Gaudium et spes

Template:Cleanup Template:Short description Template:Social teachings of the popes Template:Italic title Template:Lang (Template:IPA, "Joys and Hopes"), the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, is one of the four constitutions promulgated during the Second Vatican Council between 1963 and 1965. Issued on 7 December 1965, it was the last and longest published document from the council and is the first constitution published by a Catholic ecumenical council to address the entire world.<ref name=":13">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Template:Lang clarified and reoriented the role of the church's mission to people outside of the Catholic faith.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite book</ref> It was the first time that the church took explicit responsibility for its role in the larger world.<ref name=":2" /> The constitution's creation was necessitated by fear of the irrelevance in the modern era due to its ignorance on problems that plague the modern world.<ref name=":2" /> The document represents an inner examination of the church by the council and features a response to problems affecting the modern world.<ref name=":13" />

Within Template:Lang are the themes of gift of self and the promotion of peace.<ref name=":5" /> While initial reception of the document was focused on the shift in theological considerations, reception of Template:Lang today marks the document as a turning point in the Church's focus on the world.<ref name=":5">Template:Cite journal</ref>

With the failure of the Church to respond promptly to major global events such as World War II and the Holocaust, Pope John XXIII began Vatican II with an emphasis on examining the role of the church in the world.<ref name=":33">Template:Cite book</ref> This culminated with the creation of Template:Lang to address the role of the church in serving the world outside of Christianity.<ref name=":33"/> During the creation of the document itself, Template:Lang went through multiple versions of Schemas to reflect the idea Pope John XXIII wanted to achieve during the council.<ref name=":33"/> After long debate during the council over Template:Lang, the document came to cover a wide range of topics examining the inner workings of the Church and its interactions with the world as a whole.<ref name=":33"/> Such topics include marriage and family, the development of culture, economics, politics and peace and war.<ref name=":44">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Because of this role addressing how the Catholic Church relates towards the world at large, compared to the focus of Template:Lang on how the church understands itself, Template:Lang and Template:Lang have been called "the two pillars of the Second Vatican Council."<ref name="Concise Guide">Template:Cite book</ref>

Approved by a vote of 2,307 to 75 among the bishops assembled at the council, it was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on 7 December 1965, the day the council ended. As is customary with Catholic documents, the title is taken from its opening words in Latin "the joys and hopes". The English translation begins:<ref name=":022">Template:Cite web</ref>

Template:Quote

Background

Context within Vatican II

At the beginning of the Second Vatican Council on October 11, 1962, Pope John XXIII celebrated the opening Mass of the council,<ref name=":33"/> during which he indirectly brought to light the economic and political issues for which the council was summoned.<ref name=":33"/> Such issues included the devastation of World War II, Nazi horrors, the current threat of a nuclear war between the United States and Russia, and the end of colonialism and racism.<ref name=":33"/> The church had failed to act substantially on these issues, contributing to a feeling of irrelevance within larger considerations of the state of the world.<ref name=":33"/> From an ecclesiastical standpoint, there were open issues concerning completing the work of the interrupted First Vatican Council and the need for reform within the church.<ref name=":33"/> As a result of these problems, in his opening speech, Gaudet Mater Ecclesia, Pope John XXIII distanced the council from focusing solely on the gloom of the problems of the world as the Church had done in previous councils.<ref name=":33"/> He wanted the council to focus on "the marvelous progress of the discoveries of human genius", while orienting the role of the church to one that should deal with right and wrong in the world.<ref name=":33"/> The council, as a whole, was to be an update to the essential inner workings and teachings of the church to better fit the modern world.<ref name=":33"/> Template:Lang was to be the culmination of this as Pope John XXIII envisioned the constitution to share in the "joys and the hopes" of the entire world.<ref name=":33"/>

Following the death of John XXIII, his successor Pope Paul VI also referred to the relationship between the church and the changing world in his first encyclical letter, Ecclesiam Suam.<ref>Pope Paul VI, Ecclesiam Suam, paragraph 26, published on 6 August 1964, accessed on 17 July 2024</ref>

The creation of the text of Gaudium et spes

Template:Lang was not drafted before the council met, but arose from the floor of the council and was one of the last to be promulgated.<ref name=":33"/> In preparation for the council, Pope John XXIII asked for suggestions concerning the substance of Vatican II.<ref name=":33" /> In a large width of responses sorted through by a commission appointed by the Pope, there resulted in 67 thematic documents that would be placed for discussion during the council.<ref name=":33" /> Four of those documents, dealing with the church in the modern world, ultimately formed the logical backbone of what would become Template:Lang.<ref name=":33" /> In what is described as a turning point of the council, the harsh disagreement over the four documents drove the attendees to invalidate all 67 thematic documents as inadequate.<ref name=":33" /> This led to Pope John asking Cardinal Leo Jozef Suenens to create a new agenda for the council in November, 1962.<ref name=":33" /> The agenda was to include an examination on the Church and its role within the modern world, as necessitated by the debate over the four documents in question.<ref name=":33" /> By December 1962, Suenens revealed his work.<ref name=":33" /> The role of the church would be split between different viewpoints: "Ad intra," internally, and "ad extra," externally.<ref name=":33" /> These ultimately resulted in Template:Lang and Template:Lang, respectively.<ref name=":33" /> Schema 17 and, toward the end of the council, Schema 12 inspired the later creation of Template:Lang.<ref name=":44"/> Schema 12, while focusing on the church's role in world social issues, underwent many changes before ultimately being rejected by the attendees over a lack of cohesion within the document.<ref name=":44"/>

Cardinal Suenens was again tasked with producing a new schema; however, Pope John XXIII died before its completion on June 3, 1963.<ref name=":33" /> Upon the election of Pope Paul VI on June 21, 1963, Pope Paul continued the creation of the document.<ref name=":33" /> When the revised Schema 12 was published in September 1963, it was met with intense scrutiny by the bishops.<ref name=":33" /> Ultimately, the schema, through multiple revisions that lasted until 1964, was transformed into Schema 13, which would become Template:Lang.<ref name=":33" /> Schema 13 not only related the role of the church to the world but also dealt with questions dealing with modern problems.<ref name=":33" /> On November 16, 1964, Schema 13 was approved to be edited after all of the Bishops' suggestions were aggregated.<ref name=":33" /> Father Pierre Haubtmann led a commission tasked with editing the schema.<ref name=":33" /> Over the period of the next year, Father Haubtmann led discussions and continued to develop the schema in line with discussion offered during the council.<ref name=":33" /> Approved by a vote of 2,307 to 75 of the bishops assembled at the council, Schema 13 was promulgated as Template:Lang by Pope Paul VI on 7 December 1965, the day the council ended.<ref name=":022"/>

Overview

The Dogmatic Constitution, Template:Lang, was addressed "not only to the sons of the Church and to all who invoke the name of Christ, but to the whole of humanity" as part of the Second Council's effort to appeal to the larger considerations of the Catholic Church.<ref name=":022"/>

Whereas the previous Vatican Council in 1869–70 had tried to defend the role of the church in an increasingly secular world, the Second Vatican Council focused on examining the role of the Church in the modern world.<ref name=":13"/>

Template:Lang was adopted after Lumen Gentium, the Constitution on the Church, and it reflects the ecclesiological approach of that text. Gaudium recognized and encouraged the laity to take on "his or her own distinctive role" in the modern world.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In recent years, Church leaders, such as Cardinal Francis Arinze, have since clarified this to mean that laity should work to make themselves competent in their own profession, and observe laws proper to "each discipline".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The decree was debated at length and approved by much the largest and most international council in the history of the Church.<ref>Tanner, Norman. The Church and the Modern World, Paulist Press, 2005</ref>

The ecumenical constitution created by the Second Vatican Council focused on the role of the church within the modern world.<ref name=":13"/> It was the last document promulgated during the Second Vatican Council and the first church document to place the church within the significance of the world.<ref name=":13" /> Template:Lang illustrated the church is aware of problems within the world and its responsibilities toward them.<ref name=":13" /> While world problems are a focus of the text, it also brings to light the human person and their orientation toward God as well as the mission of the church itself.<ref name=":13" /> The mission of the Church needed to recognize the realities of secularization and pluralism.Template:Citation needed Bishop Christopher Butler points out that a key principle behind the "audacious change" in this and in several earlier outward-looking documents of the council was that the Church is "Christ himself using us as his instruments to bring salvation to all", and in charity we must "presume that those who differ from us… are nevertheless [people] of good will".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As a whole, Template:Lang represented an inner looking of the Church on itself so that it may take responsibility and comment on issues affecting the world.<ref name=":44"/>

Such issues of responsibilities in the world are highlighted by the cardinals of the council such as Leo Joseph Suenens of Belgium, who urged the council to take on social responsibility for war, poverty, and Third World suffering. This stance was supported by other prominent clergy members including Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini of Milan, who became Pope Paul VI, and Cardinal Lercaro of Bologna.<ref name="Rosica">Rosica CSB, Thomas. "Gaudium et Spes at 50", Zenit, 20 July 2015</ref> Additionally, Thomas Rosica points out that the Council Fathers "... were men who had experienced two world wars, the horror of the Holocaust, the onset of the nuclear weaponry, the hostility of communism, the awesome and only partially understood impact of science and technology."<ref name="Rosica" /> In the Introduction it states: "the Church has always had the duty of scrutinizing the signs of the times and of interpreting them in the light of the Gospel."Template:Sfn

Marie-Dominique Chenu, professor of the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum was influential in the composition of Template:Lang,<ref>Walter Principe, "Chenu, M.D" in Harper Collins Encyclopedia of Catholicism. Edited by Richard McBrien, 1995</ref> as was Louis-Joseph Lebret. "The problem of poverty and of overcoming it through a healthy economy, respectful of the primary value of the person, allows for a vast discussion on political ethics in Template:Lang."<ref name=Rosica/> In the end, the "council exhorts Christians, as citizens of two cities, to strive to discharge their earthly duties conscientiously and in response to the Gospel spirit".Template:Sfn

The "gift of self" from GS §24Template:Sfn was a phrase used often by Pope John Paul II and particularly in his theology of the Body. This phrase has also been described as "the Law of the Gift".<ref name=":5"/> Citing the biblical concept that all men are created in the image of God, Gaudium states that man cannot truly find himself unless he understands the "gift of self", and that in understanding himself he will understand and love both God and his fellow man.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Although no Vatican source has been found defining precisely what the "gift of self" is, some scholars and Church leaders appear to interpret it in recent decades as being associated with marriage.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Promotion of peace

The final chapter of the document is "The Fostering of Peace and the Promotion of a Community of Nations". This chapter references themes expressed near the start of Vatican II by Pope John XXIII in 1963 in his encyclical letter, Pacem in Terris.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Pacem defines the "common good", arguing that while individualism leads to individualistic focus and behavior and collectivism leads to a loss of the individual, the "common good" strikes a middle ground and begins with the focus on the community before returning it to the individual. Pacem focuses its argument not on a theological basis, but rather employs "natural law" to appeal to both believers and non-believers who might not be as familiar with theological sources.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Reception

Immediately following Vatican II

Initial opposition came in the form of debate over the theological basis of Vatican II and Template:Lang. According to Henri de Lubac, the theological balance of nature and grace pre-Vatican II was overturned in favor of nature and the world which goes against the importance placed upon transcendence.<ref name=":62">Template:Cite book</ref>

Reception today

Template:Lang has been evaluated as the shift of the church to its new globalized view of the world.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> It serves as the basis for multiculturalism in the modern church and has become the basis of the church's message to the world today.<ref name=":62" /> The document's frequent references to "the human heart" and "the heart of man" are reflected in several quotations adopted by Pope Francis in his encyclical letter, Dilexit nos.<ref>Pope Francis, Dilexit nos, paragraph 29, published on 24 October 2024, accessed on 29 November 2024</ref><ref>Declue, R, 'Dilexit Nos': an Encyclical of the Heart, Word on Fire, accessed on 29 November 2024</ref>

References

Template:Reflist

Works cited

Template:Cite book

External links

Template:Wikiquote

The full text in English on the Vatican Web site
From Ratzinger to Benedict by Avery Cardinal Dulles, Article in Feb 2006 edition of First Things Template:Webarchive
Template:Usurped by Brunero Gherardini. Excerpted from Il Vaticano II. Alle radici d'un equivoco [Vatican II: At the Roots of an Equivoque], p. 185-195.

Template:Second Vatican Council Template:Authority control