Gaudium et Spes, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, is the fourth and final constitutional document from the Second Vatican Council. Issued on December 7, 1965, it addressed to all of humanity. While it is not a document that represents a single nation’s world view, Gaudium et Spes (GS) is a powerful statement of Church teaching on societal issues such as economics, poverty, social justice, culture, science, technology, and ecumenism.
GS emphasizes that the Church has always been obligated to recognize the “signs” of the times and translate its meaning through Jesus’ teachings. The document called on the Church to engage in dialogue with contemporary society and its problems, bringing church teaching and moral values to bear on a world too often torn by hatred, war, and injustice. GS acknowledged that science and culture have things to teach the Church, but also that the Church has a mission to sanctify the world around it.
The document speaks to modern atheism, agnosticism, and religious indifference. All these push God out of the equation, either asserting that our human existence has no inherent meaning or that life’s purpose is left to each individual to create. This radical rejection of God and absolute Truth was (and remains) the source of the violence, war, injustice, poverty, fear, and despair which afflicted modern man.
GS affirms the goodness of the world and frames the Church as a servant of the common good and the dignity of the human person. In that context, all political, cultural, and economic activity must have the flourishing of every individual as its ultimate purpose.
The themes of the document are: the respect for human life from the moment of conception; the goodness of marriage and family in God’s plan of salvation; the need to purify culture in light of the Gospel, especially regarding human rights and responsibilities; the right for everyone to both participate and benefit from the economy through the dignity of work; and the requirement of just and participative political systems which seek the common good.
GS finishes with an articulate definition of peace and a plea for an end to war. The fact that the Second Vatican Council opened the same week as the Cuban Missile Crisis was unfolding in October 1962, gives a startling context to this urgent call for a new social order, where violence and aggression no longer exist. We can look no further to the Ukrainian-Russian war, Israel’s war against Hamas, the escalating violence in Africa, and around the world to affirm that the Church’s mission to work for peace and justice will never cease.
The document has been criticized as being overly optimistic in its goals, even at the time of its inception. In many ways, the ideals and teachings of GS are both affirmations of the progress and fruitfulness of the Church’s mission for the last 60 years, as well as a reminder that we have a long way to go.
Author Bio:
Deacon Dan Vaughn