., Schienkiewitz, A., Haftenberger, M., Lampert, T., Ziese, T. and Scheidt-Nave, C. U bergewicht und Adipositas in Deutschland Ergebnisse der Studie zur Gesundheit Erwachsener in Deutschland (DEGS1), Bundesgesundheitsdatenblatt 56, no. 5 6, (2013): Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. DOI /s Platte, P. Der Energiestoffwechsel, In Übergewicht und Adipositas. Volker Pudel and Franz Petermann (Hrsg.), Hogrefe Verlag GmbH & Co.KG. Göttingen, Robert Koch-Institut (Hrsg.) Übergewicht und Adipositas. Faktenblatt zu GEDA 2012: Ergebnisse der Studie»Gesundheit in Deutschland aktuell 2012«. RKI, Berlin, Robert Koch-Institut (Hrsg.) Daten und Fakten: Ergebnisse der Studie»Gesundheit in Deutschland aktuell 2010«. In Beiträge zur Gesundheitsberichterstattung des Bundes. RKI, Berlin,

120 MOTIVATION TO VOLUNTEERING IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ZUZANA KRÁĽOVÁ, DENISA JAKUBCOVÁ, MIROSLAV TAKÁČ Robert Koch-Institut (Hrsg.). Übergewicht und Adipositas. Gesundheitsberichterstattung des Bundes. Heft 16. Geänderte Auflage. RKI, Berlin, Harald Seelig Das Selbstkonkordanz-Modell. Sheldon, Kennon M. and Elliot, Andrew J. Goal striving, need-satisfaction, and longitudinal well-being: The self-concordance model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 76, no. 3, (1999): Storch, Maja and Krause, Frank. Selbstmanagement ressourcenorientiert. Grundlagen und Trainingsmanual für die Arbeit mit dem Züricher Ressourcen Modell (ZRM). 4., vollständig überarbeitete und erweiterte Auflage. Verlag Hans Huber Bern, Warschburger, Petra and Petermann, Franz. Adipositas. Göttingen: Hogrefe Verlag GmbH & Co.KG, Wirth, Alfred, Wabitsch, Martin and Hauner, Hans. Prävention und Therapie der Adipositas. Deutsches Ärzteblatt. 111, no. 42 (2014): Ärzte Verlag GmbH. DOI: /arztebl WHO The SuRF Report 2. Surveillance of chronic disease: Country-level data and comparable estimates. Geneva, Recommended bibliography Habermas, T. Klassifikation und Diagnose: Eine historische Betrachtung. In Handbuch Essstörungen und Adipositas. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2008, 4-8, S. Herpetz, M. de Zwaan & S. Zipfel (Hrsg.). Westenhöfer, J. So hilft Verhaltenstherapie beim Abnehmen. MMW Fortschr Med. 143, no. 42, (2001): MOTIVATION TO VOLUNTEERING IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES Zuzana Kráľová 639, Denisa Jakubcová 640, Miroslav Takáč 641 1, 2 Foreign office in Kenya in the Kwale region, Faculty of Health Sciences and Social Work, Trnava University in Trnava (SK) 3 SAVIO organization Bratislava (SK) Submitted: 30 May 2019 Accepted for publication: 9 October 2019 First published: 15 October 2019 Acta Missiologica No. 2 Vol Abstract Background: Volunteering is an important part of society s life and development. And at the same time a positive response to various changes in society, such as political, social and economic. For this reason, it is currently particularly relevant to conduct a dialogue on volunteering and to point out its contribution not only to society but also to the person to whom the volunteer helps. The basis for creating this paper is the decreasing interest in volunteering, the number of volunteers decreases due to the busyness of the time, therefore the paper maps out which factors motivate volunteering. The basis for creating this paper is mainly personal experience with volunteering in developing countries by one of its authors for SAVIO organization. The paper provides a realistic picture of development volunteering. Various theories in defining the individual sources of motivation for development volunteers are examined. Methods: Motivation to volunteering, individual motivational factors that influence expectations before the volunteer travels but also the importance of development volunteering were examined by completed research analysis processed through qualitative research strategy. Results: Research results showed both internal and external incentives for volunteering in developing countries. The need for volunteering and its importance is also undeniable from the analysis of volunteer responses. Conclusion: Based on the research results, the paper presents implications for further investigation as well as application implications. Implications for the possibility of further exploring volunteering in developing countries open space for a deeper investigation, which could be given in detail various aspects, which would enrich and streamline the process of selection, preparation, deployment and arrival of volunteers, as well as set up projects for the quality and effective volunteering. At the same time, the paper provides impetus for professional discussions and reflections that would focus on the importance of motivation for volunteering and through effective dialogue, which could be significantly helpful in increasing interest in volunteering. Keywords: Volunteer. Motivation. Voluntary Service. Development Cooperation. Savio. Contact on author: PhDr. Zuzana Kráľová, PhD. zuzana.kralova@truni.sk Contact on author: Mgr. Denisa Jakubcová, PhD. denisa.jakubcova@truni.sk Contact on author: Mgr. Miroslav Takáč miro247@gmail.com

121 MOTIVATION TO VOLUNTEERING IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ZUZANA KRÁĽOVÁ, DENISA JAKUBCOVÁ, MIROSLAV TAKÁČ Introduction Volunteering, as it is perceived at present, represents the time, energy, knowledge and experience that a person passes on to the benefit of society, the local community, the individual outside the immediate family, and the environment. Volunteering is a fundamental building block of civil society. It revives humanity s most noble desires - the efforts of peace, freedom, opportunities, safety and justice for all. 642 It is carried out of its own will, of its own choice and motivation, without expectation of financial gain, formal or informal, part-time or full-time, at home and abroad and lasting for various long periods. 643 When we talk about volunteering, according to Eva Mydlíková, who has been dealing with the issue of volunteering for a long time, it can be divided into four basic terms: volunteering, volunteer, volunteer activity (all kinds of voluntary activity) and volunteer service (form of volunteer activity). 644 Motivation is perceived as one of the most important factors in volunteering because it determines why all volunteers choose to volunteer. It is a strong inner conviction and at the same time the need to be beneficial, the activation of human action. An individual gives his / her human capital at the service of others without claiming a financial award. Volunteering in developing countries It is a specific form of volunteering that is part of the development cooperation of developed countries for third world countries. Since 2012, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic has been supporting the sending of volunteers to developing countries, which are defined in the Medium-Term Strategy for Development Cooperation of the Slovak Republic for This program is implemented by the Slovak Agency for International Development Cooperation (SAIDC). The program sends young volunteers aged and experts regardless of age. Recommended length of stay is 3-12 months. 645 A possible way to become a volunteer in developing country is also a grant program of the European Union called Youth in Action, dedicated to young people under the age of 30 years. The program of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic for sending volunteers provides a financial contribution that can be applied by NGOs. In 2017, the SlovakAid program financed the stay of 34 volunteers 646 and 31 volunteers in As one of the authors of the submitted paper has personal experience with volunteering in SAVIO organization, through which the respondents of the submitted research analysis were sent to foreign development projects, we will briefly describe the organization and its volunteer program. SAVIO, a non-profit organization, was founded in Through projects, collections and volunteer work, it focuses mainly on helping children and young people in developing countries. Slovak volunteers aged work in Angola, Azerbaijan, Ecuador, Kenya, Mex- 642 Universal Declaration on Volunteering, International Association for Volunteer Effort, IAVE, Amsterdam Všeobecné definície dobrovoľníctva a jeho foriem, accessed May 31, 2019, See: Eva Mydlíková, et al., Dobrovoľníctvo - efektívna študentská prax (Bratislava: Asociácia supervízorov a sociálnych poradcov, 2007). 645 Slovenský sprievodca rozvojovým dobrovoľníctvom, accessed May 31, 2019, ako-pomahame/vysielanie-dobrovolnikov 646 Výročná správa SAMRS za rok 2017, accessed May 31, 2019, Výročná správa SAMRS za rok 2018 accessed May 31, 2019, ico, Ukraine and Russia in Siberia. So far, the organization has sent 30 volunteers for stays for a period of 3-12 months. Volunteer travel to the developing country is preceded by the fulfillment of requirements resulting from the difficulty but also the previous experience of the organization and also by a ten months long preparation in the form of group preparation during weekend meetings. 648 Motivation for volunteering in developing countries The relevant question in volunteering is for what reason people do it at all. Motivation is the internal state of a person that activates or sets in motion all the internal forces of man. It is the desire of a person to do the work performance. The general objective of the motive is to achieve psychic saturation or satisfaction from the achieved goal. We can argue about the right or wrong motivation, about whether the motives of volunteer work should be altruistic or oriented towards the volunteers themselves (new experiences, develop work skills or gain experience, learn a foreign language, feel self-fulfilling, desire to be proud of yourself, to make new friends, etc.). 649 Some want to grow spiritually, looking for inspiration, want to experience adventure and gain a global perspective. 650 Mydlíková 651 complements volunteer motivators with a sense of usefulness and necessity, emotional and knowledge enrichment, fellow feeling, the possibility of making changes in society and discovering a new hidden dimension of themselves. In defining the motivation sources, we can rely on different theories. The essential Maslow s hierarchy of needs consists of two assumptions. According to the first, only unsatisfied needs can influence behavior, and according to the second, human needs are ranked hierarchically. Maslow identifies the need for self-realization and self-actualization as the highest need and motivation. The need arises when other needs are met. Participants, respondents of the realized research analysis, from SAVIO organization, have fulfilled these needs on an individual basis. We can assume that their motivation is strongly internal and manifests itself in the service of others. This form of self-realization is associated with personal conviction and with the faith of volunteers. In it is also an ethical and moral imperative of helping loved ones fellow feeling. Herzberg modified Maslow s concept and identified two main groups of factors - motivators and hygiene factors. According to Eva Mydlíková, an expert in the field of volunteer development, based on Herzberger s two-factor theory, volunteers are most represented by these motivation factors success and performance, deserved recognition, value of work, real responsibility and professional growth. 652 The last theory we want to mention in this issue is McClelland s Theory of Achievement, which distinguishes the three basic motivational needs 648 Dobrovoľníctvo, accessed May 31, 2019, Slovenský sprievodca rozvojovým dobrovoľníctvom, accessed May 31, 2019, ako-pomahame/vysielanie-dobrovolnikov 650 Volunteering Abroad What s Your Motivation? 2017, accessed May 31, 2019, com/article_post/volunteering-abroad-what-s-your-motivation. 651 See: Eva Mydlíková, et al., Dobrovoľníctvo na Slovensku alebo čo si počať s dobrovoľníkom (Bratislava: ASSP, 2002). 652 Another interesting approach that enables the identification of a volunteer s motivational structure is a psychological concept for exploring the motivational structure of a volunteer, called the Volunteer Function Inventory (VFI) and coined in academia by Gil Clary and Mark Snyder, along their colleagues. (Monika Nová, Aspekty pomáhání v dobrovolnictví motivace dobrovolníků, in Psychologické aspekty pomáhání 2016: Recenzovaný sborník z mezinárodní konference. ed. Z. Mlčák, (Ostrava: Filozofická fakulta Ostravské univerzity, 2017) s )

122 MOTIVATION TO VOLUNTEERING IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ZUZANA KRÁĽOVÁ, DENISA JAKUBCOVÁ, MIROSLAV TAKÁČ of man, namely the need for power, popularity and success. As we can see, the motivational factors of volunteers can be different and are directly related to the needs, values, ideals and interests of individual volunteers. However, it is important that the volunteer himself realized his reasons and motivations why he decided to travel to a developing country and volunteer there. To understand that he cannot help everyone, and that besides exacting work he must think of himself in terms of rest and regain energy. Volunteers mainly in developing countries are exposed to the challenging problematic situations, which tests appropriateness of their motivation, which, if correct is, could be support in carrying out voluntary service in a developing country. Conduction of research analyses Motivation to volunteering in developing countries on long-term projects The basis for the creation of the research analysis was formed by: noted expert knowledge; personal experience with various forms of volunteering by all authors of the paper; contact with other volunteers on development projects in Africa; realization of focus groups with seven volunteers working on development projects in Angola, Kenya and South Sudan. The focus group revealed the subsequent topics: what are the reasons the volunteers decide for development volunteering and what influenced them most in the decision, previous experience with volunteering and achievements in projects, what are their most common expectations before traveling and how they perceive their volunteering work. For the purposes of the research analysis we used the volunteer experience acquired in the organization SAVIO. Methods The aim of the research analysis was to find out the motivation of people to volunteer in developing countries on long-term projects. With respect to the objective of the research analysis and the realized focus group, the following research questions were formulated: What are the motivation factors for development volunteering?, What are their expectations before going on to a development project?, What are the benefits of volunteering in development projects according to the volunteers?, What importance is attached to development volunteering by volunteers themselves?. Due to the researched issue, we chose a qualitative research strategy that provides depth interview of the lived experiences and a more real view of how respondents participate in the research analysis - volunteers perceive the research areas in relation to specific situations and activities. As a method of data collection, we chose semi-structured interviews and divided it into different areas: personal motivation, volunteer activity, expectations, the contribution VFI has six categories with their respective motivations: 1. the values function (it is a motivation to express or act on important values, such as humanitarianism and helping those less fortunate), 2. the understanding function (it is a motivation to learn more about the world and/or exercise those skills that are often unused), 3. the enhancement function (it is a motivation to grow and develop psychologically), 4. the career function (it is a motivation to gain career-related experience), 5. the social function (it is a motivation to strengthen one s social relationships), 6. the protective function (it is a motivation to address one s personal problems, reduce feelings of guilt, etc.). The detailed categorization described above measures the motivation a volunteer has through the assessments representing the individual motifs. Although this categorization of motivations is very interesting, it is very challenging to pursue research on it. (Monika Nová, Aspekty pomáhání v dobrovolnictví motivace dobrovolníků, in Psychologické aspekty pomáhání 2016: Recenzovaný sborník z mezinárodní konference. ed. Z. Mlčák, (Ostrava: Filozofická fakulta Ostravské univerzity, 2017) s ) of volunteering for the project and for the volunteer itself, the importance of volunteering for the volunteers themselves. Research analysis was attended by a total of 10 volunteers, three men and seven women, all coming from Slovakia. Considering the research issue, the snowball method was used in their selection, which means that the interviewee volunteer referred us to another potential volunteer and so on. The conditions for entering the research analysis were: voluntary participation in the research and consent to the subsequent processing of the obtained data, the minimum length of volunteer work in development projects six months, age of the volunteer from 18 years. The research analysis was carried out during year The limits of our research analysis in relation to the researched issue consist in the fact that the results are applicable only to the sample of volunteers we investigate. This is due to the reduction of the selected research sample, in result of which is not possible to generalize comprehensively research results to the field of development volunteering. Research results Based on the volunteer experience one of the authors of the paper, for research analysis we obtained respondents from the SAVIO organization, which directly cooperates with the Salesians of Don Bosco in Slovakia. To some extent, this also determined the background of the volunteers. Volunteering performed at specific places and in other conditions associated with many aspects (positive and negative) and with areas that accompany the volunteer during his or her activity. In the case of all respondents, in the area of Motivation we met with a strong desire to help, do more for other people and inner conviction (in the case of this research analysis it was faith and serve to God by providing help to others). Strong motivation was also the opportunity to travel, a sense of satisfaction, belonging, previous volunteer experience, sensitivity to the needs of others, the need to share or responsibility for what one got and should give even further. This is related to the fact that majority of respondents had support in their family, friends and longed to spread this experience and love further. Factors that led to a retroactive motivation to continue volunteering in coping with stressful situations also appeared in their expression. This includes the support of family, friends and the local community. A volunteer entails the Expectations which are reflected in the activities and in the way in which the service is performed. They develop mainly through acquired relationships and experiences. The research showed that respondents had fulfilled expectations especially in the area of gaining new experiences, enrichment of life, alternatively also negatively tuned, namely expectations of poverty, cultural differences, position of women and difficulty. Respondents positively evaluated the annual training before traveling, which helped them to get a picture of the country, volunteering and at the same time to clarify expectations and motivation. Profitability concerns the benefits and what flows from the volunteer activity itself. The level of the personal profit of the volunteer does not stem from egoism but on the contrary, from service to others. Here is opportunity for personal growth, change of world view, building respect. The volunteer achieves new knowledge, skills and experience and acquires new relationships. By knowing its own boundaries, values and life motivation change as well. Benefit is not just an individual level, it is a service in which even the other side benefits, through time spent together to improve the situation and environment, through the feeling of love, building and development of people and places, enriching the local community, demolition of prejudices. Last but not least, practical skills, effectiveness of management, which affects the quality of life of people in the country. In the area of Importance of Volunteering in developing countries, we can find a strong impact of volunteering experience on the individual s life. It offers great potential for personal growth and knowledge. This fact is enhanced

123 MOTIVATION TO VOLUNTEERING IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ZUZANA KRÁĽOVÁ, DENISA JAKUBCOVÁ, MIROSLAV TAKÁČ by achieving new experience, knowledge and go through new situations. Within this context, respondents expressed themselves in a positive sense: To serve is the only meaning of life and enrichment is mutual to all parties. Development volunteering affects the value ladder, helps to deepen the sense of solidarity and belonging, and to find the meaning of life not only in material values but precisely in the service of others, humility and mutual respect and help. Discussion The results show that the interviewed volunteers have internal and external motivations, and many of them overlap. The strongest motivators include helping the poor, the need to give their time, be useful. Faith and religious beliefs play an important aspect of motivation. In the research analysis we also addressed the factors of motivation that influence decisions and motivation. Faith and religious belief, as well as previous volunteer activity in the community have resulted in a more interest in others and a willingness to serve and help. Expectations reflect not only motivation, character and background of the individual, but are also negatively shaped by the media. The importance of volunteering by the volunteers themselves is seen as an enriching experience for both parties. Benefits can be observed also in confirming the fact that the family is truly decisive for the individual who comes from it and assumes its values, attitudes and opinions. A good background contributes to openness to the needs of others and to help too. Conclusion The present paper focused on finding the motivation for volunteering in developing countries. Paper presented the knowledge on the level of theoretical, personal experience gained during volunteering in the developing country and on the level of application in the form of realized research analysis. Research topics within present analysis in the above context in Slovakia at the professional level have not been fully investigated or processed. Therefore, the results of the analysis mean a contribution to development volunteering. Based on these research results, the present paper, in order to increase the interest in volunteering, presents the following implications for further investigation, as well as application implications. From the aspect of implications for the possibility of further investigation of volunteering in developing countries open space for a deeper research which could be given in detail various aspects, which would enrich and streamline the process of selection, preparation, sending and arrival of volunteers, and adjust projects for quality and effective employment of volunteers. At the level of application implications, it is relevant: Bibliography Dobrovoľníctvo, accessed May 31, 2019, Mydlíková, Eva. et al. Dobrovoľníctvo - efektívna študentská prax. Bratislava: Asociácia supervízorov a sociálnych poradcov, Mydlíková, Eva. et al. Dobrovoľníctvo na Slovensku alebo čo si počať s dobrovoľníkom. Bratislava: ASSP, Nová, Monika. Aspekty pomáhání v dobrovolnictví motivace dobrovolníků. In Psychologické aspekty pomáhání 2016: Recenzovaný sborník z mezinárodní konference. edited by Z. Mlčák, (Ostrava: Filozofická fakulta Ostravské univerzity, 2017) s Slovenský sprievodca rozvojovým dobrovoľníctvom, accessed May 31, 2019, ako-pomahame/vysielanie-dobrovolnikov Universal Declaration on Volunteering, International Association for Volunteer Effort, IAVE, Amsterdam Volunteering Abroad What s Your Motivation? 2017, accessed accessed May 31, 2019, volunteerforever.com/article_post/volunteering-abroad-what-s-your-motivation. Všeobecné definície dobrovoľníctva a jeho foriem, accessed May 31, 2019, rozvojove-dobrovolnictvo Výročná správa SAMRS za rok 2018 accessed May 31, 2019, Výročná správa SAMRS za rok 2017, accessed May 31, 2019, pouzivatelia/sabina%20slim%c3%a1kov%c3%a1/vyrocna_sprava_2017_final.pdf focus on the family in terms of its functionality and the consequent contribution to volunteering; for helping workers to develop effective procedures that could help them in their prevention strategies and family counseling and at the same time unique in their own way in the area of building motivation for volunteering within the primary as well as a wide family. Paper based on realized research analysis provides impetus also for professional discussion and reflection, which focused on the importance of motivation for volunteering and through effective dialogue, which could be significantly helpful in increasing interest in volunteering and increase the number of volunteers, concerning on the current busyness times

124 OPPORTUNITY FOR A DIALOGUE ON THE CURRENT DEPICTIONS OF HOLINESS: HUMANNESS AS AN IMAGE OF PROFANE HOLINESS IN THE WORKS OF MILAN RÚFUS MICHAELA KUŠNIERIKOVÁ OPPORTUNITY FOR A DIALOGUE ON THE CURRENT DEPICTIONS OF HOLINESS: HUMANNESS AS AN IMAGE OF PROFANE HOLINESS IN THE WORKS OF MILAN RÚFUS* 653 Jan Willem Otten, which was looked into by Marieke Maes. This article, where the conclusion offers an opportunity to have a dialogue, is a continuation of this approach to holiness through a dialogue with the works of an important Slovak poet Milan Rúfus. Michaela Kušnieriková 654 The Ecumenical Institute of the Protestant Theological Faculty of Charles University (CZ) Submitted: 17 April 2019 Accepted for publication: 5 October 2019 First published: 15 October 2019 Acta Missiologica No. 2 Vol Abstract Background: The aim of the presented article is the search for an image of holiness in the works of Milan Rúfus by looking at how he portrays a human being. The article explores whether Rúfus sanctifies profanity and specifically human beings and whether they undergo any changes in their relationship with deity, themselves, others and the world. Rúfus does not look at the image of holiness directly and topics of holiness do not directly concern him. 655 Despite this fact, his works are strongly influenced by Christian and biblical roots and the sanctification of profanity is their characteristic trait. The article will be based on Rúfus prose, interviews, and poems, and the article will thus be written in a specific essayist format. Conclusion: The article s conclusion attempts to present several ideas of Milan Rúfus, which may be found in his works and are also present in this article, and which might become an inspiration for further research, reflections, and discussions. The conclusion also offers the opportunity to have a dialogue based on a non-violent search for a spiritual dimension, especially among non-believers and people still searching for God. Keywords: Milan Rúfus. Poets as prophets. Understanding of holiness. Concept of humanness. Image of profane holiness. Introduction The previous issue that focused on Depicting holiness in the present day dealt with a new perspective of how the youngest generation of theologians from various European countries and from abroad perceives holiness as one of the key factors defining our humanness? As the publication has shown, the search for holiness is something unique, specific and personal, and can be understood as a quest for human authenticity, a quest in which God is mysteriously involved in his relationship with human beings as the source and purpose of that search. Holiness may also be depicted through other cultural means, such as fantasy stories and poetry. This is illustrated in the body of work of C. S. Lewis and his friend Dorothy L. Sayers presented by the author Barbora Šmejdová and in the introduction into Christian Wiman s poetry and its subsequent reflection by * This article has been supported by Charles University Research Centre program No Contact on author: Mgr. Michaela Kušnieriková, Th.D. m.kusnierikova@yahoo.de 655 I believe, it might be due to the Lutheran tradition in which he was raised. This tradition in Slovakia, does not even title the authors of the four Gospels in the New Testament with the title Saint. Only God is Holy. Reading Rúfus works one gets immersed into a world of poetry and spirituality, which is at times expressed less, at others more explicitly. Rúfus work is embedded within the Christian tradition. Nevertheless, he criticized the sheep-pen-like-church 656 and in the poem Community of God he searches for a community of God which does not lie to itself. He is searching for a true bond between people, not a stage and performances on it. God of myself or god the money are not worshipped there. I have been searching in vain,/ While shaking a bit: / Is the constant test by evil/ Not also God s sieve. 657 He prays not only to the Father in heaven, but also Our Father who art on earth 658 Rúfus entered creatively into a dialogue with that tradition as well as contributed a critical voice. The imagery Rúfus used in his poetry and his prose is marked with biblical references and sacralization of the profane. In accord with Rúfus high understanding of poetry, the poem and metaphorical issues in sacralization, a poet is compared to Christ carrying a cross and to a prophet and a poem to his revelation. 659 For Rúfus, hierophany manifestation of holiness are things deeply human, because sacred becomes every place, which is a place for a human being, subordinated to the fate of Job. 660 The aim of the presented article is, therefore, to search for the image of holiness in the works of Milan Rúfus by looking at how he portrays a human being. To this end, the article first focuses on Rúfus take on authorship, poetry, and Holiness. The article then zeroes in on his understanding of what it means to be human, based on the concept of humanness and the relationship to holiness. The last part of the article is dedicated to the concept of humanness in relation to morality and its place in the modern world. The article is based on Rúfus prose, interviews, and poems, and as such is written in a specific essayist format. Rúfus understanding of authorship, poetry, and holiness: Poets and prophets messengers of the Holy One In the following section of the article, I shall briefly describe Rúfus understanding of the relationship between the art of poetry, its message and the divine, thus attempting to establish specific connections he made between his writings and the Holy One. Rúfus identified poets as the messengers of God and the hearts of Thy bell. 661 They are not installed by themselves, unless they are just workers in the field of poetry, mastering the skills of how to write it. 662 Poets as God s messengers are called by God to bring 656 The original expression is cirkevné košiarovanie. Milan Rúfus, A letter to Nandrásky, June 27, 1993, in: Karol Karol Nandrásky, Milan Rúfus poeta sacer: v rozhovore so životom (Bratislava: Q111, 2002), Milan Rúfus, Ako stopy v snehu (Bratislava: Slovenský spisovateľ, 2008), Milan Rúfus, Chlapec maľuje dúhu a iné, ed. Eva Jenčíková (Bratislava: Kalligram, Ústav slovenskej literatúry SAV, 2009), Ján Zambor, O Rúfusovej obraznosti, Literárne informačné centrum, accessed April 15, 2019, litcentrum.sk/ Ľubomír Kováčik, Sakrálne v literatúre (Banská Bystrica: Univerzita Mateja Bela v Banskej bystrici, Fakulta humanitných vied, 2012), Milan Rúfus, Jednoduchá až po korienky vlasov (Bratislava : Slovenský spisovateľ, 2000), Cf. Milan Rúfus, Človek, čas a tvorba (Bratislava: Smena, 1968),

125 OPPORTUNITY FOR A DIALOGUE ON THE CURRENT DEPICTIONS OF HOLINESS: HUMANNESS AS AN IMAGE OF PROFANE HOLINESS IN THE WORKS OF MILAN RÚFUS MICHAELA KUŠNIERIKOVÁ warmth to the people of the world. 663 Rúfus also believed this was his calling, that word was to become his fate. 664 As Valcerová comments on his poem Setting a Framework: picture does not itself choose frame// That is given to it by fate. // Your faith gave you God / and God gave dew to grass.// The poet is just a medium, which expresses the message of a higher power, he is chosen and cursed. His fate is determined by God. 665 Correspondingly, Rúfus considered prophets to be the first poets: they simply told poems. They talked in images. 666 He also considered the Bible as more but, if it were nothing else, it would be one of the most beautiful poems created by human beings. 667 He was specifically fond of its translation from Kralice with which he grew up. 668 Nandrásky counts Rúfus among the prophets of the lineage of poeta sacer originally represented by the Hebrew prophets. Later, in the Christian church, this position was institutionalized in church professionals, mainly priests. Nandrásky claims that their calling was gradually compromised by their power and lack of creativity. In the second half of the 18th Century, writers became prophets in their societies. Being critics of society they started to uncover inhumanity, articulate feelings of disappointment and estrangement of the person of Euro-American culture. 669 Not church priests any longer, but these poets are to perceive that which is spiritual and make it visible [ ] and hence create a bridge between God and people. [they] represent the divine to people and before gods they represent humans. 670 These prophetic poets let themselves be instruments of the Holy One, not repeating old ideas, but freely being able to see new possibilities. These poets are to articulate the actual processes taking place between heaven and earth and also between earth and hell, and thus help renew the creative collaboration between heaven and earth, between God and people. 671 Rúfus understood his calling to be a poet to set out and remain on the path in search of truth, having a role more of a question-giver rather than of an answerer). 672 A poet tells the truth, yet does not create it. A poet explicitly finds expressions to what is happening around him, tells things as they are. Thus his poetry is not free from its own day and age. 673 Rúfus, a poeta sacer, did not believe art to be a result of direct divine intervention after the sending of the Holy Spirit. Poetry is a result of a gradual reception of tradition. 674 One does not create art from one s own resources only. Rúfus was embedded in the Judeo-Christian cultural tradition of Europe and also in his Christian heritage embodied 663 Rúfus, Jednoduchá až po korienky vlasov, Rúfus, Človek, čas a tvorba, Anna Valcerová, Hermeneutický kruh Rúfusovej poézie, Literárne informačné centrum, accessed April 15, 2019, Milan Rúfus, Rozhovory so sebou a s tebou. I (z rokov ), ed. Vincent Šabík (Bratislava : Národné literárne centrum, 1998), Rúfus, Rozhovory so sebou a s tebou. I, Rúfus, Rozhovory so sebou a s tebou. I, Nandrásky, Milan Rúfus poeta sacer, 13 Together with Rufus, Nandrasky lists a.o. Hörderlin, Verlain, Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Březina, Gide and Claudel among the poeti sacri. 670 Nandrásky, Milan Rúfus poeta sacer, Nandrásky, Milan Rúfus poeta sacer, Milan Rúfus, Epištoly staré i nové (Bratislava: Národné literárne centrum, 1996), Rúfus, Človek, čas a tvorba, 141. Cf. Imrich Vaško, Myslenie a poézia, in Rúfus, Chlapec maľuje dúhu a iné, Cf. Rúfus, Človek, čas a tvorba, 26. in the Slovak Lutheran tradition, which was forming him since his childhood in the rural Liptov region. In the late seventies, some literatus gossiped about him as being a badly concealed Lutheran. He commented on this story: as I did not protest back then, so I do not demonstrate it in the present. 675 When asked to explicitly comment on his religious faith, Rúfus repeatedly refused. Instead, he claimed that all there was to say about his faith is in his poems and is clearly perceptible there: I consider my relationship to the Demiurge as being like a student to his privatissimum. It is even more intimate than the love between a man and a woman. [...] Everything that has happened between me and the sky, you will find in my poems. 676 Rúfus described the spiritual dimension of his writings as a submersible candle, which shines through dimly or directly to the surface in a poem from time to time. 677 After all, poetry for him is a confession. 678 This confession is not a result of a passive acceptance and repetition of divine revelation. Rather, they are a result of the author s dispute with being, his dialogue with it. The resulting poems are witnesses to the struggle of their author in the process of their creation. 679 It is a struggle with society, of the poet with himself, with biblical texts and even with God. Author is attempting to answer and often just to formulate the fundamental questions of human existence. Doing that he is engaging his whole organism, his whole body, not just using his brain in this undertaking. Poetry, as any other art, is thus a matter of contemplation. 680 In silence before a poem: Still the same worries, still the same uncertainty./ Still the same roulette is spinning/ on the poet s table. / Still the same I do not know, I will not reach./ Still starting from nothing and for that nothing/ suffer first in advance. After all, yes,/ also God started with a word / and from it there were waters, heaven, earth./ After all, yes, Being. But what is a poet?/ Stubby flesh of his little finger./ That I dare you all,/ such a great one. And so little/ you are, poem.// 681 Even though a little poem, it is still called to not a little task, to augment knowledge and beauty 682 and thus, has a moral mission. Naked truth is not always heard due to its impersonal matter-of-factness and pure beauty does not do justice due to its one-sidedness. There the poem takes on an important role, since it is able to absorb both and do them justice. The poem is a coalition, an alliance of truth and beauty, a massive brotherhood that makes us better. To be able to do just that requires not only a poet s talent, but also a certain kind of attitude to life, the world and other people. A prophetic poet needs also to be personally invested in life and requires personal honesty, the courage to experience life in its pain and joy, emotional purity and unconditionality. 683 Thus, for Rúfus, his authorship was a matter of divine calling to wrestle with life s questions while looking for inspiration and partnership in the myths of the Christian tradition. 675 Vladimír Petrík, Päť otázok básnikovi, in Rúfus, Chlapec maľuje dúhu a iné, 505f. 676 Rúfus, Rozhovory so sebou a s tebou. I, Vladimír Petrík, Päť otázok básnikovi, in Rúfus, Chlapec maľuje dúhu a iné, Cf. Rúfus, Človek, čas a tvorba, Cf. Rúfus, Rozhovory so sebou a s tebou. I, Cf. Rúfus, Rozhovory so sebou a s tebou. I, 51, Rúfus, Chlapec maľuje dúhu a iné, Milan Rúfus, Báseň a čas (Bratislava : Slovenský spisovateľ, 2005), Rúfus, Človek, čas a tvorba,

126 OPPORTUNITY FOR A DIALOGUE ON THE CURRENT DEPICTIONS OF HOLINESS: HUMANNESS AS AN IMAGE OF PROFANE HOLINESS IN THE WORKS OF MILAN RÚFUS MICHAELA KUŠNIERIKOVÁ His poetry was to tell the truth not from the sight of God pretending he was one or that he knew better, but from his own perspective of poeta sacer serving the Holy One. The main focus of his works were people for whom he was writing and his main aim was to support human beings. 684 In addition, he dreamt of a great Poetry, free, pure and simple. Such poetry would translate the human being as such, as well as the human being of this Century. 685 Therefore, in the following, I will explore his understanding of this mystery and its relation to the divine. Rúfus understanding of what it means to be human: The mystery of being human humanness According to Rúfus, Homo sapiens was created to become a witness to the borderless mystery of being. Poetry, as an art, is such a human witness to the being and it set out on this path way before the sciences did. 686 Maybe it is the duty of an artist, to be opening the last, forbidden 13th chamber of a mystery, which all of us have that all of us are human. 687 Rúfus addressed this question in a number of his prosaic as well as poetic texts. When Rúfus talks about what it means to be human, he characterizes it as a combination of an animal and spirit, or in other places a soul, as he wrote in the poem Man: You ve come to know what he is./to change him who would venture,/ who d ever dare to meddle?/ In the cruel mixture/ of spirit and animal,/ the angel with the devil?// 688 The human being is a paradox, being animals in whose skull made its nest a powerful, wise, but lonely spirit, after eating the forbidden fruit. 689 Therefore, human beings are bipolar beings, made up not only of their flesh and stomach. 690 With one breath with a human being, Rúfus mentions God, the Creator as the reason for the existence of human beings. Here is an example from the poem Greatest of the Anonymous: What You are, we shall not discover,/ And alas, it is given once and for all./ You have set an illegible signature/ under Your own work, Lord.// [ ] But You are./ You principle, and grace to live/ for the insignificant body./ And it s plain that You are: there must exist/ author, if work stands ready.// Work is, and we in it, and work is us./ Oh, by our praises/ measureless God, the Anonymous!// How small we are in stature // 691 Humans are small, insignificant, yet graciously given life. We might never know the Creator, certainly not by way of scientific discovery, but it is clear for Rúfus, there is our Author. Searching for God, hungry for not knowing what, human orphan in the jungle of the world worships the Unknown in heaven. 692 Jesus as a human being carried the destiny of humanity. Rúfus expressed it in the poem Ecce Homo this way: The human being knows of God,/ he senses Him from pre-or- 684 Rúfus, Rozhovory so sebou a s tebou. I, 69. With the term human being I translate Rúfus word človek (German Mensch), which he mostly uses in a neutral gender, sometimes meaning a man. 685 Rúfus, Človek, čas a tvorba, Milan Rúfus, Príhovor k účastníkom svetového kongresu básnikov v Bratislave, in Rúfus, Chlapec maľuje dúhu a iné, 460f. 687 Rúfus, Epištoly staré i nové, Milan Rúfus, To Bear the Burden and Sing (Selection of shorter lyrics), Miroslav Bielik, ed. John Minahane, trans. Peter Petro (Martin: Vydavateľstvo Matice Slovenskej, 2008), Rúfus, Človek, čas a tvorba, Rúfus, Rozhovory so sebou a s tebou. I, Rúfus, To Bear the Burden and Sing, Milan Rúfus, Čas plachých otázok (Bratislava: Slovenský spisovateľ, 2001), 56. igin./ And worships and denies Him in a bifurcated soul.// The human being wears animal fur and God knows he will not pay back his debts. So why does God care? Because He knows and loves him. Referring to Jesus, Rúfus writes: God knows The tragic weight of his dioecy/ under which human bones moan/ and the soul barely breathes,/ when it spells out the news,/ how hard it is to carry/ God and animal.// Golgotha of history / God s sandals/ and cannons aiming at the cradle.// However, Jesus remains crucified on the cruelly beautiful cross of his body.// 693 In his works, Rúfus keeps returning to that tension within each human being, which is caused by the very structure of being human being an animal and spirit. Moreover, those two aspects of being human have as if two different origins, or homes pre-origin with the Creator and the body, the natural world, which Rúfus views as something needing cultivation and morality. Somewhere at the very core of human beings, there is a hunch of the divine, desire for it and yet, the ability to overlook, even to scorn and deny Him, as Rúfus wrote in the poem describing his contemporaries: They and You, Lord: You departed from them/ [ ] To them indifferent,/ more than to those,/ their predecessors, here,/ who denied You fervently.// And today?/ Nearer, my God, to Thee? 694 // What nearer, Lord?/ Time s children scorn even to deny;/ unworthy of a word,/ You have ceased to be their known Unknown.// Like a mouse in a viper s eye,/ by objects bounded so,/ the world lives itself now.// But that You can be silenced/ is truly a fool s fancy.// Stop still a little above the time./ The vessel with its cold, bright shine,/ spectacularly empty.// 695 They are mesmerized by material things, but with them they are not able to fill that empty space, which is left in them after God departed. They live their lives in the cold and have less than before. Even though they feel the void, they do not know what they miss. Rúfus names these people orphans from God in the poem Looking for a Parent: Emptiness is, Lord, we miss you./ Empty is space. Here and There./ Its horror and glory./ Emptiness is, Lord, without you.// [ ] They sit on a cold stone,/ already outside of your signs./ And they drink turbid water./ And they do not know, what they are looking for.// 696 However, if a human being loses the spiritual dimension, it becomes just a lively animal left at the mercy of bodily desires, never of course reaching the freedom and happiness of animals. 697 Thus an important part of the structure of their very being is lost, but never completely. It remains engraved in their being even if they are not aware of it. Because even then, claims Rúfus, after a human body is left on its own, it will pray to itself, since that longing remains present. But it will make a caricatured prayer, a prayer nevertheless. 698 As a prophet, Rúfus prays for the people who have lost faith in God, in the poem And No Matter What: And no matter what else happens,/ be a bit merciful to us, Lord./ Do not condemn for their ridicule/ those, who now, blind without faith,/ are not able in Your pictorial writing/ to read Your intentions.// 699 In another place, Without you we are, God,/ just the dumb status of a creature.// Only naked animals// 700 But there is remedy to regain 693 Rúfus, Jednoduchá až po korienky vlasov, Rúfus makes an allusion to a hymn in the Lutheran hymnal To You, oh, my Lord, nearer to your tent. 695 Rúfus, To Bear the Burden and Sing, Cf. Hľadanie rodiča, in Rúfus, Chlapec maľuje dúhu a iné, 316f. 697 Rúfus, Epištoly staré i nové, Vladimír Petrík, Päť otázok básnikovi, in Rúfus, Chlapec maľuje dúhu a iné, 507f. 699 Rúfus, Chlapec maľuje dúhu a iné, Milan Rúfus, Vernosť (Bratislava: Slovenský spisovateľ, 2007),

127 OPPORTUNITY FOR A DIALOGUE ON THE CURRENT DEPICTIONS OF HOLINESS: HUMANNESS AS AN IMAGE OF PROFANE HOLINESS IN THE WORKS OF MILAN RÚFUS MICHAELA KUŠNIERIKOVÁ sight and thus decipher God s writing. It is possible for people to re-discover their other part the spirit, their transcendental dimension. What is needed is to stop oneself and remain in silence. One re-discovers this dimension after being suddenly alone [ ] Faithful things are silent. Earth and forests / everything quietly reminds you.// And you yourself in that silence will realize, that you are/ depth.// 701 Depth is a word Rúfus used to express this other and crucial dimension of being human. In an essay reflecting upon this poem during Christmas 1968, Rúfus writes that this realization happens to us occasionally, after being tired from the complicated game of hiding ourselves behind self-defensive masks, we have a need to throw away the covering and expose our naked being to the refreshing breeze of truth. This is the seventh day of our life, the day on which the body, tired from being, rests and the thought is works on itself. In the silence we suddenly hear very quietly and softly the ticking of our human soul. There is something on the move within our depths. 702 This blind spot in us, which is impossible to map, is an infinitely deep space, through which one could see to the absolute, if one is able to find it. We are able to feel it as a thirst, as a question, as fire, which he has to throw in more all the time so that he is not consumed in it. Rúfus compares this feeling to a dragon from fairytales that required the regular attention that every person needs to pay to their internal necessity, to stop and think about himself. Since the 19th Century, Rúfus notices a change in that self-confident rationalism, in contradiction to true reason, claimed such thirst or space as stupid. Since then the human being lives on the run [ ] away from himself [ ] away from the spirit. The dragon still requires sacrifices, but they only give him small things, fetishes, out of fear. But the dragon does not leave them, and so they run away from it ever faster. At such a speed, there is no time and place for the seventh day to stop and think about themselves. Such a possibility returns during the Christmas holidays, to have the chance to get in touch with that something in us, to listen to the sound, to the scream of the pre-element, calling into the origin and calling for responsibility as if the big, inexpressible Life is calling. 703 However, Rúfus generation has not had their seventh days. As a result, this civilization experiences terrifying, noisy, hysterical emptiness. 704 And out of their fear of the emptiness they experience neurotic unrest and they have lost good will. 705 People have substituted faith in God for faith in homo sapiens. 706 As a result, Rúfus prays: Will you liberate [soul], Lord, from her body?/ Ashamed she is from time to time/ by what her body does.// 707 The loss of the human transcendental dimension resulted in the loss of morality that led this civilization to hang over an abyss. 708 It is immoral to the point of threatening to annihilate itself. That is the price they pay for their loss of faith. Rúfus explains it in the poem Genetic Chip: God lets descend to the depths,/ and read the roots in them, /only the 701 Milan Rúfus, Stôl chudobných (Bratislava: Smena, 1972), Rúfus, Epištoly staré i nové, Rúfus, Epištoly staré i nové, Rúfus, Epištoly staré i nové, Rúfus, Epištoly staré i nové, Cf. Rúfus, Epištoly staré i nové, Rúfus, Chlapec maľuje dúhu a iné, Rúfus, Rozhovory so sebou a s tebou. I, 69. bare-footed.// However, if windmills/ and neurotic wrecks/ take away from Him/ what His hands created,/ that is another story.// We are the hands of time,/ and mystery lures/ us to its timelessness With what shall we pay/ for the millennium s theft? 709 However, there is only one choice left in Rúfus view either to be wise or not to be. 710 In the essay entitled Human Being, Time and Creation 711, Rúfus attempts to answer the question Who, in fact, is man? Rúfus repeats the idea that the human being may have been lost by someone. Is anybody looking for them? 712 Is a human being simply just a body, or an intelligent animal that uses his brain as a wolf his fangs, and takes care of the well-being of its body, or is he something more? By means of what? In a response, he identifies the human being as the man who knows he will die and is breaking the bread. Rúfus talks about Jesus, into whose legend humankind put its testimony in the despair of its existence, but also in the strength overcoming this despair. The legend of Jesus is about the suffering of a wise man within a pack of animals [ ] his sweat like drops of blood [ ] his memory is sad to death. But, in that sorrow, there is defiance, his power. In it, it is possible not to give up and continue the fate of Sisyphus and to survive his own death. 713 That human being continues to live after the temporal body becomes a word and lasts. The main message of the altar s woodcut for the next generations is: don t be afraid of death, humanness is eternal! 714 In this text, Rúfus moved from the question of what a human being is to what characterizes a human being, as is carved out by the story of Jesus. Moreover, by starting to ask the question what does it mean to be human, he ends up praising humanness as it was lived out and died-out in Jesus. This wise son of man was able to suffer, but also not to be servile, since precisely in that dark place was his defiance. Thus Jesus was able to live out the tension of being an animal with a depth covered in fur. Twenty-four years later, Rúfus gave an interview and, in it, he returned to the human ability to experience sorrow as well as in it the power of defiance when he talked about pure, spiritually non-devastated people, among whom he was raised. This quality of not-being-devastated posed for him a mystery [that] excites and allures me [ ] To know what Granddad did: when humility and when defiance. He suspected something was helping them to be such people. But it did not matter to him, if that something was an illusion or the so-called scientifically verified truth. What mattered was that it kept them straight by all their human flaws and pressures and blows of fate. 715 Rúfus was certain that this mystery did not have necessarily anything to do with poverty or riches. They were spiritually pure and not devastated, because they were in touch with their spiritual dimension, their depth. It is the image of God within them Rúfus, To Bear the Burden and Sing, O prameni, z ktorého pijú studne, in Rúfus, Rozhovory so sebou a s tebou. I, It was published in 1967 and it is Rúfus reflection upon the work of Master Paul from Levoča. The most famous artwork from the workshop of Master Paul from Levoča is the altar in the Basilica of St. Jacob in Levoča made in the 16th Century. It is the highest Gothic wooden altar in the world. 712 Rúfus, Človek, čas a tvorba, Rúfus, Človek, čas a tvorba, 214f. 714 Rúfus, Človek, čas a tvorba, Rúfus, Rozhovory so sebou a s tebou. I, Rúfus, Epištoly staré i nové,

128 OPPORTUNITY FOR A DIALOGUE ON THE CURRENT DEPICTIONS OF HOLINESS: HUMANNESS AS AN IMAGE OF PROFANE HOLINESS IN THE WORKS OF MILAN RÚFUS MICHAELA KUŠNIERIKOVÁ There is no metaphysical God 717, there is God in creation, while not identified with it. God is within the everydayness, in the depths of our being, written into our DNA, and present at the very core of human destiny in Jesus. People should be able to let God live in them every day. Christ has nobody else s hands, feet, mouth, nobody else to stand up for the powerless. 718 Art, together with faith, creates its own conception of the world. Therefore, after faith is lost, art is supposed to have an even more important role, namely to fulfil the inner human need to stand above themselves, to think, co-create their inner being emotionally. 719 Moreover, poetry as art, as stated above, makes us better. And then, again, according to Rúfus, poetry is the one who says: what good is it for a man even if he gained the whole world. 720 quoting the words of Jesus, who continued and caused harm to his soul? Human depth is at stake. To summarize, Rúfus claims a human being consists of body and something more depth, spirit, soul. Even when people lose sight of the Unknown God, their depth is still accessible to them. Through it they are able to see to the Unknown, if they can only get out of the vicious circle of materialism, egoism and deceit and stop in a quiet place, they will hear their soul ticking in that depth. The crucial idea in all texts containing the concept of humanness is the wise choice between humble acceptance and enduring one s fate on the one hand, and defiance, resisting it on the other. The fundamental condition for managing this tension is to not let one s faith (or other terms he uses, transcendental, spiritual dimension, soul, depth) be lost from sight. Rúfus praises humanness anchored in depth, a kind of deep humanness, which is a mystery nevertheless. Human beings are sacralized by Rúfus (and Christian theology) in the sense of having a divine imprint on them, God s image. However, it is within human competences to ignore this part of them, even though the consequences may be immense. Rúfus concept of humanness represents not a gift to humans, but human agency. Humanness is the term with which Rúfus describes one s capacity to do something with their fate in retaining a connection to their depth and origin, thus controlling one s animal. Such humanness is a mystery, lived out by Jesus and others. Since it brings out the spiritual source of human existence into the light of the world, I suggest understanding it as an image of holiness in Rúfus work. This image of holiness is profane, since in Rúfus view one does not have to worship a deity in order to take care of one s depth, although its true sources are to be found in the divine. Only people aware of their spiritual dimension are able to live morally. I think the concepts of wisdom, good, freedom and love are the pillars of Rúfus texts regarding morality. Therefore, in the next section, I will specify how he understood them and what it means for humanness as an image of profane holiness. The Significance of Concepts of Wisdom, Good, Freedom and Love for the Humanness as an Image of Profane Holiness in the Works of Milan Rúfus Humanness and Morality: Wisdom In the essay Praise of Ethics from 1969, Rúfus was thinking about ethical norms and ethical maxims. He suggests that people in his time need to differentiate if the category of truth is a real category of being, autonomous also outside of a person, or if its existence is conditioned by the existence of a person, humanity. In other words, would following the truth until the end bring the end of humanity? If so, then such a struggle would be meaningless. The attitude that is needed to make that distinction is a kind of new, bitter, modest, but wise humanness. With such an approach, one would assess if a person can or cannot change the course of history. If he cannot, he at least will put into its way his humanness, and morality. 721 Also in this text, there is the same dilemma Rúfus was talking about in other places discussed above when humility and when defiance? In an essay reflecting the changes triggered by the Velvet Revolution, Rúfus picks up the term wise humanness again, this time with another expression along with it human wisdom to express what he hoped for the society. The time of marriage to reality has come after the honeymoon with the human dream, springing from the excitement about the political turn in Czechoslovakia. The change of social structures would not bring a change to the human community, believed Rúfus. These structures should not deform citizens, but there is no automatic opposite. Referring to Karel Čapek, he considered politics a chance for those who are clever. But wise and clever does not mean the same. 722 In the Book of Apocrypha from which Rúfus draws, Čapek clarifies, that wisdom only resides in the process, in its actualization. Therefore, wisdom is hard to pin down in a deed, since it is a kind of wistfulness [...] It always remains above every work. A wise person s work will never encompass or embody his wisdom. [ ] wisdom is the experience. 723 Along those lines, Rúfus wrote: Human wisdom and wise humanness have to prove themselves in every moment [ ] Either they keep renewing themselves and are realized continuously or they gradually become their own contradiction. 724 According to Rúfus, politics has to be done under the flag of humanness. 725 Rúfus does not mention nor comment that part of Čapek s text in which he clarifies the reason why the wise would not make good politicians. I mention this here, since it might explain Rúfus need to join the terms wisdom and wise to humanness. Čapek writes: to be wise means to live good, to know a lot and be able to give advice seriously and with compassion. 726 He differentiated wisdom from cleverness and reason. Wisdom is a virtue it cannot be cruel, because in itself it is charity and affection; it no longer seeks common gain because it loves people too much and thus is not able to love any other goal. If it finds a weakness or wretchedness in a neighbour, it forgives and loves it. 727 Thus, according 717 Cf. Nandrásky, Milan Rúfus poeta sacer, Rúfus, Epištoly staré i nové, Rúfus, Rozhovory so sebou a s tebou. I, Nandrásky, Milan Rúfus poeta sacer, Rúfus, Epištoly staré i nové, Rúfus, Epištoly staré i nové, Karel Čapek, Menší prózy (Praha :Československý spisovatel, 1992), Čapek, Menší prózy, 90. To my knowledge, Čapek did not use the expression human wisdom nor wise humanness, those are from Rufus. 725 Rúfus, Epištoly staré i nové, Čapek, Menší prózy, Čapek, Menší prózy,

129 OPPORTUNITY FOR A DIALOGUE ON THE CURRENT DEPICTIONS OF HOLINESS: HUMANNESS AS AN IMAGE OF PROFANE HOLINESS IN THE WORKS OF MILAN RÚFUS MICHAELA KUŠNIERIKOVÁ to Čapek, wisdom is interconnected with love for people. Therefore, wisdom is not fit for politics. However, cleverness based on reason is not fit to be a moral guide. In the poem The Age of Reason, Rúfus makes a distinction between reason and wisdom. I am still afraid of reason,/ when it silently advises: hit!// It is sharp and precise./ And nothing can hide from it.// Only it is not wise.// After reason overgrows people,/ evil will accompany them further. Their evil will be flawless and, as a result, the world will stop. 728 Rúfus does not think reason leads to good moral choices and actions, only wisdom does. What did Rúfus mean with the term humanness in that essay? He only gives an unspecific answer: Humanness is just one, unequivocal and understandable to such an extent that even under the trickiest mixture of ideas it is quite readable as one of the two alternatives: either it is there or it is not there. There is nothing in-between. This law will be valid also in the future as it was till now. 729 Rúfus used the concept of wise humanness again in the essay from 1994, reflecting the foundation of an independent Slovak Republic. Patriotism does not consist in thunderous pounding on one s chest, but in the extent of invested effort and wise humanness. 730 He does not explore this concept any further here. Rúfus in the poem Wisdom claims, it is not possible for people to be able to see their own wisdom themselves: Do not stoke the fire, leave be, only death is wise./ So pure that even with a breath it does not mist/ the mirror where truth combs her hair./ With indifferent eyes/ it gazes-does not gaze upon itself.// Who lives, he dews that grass./ In his own breath, in the warm mist, he is lost./ And falls, falls, down [ ] my wise fool.// 731 The concept of human wisdom and wise humanness expand Rúfus concept of humanness as he responded to the challenges of his contemporary context, which was marked by turbulent changes still in progress when he wrote those essays. Rúfus made creative suggestions of how to act in the changed world he lived in, on how to live out that mystery of what it means to be human within the tension between vulnerable humility and defiance. Defiance is at the core of the other three pillars of morality I identified in Rúfus works. However, now he uses that word in a different meaning. That defiance is aimed not only against a person s fate or against society, but also against the person himself or herself. People need to gain good, freedom and also love in defying themselves. This defiance has been necessary since the first people were expelled from paradise. And Rúfus thinks his contemporaries are ever less able or willing to undergo this struggle with their own selves and also with society. 732 Good Only illnesses and evil happen in their own course, by themselves. Its opposite requires struggle on the part of human beings. Good is not a gift, but an act of will requiring very strong inner energy. To bring good about demands care, toil, energy, effort, and also pain. Defiance means struggle, since good is not a fixed given state, but a result of a process, in which somebody needs to gain that good by defiance. Interrupting the struggle for realization of good means giving evil time to take more space. Therefore, it is important to build a barrier against it consisting of blocks of inner certainties. They can be revealed, intuitive or rational. But it is crucial that the barriers are made out of those inside of a person between a human being and animal, the barrier between God in them and the Devil in them. 733 The building blocks of the fences consist of the elements, which represent the spiritual dimension of human beings enabling their self-reflection. I think that the way Rúfus depicts it here supports my notion of an image of profane holiness in his works. Whatever the source of those inner certainties, they are inner, in the human depth, enabling the humanness that Rúfus called and hoped for. Freedom Rúfus criticized also the notion of human freedom as a gift. Instead, in his opinion, human beings have to defy themselves. Therefore, there is no escape into cheap also-revolutions [and] imaginary sensual freedoms. [It] is only a temporary escape, not a true solution, since it does not correspond to truth. 734 Freedom as understood by Rúfus is primarily an inner freedom founded on self-reflection. It consists of the ability to berate yourself after every attempt to run away from your own conscience. This inner choice is a duty of every person. This I find to be an example of what Rúfus meant by to defy themselves. One cannot find it outside of himself or herself, it is an inner category. Freedom is a move towards truth and its mark is wisdom. 735 According to Rúfus, such self-reflection is possible, as I explicated above, only if persons are aware and in touch with their depth and thus spiritual dimension. Only after people are free in their inner life are they able to extend it towards the surrounding world. Then a creative aspect of freedom takes stage. Freedom, a possibility, and primarily the ability of human beings to freely actualize themselves. I understand it as an inner power of humans to create the world into the human likeness. 736 Thus, depending on what is happening in the inner life of people, the world around them will look accordingly. The true springs, from which people losing their spiritual dimension could drink, are on the Island of Humanness, which people see but are unable to swim all the way there. 737 Thus a possible remedy for people and the world is to become aware again of their transcendental dimension and thus approach humanness. Love What Rúfus wrote about humanness corresponds to what he wrote about love in the poem Eternal Putty of Being: Love either is, or is not./ there is no place in her for pride,/ since she is the daughter of Eternity./Love is not afraid of the night./starry showers make her shine./and in the unpeaceful peace/ she faithfully does her own business.// Towards its end, he repeats the either-or choice facing humanity. If we no longer know anything about love the Earth is approaching its death Rúfus, Vernosť, Rúfus, Epištoly stare a nové, Rúfus, Epištoly staré i nové, Rúfus, To Bear the Burden and Sing, Rúfus, Epištoly staré i nové, Rúfus, Epištoly staré i nové, Rúfus, Epištoly staré i nové, Rúfus, Epištoly staré i nové, Milan Hamada, Básnik a súčasnosť, in Rúfus, Chlapec maľuje dúhu a iné, Rúfus, Epištoly staré i nové, Rúfus, Ako stopy v snehu,

130 OPPORTUNITY FOR A DIALOGUE ON THE CURRENT DEPICTIONS OF HOLINESS: HUMANNESS AS AN IMAGE OF PROFANE HOLINESS IN THE WORKS OF MILAN RÚFUS MICHAELA KUŠNIERIKOVÁ In the poem And in the End Love, Rúfus praises love in its manifold spectrum. He considers love a gift, ultimately God s gift: Love human celebration./ Which only unwitting brings loss.// And God s love, above all that s human,/ given to hang on the Cross. 739 Love is both, human and divine. God s love is the source of human love. God s love has suffering inscribed in its foundation. Love brought him to the cross. The love embodied in the story of Jesus Rúfus finds reflected in its contemporary reflection in the public-political life. He commented on the calling for love expressed by the demonstrations in November 1989 to be a conscious and unconscious derivative of the principle of love, which was declared for the first time in human thinking by Jesus Christ. It was set against the revenge principle. Instead, the principle of love calls for forgiveness. 740 But it is important, in Rúfus opinion, that after the turbulent times, humanity has to return again and again into the patient loving silence, within which it works on itself. Rúfus identifies this old principle of love with the contemporary principle of tolerance. It has become the categorical imperative of being, because if we do not live according to it, then humankind will not live at all. 741 Love, even though embodied in flesh and even in the public life, is a spiritual category [ ] because it is a matter of an inner being. Rúfus fights for it against those who consider it as a system of one-sided privileges. That inner dimension of human love is something Rúfus wanted to emphasize. 742 Human love is bold, strong, and not weak. It is a gift, but not to be taken for granted, since it requires, as Rúfus says, defiance. First it is a struggle with oneself, not such with others: And that is love, it says:/ - come, you are nothing/to yourself,/ you moved / into someone else and another is already you 743 Rúfus has respect, admiration and gratefulness for human love: The last song/ will be about the human being./ About his love, bold/ as the flight of a cherub and again, again, again/ about that he loves.// 744 As was the case with the concept of freedom and the concept of love, Rúfus understands love as an inner, even spiritual category of being human. These two are the most fundamental and those closest to the depth of human beings. Yet, even though they spring from the inner being, their impact is not limited to the life of the soul. While wisdom does not belong to politics, wise humanness does, and so does love, freedom, and good as indispensable characteristics of humanness. Humanness as an Image of Profane Holiness Depicted in the Fairy-tales of Milan Rúfus Humanness, as an image of profane holiness, is accessible already to little children since, for Rúfus, all the above-mentioned characteristics of humanness are contained in fairy-tales. They retell the experiences of previous generations and thus are the first school of morality, in which we learn to forgive, to take revenge, [we learn about] beauty, wisdom, humility and pride, truth and honour, moral principles. There was so much love in them which does not expect anything for itself, to the point of love being unconscious 739 Rúfus, Báseň a čas, Rúfus, Rozhovory so sebou a s tebou. I, Rúfus, Rozhovory so sebou a s tebou. I, Rúfus, Epištoly staré i nové, Zvon zvaný Zuzana, in: Čas plachých otázok, Rúfus, Chlapec maľuje dúhu a iné, 92f. of itself. A fairy-tale is a poem, written in a happy moment and brought into perfection by an unknown crowd through the centuries. 745 Fairy-tales are reports on the matters of life, on how things are. That corresponds with Rúfus view of his calling to tell the truth to tell how things are. All that personified magic of a folk fairy-tale is what is metaphor in a poem. Art should inspire something good in people. 746 A fairy tale is a consensus of beautiful people, for whom the existence of good and justice is as unshakable and obvious as the air and bread [ ] They believe in good [ ] in them I want to raise myself up with them, with those who have created them. 747 Nevertheless, fairy-tales are not just dreamlands. For Rúfus, a fairy-tale is a component of reality and reality is the mother of the fairy-tale. 748 They were written for adults to wake them up, not for children to put them to sleep. At their core is the struggle between good and evil, which threatens life. 749 Humanness as a picture of profane holiness presented by Rufus understanding of the cross suffering Humanness rooted in a person s depth is a way to live out one s mysterious characteristic of being human. To be able to bear one s fate, that is what it is about. Rúfus doubts there is a bad and a good fate. How can we make that judgement? 750 As in the story of Jesus, the trick is not to how to avoid it, as a part of one s fate, but how to carry it and remain straight. In the poem Destiny, Rúfus writes: In bodily oblivion/ we followed you, destiny./ and we didn t feel/ the thorn in the sole. The callus on our palm/ belonged to it like a sixth finger and without it/ it wasn t ours.// Thus the body winds upwards,/ clings. We re being bent/ like a horseshoe on the scale/ of the incomprehensible. 751 Remaining straight with fate does not mean it does not leave its imprints on us. We might bend and toil under its burden. Since his childhood Rúfus witnessed the difficult fate of poor people working hard daily for daily bread. In his life, the heavy fate took a different mode after his daughter Zuzanka was born with Down syndrome. He talked about her condition as his gift and as his cross at the same time. For example, in his poem Little Daughter III: And I give you thanks, Lord, for Zuzanka.// That you gave my shoulders to consider/ the cross of our crosses./ By his salty wood/ scratch my nape./ With its rough news/ on the road between desperation and 745 Rúfus, Človek, čas a tvorba, Rúfus, Rozhovory so sebou a s tebou. I, Rúfus was suspicious neither of the magic world of fairy-tales, nor of myths. For more on the role of myth and archetype in Rúfus, see Ľubomír Kováčik, Mýtus a archetyp v tvorbe Milana Rúfusa, in Život a dielo Milana Rúfusa, ed. A. Červeňák (Nitra: Spolok slovenských spisovateľov, Národné literárne centrum a Fakulta humanitných vied UFK, 1997), Rúfus, Rozhovory so sebou a s tebou. I, Rúfus, Epištoly staré i nové, Rúfus, Rozhovory so sebou a s tebou. I, 37. On Rúfus books of fairy-tales, see Imrich Vaško, Milan Rúfus (Bratislava: Slovenský spisovateľ, 2010), Milan Rúfus, Rozprávka je orechovovou škrupinkou, v ktorej je uložený život, interview by TASR, in Rúfus, Chlapec maľuje dúhu a iné, Milan Rúfus, And That s the Truth (poems in English and Slovak), ed. David L. Cooper, trans. Ewald Osers, Viera and James Sutherland-Smith (Wauconda, Illinois: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc. 2005),

131 OPPORTUNITY FOR A DIALOGUE ON THE CURRENT DEPICTIONS OF HOLINESS: HUMANNESS AS AN IMAGE OF PROFANE HOLINESS IN THE WORKS OF MILAN RÚFUS MICHAELA KUŠNIERIKOVÁ anger/ to go... To carry the cross to weigh/ that which is beyond pain.// And what is there plentifully for the pilgrim:/ joy of the pure,/ mysterious silent joy. 752 The poem Truth and Pain takes up the theme of inevitable suffering on one s path in search of truth. But there is no other way towards it except through suffering. The poem s motto is already telling: Maybe, Lord, I will suffer-through 753 all the way to You there, all the way to You. Did I suffer through?/ Who knows it?/ Truth will not say it to us./ Truth is only silent from a distance.// [ ] Required by the people of man,/ and forever distant for them.// However, for them pain is close.// 754 Truth is God himself. According to Nandrásky, the term sacer from the expression poeta sacer has a double meaning [ ] holy and also cursed, noble and also wretched. 755 The calling of the poet is a burden, since they take upon themselves the fate of the outcasts 756, to be sacrifices themselves, because they are the candle the light of which brings God s flame. To receive that gift, one has to pay dearly. 757 To be called to be a prophet and thus tell the truth makes from a poet a possibly controversial figure on the edge of society. Rúfus view of humanness rooted in the depth of human beings is neither pathetic, nor naïve because it takes human suffering seriously. To be human means to suffer and be able to endure it, to carry that cross. One is called to search for its meaning, or rather give it a meaning and fight against it and evil, when it is possible and right, and when to humbly accept one s fate. Humanness is able to make that distinction and realize it with courage. Not only sorrow, but carrying one s cross entails suffering. In addition, defiance and suffering belong together in struggling for love, good, freedom, and wisdom, starting the struggle for them with one s self. These categories of humanness are not simply values coming to us from outside. 758 They can be found only on the Island of Humanness, which is not possible without danger, toil and faith in human beings, who aremore than a furry animal. Conclusion The prophetic poet represents and mediates the dynamic relationship between God and human beings. Rúfus poetry sacralizes the lives of people and all those who are cold can warm their hands by him. 759 Rúfus sacralizes the profane yet, at the same time, in his search for an answer to the question of what it means to be human he develops the concept of humanness, which based on its fundamental embedding in a persons relation to their spiritual dimension, shines through (however dimly) the profane human existence and sometimes embodies it. I will subsequently attempt to offer a number of theses outlining the intellectual legacy of Milan Rúfus, which may be found in his works and are also present in this article. I shall focus on those that may serve as inspiration for further research, reflection and discussion. These may also provide an opportunity for dialogue based on a non-violent search for a spiritual dimension, especially among non-believers and those still searching for God. In the works of Milan Rúfus, it is precisely the humanness rooted deep within a person that is an image of profane holiness. This image is not reserved only for Jesus or religious people, but for all children of men (and women), believing in the Demiurge or not. Even children are drawn to this humanness via fairy-tales. Humanness contains the ability to balance an animal and spirit. Every person consists of this duality. Some may find God in that spiritual dimension, others their soul or simply something more than the matter they are made out of. In order to discover it within them, people need to stop, be in silence, and start to reflect upon themselves. This is a space for pausing for a moment, standing still in silence and reflect upon themselves looking into a mirror, a space of silence and solitude, together with God and oneself, a space that facilitates meeting with the truth about oneself that sets one free. 760 I think this is a space people share, being rooted in an accepting community with others missionaries, helping professionals,laity or even non-religious not-devastated people who might accompany each other on their journey to the spiritual dimension in silence. And the work of Milan Rúfus as well as his manifold intellectual legacy can be very helpful in this process. In the reflection they see these people find balance between their two poles. They also find (or at least search for) ways to cope with their destiny; when they are to humbly except it and when they are to struggle with it fiercely. This challenge of time for sorrow and time for defiance comes within the everydayness, yet comes in a person s relation to herself and himself. The inner struggle for freedom and love leads to the discernment of good and to a loving and wise realization of humanness. Remaining straight under various blows of fate has its toil, suffering. On the basis of Milan Rúfus ideas presented in this article, we may pose the questions of whether Rúfus sanctifies profanity in his works and specifically human beings and whether they also undergo any changes in their relationship with deity, themselves, others and the world. The answer may also be found in this synthesis of ideas that is based on the works of Milan Rúfus: one can say that humanness as the image of profane holiness does not sacralize things and people as they are. But it represents an ideal, of how to be human, for which the Holy One is the source. With this image Rúfus wanted to inspire and lead his readers to themselves, to their depths, in which they not only reflect upon themselves, but are able to see all to the Absolute. Only then will they be able to live morally and thus only then will humanity and the Earth have a chance for survival. 752 Rúfus, Chlapec maľuje dúhu a iné, The way Rúfus uses the Slovak expression prebolieť is a play on words. It means in fact, to stop hurting. However, he gives it a precisely opposite meaning to suffer through as a journey, to keep suffering. 754 Rúfus, Chlapec maľuje dúhu a iné, Nandrásky, Milan Rúfus poeta sacer, 13. The author draws this term sacer from the word sancire = to appoint, but also to punish and laugh at, from which is also sanctus = holy). 756 Nandrásky, Milan Rúfus poeta sacer, Cf. Rúfus, Rozprávka je orechovou škrupinkou, v ktorej je uložený život, Cf. Milan Rúfus, S pokorou prijať svoj údel, interview by Maroš Bančej, in Rúfus, Chlapec maľuje dúhu a iné, Nandrásky, Milan Rúfus poeta sacer, In this case, however, it is no objective theoretical truth that is expected to set the human free. It is a truth about oneself, an answer to the question of who I am and who God is; the question of who I am in God s eyes as a creature with the seal of God s image. In this encounter one brings one s whole self to God. And this teaches one self-knowledge, giving one a certain sense of fulfillment. It creates a new inner space that enables one to accept oneself, be it as a beloved or a broken one. It is the space in which one is intrinsically free to humbly accept the truth about oneself. (Mária Šmidová Preparation of volunteers engaged in helping professions and working with families in difficult situations. Acta Missiologica 10, no. 2, (2016): 86)

132 ESSAYS IN ECUMENICAL THEOLOGY I. AIMS, METHODS, THEMES, AND CONTEXTS, IVANA NOBLE, LEIDEN BOSTON: BRILL ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS, 2018, VIII, 286 PP. ISBN JÁN MAŠÁN Bibliography Čapek,Karel. Menší prózy. Praha :Československý spisovatel, Nandrásky, Karol. Milan Rúfus poeta sacer: v rozhovore so životom. Bratislava: Q111, Kováčik, Ľubomír. Sakrálne v literatúre. Banská Bystrica: Univerzita Mateja Bela v Banskej bystrici, Fakulta humanitných vied, Kováčik, Ľubomír. Mýtus a archetyp v tvorbe Milana Rúfusa, In Život a dielo Milana Rúfusa, edited by A. Červeňák, Nitra: Spolok slovenských spisovateľov, Národné literárne centrum a Fakulta humanitných vied UFK, Rúfus, Milan. Chlapec maľuje dúhu a iné, edited by Eva Jenčíková, Bratislava: Kalligram, Ústav slovenskej literatúry SAV, Rúfus, Milan. To Bear the Burden and Sing (Selection of shorter lyrics), Miroslav Bielik, edited by John Minahane, translated Peter Petro, Martin: Vydavateľstvo Matice Slovenskej, Rúfus, Milan. Ako stopy v snehu. Bratislava: Slovenský spisovateľ, Rúfus, Milan. Vernosť. Bratislava: Slovenský spisovateľ, Rúfus, Milan. And That s the Truth (poems in English and Slovak), edited by David L. Cooper, translated by Ewald Osers, Viera and James Sutherland-Smith, Wauconda, Illinois: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc Rúfus, Milan. Báseň a čas. Bratislava: Slovenský spisovateľ, Rúfus, Milan. Čas plachých otázok. Bratislava: Slovenský spisovateľ, Rúfus, Milan. Jednoduchá až po korienky vlasov. Bratislava : Slovenský spisovateľ, Rúfus, Milan. Rozhovory so sebou a s tebou. I (z rokov ). edited by Vincent Šabík, Bratislava: Národné literárne centrum, Rúfus, Milan. Stôl chudobných. Bratislava: Smena, Rúfus, Milan. Epištoly staré i nové. Bratislava: Národné literárne centrum, Rúfus, Milan. Človek, čas a tvorba. Bratislava: Smena, Šmidová, Mária. Preparation of volunteers engaged in helping professions and working with families in difficult situations. Acta Missiologica 10, no. 2, (2016): com Valcerová, Anna. Hermeneutický kruh Rúfusovej poézie, Literárne informačné centrum, accessed April 15, 2019, Zambor, Ján. O Rúfusovej obraznosti, Literárne informačné centrum, accessed April 15, 2019, ESSAYS IN ECUMENICAL THEOLOGY I. AIMS, METHODS, THEMES, AND CONTEXTS. Ivana Noble LEIDEN BOSTON: Brill Academic Publishers, 2018, viii, 286 pp. ISBN Ján Mašán 761 University of Thessaly (GR) Submitted: 4 February 2019 Accepted for publication: 7 September 2019 First published: 15 October 2019 Acta Missiologica No. 2 Vol Professor Ivana Noble, PhD, of the Protestant Theological Faculty of Charles University in Prague, is the author of a unique publication entitled Essays in Ecumenical Theology I. Aims, Methods, Themes, and Contexts that is of great value for the Central European region. Its aim is to provide a new perspective on Ecumenical theology in the context of the contemporary intercultural debate. The renowned author s publication Essays in Ecumenical Theology I. Aims, Methods, Themes, and Contexts analyses ecumenical theology, which controls the consensus of official ecumenical dialogue as a result of comparative theology based on various Christian traditions and focuses on their similarities and differences. It delves into the way this theology is linked to spirituality, its goals and methods, and their evolution and development from the 20th Century to the 21st Century. It further examines how theology is reflected in various specific topics and contexts with transformative power and, last but not least, the challenges it needs to face. Her studies explore the individual approaches to the topics of unity and plurality, freedom and love, and judgement between good and evil, all according to the opinions of Western and Orthodox theologians. She utilises Czech Catholic Modernism to illustrate how one may use memories to understand one s past as a legacy to facilitate reconciliation. In this sense, she deals mainly with the problematic legacy of totalitarian communism and she depicts the current problems of nationalism and populism. She analyses the changes in religious belonging in Europe and explores the possibilities of understanding those who are not like us. The author decided that the structure of the publication be composed of essays based on her articles and lectures from 1998 to 2017, which were published in several languages. The publication seeks to find a way to help people, Churches, and society overcome the polarity behind ideological campaigns against Islam, refugees, ethnic minorities and those who are not part of any ethnic or religious group or secular identity. The publication calls for change and seeks answers in order to resolve the problems of today s vulnerable and rapidly-changing world. It is a consistent attempt to view Christian traditions as a common heritage, which includes painful and, as of yet, unbridged divisions. Its aim is to spread faith, hope, and enduring and protective love as a triple Reviews Contact on author: MUDr. Ján Mašán, PhD. masanjan@gmail.com

133 ESSAYS IN ECUMENICAL THEOLOGY I. AIMS, METHODS, THEMES, AND CONTEXTS, IVANA NOBLE, LEIDEN BOSTON: BRILL ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS, 2018, VIII, 286 PP. ISBN JÁN MAŠÁN thread that helps liberate man. Ecumenical theology consciously seeks to point out that the process of liberation has already taken place in many forms, which do not need to be strictly exclusive to one another. The plurality of perspectives presented in the publication is provided not only through the involvement of different backgrounds but it also provides insight through different faiths and new forms of religiousness. It is presented evenly as a result of different cultural backgrounds, various political experiences, social and economic situations, and personal preferences. The publication is a great contribution to dialogue and an inspiration for present and future theologians and those interested in theology. It fulfilled what it set out to do to introduce a viable alternative to the type of ecumenism that chooses isolated perspectives of religion (whether Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant or other) and their conversations while emphasising the importance of the different contexts which shape ecumenical theology, whose unity of faith is but one. In the recent discussions focusing on the return of religion to the public sphere, we are witnessing the re-emergence of modern criticism of religion, which is viewed as an obstacle to critical rationality, usability, efficiency, and progress. This is why it is important to seek efficient and inspiring answers, which we are witnesses to in the presented publication. Each chapter in the publication is accompanied by a short, relevant summary. Some relate to the author s perception of certain aspects of the past and we may observe the development of her views which are supported by deeper long-standing research and are inspired by other perspectives. In the publication s first chapter: Why Ecumenical Theology? (pp.12 24) the author deals with key issues: What is ecumenical theology and the reasons for studying it. The aim is to distinguish ecumenical theology from the movement and from Ecumenism, which is the result of this movement. She attempts to explain the way ecumenical theology needs to work with experience. At the end of the introductory part, she proposes specific roles of ecumenical theology, which should correspond to three goals: a common view of theological principles, mutual understanding and respect for what is worthy of respect in each tradition and, last but not least, the recovery of reality. The second chapter: Three Complementary Methods (pp.25 35) focuses on supplementary methods which help ecumenical theology achieve its goals: namely the hermeneutic, phenomenological and epistemological methods. This chapter points out that the phenomenological principle of deep conviction extends that which we perceive as a given and unchangeable experience. The following chapter: Apophatic Aspects of Theological Conversation (pp.36 52) deals with the issue of apophatic aspects of theological conversation and discusses how to go beyond theology, the space for God. The chapter points out that it is possible to find a certain kind of knowledge in every issue, which will ensure that the transcendent remains transcendent. This is how theological conversation is saved from becoming a monologue. The fourth chapter: What is Normative and Why? (53 67pp.) focuses on the issue of normativeness in what can be said about God. The author wrote the fifth chapter: A Non-Synthetic Dialectics (pp.68 79) with her husband Tim Noble. Together they analyse Jochen Hilberath s views on communicative theology. The following chapters: Three Orthodox Visions of Ecumenism; The Impact of Jan Hus in Ecumenical Discussion; From Schism to Sharing God s Gifts beyond the Institutional Borders; Memory and Remembering in the Post-Communist Context; (pp ) contain three orthodox contributions on ecumenical theology, Ján Hus, and changes that have occurred between the Czechoslovak Hussite Church and the Roman Catholic Church. The author seeks answers to questions on how ecumenical theology can reflect on the memories of communism. Chapter 10: Working through Totalitarian Experience (pp ) continues the theological reflection on how the theologies of Eastern and Central Europe were formed during the totalitarian regime, and the next chapter examines the changes in religious belonging in today s Europe. In Chapter 12: A Journey towards Recognition (pp ), the author offers biographical context to the version of ecumenical theology. This inspirational publication is concluded with an addendum created in collaboration with her colleague Martin Vaňač. This valuable publication is the result of research entitled Theological Anthropology in an Ecumenical Perspective, which was supported by the Charles University Research Centre. Reviews

134 SULPICIUS SEVERUS ŽIVOT SVÄTÉHO MARTINA Z TOURS. [SULPICIUS SEVERUS THE LIFE OF ST MARTIN OF TOURS]. PETER CABAN SULPICIUS SEVERUS ŽIVOT SVÄTÉHO MARTINA Z TOURS. [SULPICIUS SEVERUS THE LIFE OF ST MARTIN OF TOURS]. Miloš Lichner Trnava: Dobrá kniha, pp. ISBN Peter Caban 762 Karl-Franzes Universität (Graz, AT) Submitted: 15 March 2019 Accepted for publication: 6 October 2019 First published: 15 October 2019 Acta Missiologica No. 2 Vol The monograph entitled Sulpicius Severus The Life of St Martin of Tours was written by the renowned Slovak theologian and lecturer at The Faculty of Theology of Trnava University, Professor Miloš Lichner whose translation and interpretation of Sulpicius Severus literary work Vita Martini gave birth to a publication of a considerable importance and not only for the territory of Slovakia. Sulpicius Severus literary work Vita Martini is the first major hagiography written about a native saint in the Latin West and it has served as a model of the hagiographic genre for centuries. It is also the last literary work written in accordance with medieval traditions of this literary genre and the first to include a new literary style that was to culminate in the Golden Legend (Legenda Aurea). The monograph entitled Sulpicius Severus The Life of St Martin of Tours may be classified as early Christian Latin literature due to the bilingual text of Slovak and Latin, which can be found in the section Text and Translation (pp ). As a result, we can follow the Latin structure and Slovak translation at the same time. The footnotes provide the relevant explanations. The author of the monograph used two editions CSEL48 and SC49 as the basis for the translation of Sulpicius Severus literary work. He compared these two editions that differed from one another in some instances. The monograph also contains quotations from Holy Scripture that are oft-times different from the modern-day translations. Biblical quotations are translated from Sulpicius text and thus the Slovak version can sometimes deviate from the official translation. (p. 50). The translation is preceded by a monographic study. Saint Martin of Tours is among the most popular saints of the Christian West (p. 9), and in 2017 we commemorated the 1700th anniversary of his birth. In his literary work, Sulpicius Severus portrayed him as a son of a pagan tribune running along the Pannonian steppes, but also as an officer in the Legion of Spearmen. Severus also depicted a breakthrough event in Saint Martin s life when he gave his cloak to an almost naked beggar. This showed us the goodness of his heart. Right after being sworn he was appointed circitor his task was to hold night patrols and check on the guards. One night, when he was still a catechumen (about seventeen years old), he offered his cloak to a shivering beggar. This episode of his life has become the 762 Contact on author: Doc. ThDr. Peter Caban, PhD. caban@mail.muni.cz most typical motive of depicting Saint Martin. He was christened at Easter in 339. Sulpicius noted that: He was not a soldier, but a monk! This came true when he turned forty. He left the army in March 354 during Constantine s Rhine campaign in Augusta near present-day Basel. Sulpicius depicted him also as a hermit, father of monks and a bishop, the Apostle of Gaul. In his description, he emphasised that Saint Martin performed his episcopal duties without renouncing his monastic virtues, full of authority and prestige. Martin s holiness was evident he became the first saint of the West who was celebrated for his life. (p. 9). His daily sacrifice, however, was perceived as bloodless martyrdom and his constancy became a model of this new understanding of holiness that has gradually prevailed. He is the founder of the oldest Western European monastery in Ligugé. During his lifetime, he acquired a reputation as a miracle-worker and a true successor to the Apostles ; it was he who toppled pagan shrines, converted entire villages and gained the respect of the Bishop Avitianus and Emperor Maximus; he was a great protector of the poor. His idea of monastic formation centres of authentic missionaries and spiritual shepherds gave rise to a new model of pastoral care and evangelisation that became typical for Irish-Scottish missions and the Early Middle Ages. He was the largest contributor to the peaceful co-existence and merging of the Frankish and old Roman Provincial societies in Gaul. As we can see, an important motif of Sulpicius account of Martin s life that runs through the entire literary work is a reminder that Saint Martin was an active saint, not an eremite or a closed-off hermit hiding from people. He is similar to St Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, who during his long tenure as a monk-bishop ordained only those candidate priests in his diocese who agreed to adopt a monastic way of life (p. 15). Sulpicius Severus was a great admirer of Martin of Tours and upon finishing his literary work Vita Martin (397) which was distributed during Martin s life he dedicated additional literary works written in completely different genres to him. These literary works were composed of three letters providing additional information about Saint Martin s life and death: Epistulae ( ) and Liber Dialogorum (around 404) (p. 10). Sulpicius literary work Vita Martini continued to be read and copied even after his death (around 410) thus affecting an entire generation of monks and ascetics (p. 89). The monograph s introduction explains the period context of the origins of this Saint s biography. It is precisely Saint Paulinus of Nola s letter addressed to his friend Sulpicius Severus (Epistle 11, 11, CSEL 29, p. 70) that makes it possible to not only date the literary work Vita Martini but also place it in the period context of the late 4th Century. All of Sulpicius literary works were written in the period between (pp. 9 10). However, we encounter the issue of recognising the historicity and truthfulness of the information contained in the literary work Vita Martini because, in addition to this literary work, three other of Sulpicius letters on the life and person of Saint Martin have been preserved. It is only on the basis of studies by the French Latinist H. Fontaine that we are now able to recognise a sufficiently large part of its historical core, which has been, however, written under the influence of the vocabulary of the Holy Scripture (p. 14). The section that follows is entitled The Influence of Holy Scripture and Profane Literature on Vita Martini. A characteristic feature of the literary work Vita Martini is the use of direct Biblical quotations or paraphrases and Biblical images, which depict Martin as an apostolic man (uir apostolicus) whose life meets the ideal of the Holy Scripture, the life of Christ and the Apostles. Sulpicius literary work thus highlights the author s great knowledge of the Holy Scripture as well as his efforts to portray Martin s life through the use of biblical vocabulary (pp ). A characteristic trait of the literary work is the fact that it defends Martin not against the enemies of Christianity as was the case with apologists, but against the representatives of ecclesiastical Reviews

135 KVALITA ŽIVOTA RODÍN S DIEŤAŤOM SO ŠPECIFICKÝMI POTREBAMI. [THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN LIVING WITH SPECIAL NEEDS]. LADISLAV PYŠNÝ life i.e. against his own. This hostility, however, did not come from Martin himself. Bishops and the religious entities fought with Martin ever since his entry onto the public scene until the beginnings of his cult. Martin was unacceptable to them, inadmissible, they did not want to accept him among themselves, they did not want to recognise his virtue. Martin was a bishop and saint against the will of the then Church (p. 20). A section entitled The Composition of the Literary Work Vita Martini follows. The literary work is composed of three basic units and an accompanying letter: the accompanying parts (Letter to Desiderius and introductory chapter 1); I. the first part is devoted to life before his ordination to the episcopate (chapters 2 9); II. followed by events during Martin s episcopate (chapters 10 24) and III. Martin s final eulogy (chapters 25 27). Each of these parts may be divided into three subparts, i.e. a so-called triptych. The literary work has a certain structure, yet Sulpicius retains freedom in covering the topics. This is demonstrated in the absolutely minimal transition between the first part (2 9) and the second part (10 24). Sulpicius thus emphasises that Martin did not change his behaviour or attitude after his episcopal ordination. On the basis of a more detailed analysis of Martin s biography, pages portray the division of the entire literary work and page 24 recounts the stylistic nature of the literary work in a section entitled Sulpicius Accompanying Letter. Pages of the monograph are devoted to discussing the individual key periods and moments in the life of Saint Martin described by Sulpicius. These contain important chronological information, compelling commentary and theological reflections on the individual periods, events, meetings, and explanations of the context provided by Sulpicius and the reasons behind their provision. Martin s biography was written and distributed during his life, which is why there is no mention of his death. His death is instead mentioned in the Sulpicius third letter and then about two centuries later in an account of Gregory of Tours in his literary work Historia Francorum (p. 86; 87). Pages of the monograph provide a commentary on the events related to Martin s death. Other parts of the monograph are devoted to Martin s relationship with other bishops (pp ) and to Sulpicius, the author of the biography Vita Martini. (pp ). The sections Text and Translation (pp ) and the quite lengthy Addendums (pp ) at the end of the monograph are composed of abbreviations and terms, including the edition of magazines, and primary and secondary literature; secondary literature consists of vocabularies, manuals, monographs and studies followed by an index of biblical quotations and ancient authors and collections. This first-of-its-kind monograph written by a Slovak theologian unique due to its interpretation, concept, description and the arguments it contained is a great contribution not only to the early Christian literature but also to theologians or future students of theology or various other supporting sciences. The interpretation of the life of Saint Martin has the potential to inspire future generations in many aspects, including in dialogue. In his biography we can observe the traces of dialogue, mainly due to the symbolic nature of the close relationship between the Frank warriors and the Church, which became particularly strong from the 8th Century. KVALITA ŽIVOTA RODÍN S DIEŤAŤOM SO ŠPECIFICKÝMI POTREBAMI. [THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN LIVING WITH SPECIAL NEEDS]. Mária Šmidová, Margita Kollárová, Marek Šmid Trnava: Dobrá kniha, pp. ISBN Ladislav Pyšný 763 Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem (CZ) Submitted: 14 January 2019 Accepted for publication: 21. August 2019 First published: 15 October 2019 Acta Missiologica No. 2 Vol Due to the collaboration between Professor Mária Šmidová who in her work and research focuses primarily on helping families with disabled children and a collective of fellow authors, namely Dr. Margita Kollárová and Professor Marek Šmid, a unique monograph entitled The Quality of Life of Families with Children Living with Special Needs was written in Slovakia. The monograph paves the way for seeking effective opportunities for professional help and support for families with disabled children. People living with disabilities represent the single largest sub-group of people in the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are globally ca. 650 million people living with various disabilities, which accounts for approximately 10% of the global population. One should note, however, that 80% of these people (400 million) live in poor countries that cannot provide them with a dignified life which, in turn, leads to a much lower standard of living for them. Their disabilities affect not only these people, but their families as well. We are thus talking about ca. one billion people who are, in one way or another, affected by disabilities. Within the European Union alone, every sixth person lives with disabilities, which represents approximately 80 million EU citizens. This group includes more than one third of people over 75 who have health issues. It should be noted that this number will increase further due to the continuous ageing of the EU population (p. 8). Therefore, those studies are becoming increasingly relevant that explore the quality of life of the aforementioned groups of people and the ways to improve it at the level of social work through special support of professionals in the field or at the level of reinforcement of supporting structures by the state. The presence of disability in one s life, as well as in the way of life of the families with children living with disabilities, can be perceived positively even in the contemporary, dynamic world which measures success in terms of the ability to assert oneself and use time effectively. There are real and empirically proven examples for this case from the life of the people who must live in such situations. However, they need components and support that would help create appropriate conditions to achieve this. Reviews 763 Contact on author: Prof. Ladislav Pyšný, CSc. MPH. l.pysny@seznam.cz

136 KVALITA ŽIVOTA RODÍN S DIEŤAŤOM SO ŠPECIFICKÝMI POTREBAMI. [THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN LIVING WITH SPECIAL NEEDS]. LADISLAV PYŠNÝ In the past, our society normally overlooked people living with disabilities; which is why today it is often still not familiar with their needs, limits, and barriers that they face and must overcome each day (p. 23). Therefore, the present monograph seeks to explore such components and support. It examines the quality of life of the families with children living with special needs to suggest practical points of departure for helping these families in the context of the Slovak Republic (p. 4). It consists of three main chapters that are further supplemented with subchapters. The second and third are of key importance. Chapter 1: The Protection of Family in the Social and Legal Context, however, is of great relevance, too. As already evident from its title, the authors of the monograph include it to give the reader a clear overview of the legislative framework that establishes the current supporting network for families in the Slovak Republic. In the second part of this chapter the authors analyse the current legislative development in the field of social services that most significantly represents the social role of law concerning families whose member(s) live with disabilities. They also point out de lege ferenda enactments and circumstances, focusing on the area of early intervention which, with respect to its preventive nature, represents a relevant part of social services (p. 4). Chapter 2, entitled The Point of Departure of the Research, starts with reviewing some relevant previous research and studies to make the point that families taking care of a child living with disabilities have specific life conditions in terms of material-economic and psycho-emotional aspects when compared with other families (p. 23). It also turns the reader s attention to the following important questions: In what way is a child living with serious disabilities welcomed in his or her family?; What are the factors affecting the quality of life of the family whose child lives with disabilities?; What needs to be done and what help can be offered to these families, so that they can use their own resources, the potential of their informal social context, communities, organizations, public institutions, and municipalities to not only cope with their situation but also prosper despite the numerous problems and challenges? (p. 21). It seeks to give answers to these questions by way of the previous research. Nevertheless, the authors also come up with the following finding: (as of today) there is no comprehensive institutional support in Slovakia for such families (p. 23). Subsequently, they discuss two phenomena: social support and its levels according to psychologist and sociologist James S. House (1981) and quality of life (p. 26; 27; 28-31) that are closely connected with the research they are conducting. The following subchapter 2.2., entitled Research Methodology, represents an example of quantitative sociological research on the specific issue of the needs of the families with a child/children living with special needs. It describes a specific questionnaire, the selection of respondents, statistical elaboration of the research, the objects of the research (i.e., the respondents/parents taking care of a child/children living with special needs), basic information about the respondents (e.g. sex, age, the region the respondents/parents come from, and education) (pp.31-32). The respective first, second, and third grade analyses are aimed at the following: to measure the quality of life of families with a child/children living with specific needs, and the differences of this quality in different contexts; to map the social support of these families and connections with their social fund; to explore the (im)perceptions of negative consequences (negative burden) related to the care of a child living with disabilities (special needs); to review the opinions of the respondents/parents (and differences among them) concerning the assistance by professionals in the process of caring for a child with special needs and describe the aspects of such assistance and its focus and frequency with respect to the age of the child(ren) living with special needs; to investigate whether and to what extent the parents of a child/children living with special needs are happy and content with their lives and to what extent the health condition of their child has influenced their relationship with their spouse; to discover the existence of a connection among the dimensions under review, i.e., the quality of life, social support, the consequences/burden of caring for a child living with special needs, and the factors under review (including socio-demographic factors) (p ). The research was conducted by way of a structured questionnaire consisting of 27 questions for families from all around Slovakia, including all regions, age groups, and education levels. The questionnaire assessed the family s standard of living, income, health, state of happiness, and their overall satisfaction with life. The following subchapter 2.3 introduced the results of this quantitative sociological research. The results are synthetically composed into the following parts: The quality of life of the families with a child/children living with special needs; The social support index; The index of the consequences/burden of caring for a child living with disabilities; Professional assistance and its frequency in the care of a child living with disabilities; The feeling of happiness and satisfaction with life, the effect the child s disabilities has on partner relationships (pp.33-57). Next, subchapter 2.4 summarizes the results of the research. (p ). It offers, inter alia, the following interesting findings regarding the parental quality of life: a high quality of life was observed in families where both partners take care of their child living with special needs; a high quality of life was also confirmed by families that have a high degree of social support from the people living in their neighbourhood who help them with the care of their child living with disabilities (p. 62); similarly, a high quality of life was also confirmed in families assisted by a professional in the care of their child. The assistance the parents need from a professional is usually focused on educational activities for their child that aim at fostering the child s independence and integrating the child into his or her peer group (this is especially the case with younger children). In the case of older children, the parents need assistance by a professional especially concerning leisure time activities with the child and educational activities aimed at fostering the child s independence. Furthermore, the research showed that the parents find it very relevant when counselling is provided (by a professional) that focuses on: coping with the situation they live in; improving the relationships among the family members, relatives, and friends; improving the economic situation of the family; and spiritual issues (facilitated by a professional who specializes in spiritual guidance and formation). In addition, the research showed a higher quality of life among families with younger children living with disabilities compared to families with older children (p. 65). The negative consequences of caring for their child living with disabilities are perceived by the parents who often feel they do not have things under control, suffer from despair and depression, lose their perspective on life, and experience increased isolation from other people and a deteriorated family standard of living. Their child has a significant negative impact on their partner relationship (p ); they go out less often due to their child s condition and are less satisfied with the amount of their free time. Up to 40% of families will break up if they have a child with disabilities. A very relevant factor at play is also whether the parents with such a child feel accepted by their closest family, neighbourhood, and society. If they have not experienced such acceptance, they cannot care for their child effectively, Reviews

137 KVALITA ŽIVOTA RODÍN S DIEŤAŤOM SO ŠPECIFICKÝMI POTREBAMI. [THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN LIVING WITH SPECIAL NEEDS]. LADISLAV PYŠNÝ thus losing energy in the struggle to improve their child s health and raise him or her properly (p. 63; 66; 67); When exploring how the parents have coped with the disability of their child, the research findings have shown that more than 80% of them came to terms with the condition their child has. With respect to the issue of the overall evaluation of state assistance for families with children living with disabilities, up to 80% of the parents believe that this assistance is not satisfactory (p. 68). In Chapter 3, entitled Practical Implementation of Social Services, the authors explore how to apply the results of their research into social practice. The statistical findings of the research numerically express the lived reality in the families under review. They indicate the robust potential of these families that live a full-value life, thus being a source of inspiration for people around them, provided that they can adequately accept their challenging situation (p. 80). The ability to survive in and cope with a difficult life situation is also significantly influenced by the personality of the parents. An important role is played by their openness and ability to establish social contacts, formulate the need for help comprehensibly or accept help from others. Emotional stability and balance contribute to the ability to evaluate problems from a greater distance and find and keep in touch with the people who are nearby and who can help if necessary. Optimism and a disposition to see the positive side of the reality help not only for coping with present burdens better but also for envisioning hope for the future. Characteristics such as friendliness, helpfulness, and empathy vis-à-vis people, help put oneself in the place of the child, despite any differences, and support and protect him or her. A person with such disposition is also able to perceive the expressions of love and gratitude that the child presents him or her with (p. 78; 77). In order for the parent or the whole family to attain the attitude described above, it is necessary to provide them with effective help that can assist them to fulfil the needs they have. Such distinct need is, for example, early intervention that represents a highly demanded and practical kind of social service for families with children living with disabilities (special needs). It represents the help the families with a child living with disabilities gets in the earliest possible stage and is intended not only for the child him- or herself but also the whole family. The purpose of the intervention is to provide support for the child s development, enhance the family s skills, and foster the integration of both the family and the child into society. These services should be provided in the natural context of the family, if possible, at the local level and through a broader circle of specialists from various disciplines. It is gradually being introduced into the legal system in the Slovak Republic. It represents an example of such form of family support through which the social role of law is pursued as it aims at providing equal opportunities and, thus, fostering the principles of equality and justice. In this chapter, the authors also draw the reader s attention to the legal form of this service (pp.4-5). They consider its development and expansion to be one of the ways how to fulfil the imperative of respecting the dignity of each human being and how society can directly care for its citizens. Therefore, this chapter also includes relevant facts concerning the nature of early intervention, comparisons with other European contexts, and an analysis of the accompanying problems (e.g. the financial burden for families, the financial insecurity for founders and operators of early intervention centres, distance, the fact that current early intervention programs do not include care for whole families, etc.) (pp.4-5; 80). The study especially emphasizes the need to support such families immediately after their child is born by way of social accompaniment (counselling) so that they can discover their inner strength, mobilize their internal resources, accept their child, and solve their life situation effectively. It is a modern, specific, and effective method in the field of social services that might expand early intervention services or become their relevant part; however, it is still a new method in the Slovak context (where it has not yet been established professionally). In Slovakia, this kind of support intended also for families in difficult situations is currently being developed as a voluntary service through trainings for students at the Theological Faculty of the University of Trnava. However. An urgent need emerges also in establishing this social accompaniment (counselling) at the professional level as a genuine profession. Experience from other countries where the social accompaniment of families has now become a common form of help also confirm this need. These include, for example, countries in Western Europe and America where accompaniment is one of the tried and tested forms of help for individuals, groups, and families in various difficult life situations (p. 80). The monograph also contains appendices based on the conducted research. It was written in the context of the Slovak Republic, where it opens greater opportunities to provide professional support for families with a child with special needs. The aforementioned effective opportunities for professional help and support for these families with an emphasis on a more detailed elaboration of the early intervention service aimed at gradually eliminating the discussed problems that it needs to address and acknowledging the social accompaniment of families, groups or individuals at the professional level will gradually create demand for regulations in Slovak legislation and the ensuing permanent establishment in the Slovak legal system. When writing such monographs, similar efforts by authors who are experts in various academic disciplines are more than relevant and invaluable because they not only illustrate many examples from a predominantly practical life abroad, including stories of courageous individuals, groups or families that have gone through various difficult life situations, but can also gradually contribute to positive changes to legislation and the legal system for the sake of the citizens of different countries who go through or have experienced similar situations in their life. One, therefore, hopes that the production of similar monographs will further continue so that the situation of people living with disabilities (special needs) and their families, or sick and elderly people who require long-term care, can be improved. The Slovak Republic can increasingly join those countries that consider equal opportunities and the improvement of living conditions for these people to be a matter-of-course. The improvement of the quality of life for people living with special needs and their families can greatly benefit from dialogue focused on the themes and issues described above. Reviews

138 REFLECTIONS ON THE CONFERENCE HOW DISCERNMENT BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL SHAPES THE DYNAMICS OF THE HUMAN JOURNEY MIREIA RYŠKOVÁ, LIBOR OVEČKA REFLECTIONS ON THE CONFERENCE HOW DISCERNMENT BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL SHAPES THE DYNAMICS OF THE HUMAN JOURNEY Mireia Ryšková 764 1, Libor Ovečka 1 1 Catholic Theological Faculty of Charles University in Prague (CZ) Submitted: 7 Jume 2018 Accepted for publication: 29 September 2019 First published: 15 October 2019 Acta Missiologica No. 2 Vol Another international conference (the second under the University Research Centre s project entitled Theological Anthropology in an Ecumenical Perspective) was held from May 2019 in the monastic complex in Bose (Magnano, Italy) where an ecumenical community lives and is active. As the name of the conference How Discernment between Good and Evil Shapes the Dynamics of the Human Journey suggests, its main topic discussed from various angles and an ecumenical perspective was the discernment between good and evil. Several members of the community in Bose attended the conference, whereas other attendants had, in turn, the opportunity to participate in the community s liturgical and spiritual programme, which was an enriching addition to the programme. In addition to the Czech attendants and community members, the conference was also attended by experts from Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland, the USA, Ukraine, and Great Britain. The conference followed up on the previous year s conference entitled Contemporary Images of Holiness held in May 2018 in Prague. The aim of these conferences is not only the exchange of knowledge and insights into basic anthropological questions from a theological perspective but, above all, they serve as a place where people can meet, search for answers together and often identify problems which have not yet been resolved. Several contributions will also be published so the discussion on this important topic might be enriched further with more insights and reactions. Discernment and deciding between good and evil is among the basic mental actions of man and one of the basic anthropological questions. Contemporary (post-modern) society seems to have given up on this discernment, which must always be made on the basis of certain criteria, and instead of making a decision based on the discernment between good and evil or truth and lie, society is very often led by pragmatic, or rather purely utilitarian, motives. Good and evil, truth and lie are categories that belong primarily to the field of morality, the morality of human behaviour, which are primarily addressed by both philosophical ethics and moral (and partially spiritual) theology, but also by social ethics which takes into account primarily the societal context. The conference was focused on summarising how these categories translate into the different areas of human life and the life of society from a theological perspective, although it was not possible to deal with all the aspects due to the limited time of the conference. The debate was launched with a contribution (its name identical to that of the conference) from Ivana Noble who emphasised the processuality and dynamics of human growth in wisdom gifted by the Holy Spirit to those who do not dwell on empty concepts but instead seek meaning. Decision-making always occurs in the external and internal context, which means in communication, and if directed in the right direction it leads to maturity, i.e. the fulfilment of man s vocation to unite with God (deification). She followed up on the opening words of Brother Adalbert, who talked about various aspects of discernment in the life of an individual and society and underlined the importance of the gift of the Holy Spirit. Both contributions opened up a broader perspective of discernment as a process (not only between good and evil but rather as a process of constantly searching for adequate views in the light of the context and aim) whose aim is uniting man or human society with God. Marion Carson and Joost van Rossum demonstrated the importance of context in the discernment process and its historical dependence on specific examples from the past (biblical: Abraham and Sarah The Dynamics of the Human Journey in the Abrahamic Narrative the Place of the Good and of the Evil within it; and patristic: Discernment in Evagrius and St Symeon the New Theologian). The story of Abraham, Sarah and Hagar may appear problematic in many aspects from the point of view of today s society, and the story demonstrates the cultural, social and religious dependence of the discernment process, but, at the same time, it also provides an important warning against the identification of the legal and the moral. Similarly, the theological testimonies of two prominent figures in the history of spirituality Evagria ( ) and Symeona ( ) also demonstrate the importance of context and personal experience, which may lead to certain similarities in viewing the criteria for discernment (joy and enlightenment by the Holy Spirit) as well as differences given by the context (a different view of the images and different anthropology). The trialogue of Kateřina Kočandrle Bauer, František Štěch and Michaela Kusnieriková (Helpful Models of Theological, Moral and Spiritual Discernment in Catholicism, Protestantism and Orthodoxy) and the co-essays by Viorel Coman and Brother Matthias Wirtz have led to the realisation that, despite the different layers that are inherent in the individual spiritual traditions, there is a common basis which may serve as a means for the distinction recognising the existence of evil and sin, which do not have an absolute nature; the conviction of the victory of the good and the restoration of harmony between man and God (redemption); the emphasis on interdependence of the individual and society (dialogical character of distinction), man s ability to discern and decide; criteria (love for God and man: each person is wanted and loved by God) and tools for the discernment (tradition/scripture, prayer and self-discovery, community communication, accompaniment listening), and goal (removal of the distorted image of man deification). All contributions dealt with the discernment from a broader perspective, particularly from the spiritual and theological, where although the ethical dimension is significant, the Interesting activities Contact on author: Doc. PhDr. Mireia Ryšková Th.D. mireia.ryskova@ktf.cuni.cz Contact on author: Doc. PhDr. Libor Ovečka Th.D. ovecka@ktf.cuni.cz

139 REFLECTIONS ON THE CONFERENCE HOW DISCERNMENT BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL SHAPES THE DYNAMICS OF THE HUMAN JOURNEY MIREIA RYŠKOVÁ, LIBOR OVEČKA attention is focused more on the eschatological horizon. It is thus not only about discernment between good and evil but also between greater and lesser good in the context of a personal story. Although man must discern and choose between good and evil in the moral sense of the word almost every day, it is also necessary to realise that the complexity of life does not allow man to be fully confident when deciding on the good. The role of doubt in moral discernment, especially in the positive sense of the word, was addressed in Perry Hamalis s contribution (The Role of Doubt in Moral Discernment), where he emphasised the importance of humility in decision-making, i.e. the awareness of one s own limits, reliance on others and trust in oneself and in God s guidance. Both extremes, i.e. radical doubts and overconfidence in oneself lead either to a limited capacity to act or to errors, illusions, and disillusions. Due to the recurrent topic of searching for and finding truth in dialogue or conversation, the programme was partly based on contributions in a dialogical form (as has already been shown above). In their block, The Nature of Certainty in Ritual Discernment between Good and Evil, Tabita Landová and Michaela Vlčková looked from various points of view at the role of rituals in the search for certainty when discerning (as a continuation of the previous contribution on the role of doubt). The religious ritual helps man to discern between good and evil because it puts it into the context of traditions and society and refers to the eschatological horizon, but, at the same time, it must not lead to the loss of man s personal responsibility and critical doubt referred to by Perry Hamalis. Two contributions from a non-theological field Christopher Schneider s The Saint and the Madman in Dostoevsky: How to Overcome Evil as a Divisive, Parodic and Idolatrous Imitation of Good, and Duncan Angus The Impact of Mental Illness on the Discernment between Good and Evil pointed out the non-obvious and complex nature of discernment between good and evil outside the field of philosophy, ethics, spirituality, and theology. The reference to the ambivalence of good and evil in the behaviour of individual characters in the works of Dostoevsky (especially in The Brothers Karamazov) provided an opportunity to discuss the problems of modern society. Dr. Duncan Angus (The Impact of Mental Illness on the Discernment between Good and Evil) used practical examples to demonstrate the impossibility of assessing good and evil from a medical perspective (psychiatry). Medicine thus does not use the concepts of good and evil in a moral sense, but rather talks of terrible human acts, for example. As a doctor, he called attention to the limits we experience when making a decision, that are not only due to the dysfunction in the way of thinking of the mentally ill. At the same time, he pointed out that society as a whole is able to produce much greater evil than a single individual and that bad decisions are made repeatedly also by healthy people without there being a rational explanation for this fact. Marieke Maes s contribution Symbols of Good and Evil in the Bible and in Our Time followed up on the previous two contributions by focusing on the present, which she compared to the past, where the pursuit of morality and holiness shifted to concern for health because of the loss of transcendence and the eschatological horizon (noticeably in social discourse). By blurring or even abandoning altogether the distinction between good and evil, societies and the individual deprive themselves of the opportunity to truly get to know themselves and free themselves from the confining bonds of evil and the opportunity to see goodness and have hope. In his work entitled God s Will and Human Goodness, Jiří Dosoudil came up with a category of redemption based on an analysis of biblical texts, which allows man to act in accordance with God s will, i.e. with His original purpose become liberated from sin/evil in his life as a consequence of the redemption he was granted. From the point of view of man s behaviour, which depends on his freedom and responsibilities, the discernment between good and evil is essential and conscience plays a decisive role in this process. However, seeing as though man does not live in isolation, but in a world marked by sin, he is very often constrained in his decision-making by the so-called structures of evil (sin), i.e. by a social situation full of evil, violence, injustice... where he must choose between greater and lesser evil. Ľubomír Baťka s contribution The Teaching on Sin and Predestination and the Question of the Necessity of Evil and the Possibility of Good provided definitions of terms, their position within the traditions, and a description of the different approaches of Catholic and Protestant traditions to human sinfulness. The author highlighted the importance of discerning between good and evil in order to preserve human dignity and, at the same time, raised a timely question of whether this discernment will remain a privilege of the living or whether such discernment can be adopted by artificial intelligence, as well (without the risk of ever being wrong). The issue of free will and moral discernment was addressed in Maťo Kováčik s contribution (Freedom to Choose Between Good and Evil: A Theological Anthropology Perspective on Moral Discernment and Free Will). The author demonstrated different models of addressing the relationship between God s government and man s free will in a theological tradition (from hard determinism to libertarianism) and interpreted the relationship between man s free will and God s will in terms of their cooperation, i.e. that God has decided to not influence man (self-limitation) when he is making decisions (man s decision-making is thus autonomous), but instead operate in his heart. Bogdan Hulea and Lida Kristova provided two examples of decision-making and the path to holiness that of André Scrima and Sister Johanna Reitlinger. In addition to life stories that were significantly impacted by the 20 th Century s political situation (authoritarian regimes), both focused on the timely message of these two persons. However different they may have been a Romanian priest who has travelled a large part of the world, and a nun-artist who became a refugee after the Russian revolution (Prague, Paris) and after 1945 returned back to Russia their life stories mirror the tragedy of society, which denies the existence of evil and the importance of spiritual guides and the openness upon discernment, and the pursuit of life s truth holiness. In both cases it was not just discernment between good and evil, but rather discernment between various options with regard to specific conditions and one s own abilities. Michael Barnes (Discernment and the Religions: on the Consolations of Learning) built on the Ignatian tradition of discernment of spirits and its application not only within one s personal search and life situation but also in order to benefit others. He emphasised humility as an important virtue, i.e. the awareness of one s inadequacy and refusal to dominate over others and manipulate them, the acceptance of otherness (balance), the need to listen to others and having patience because patience is required in order for change to take place. Interesting activities

140 THERE ARE SOME VALUES WORTH FIGHTING FOR YOUR ENTIRE LIFE : AWARDING OF THE HONORARY DEGREE OF DOCTOR HONORIS CAUSA ALŽBETA MRÁZOVÁ The closing contributions by Tim Noble and Petr Jandejsk (The Personal and the Common Good the Personal and the Common Evil Liberation Theology Perspectives) held in dialogical form shed light on the issue of liberation from the structures of evil, from evil/sinful structures, on personal and community discernment and decision-making when combating the common evil by seeking God s will for a particular situation of liberation. The ensuing debate manifested the varied understanding of sin and evil and the responsibility for them in various spiritual traditions. THERE ARE SOME VALUES WORTH FIGHTING FOR YOUR ENTIRE LIFE * 765 : AWARDING OF THE HONORARY DEGREE OF DOCTOR HONORIS CAUSA Alžbeta Mrázová 766 St. Elizabeth University of Health and Social Sciences, Bratislava (SK) In the final observations of the conference as a whole, the representatives of three different institutions acknowledged the openness of the individual presenters approaches, and the importance of communication and openness towards other traditions in the process of discernment not only between good and evil but also between various options in life. On the one hand, the conference contributions summarised the principle positions in the discernment process, while on the other it showed the varied understanding of such important topics as sin, sinful structures, the responsibility of an individual and society, and raised new questions regarding the contemporary world (e.g. artificial intelligence). An important moment was the living testimony of life and prayer of the ecumenical community in Bose and the balance between rationality and meditation, individual and collective prayer. Because, as Viorel Coman concluded: discernment is not science, it is an art, the art of living. The conference showed that even something we consider as self-evident in the life of an individual and society as the discernment between good and evil, is in fact not self-evident at all; and that the discussion between the various disciplines and theological bases can provide this process with a more complex point of view. Submitted: 20 December 2018 Accepted for publication: 2 April 2019 First published: 15 October 2019 Acta Missiologica No. 2 Vol Dear Colleagues and Readers of Acta Missiologica, Let me share with you a remarkable event that took place at the academic society of St. Elisabeth University of Health Care and Social Work in Bratislava. At the end of 2018, Dr.h.c. mult. prof. MUDr. Vladimír Krčméry, DrSc., the St. Elisabeth University of Health Care and Social Work Rector, awarded the honorary degree of Doctor Honoris Causa to yet another prominent personality and outstanding individual, PhDr. Ján Riapoš, PhD. PhDr. Ján Riapoš PhD. (*28 September 1968, Heľpa) is a Slovak Paralympic athlete representing the Slovak Republic at the Paralympic Games, a multiple World champion and European champion in para table tennis, and a winner of several gold medals. He is considered to be the most successful Slovak Paralympian in history: in 2013 he was named the best Paralympian athlete of the past twenty years. Since 2002 he has been the president of the Slovak Association of Physically Handicapped Sportsmen and in 2003 he also became the president of the Slovak Paralympic Committee. On 31 August 2006 he was awarded a state honour the 3rd Class Order of Ľudovít Štúr for his activities and extremely significant achievements in the development of sports for the physically handicapped. Interesting activities In addition to the aforementioned achievements and his active representation of the Slovak Republic in Paralympic sports, this charismatic Paralympian, who recently turned fifty, remains calm and level-headed. His achievements consist mainly of motivating people who have lost their sight, hearing or control of upper or lower limbs as a result of an accident or due to other adverse circumstances and who thus face a dilemma as to how to continue living. As he himself had to deal with this situation 25 years ago, his activities and lectures significantly affect not only the physically disabled, including many young people and students of high schools and universities, but also people without disabilities. We know many missionaries of poor, sick and abandoned people who work tirelessly, selflessly and enthusiastically to the benefit of these people. PhDr. Ján Riapoš PhD. may without exaggeration be called the missionary of people with a similar fate to his *765 Quote from PhDr. Ján Riapoš PhD. 766 Contact on author: Prof. PhDr. Mrázová Alžbeta, PhD., MPH prof.mrazova@gmail.com

141 THERE ARE SOME VALUES WORTH FIGHTING FOR YOUR ENTIRE LIFE : AWARDING OF THE HONORARY DEGREE OF DOCTOR HONORIS CAUSA ALŽBETA MRÁZOVÁ own in particular of the physically disabled. In his lectures and speeches, he often ardently speaks of how people with an acquired or congenital disability can be helped during tough times by them setting a certain goal, by them searching for the meaning of life when they feel they are standing on the brink of collapse, when they think it is all over and nothing matters anymore, that they have no future, no possibility of personal, social or professional growth, when in their eyes it is the end of everything... He himself decided to set a goal during the tough times he endured, including the painful rehabilitation exercises, yet with a strong faith in God he decided to apply to a university in the field of social work at the Faculty of Health Sciences and Social Work at the University of Trnava, which was at the time led by MUDr. Vladimír Krčméry, DrSc. During his university studies, when he was already in a wheelchair, he began to train hard in the discipline of table tennis for his first Paralympics, taking place in Athens. Since then he keeps bringing home gold medals every four years from the Paralympics (Athens, Beijing, London, Rio de Janeiro) or from other World and European competitions, which is a remarkable feat, because he is the only person in the world who participates in these competitions and Paralympics not only as an active participant an athlete but also as the president of the Slovak Paralympic Committee. Within his university studies at the University of Trnava in 2002, he concluded his studies with a Master s degree in the field of social work, and in 2004 he obtained a PhDr. Degree; during this period he was also awarded the highest honour of the University of Trnava a gold medal. He continued his doctoral studies at the newly-established St. Elisabeth University of Health Care and Social Work in Bratislava, from which he graduated in He continues to give lectures not only at his alma mater but also at many other universities to which he is invited to give lectures. During his lectures he never forgets to mention he is a proud graduate of the University of Trnava and St. Elisabeth University of Health Care and Social Work, both led by MUDr. Vladimír Krčméry. PhDr. Ján Riapoš PhD. may be described as a pedagogue, an active and award-winning athlete, and the president of the Slovak Paralympic Committee, who is very hard on himself. Despite all of his successes, including an extraordinary state award from the President of the Slovak Republic in 2006, he remains to this day a strong believer in God and keeps radiating peace, humility, and optimism. Not only people from the close circle of PhDr. Ján Riapoš PhD., and his co-workers, but also those who had the chance to meet him in person and experience his lectures, speeches or motivational activities benefiting particularly the physically disabled, address him in an endearing manner Janko particularly due to his calm demeanour, enthusiasm and the smile on his face and in his eyes. He is currently training hard for his fifth Paralympics which will take place in Tokyo in 2020 and the entire academic society of St. Elisabeth University of Health Care and Social Work in Bratislava is keeping its collective fingers crossed for him and wishes him a lot of success as his uniqueness demonstrates itself also during the training for the Paralympics. In connection with the achievements and person of PhDr. Ján Riapoš PhD., it is impossible not to mention the Paralympic Walk of Fame, a unique walk not only in Slovakia but also in other foreign countries. The Paralympic Walk of Fame in Slovakia is located in the spa town of Piešťany and the name of PhDr. Ján Riapoš PhD. is an important and inseparable part. PhDr. Ján Riapoš PhD. being awarded the honorary degree of Doctor Honoris Causa The author of both photos ECO-INVESTMENT Interesting activities St. Elisabeth University of Health Care and Social Work also expressed recognition for his activities, awards and charismatic personality, and with the unanimous consent of all members of the scientific council awarded him an honorary degree of Doctor Honoris Causa in the field of social work for representing Slovakia abroad and for 25 years of working with physically handicapped athletes. While expressing his thanks, the laureate revealed that, for him, the receipt of the honorary degree constitutes a motivation to continue working for the benefit of handicapped persons, in particular athletes, and in supporting Slovak Paralympians. He also expressed hope that his sporting and pedagogical activities, successes and tireless efforts to motivate and help the physically disabled would serve as an inspiration and a rich legacy for future generations

142 DIALOGUE LIES IN THE EFFORT TO LOOK AT THE WORLD THROUGH ANOTHER PERSON S EYES AN INTERVIEW DIALOGUE LIES IN THE EFFORT TO LOOK AT THE WORLD THROUGH ANOTHER PERSON S EYES AN INTERVIEW Submitted: 11 March 2019 Accepted of publication: 26 September 2019 First published: 15 October 2019 Acta Missiologica No. 2 Vol Mr. Ladislav Šranko 767 of the Faculty of Roman Catholic Theology of Cyril and Methodius of Comenius University in Bratislava provides Acta Missiologica an interview about dialogue in the present with Doc. PaedDr. Martin Dojčár, PhD. employed as a religionist at the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Theology of Trnava University, specialising in the study of spirituality and interfaith dialogue. He has participated in several research and study programmes abroad, among others at the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research in the USA and the Ecumenical Institute Bossey, an education centre of World Council of Churches. He also completed the study programme of the US State Department Fulbright American Studies Institute at University of California, Santa Barbara. Mr. Dojčár has published a wide range of scientific and scholarly papers, and four monographs in the form of a book: Self-Transcendence and Prosociality (Peter Lang, 2017), Self-Transcendence: The Anthropological Point of Departure (Dobrá kniha, 2017), The Problem of Global Coexistence: (Veda, 2012) and Mystical Contemplation: The Cloud of Unknowing & Ramana Maharshi (Iris, 2008). He also works as chief editor of an international scientific journal about spirituality: Spirituality Studies. Mr. Dojčár, how do you perceive the role and importance of dialogue for the present world? Social and political developments in our times clearly manifest the importance of dialogue and the role it plays in a pluralistic and democratic society of a Western type.in turbulent times of dramatic changes in geopolitics and geoculture, during a culminating migration crisis, amidst pulsating religiously-motivated xenophobia, and unfortunately sometimes even animosity, dialogue is suggested as a middle ground between two extremes: cheap tolerance or indifference and xenophobia or animosity on the other hand. The solution is primarily dialogue as an interpersonal event. Dialogue as an interpersonal event represents a deeper, existential level of dialogue as opposed to the concept of dialogue as a form of communication. Interview However, they both communicate the same fundamental message, which I prefer to verbalize in the concept of mutuality. In its basal form, i.e. dialogue as a form of communication, dialogue assumes a plurality of views of reality. The dialogical method of communication is thus based on understanding of reality as complex phenomena on the part of the cognitive object and the plurality of perspectives on the part of the cognitive subject. In dialogical communication, there is consequently an appreciating confrontation of partial views of reality, provided that this confrontation can lead to a more complete view to a fuller un- Contact on author: ThDr. Ladislav Šranko, PhD. sranko.laci@gmail.com