Editing Gaudium et spes (section)

=== 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>