The theological-moral foundation of youth ministry aimed at sexual maturity

Antoni Bartoszek

Uniwersytet Śląski w Katowicach; Wydział Teologiczny

Abstract

There has been an ongoing discussion within the Catholic Church on the shape of pastoral care for young people, taking into account the delicate sphere of human sexuality. Some debaters advocate alterations of the Church’s teaching on human sexuality. Others claim that one should not give up a clear presentation of the moral truth, even if it applies to such a delicate matter as sexuality.

The aim of this article is to verify a thesis that youth ministry meant to lead to a mature experience of sexuality should be built on a deep theological and anthropological foundation, enabling the formation of reliable moral norms.

Achieving the objective of the article was possible due to application of methods of theological sciences, by analysis of sources relevant to theology. The ministry itself is carried out within the Church that has, most of all, theological foundations. Among numerous theological sources the following two have been chosen: the 19th chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew and the teaching of John Paul II on this chapter.

The analyses confirmed the initial thesis. The youth pastoral care should spring from deep theological sources: it should be Christocentric. The pastoral care should be ready to create faith environments in which it is possible to become passionate about the person of Jesus Christ. The tasks of pastoral care in the sphere of sexuality are above all: showing the beauty of marriage open to children and pointing at the unique value of celibacy for the Kingdom of God. The analyses have proven that while performing the pastoral activities one should not be afraid to impose demands present in the teaching of the Church, but at the same time it is necessary to constantly demonstrate the power of God’s grace.

Keywords:

sexuality, marriage, celibacy, youth ministry

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Published
2024-01-27

Cited by

Bartoszek, A. (2024). The theological-moral foundation of youth ministry aimed at sexual maturity. Family Forum, 13, 173–193. https://doi.org/10.25167/FF/5044

Authors

Antoni Bartoszek 

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