Pastoral Relationship with People with Intellectual ... - Theses

206possibilities of what it can mean to be human. Therefore we need to look atdisability in order to reveal disability as a legitimate shaper of human identity. 550I agree with such a perspective to the extent that disability as a shaper ofknowledge and understanding regarding humanity should never be concealed butshould be observed with acute clarity. However, I would argue that such clarityshould not conceal concepts of God or Personhood because disability needs to beclearly described from within, and not autonomous from, these fundamentaltheological and philosophical constructs. We need to move beyond the languageof concealment.Rather than being hidden disability identity needs to be clearly viewed fromwithin these overarching structures concerning God and Personhood. Thesestructures frame but do not hide disability. I would argue that we still need toattend firstly to the overarching structures as defining parameters by whichdisability is appropriately understood. However, disability is easily observed.For the pastoral carer this perspective suggests a clearly perceivedconceptualisation of disability within a defining theological framework whichsuggests a God who is in solidarity with people with disability, includingintellectual disability. It also accounts for disability as a part of a holistic,incarnate human identity rather than the sum total of incarnately perceivedidentity.6.2 Institutional Narratives, with Individual Reflection and AnalysisThe following narratives seek to comprehensively describe the context inwhich I as a pastoral practitioner exercise my pastoral ministry. They describe thepeople who live their lives in this socio-politically constituted context. They alsoserve to articulate my pastoral role and relationships, as well as my reflectionsupon and analysis of these storied lives. It does both in terms of myunderstanding of those with whom I engage in pastoral relationship, as well as inregard to critical reflection upon my own responses and behaviours as a pastoralpractitioner.6.2.1 Narrative #1: Communion 551550 Merleau-Ponty, Maurice. Phenomenology of Perception. London: Taylor & Francis Ltd,2002.