Pastoral Relationship with People with Intellectual ... - Theses

254with as much focus on the present moment as possible so as to honour the focusof the one with whom pastoral engagement is sought.The question of presence also addresses the issue of human worth as thatwhich is principally to be valued in terms of being, ahead of cognitive or otherforms of human functioning or attachment. 611 As theologian Hans Reindersasserts, in a world in which the achievement of moral and social standing isvaunted God’s providential care affirms human identity as deriving from a lovingGod, as opposed to being from commodified human endeavour. 612 That is, ourworth is fundamentally estimated in terms of who we are as opposed to humanachievement. Therefore, those institutionalised people who receive HolyCommunion are being sacramentally affirmed as people who, according toorthodox Christian tradition, are loved by God in Christ for their being created inthe image of God, as opposed to any sense of achievement. For those whoseidentity has been historically downplayed or disregarded owing to cognitiveincapacity this theological reality is liberating.From this pastoral posture the pastoral carer seeks regard from the other,not amidst the power inequity of a professional/client relationship, but as onewho is regarded as a fellow human being and child of God. 613 More will be saidof this in the following section.6.3.2.2 A Mutuality of CareRunning through all the narratives in various ways is the notion that thepastoral relationship is of a shared nature in which both bring to the relationshipqualities and resources that the other needs. In other words, the relationshipconcerns a mutuality of care. 614 It means that not only do I as chaplain regard611 Regarding the priority of being over human attachment which can lead to god-like pridesee,Culliford, Larry. The Psychology of Spirituality: An Introduction. (London and Philadelphia:Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2011), 173-74.612 Reinders, Hans. "Life's Goodness: On Disability, Genetics, and 'Choice'." In Theology,Disability and the New Genetics: Why Science Needs the Church, edited by John Swintonand Brian Brock, 163-81. (London and New York: T & T Clark, 2007), 173-74.613 Campbell, Professionalism and Pastoral Care, 89, 103.Concerning the issue of sharing in vulnerability see also,Lipinska, Person-Centred Counselling, 103 & 107.Newell, "Pastoral Care and Ethics,” 104.Here, the author describes such pastoral vulnerability as “suffering presence.”614Sherwin, No Longer Patient.In response to the assertion of the oppression of medical systems of care, the author claimsthat "... a feminist model would resist hierarchical structures and proclaim a commitment toegalitarian alternatives." 239.