Caritas et veritas, 2023 (vol. 13), issue 1
Editorial
Variety
Jan Kaňák
Caritas et veritas 2023, 13(1):6-7 
This word could be used for two reasons to indicate the issue you are opening and starting to read (or have already read if you are returning to the Editorial later). The first reason is the focus of each article (they deal with literature, virtual reality, spirituality, love, etc.). The second reason lies in the fact that the originally planned thematic issue (on death and mourning – which corresponds to the content of the interview with Magdalena Ondra) has been moved to a future time and the current issue is composed of so-called variations.
Interview
Interview with Magdalena Ondrova about death and faith through the eyes of a hospice chaplain
Jan Kaňák
Caritas et veritas 2023, 13(1):14-16
Magdalena Ondrová (*1969) has been a parish priest of the CCE since 2005, now she is currently managing the congregation in Prague-Modřany, and since 2020 she is also a chaplain at Cesta domů. She graduated from ETF UK and completed the qualification training course Hospital Chaplain.
Studies
Experience with and attitudes towards spiritually attuned interventions in the context of grieving in the 21st century - preliminary findings among helping professionals in the Czech Republic
Jan Kaňák
Caritas et veritas 2023, 13(1):34-52 | DOI: 10.32725/cetv.2023.005
Context: Grief is a universal human experience. For some, grieving also includes a spiritual level that can be actively worked with. Purpose of the study: Given the lack of information on spiritually attuned interventions in grief in the Czech Republic, the purpose of this study is to map the experiences with and attitudes towards spiritually oriented interventions among helping professionals working with the bereaved. Methods: Data from a questionnaire survey (response rate 36.9%, N = 45) were analysed using univariate and bivariate descriptive and inferential statistics. Conclusions: Interventions are perceived as moderately useful for the most part....
Economic belongings of the literary genre of Czech rural realism of the second half of the 19th century in the context of educational values
Jaroslav Šetek, Jiří Alina, Tomáš Volek
Caritas et veritas 2023, 13(1):53-66 | DOI: 10.32725/cetv.2023.006
The completely new problems of the economic and social nature of the Czech countryside in the second half of the 19th century, arising as a result of the Industrial Revolution, can be seen in the formation and acceleration of the concepts of alternative economic theories, as well as in the literary genre of the representatives of Czech rural realism of this period (Božena Němcová, Vítězslav Hálek, Karel Václav Rais). In this context, the aim of the article is to point out the dimensions of educational values aimed at an all-around appreciation of the components of the human capital of the population of interest on the basis of a synthesis of the currents...
Virtual Reality as a Possible Means to Meet the Psycho-spiritual Needs of Older Adults in Nursing Homes
Věra Suchomelová, Karolina Diallo, Lenka Lhotská
Caritas et veritas 2023, 13(1):67-80 | DOI: 10.32725/cetv.2023.007
This article presents how virtual reality can contribute to meeting the needs of residents in nursing homes. As part of the VIREAS project, we conducted a qualitative study in January 2021 in a South Bohemian nursing home. The research sample consisted of 12 residents aged 63 to 100 with different cognitive and sensory-motor levels. Our results show that a properly designed virtual experience can support the fulfilment of self-esteem and value, meaning and continuity of life story, the need to be part of a community, and the need to transcend everyday life. To meet these needs, several factors are important: high-quality content; user-friendly form;...
Near Strangers: a transcultural analysis of individual humanitarian giving
Jana Karlová, Pavlína Nalevanková
Caritas et veritas 2023, 13(1):81-97 | DOI: 10.32725/cetv.2023.008
The theoretical-empirical study focuses on the phenomenon of individual humanitarian donation through the Hradec Králové part of the Adoption at a Distance project. The central principle of the study is the transcultural concept (Burda), which, by linking a cultural and philosophical anthropological perspective with personalism (Clarke), seeks both to analyze in a horizontal sense - that is, to understand socio-cultural diversity - and to capture the vertical metaphysical dimension that transcends individual socio-cultural contexts. The social construction of reality (Berger and Luckmann) is used as a conceptual underpinning. Outlining deeper insights...
From finding beauty to finding meaning? Essential desire and aesthetic experience as gateways for contemporary religious education
Veronika Blažek Iňová
Caritas et veritas 2023, 13(1):98-111 | DOI: 10.32725/cetv.2023.009
The study presents the initial pedagogical and basic theological-anthropological assumptions of the religious-didactic method "To Wonder - To Experience - To Transform", which works with the phenomenon of beauty, goodness, and truth at the level of experience in order to enrich and develop the discussion (not only) in religious pedagogy, which in the field of its application in school education or parish catechesis is constantly looking for new stimuli with which to engage and address its students. In this study, we will look for the initial preconditions that would prepare suitable conditions for the application of this method. Among these is the...
Christianus Christus proximi: On the Relationship of Creation and Salvation in Luther's Theology of Love
Karel Šimr
Caritas et veritas 2023, 13(1):112-120 | DOI: 10.32725/cetv.2023.010
Abstract: Based on the studies of the representatives of the so-called Finnish school of Luther's interpretation (Mannermaa, Raunio, Peura), this paper presents the German Reformer as a theologian of love, noting two aspects of his thinking in this area. On the one hand, Luther stresses the validity of the "golden rule" (to love one's neighbor as oneself), in which a theologically positive appreciation of nature comes into play; on the other hand, he contrasts human love, seeking the good, and the love of God, creating good out of its opposite, or even something out of nothing. These two aspects must be distinguished, but it is impossible to set them...
Spirituality in social work and inspiration in other fields
Nicole Emrová
Caritas et veritas 2023, 13(1):121-134 | DOI: 10.32725/cetv.2023.011
In social work, emphasis is placed on applying a holistic approach to the person, which includes four dimensions (bio-psycho-socio-spiritual) that together form a unity. Interest in spirituality has grown significantly in foreign and Czech social work in recent decades. This article aims to present concepts of spirituality of selected disciplines cooperating with social work, such as psychology of religion, sociology of religion, religious studies, and theology, and to suggest possible areas that can inspire the integration of spirituality into the context of social work. The reader of this article will gain a basic orientation to possible conceptions...
Reviews and articles
Eric Nelson. The Theology of Liberalism: Political Philosophy and the Justice of God. Cambridge & London: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2019, 218 s., ISBN 9780674240940.
Ondřej Havelka
Caritas et veritas 2023, 13(1):135-137 | DOI: 10.32725/cetv.2023.012
The author of the monograph, American Eric Nelson, is a professor at Harvard University, and his main areas of research interest are political philosophy, theology, and history in the context of political schools of thought. His latest work, The Theology of Liberalism: Political Philosophy and the Justice of God, is an exciting and readable dive into the theologically-informed depths of the origins of political liberalism. Nelson puts forward the thesis that the tradition of liberal political philosophy founded by John Rawls is essentially the product of much older theological disputations about justice and evil.
Jozef Výrost, Ivan Slaměník, Eva Sollárová (Eds.). Sociální psychologie. Teorie, metody, aplikace. Praha: Grada, 2019, 759 s., ISBN: 978-80-247-5775-9.
Milan Nakonečný
Caritas et veritas 2023, 13(1):138 | DOI: 10.32725/cetv.2023.013
Undoubtedly, the growing interest in the most practical field of psychological sciences has led to the fact that another edition of the textbook of social psychology is on the book market, but now the author collective of Slovak and Czech psychologists, which J. Výrost and I. Slaměník have led, has been expanded in this edition E. Sollárová, and therefore this edition is presented as the first one.