BENEDICT'S CONCEPT OF "HEARTFELT CONCERN" IN HIS DEUS CARITAS EST SEEN IN THE LIGHT OF FRANCIS' LAUDATO SI AND THE NEEDS OF CHRISTIAN PROFESSIONAL SOCIAL PRACTICE
Abstract
Background: This paper poses the question of how, if at all, encyclical letters Deus Caritas Est and Laudato Si may jointly contribute to further refinement of the concept of professionalism within Christian Social Practice. In the former, the concept of "heartfelt concern" is used to qualify the helping attitude and the spirituality of a professional, who is engaged in Christian social praxis.
In the latter, mutual responsibility for both human beings and nature is seen as central to aiming to a balanced social action, that which cannot be real "if our hearts lack tenderness, compassion and concern for our fellow human beings". While the concept of professionalism is often used to denote a kind of discipline in market driven relationships, it could also, in its more fundamental sense, denote basic traits of a worker, who would in her work give well balanced attitude to the self, society and nature.
Conclusion: The paper would endeavour to argue not only that these two papal documents deal with the common agenda of the place of human individual in the society, but also contribute to further specification of the meaning of a "professional" in the light of today's requirements on Christian Social Practice.