(, "Joys and Hopes"), the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, is the last of the four constitutions promulgated during the Second Vatican Council between 1963 and 1965. Issued on 7 December 1965, it was Council's longest published document and the first constitution published by a Catholic ecumenical council ever to address the entire world.

clarified and reoriented the role of the church's mission to people outside of the Catholic faith. It was the first time that the church took explicit responsibility for its role in the larger world.

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. This culminated with the creation of to address the role of the church in serving the world outside of Christianity.

Because of this role addressing how the Catholic Church relates towards the world at large, compared to the focus of on how the church understands itself, and have been called "the two pillars of the Second Vatican Council".

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:

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,

The creation of the text of 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. 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". The decree was debated at length and approved by much the largest and most international council in the history of the Church.

The ecumenical constitution created by the Second Vatican Council focused on the role of the church within the modern world. As a whole, represented an inner looking of the Church on itself so that it may take responsibility and comment on issues affecting the world. 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." 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 ."

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.

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. 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.

Reception

Immediately following Vatican II

Initial opposition came in the form of debate over the theological basis of Vatican II and . According to Henri de Lubac, the theological balance of nature and grace before the Council was overturned in favor of nature and the world which goes against the importance placed upon transcendence.

Later reflections

has been evaluated as the shift of the church to its new globalized view of the world. 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.

More recently, the document's frequent references to "the human heart" and "the heart of man" have been reflected in several quotations used by Pope Francis in his encyclical letter, Dilexit nos.

References

Works cited

Further reading

  • 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
  • by Brunero Gherardini. Excerpted from Il Vaticano II. Alle radici d'un equivoco [Vatican II: At the Roots of an Equivoque], p. 185-195.