Pastoral Relationship with People with Intellectual ... - Theses

200It can be rightfully asserted that the claiming of liberationist rights by thepoor is traditionally predicated on the capacity of the individual to claim thoserights. This is the principle of individual autonomy. This clearly works to thebenefit of those who are cognitively capable of claiming such rights, and againstthose whose cognitive limitations make the claiming of such rights highlyproblematic. However, as implied above, it is within the caregiver’s role asadvocate to assist the person with intellectual disability to articulate their rights.From a pastoral perspective this includes the right to be fully regarded as ahuman being of God-given worth. This point will be further asserted in theupcoming discussion of the incarnational, theological term ‘God with Disability.’6.1.2.2 Creating a Communal Context for Pastoral CareThe Basis of Union unambiguously speaks of the Uniting Church inAustralia regarding its ecclesial identity from an historical, communalperspective. It speaks of living and working “within the faith and unity of the OneHoly Catholic and Apostolic Church.” 530 From an eschatological perspective, itspeaks of a church “on the way”, whose identity, through the influence of theSpirit, “will bring her into deeper unity with other Churches, and will use herworship, witness and service to his eternal glory through Jesus Christ theLord.” 531 To this end, the Uniting Church in Australia understands that itsecclesial identity is significantly influenced and shaped by its historic, ongoingand intimate interconnectedness with the Church Universal.However, it needs to be acknowledged that there are, as Campbell asserts,individualist tendencies in contemporary ecclesial expression, 532 such as inrelation to personal evangelisation. While the one-to-one relationship may implya personal, pastoral agenda, 533 such engagement can also suggest, as wasmentioned in chapter 3, a corporeality or mutuality of relationship in which thelove of God can have a transformative effect on both pastoral carer and the other.530 Uniting Church in Australia, (1999). Constitution and Regulations, pars. 2, 9. See pars. 1,3, 9, 10, 11, 12.531 Uniting Church in Australia, Constitution and Regulations, pars. 17 & 18.532 Campbell, Professionalism and Pastoral Care, 92-93.533 Jacobs, Alan. What Narrative Theology Forgot (August-September 2003) Institute onReligion and Public Life, 2003 [cited 9.1.05, 2.