I haven’t had time to hear [the news is so many all the time], but it seems that another pastoral colleague has committed suicide in the last few days, if I’m not mistaken, he did so after posting something about exhaustion and fatigue on social media.
It’s a shame someone’s trying to kill themselves. Suicide is a disgrace; maybe as big as we can face. I have deep compassion for the people who have reached this point. I identify with them. After all, I believe in total depravity; not only in others, but also in mine, I also have compassion for people who have lost loved ones in such a tragic way, I do not know if I cannot even imagine what that means, I pray for them and I must say This text is certainly not what I would tell them at the time of suffering.
- I decided to write this text because.
- Since the subject of suicide among pastors began to be reported more frequently on social media.
- Something [in addition to the facts themselves obviously] bothers me a little: some people seem to establish a very direct and direct situation.
- Almost deterministic relationship between the choice of suicide and the ecclesiastical environment and the challenges of pastoral care.
- For me.
- It’s a very shallow reading of the problem.
- Which bothers more than it serves.
- In trying not to be cruel to certain people.
- He is cruel to others and ultimately unjust to God.
To place our understanding of this problem, we must remember that we are externally created beings, which means that the external environment influences our choices. We live in a fallen world full of tragedies, conflicts of relationship and injustice, and since the Church is in this world and manifests all these pernicious things, it would be naive to say that the ecclesiastical environment and the challenges posed by the reality of pastoral care Ministry has nothing to do with the decisions of colleagues who threaten their own lives. Of course there are, but then blame and? Almost naturalize me?this attitude due to the external environment is a great distance.
At the same time that we were created from the outside, we were created to work from within. As an image of God, each of us develops the situations that we live in the external environment and makes decisions from this elaboration. The task would obviously be easier; sin has greatly complicated our lives in this sense, putting us not only in difficult situations to develop, but also obscuring our mind and heart, which are the organs through which we develop the facts of life. , he didn’t abandon us. He gave us His Word and His Spirit, did He not leave us without light and power to resolve difficult situations experienced in a bad world?Even those that are provoked by your church? To respond properly. This simplistic way I accuse here seems to forget that.
What is my purpose in saying these things: to take all the blame and throw it at the one who violates his own life?It would be cruel to him, and especially to his loved ones, who already have the enormous challenge of developing such a tragic situation, what I want to clarify is that we commit similar cruelty when we are simplistic and blame the church or the people. sheep, who are also people. I wonder: what do we want when we do this?Can the sheep of our companions who have tasted their own lives be tortured for a day for disagreeing with their shepherd or for bringing them their problems?That our sheep feel threatened? Suicide is a complex problem and cannot be treated simplistically without side effects.
I suspect that we will never know exactly what this complex problem is. So I have two suggestions: we should avoid simplistic approaches, which always turn cruel; And instead of worrying about finding the culprit or determining the eternal destiny of those who have left, consider what we can do to keep this problem away from us. As for the shepherds: yes, I think sheep can help us. It is good to have your thanks and to be treated fairly. It is also good to enjoy an ecclesiastical environment of respect, collaboration and brotherhood, where even disagreements are seen as acts of love. I encourage sheep to help their shepherds by doing all of these things. But there is something we must do: take care of our hearts and constantly evaluate our motivations and our vision of pastoral care, clinging exclusively to the Lord of our vocation. The fights will always exist. They are, on the one hand, natural and, on the other, the result of sin. Our challenge is to design them correctly. And the good news is that God does not force us to do this alone. Grace accompanies us, manifested mainly in the gifts of the Word and the Spirit, but also of physical preparation, nutritionists, medicine, friends, art, the church [which has its many problems, but is still a place in the world]. , worship, etc. Let’s use all these things; and have mercy on us.
By: Filipe Fontes. © Return to the Gospel. Website: voltemosaoevangelho. com All rights reserved Original: On the suicide of pastors: a simplistic vision is always cruel.