It’s semantics.  You need to consider nuances e.g. “keep the donations coming” or “keep our tax exemptions” because those things are important to the Church.

If not the Church, then consider the reputation of the princes of the Church.  They need to save face before their congregations.  Just what will the boys at the country club say to how Card. Sean O’Malley allowed the late Senator Ted Kennedy, the most rabid supporter of abortion laws, to receive Holy Communion even while his prior marriage had not been annulled.  And besides, how dare you, an uneducated layman question the
pastoral judgment of someone with so many Doctoral degrees in sacred sciences e.g. Moral Theology, Canon Law and Pastoral Theology?  So, if he decided to celebrate a Requiem Mass to honor the supporter of women’s
reproductive rights and possibly bless a $30 million shrine built in his honor (for the 6 million babies aborted because of the laws that he’s supported), then you, ignorant layman, must humbly bow to his inspired wisdom and heroic witness to the faith; because, it is a pastoral decision.  And don’t you forget it.

Excellent blog post/first comment tag team! Have long been frustrated by the twisting of good words into DissentSpeak. Double plus ungood.

Excellent article…standing tall now!

I don’t think we should concede the word.  The Good Shepherd is a central allegory of Christ’s relationship to the Church.  We lose much by ceding it to those who use it as an excuse for heterodoxy and even heresy.

Instead, I think we should confront the misplaced “pastorals” head on.  We should be willing to ask, “How is it pastoral to condone sin and grease the skids to hell?”  “How is it pastoral to turn a blind eye to our brothers and sisters living in ignorance?”  “How is it pastoral to leave error unchallenged?” 

Of course it is reasonable to push for charity.  Correction and condemnation are not synonyms.  Without Truth, there cannot be real Love.  But without Love, there cannot be real Truth.  That is where true “pastoral care” must begin. 

I for one am not willing to give the word up.

Pastoral is right up there for me with “the spirit of Vatican II”—we hear that one a lot in Canada.

What about the letter of Vatican II? Most of the “spirit”, liturgical dance, clown mass, bongo drum people I’ve bumped into have never read the actual documents.

To this list I would add ‘open-minded’ which often means that the folks are soooo open-minded that their brains have fallen out.

When I comment about what my family children are and are not reading, watching on TV or seeing the movie theater I am often told I am not ‘open-minded’ enough for educational or cultural opportunities. 

Open-minded once meant that you were open to listening to other’s opinions, ideas and suggested and then fully informed, you made a decision you could be proud of - not any more.  Like pastoral, it means you need to do things the way everyone else does.

Giving up the word ‘pastoral’ seems to be conceding victory to the other side. If we are going to allow words (important meaningful words mind you) to be concurred and redefined by others, then we might as well concede to them the whole of the english language. Should we not spend our time refining and accurately defining such words in the face of such slander? Call it as it is, pastoral or not. This is and has been the project of the Church for thousands of years: define and teach the faith, not confine ourselves to an impoverished understanding of language.

What about Virgil’s pastoral Eclogues?

Why did you have to mention Crac ker Barrel and taint its name and reputation?  You could have just said a restaurant. Isen’t this the same as saying something derogatory about someone and affecting their reputation?

I know you “apologized” but it was an I don’t mean this but….. You could have found a better example to illustrate, like ” something you cooked”  .....

Please be more surcomspect. 

Theresa R

Something must be wrong with your time stamp.  I just submitted it and was 8:49 EST

Great one, Cin. “Spirit of Vatican II” and “pastoral” are good words that have been ruined by the current meanings.

I agree that the word “pastoral” is being misused and overused. However, to abandon the word would be a mistake for our Church and our faith. Three weeks ago, my parish celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation. As a CCD catechist, I attended with my students. The celebrant was the Arcbhishop of Philadelpia, Cardinal Justin Regali. It was a wonderful Mass and celebration of the sacrament. I later found out that one of the 6th grade students attending the parish school was unable to be confirmed with her class because she had been recently diagnosed with a rare and fast moving cancer. We are praying daily for her, but it does not look as if this child will survive much longer. The weekend following the scheduled Confirmation Cardinal Regali, after rearranging his busy schedule, went to this student’s hospital room and, with our pastor and principal as witnesses, confirmed this terminally ill student. My pastor told me that the one word that came to mind about how Cardinal Regali interacted with this very sick child and her scared family was “pastoral,” acting like a real shepherd of the flock, not allowing one of his sheep to be lost.

So, keep using the word, but only for people who truly deserve it and in situations where that description is warranted.

God bless.

Fran Woodruff

Scary - you took the thought right out of my brain.  I just realized a few months ago that “pastoral” has become code for “unorthodox”, “my way”, “liberal”, “community”,  etc….....!

I think that Mr. Archbold is probably being a touch hyperbolic. Therefore, the debates about whether or not the faithful should continue to use “pastoral,” a word hijacked in order to accommodate the well-intentioned and misguided, are probably moot.

One of my lecturers use to refer to “lurve” as his substitute for the counterfiet “love” which excused all evil in those we are supposed to “lurve”. (His rendition of the Beetles “All you need is lurve” was hillarious!)

I propose changing the word to “PESToral” (because I just couldn’t bring myself to type the “i”) and keep the REAL word fro the good guys!

Being Pastoral

This may appeal to the adolescent spirit within us but one wonders if this corresponds to the Biblical churchly content of the word “pastoral”. The words “pastoral” and pastor” have as roots the Latin word for shepherd. In fact, “shepherd” in Latin is exactly “pastor.” One sees this in a striking way in the Vulgate translation of John 10 where Jesus calls himself the “pastor bonus,” the good shepherd. It is here where a more precise Scriptural significance is found for being pastoral.

In this well known chapter it is Christ who is held up as the model pastor. His being a good pastor consists in two activities: gathering and protecting. He gathers “via voce” by means of his voice. “The sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ... His sheep follow him because they know his voice.(John 10: 3-4)” Christ is pastoral in that he gathers his sheep through His Word, which he speaks to them. The example of the “pastor bonus” applies immediately to his under shepherds. Good pastors, in the light of John 10, are those who echo the voice of the good shepherd in their own activities : they gather sheep by means of the word of Christ. Here is the true substance of pastoral pursuits: the faithful speaking of Christ’s word to lowly sheep. This is what being pastoral is. It may also involve kindness or sympathy or extraordinary situations, but these are not the heart of the ministry of pastor.

In fact being pastoral may involve much fighting and fierce combat. This is because the second mark of pastoral ministry in John 10 is protecting. Christ is the good shepherd who has come to protect the flock from wolves. The hired hand who is not the shepherd runs away and will not or risk his life for the sake of the sheep. The good shepherd faces the wolves who seek to scatter sheep and lays down his life in defense of his flock.

So it is with all who truly seek to be pastoral. A devoted pastor will sacrifice all things for the saving of the sheep gathered in the sheepfold against wolves. The salvation and spiritual safety of the sheep are the primary concerns of the “pastor bonus”. This salvation and spiritual safety depend precisely on that voice and word of the true Good Shepherd. The sheep dwell and remain in the safety of the sheepfold solely through the voice of Christ, and the wolves which come to scatter do so by shouting other words, by seducing them to listen to voices other than Christ. The true pastor is he who protects the sheep from the wolfish voices which seek to drown out the voice of the good shepherd. Pastoral work involves not simple kindness only or compassion but defense of the truth , the pointing out of error, the warning of spiritual dangers outside and inside the church. All this is for the sake of the sheep that they may hear the saving voice of their only true pastor, Jesus.

Of course all this involves more than a battle over a word . At issue is the way of viewing the office of pastor. Is the pastor primarily a caregiver whose main task is to show Christian religious kindness in the midst of the various circumstances and situations which arise? Or is the pastor one who gathers and protects the people of God in a specific way : through the living Word of Christ the good shepherd? John 10 suggests the latter.