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Tailored Accountability: The Art of Pastoral Accompaniment

This article opens with stories of Jan Tyranowski and Karol Wojtyla, Saints Ignatius, Peter Faber and Francis Xavier to supply us with a picture of the value of real pastoral accompaniment, wherein a more personally directed style of formation takes place, either alongside traditional classroom catechesis, or, for a season at least, instead of the classroom lecture style of formation. Pastoral accompaniment, whether formal or informal, takes place when a spiritually experienced mentor walks with a less-experienced disciple through the steps of gaining maturity. It could be called a type of spiritual life-coaching. In recent years, the Holy Spirit has been calling for a renewal of pastoral accompaniment in the Church. Pastoral accompaniment is not the same as spiritual direction, although there are similarities and overlaps. The term “spiritual friendship” or “spiritual mentoring” might be more apt to convey the sense of what the Spirit seems to be inviting the Church to develop. Accompaniment happens when one who has been practicing the spiritual life with some intentionality advises another who wants to grow in the spiritual life.

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Dr. Carole Brown is the Director of the Office of New Evangelization in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.

She was on the founding board of directors of the first national Christian radio station in Ireland, Spirit Radio, where she also served as Speech Content Editor and Personnel Director. She has also been involved with Kerygma Teams, an ecumenical lay missionary organization under the auspices of Youth With a Mission that does outreach throughout Europe.

Brown obtained a Ph.D. in systematic theology from Milltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy in Dublin, Ireland. Her dissertation, "Crossing the Threshold of Faith: Pope John Paul II's Approach to the Problem of the Conversion of the Baptized," addresses the central problem that gives rise to the need for a new evangelization: It is possible to be a member of the Church yet not an intentional disciple of Jesus Christ.

Prior to her nine-year stint abroad, she was the Director of Evangelistic Outreach and the Director of Orientation at Franciscan University of Steubenville in Steubenville, Ohio.

This article is from The Catechetical Review (Online Edition ISSN 2379-6324) and may be copied for catechetical purposes only. It may not be reprinted in another published work without the permission of The Catechetical Review by contacting [email protected]

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Adult Faith Formation

Leadership & Catechist Formation

Saints and Holy Men & Women

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4.4

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About Franciscan Catechetics

The Catechetics Degree Programs and the Catechetical Institute (CI) at Franciscan University of Steubenville work in concert to prepare clergy, religious and laity to join the “army of catechists” called for by St. John Paul II, eager to help the Church in her mission of making all nations joyful disciples of Jesus Christ. We combine a thorough formation in Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and Magisterial documents with training in effective pedagogical techniques to help those we serve to grasp the truth, goodness, and beauty of the Father’s plan, and to bear witness to others faithfully of the wonderful life of grace in the Holy Spirit.

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