Editing Gaudium et spes (section)

== 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"/> {{Lang|la|Gaudium et spes}} 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, [https://www.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_06081964_ecclesiam.html Ecclesiam Suam], paragraph 26, published on 6 August 1964, accessed on 17 July 2024</ref>

=== The creation of the text of ''Gaudium et spes'' ===
{{Lang|la|Gaudium et spes}} 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 {{Lang|la|Gaudium et spes}}.<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 Joseph Suenens|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 {{Lang|la|[[Lumen gentium|Lumen Gentium]]}} and {{Lang|la|Gaudium et spes}}, respectively.<ref name=":33" /> Schema 17 and, toward the end of the council, Schema 12 inspired the later creation of {{Lang|la|Gaudium et spes}}.<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 {{Lang|la|Gaudium et spes}}.<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 [[bishop]]s assembled at the council, Schema 13 was promulgated as {{Lang|la|Gaudium et spes}} by [[Pope Paul VI]] on 7 December 1965, the day the council ended.<ref name=":022"/>