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Handout #286 |
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Vatican II, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et spes |
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The joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the men of
our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted in any way are the
joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as well.
Nothing that is genuinely human fails to find an echo in their hearts.
Whatever truth, goodness, and justice is to be found in past or present human institutions are held in high esteem by the Council. In addition, the Council declares that the church is anxious to help foster these institutions in so far as it depends on it and is compatible with its mission ...The Council exhorts Christians, as citizens of both cities, to perform their duties faithfully in the spirit of the gospel, It is a mistake to think that, because we may immerse ourselves in earthly activities as if these latter were utterly foreign to religion, and religion were nothing more than the fulfillment of acts of worship and the observance of a few moral obligations. One of the gravest errors of our times is the dichotomy between the faith which many profess and the practice of their daily lives. Preface, 42, 43. Development and liberation |
