‘Soft Shepherd or Almighty Pastor?’: Power (im)balances in Pastoral Care
International Academic Expert Seminar — 5 - 7 January 2012
(foto links: His Almighty Power’ copyright by Rhonda Myers, USA)
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Bekijk hier de foto's van het expertenseminarie.
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Vind hier een kort verslag van Jana Binon over het expertenseminarie.
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies
Academic Centre for Practical Theology
Theme
Power as a lens for viewing the complexity of society, church and pastoral care has become a pressing issue in current research. Many perspectives – critical discourse analysis, the focus on diversity, intersectionality and minority groups, hierarchical and pastoral power, etc. – are currently considering the presence of power in the realm of pastoral care, a consideration that has long been 'taboo'. We want therefore, to break down this taboo, and make power in pastoral care an issue of great importance on the theological and pastoral agenda by means of this international expert seminar.
This international academic Expert Seminar with the title 'Soft Shepherd or Almighty Pastor? Power (im)balances in Pastoral Care', aims to bring distinguished scholars together to examine, from different perspectives, the question of power in pastoral care. The seminar seeks to provide a platform where knowledge from various disciplines and multiple approaches can be shared in an enriching encounter that fosters refined and thorough research on power in pastoral care, imbedded in its particular contexts of churches and policy.
When and where?
This expert seminar will be held in the Romero room (COVE 02.10), Collegium Veteranorum, Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies at Leuven (Sint-Michielsstraat 4) from the 5th until the 7th January 2012.
For Whom?
The academic expert seminar is open for professors and students, pastoral workers, leaders and members of religious communities, care providers, and all who are interested in the relation between power, pastoral care and church. The conference language will be English.
Speakers
- Carrie Doehring (Denver University, USA)
- Marie Fortune (FaithTrust Institute, Seattle, USA)
- Stefan Gärtner (Tilburg University, The Netherlands)
- Arnaud Join-Lambert (Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium)
- Jaap de Lange (Faculteit voor Protestantse Godgeleerdheid, Belgium)
- Emmanuel Lartey (Emory University, USA)
- Axel Liegeois (K.U.Leuven, Belgium)
- Didier Pollefeyt (K.U.Leuven, Belgium)
- Hermann Steinkamp (Katholisch-Theologische Fakultät Universität Münster, Germany)
- Cristina Traina (Northwestern University, USA)
- Annemie Dillen (K.U.Leuven, Belgium)
Questions
This international academic expert seminar aims to examine, from a variety of perspectives, aspects of power in pastoral care, embedded in the particular contexts of churches, institutions, societies and policymaking. Below, we are providing a number of questions, clustered into themes, we expect to face during this expert seminar. These questions could serve as general inspiration for the authors/speakers in composing one's contribution (abstract and essay) for the seminar, but there is no need to answer each question one by one.
1. The Nature of Power
1.1. The Presence of Power
- How is power perceived in the context of the pastorate? Where do pastoral care givers and theologians see power, not only in obvious locations, but also in subtle places (eg. in behavior, habits, etc) ? What processes of concealment occur that deliberately or accidentally deceive the pastoral care giver? What are criteria to help us distinguish where power is at play?
1.2. Kinds of Power
- Can Foucault's distinction between pastoral and institutional power be helpful today, and in what way can pastors be vulnerable to both forms of power? What other kinds of power, within or outside these two categories (pastoral and institutional power) can be distinguished and refined in the attitude and work of pastoral care givers? How can the forms be intertwined, and where can this entanglement be seen in the pastorate and in theology?
1.3. Power Analysis
- How can the notions of 'service' and 'kenosis' have potential for the adequate use of power or the abuse of power?
- Is power omnipresent and if so, what factors specifically do we look for in a power analysis: explicit or implicit power, a positive way of dealing with power, power abuse, etc.? What forms describe power abuse (e.g. disempowerment, domination, etc.)?
1.4. Approaching Power
- What are possible attitudes and responses to particular types of power of the religious leader or pastor?
- How can a pastor and pastoral care receiver use, approach and deal with power in an satisfactory way? How is power abuse to be avoided?
1.5. Empowerment
- What are the possibilities for and boundaries of a concept like 'empowerment'? Is 'empowerment' maintaining the asymmetry between 'empowerer' and 'empowered'? Can there ever be a 'full empowerment' of all members of a group? If empowerment is questionable, what are possible alternatives?
2. Power in the Pastoral Relationship
2.1. Asymmetrical Relations
- What does an asymmetric relationship imply for pastoral care givers, pastoral care receivers, policy makers, and theologians?
- In what way can the asymmetrical relationship between a pastoral care giver and receiver be compared to the parental relationship?
2.2. Mutuality and Empowerment
- In what way might mutuality and empowerment play a role in the concrete shaping of the relationship between pastoral care giver and pastoral care receiver? Would the presence of mutuality and empowerment set power aside?
- What are possible pitfalls in an asymmetric pastoral relationship and in a pastoral relationship based on mutuality and empowerment?
2.3. Metaphors and Discourse
- Which metaphors take into account an adequate way of dealing with power in pastoral relationships ?
- Which discourse is used by pastors in their pastoral counseling, liturgy and prayer language, pastoral mission statement, etc.? What light could a critical discourse analysis shed on the issue of power within the field of pastoral relations imbedded in the particular contexts, for example, of a church or theology?
2.4. Boundaries of Power
- What is the boundary between professional and inappropriate behavior? Are tactile, emotional contacts (a hug, crying) or 'unprofessional' actions allowed depending on the situation? What criteria do we use for drawing a boundary?
- What if pastoral care receivers appear to speak too openly? Do pastoral care givers have the 'right' to the deepest inner secrets of his or her pastoral care receivers?
- How do pastoral care givers and denominational institutions deal with power abuse? What are criteria for tolerable and intolerable degrees of power? How do pastoral care givers react when confronted with the consequences of the religious abuse of power, in particular clerical abuse?
3. Institutional Power
3.1. The Nature of Institutional Power
- What is understood by 'institutional power'? Is it still as present now as it may have been in the past? Is it more present today, perhaps in other ways, or is power diminishing in today's churches? What may be the cause/the root of institutional power, in particular in the churches?
3.2. Called to be Prophetic?
- How do pastoral care givers and theologians deal with the power within and of the hierarchy, whether it be in the church, in the policy making team, in the hospital or in another institution where pastoral care givers are at work?
- How can a pastoral care giver find a balance between being part of an institution and maintaining a critical and perhaps sometimes deviant opinion and/or practice? How do pastors and pastoral care receivers cope with being called to give a 'prophetic message' that is not welcomed by the institution, the funders, the church, the media? How does one remain prophetic without risking too much (e.g. losing one's job)?
3.3. Institutional Discourse
- How does one stay faithful to the traditional language of the pastoral care givers while also remaining close to the language of experience as expressed by pastoral care receivers?
- Perhaps power, discrimination and disempowerment are more invisible in the current 'neutral' church and pastoral policies, theologies, interventions and discourse. Can we discern power at play in what has become 'mainstream', and in what ways can we recognize the false claim of 'neutrality' (e.g. white supremacy or privilege, male dominance, hetero-normativity, etc.)?
- What avenues and media can be used to exercise religious power, and what influence does contemporary multimedia (e.g. internet, dvds) have on the way religious and pastoral power may be exercised?
4. Power and Diversity
4.1. Diversity and Institutional power
- Do race, class, gender, denomination, etc. have an impact on institutional power, and if so, to what extent? In what ways can the age, gender, culture or the medical pathology of a pastoral care receiver give rise to a different policy and pastoral approach?
- In what ways can pastoral care givers, theologians and policy makers be challenged by the plural and diverse reality of pastoral care receivers? How 'white', or 'male', or 'western' are the current (Catholic) theologies?
4.2. Diversity and Individual Pastoral Care
- Does it make a difference in the pastoral approach whether the pastoral care giver is a woman or a man, lay or clergy, old or young, from this culture or a foreign one? When does power sneak into the picture? To what extent is the pastoral care provided by a pastoral care giver who is, e.g., a young, lay women different than that provided by an older, ordained minister? Does diversity in gender, age, etc. shape the pastoral care giver as much as his or her character, etc.?
4.3. Language of Diversity?
- Is the discourse used by pastoral givers open enough to the diversity of the public he or she is addressing, such that the discourse not wield power in an excluding or abusive way?
- How can theologians and pastors balance between 'difference' and 'sameness' in concepts like diversity, community and inclusion? When can the language of diversity become a euphemism to answer to the question of exclusion and discrimination? How can the language of diversity retain its 'power'?
4.4. Inclusion and Exclusion
- Are there any victims of the current pastoral approaches, and if so, who are they? In what ways are the 'victims' given a voice, or are they able to speak up themselves? Is their cry integrated into the current theological and pastoral endeavor?
- Does one also take into account the pastoral care receivers who do not consider themselves 'believers' when pastoral care is provided and theology is designed? Is it possible and desirable, and if so, how can pastoral care givers and theologians give them a voice?
- In what way can liberation theology, feminist theology, etc. be a challenge for today's pastorate and theology in dealing with diversity and power?
Leaflet
Leaflet (pdf, 558 kB)
(! the programme indicated on the leaflet is only preliminary; this webpage shows the final programme !)
Programme
Abstracts
Conference fee
One day without meals: 7€
One day with meals: 50€
Full program without meals: 15€
Full program with meals: 140€
Registration
Please Register before December 25, by sending an email to machteld.reynaert@theo.kuleuven.be and by transferring the conference fee to bank account BE60 7340 0666 0370 KREDBEBB with reference 400/0006/10432 + name of the participant.
For K.U.Leuven staff and students participation is free of charge, lunch excluded. Yet, registration is required.
How to reach Leuven?
Leuven is easily accessible by train. For time-tables and on-line train tickets, see: www.b-rail.be/main/E. From Brussels International Airport (www.brusselsairport.be) you can travel by train to Leuven. The railway station is located below the terminal (basement level -1). Every hour there are two direct trains that take you to the Leuven railway station in about 15 minutes.
For more information about transportation to and from Leuven, see: www.kuleuven.be/transportation/ (Please note that Leuven (Louvain in French) is NOT the same as Louvain-La-Neuve!)
Staying in Leuven
Leuven offers a wide range of accommodation. See: www.leuven.be/en/tourism/staying-over/
Contact information
Machteld Reynaert
Machteld.reynaert@theo.kuleuven.be
+32 16 323835
With financial support of:
