Pastoral Relationship with People with Intellectual ... - Theses

157In relation to this extended reflection models of pastoral care are appliedto the relationship between pastoral practitioner and the persons with intellectualdisability, and are then reviewed with a view to fresh and improved application.Incarnational pastoral theology is found in the reality of humanly constructedinstitutions and the people who live in them. It is a Christian faith and theologybased in the incarnational life of Jesus that serve as the foundation for theinstitutionally-based pastoral practice of this pastoral practitioner.In relation to this extended reflection it is of great significance to developa carefully considered system of knowledge acquisition. This is gleaned from thenarratives of the lives being considered. Crucial factors to be carefully consideredconcern the socio-politically constituted conditions in which the narrative occurs;the nature of the interaction between those who are central to the narrativedescription; tacit assumptions; types of behaviour, observed strategies or tacticsapplicable to the context; and consequences observed to occur as a result of thesespecific behaviours, assumptions, strategies or tactics. These factors need to becarefully and rigorously applied. 418 From a pastoral, theological perspective, theincarnational nature of institutional living and pastoral relationships also need tobe considered in a thoroughly disciplined manner.Also of importance is the careful application of the core theory ofinterpretation. The core theory is the theory around which many other theoreticalconstructs pertinent to the extended reflection bear application. It is that whichmost readily applies to other theoretical categories. Through the regularapplication of the core theory, and as more knowledge is collated and carefullyconsidered, the core theory develops and takes on a shape that maintains itsrelevance and ongoing application to new data and levels of analysis andunderstanding. However, it essentially remains the same theory, hencecontributing necessary reliability and stability to the pastoral methodology andthe process of reflection. 419In relation to this extended reflection the core theory concerns themetaphorical concept of the Slave from which stems the dual notions ofoppression and liberation. These concepts are pivotal to the analysis,418 Alston, Margaret, and Wendy Bowles. Research for Social Workers: An Introduction toMethods. (Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin, 1998), 196.419 ibid., 204.Here, the authors refer to core theory as the core or central category.