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Gaudium et Spes, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, was one of the chief accomplishmentscitation needed of the Second Vatican Council. Approved by a vote of 2,307 to 75 of the bishops assembled at the council, and was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on December 7, 1965, the day the council ended. As is customary with Catholic documents, the title is from the first sentence and means "Joy and Hope" in Latin. (The full text in English is available through the Holy See's website.)
Contents |
The document was not drafted before the council met, but arose from the floor of the council and was one of the last to be promulgated. This document alone embodies the spirit that arose from the bishops, who for the first time saw people at the heart of the church. The previous Vatican Council in 1869-1870 had tried to defend the role of the church in an increasingly secular world. This council sought the church to embrace this world and praised many of the good things in the world outside. One of the cardinals, Leo Joseph Suenens of Belgium urged the council to take on social responsibility for Third World suffering, International peace and war, and the poor.
Pope John XXIII, who was deathly ill at the time, was forced to watch the proceedings on closed circuit television. He was too sick to attend, and died within months. He is said to have accepted that finally the fathers understood what this council was for.
Contents
The numbers given correspond to section numbers within the text. Gaudium et Spes was promulgated by Pope Paul VI
- Preface (1-3)
- Introduction: The Situation of Men in the Modern World (4-10)
- Part 1: The Church and Man's Calling (11-45)
- The Dignity of the Human Person (12-22)
- The Community of Mankind (23-32)
- Man's Activity Throughout the World (33-39)
- The Role of the Church in the Modern World (40-45)
- Part 2: Some Problems of Special Urgency (46-93)
- Fostering the Nobility of Marriage and the Family (47-52)
- The Proper Development of Culture (53-62)
- The Circumstances of Culture in the World Today (54-56)
- Some Principles for the Proper Development of Culture (57-59)
- Some More Urgent Duties of Christians in Regard to Culture (60-62)
- Economic and Social Life (63-72)
- Economic Development (64 - 66)
- Certain Principles Governing Socio-Economic Life as a Whole (67-72)
- The Life of the Political Community (73-76)
- The Fostering of Peace and the Promotion of a Community of Nations (77-93)
- The Avoidance of War (79-82)
- Setting Up an International Community (83-93)
Ecumenical impact
The document has made a huge influence on the social teachings of the wider Christian churches and communities, especially the churches that belong to the World Council of Churches.
Criticism
It has been criticizedcitation needed as over-optimistic, even from the floor of the council.
The ongoing question that arose from Gaudium et Spes is: how can the church be credible in a secular world? In the commentaries of the document, Pope Benedict XVI (then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger) called certain parts of Gaudium et Spes "downright Pelagian," particularly in the treatment of free will in article 17. He is not wholly negative in his judgment about Gaudium et Spes, however, and praises the discussion of atheism in articles 19-21 as “balanced and well-founded.”
References
- Pope Paul VI (1965-12-7) (in English). Pastoral Constitution On The Church In The Modern World - Gaudium et Spes. Holy See. http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_cons_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html. Retrieved on 31 December 2008.
- Pope Paul VI (1965-12-7) (in Latin). Constitutio Pastoralis De Ecclesia In Mundo Huius Temporis - Gaudium Et Spes. Holy See. http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_lt.html. Retrieved on 31 December 2008.
- Pope Paul VI (1965). Pastoral Constitution on Church in the Modern World. Boston: Pauline Books & Media. ISBN 0819858544.
- Alberigo, Giuseppe (2006). History of Vatican II: the Council and the Transition, the Fourth Period and the End of the Council, September 1965-December 1965. Maryknoll: Orbis Books. p. 386. ISBN 1570751552.
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