Department of Practical Theology
About
The main areas of theology dealt with by the Department of Practical Theology are pastoral theology, canon law, liturgics, catechetics and religious education.
Pastoral theology deals with various aspects of the pastoral ministry of the Church. Canon law is the part of theology which d considers the rights, duties and status of persons in the Church, the relations between them, the property relations between ecclesiastical institutions in the administration of ecclesiastical property, the authority of ecclesiastical bodies, ecclesiastical penalties and their imposition, the teaching role of the Church, the regulation of the sacraments, and the manner in which rights and duties are enforced before ecclesiastical administrative and judicial authorities. Liturgics is the study of the liturgy, especially the understanding and formation of the liturgy or worship, texts, rites, and subjects. Catechetics is the theological discipline concerned with the theory of catechesis. It is interdisciplinary in content and methodology, using knowledge and methods from the fields of theology, pedagogy, didactics and communication, e.g. techniques of cognition and analysis of reality, hermeneutical means of interpretation, methods of designing and organising catechesis, and systems of evaluation. Religious pedagogy deals with the process of religious education. It is based on the idea that a good relationship between people and God can be fostered through education. Such learning does not only take place in a church or school context, but extends into many different areas of social life.