Content

This unit invites students to develop a theology of vocation and ministry patterned on Christ as the Good Shepherd, the one who ‘came to serve and not be served’. Priest or lay, woman or man, young or old, what are the hallmarks of a healthy call to be a minister of Christ? This unit gives particular attention to the vision of Church of Vatican II, the insights gained from the experience of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Pastores Dabo Vobis and students’ own experiences of vocation and ministry.

Unit code: CT9025Y

Unit status: Approved (Major revision)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Elective

Unit discipline: Systematic Theology

Delivery Mode: Blended

Proposing College: Yarra Theological Union

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Learning outcomes

1.

Identify the biblical foundations to Christian call to vocation

2.

Theologically analyse the causes of shortcomings identified by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in ministerial formation and practice

3.

Assess various models of vocation in the light of contemporary theology

4.

Identify and analyse the elements of a healthy theology of vocation within that of single, married, priestly or religious life.

5.

Provide a critique of the causes and effects of clericalism

6.

Assess the theology underpinning vocational and/or ministerial models

Unit sequence

24 points of CT or DP

Pedagogy

Interactive mode lecture, exploratory workshop, and series of pre-prepared materials and online resources

Indicative Bibliography

  • The Light from the Southern Cross. Report of Recommendations pm the Governance and Management of Dioceses and Parishes. Canberra: ACBC, 2020.
  • Lumen Gentium. Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Vatican II. 1964.
  • Bevans, Stephen. Priesthood in Religious Life. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2018.
  • Coombs, Maria and Francis Nemeck. Called by God: A Theology of Vocation. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1992.
  • Crittenden, Stephen (ed). Health and Integrity in Church and Ministry. Sydney: Franciscan Friars, 2018.
  • Gaillardetz, Richard R. Ecclesiology for a Global Church: A People Called and Sent. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2008.
  • John Paull II, Pastores Dabo Vobis, Apostolic Exhortation on Formation of Priests, 1992.
  • Pennington, Basil. Called: New Thinking on Christian Vocation, Minneapolis MN: Seabury,1983.
  • Power, David Noel. Mission, Ministry, Order: Reading the Tradition in the Present Context. New York: Continuum, 2008.
  • Wilson, George. Clericalism. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2008.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Essay

Essay (3000 wds)

3000 40.0
Essay

Essay (4000 wds)

4000 60.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Prof Albert Haddad on 20 Jun, 2022

Unit record last updated: 2022-06-20 15:15:11 +1000