A word about . . . pastoral care: Confessional realities, opportunities for the church, and theological education after COVID

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Colombian Nobel prize winner in literature, once said, “What matters in life is not what happens to you but what you remember and how you remember it.” Of course, what happens to us matters. How and what we remember, however, plays an important role in our life as a whole. This quote is a reminder that one’s interpretation and recollection of life events in one way or another shape one’s understanding, worldview, or cosmovision of present realities. Church and theological education daily face historical realities that resemble the urgent recognition and holistic pastoral care intervention. Vivid issues, which involve others, touch people in one way or another. Realities such as the unprecedented flow of immigrants, the aftermath of the COVID pandemic, and the urgent need for inclusion and diversity are a unique and dynamic opportunity that may impact the missio dei in the contemporary world.