Gaudium et Spes

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Gaudium et Spes, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, was one of the chief accomplishments 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 8, 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.)

1 Contents
2 Criticism
3 External links

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 for his part sat watching 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.

[edit] Contents

The numbers given correspond to section numbers within the text.

Preface (1-3)
Introduction: The Situation of Men in the Modern World (4-10)
Part 1: The Church and Man's Calling (11-45)
1. The Dignity of the Human Person (12-22)
2. The Community of Mankind (23-32)
3. Man's Activity Throughout the World (33-39)
4. The Role of the Church in the Modern World (40-45)
Part 2: Some Problems of Special Urgency (46-93)
1. Fostering the Nobility of Marriage and the Family (47-52)
2. The Proper Development of Culture (53-62)
  1. The Circumstances of Culture in the World Today (54-56)
  2. Some Principles for the Proper Development of Culture (57-59)
  3. Some More Urgent Duties of Christians in Regard to Culture (60-62)
3. Economic and Social Life (63-72)
  1. Economic Development (64 - 66)
  2. Certain Principles Governing Socio-Economic Life as a Whole (67-72)
4. The Life of the Political Community (73-76)
5. The Fostering of Peace and the Promotion of a Community of Nations (77-93)
  1. The Avoidance of War (79-82)
  2. Setting Up an International Community (83-93)

[edit] Criticism

It has been criticised as over-optimistic, even from the floor of the council. It is said to play into the hands of the 'world' and the devil himself. Others say it is a typical response of the age of Aquarius, that the world is a darker place now, and it has lost its relevance.

In 2005, this document celebrated 40 years. It was also the year Pope John Paul II died. He, more than others lead the commitment to a spirit of openness in a secular world, traveling to many parts of the world that no Pope had been before. 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 Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger) called certain parts of Gaudium et Spes "downright Pelagian," particularly in the treatment of free will in article 17. Pope Benedict XVI is not wholly negative in his judgment about Gaudium et Spes. He praises the discussion of atheism in articles 19-21 as “balanced and well-founded.”