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5. Christ's redemptive work, while essentially concerned with the
salvation of men, includes also the renewal of the whole temporal
order. Hence the mission of the Church is not only to bring the
message and grace of Christ to men but also to penetrate and perfect
the temporal order with the spirit of the Gospel. In fulfilling this
mission of the Church, the Christian laity exercise their apostolate
both in the Church and in the world, in both the spiritual and the
temporal orders. These orders, although distinct, are so connected
in the singular plan of God that He Himself intends to raise up the
whole world again in Christ and to make it a new creation, initially
on earth and completely on the last day. In both orders the layman,
being simultaneously a believer and a citizen, should be continuously
led by the same Christian conscience.
6. The mission of the Church pertains to the salvation of men,
which is to be achieved by belief in Christ and by His grace. The
apostolate of the Church and of all its members is primarily designed
to manifest Christ's message by words and deeds and to communicate
His grace to the world. This is done mainly through the ministry of
the Word and the sacraments, entrusted in a special way to the
clergy, wherein the laity also have their very important roles to
fulfill if they are to be "fellow workers for the truth" (3 John
8). It is especially on this level that the apostolate of the laity
and the pastoral ministry are mutually complementary.
There are innumerable opportunities open to the laity for the exercise
of their apostolate of evangelization and sanctification. The very
testimony of their Christian life and good works done in a supernatural
spirit have the power to draw men to belief and to God; for the Lord
says, "Even so let your light shine before men in order that they may
see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven"
(Matt. 5:16).
However, an apostolate of this kind does not consist only in the
witness of one's way of life; a true apostle looks for opportunities
to announce Christ by words addressed either to non-believers with a
view to leading them to faith, or to the faithful with a view to
instructing, strengthening, and encouraging them to a more fervent
life. "For the charity of Christ impels us" (2 Cor.
5:14). The words of the Apostle should echo in all hearts,
"Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel" (1 Cor.
9:16).[11]
Since, in our own times, new problems are arising and very serious
errors are circulating which tend to undermine the foundations of
religion, the moral order, and human society itself, this sacred
synod earnestly exhorts laymen-each according to his own gifts of
intelligence and learning-to be more diligent in doing what they can to
explain, defend, and properly apply Christian principles to the
problems of our era in accordance with the mind of the Church.
7. God's plan for the world is that men should work together to
renew and constantly perfect the temporal order.
All those things which make up the temporal order, namely, the good
things of life and the prosperity of the family, culture, economic
matters, the arts and professions, the laws of the political
community, international relations, and other matters of this kind,
as well as their development and progress, not only aid in the
attainment of man's ultimate goal but also possess their own intrinsic
value. This value has been established in them by God, whether they
are considered in themselves or as parts of the whole temporal order.
"God saw that all He had made was very good" (Gen. 1:31).
This natural goodness of theirs takes on a special dignity as a result
of their relation to the human person, for whose service they were
created. It has pleased God to unite all things, both natural and
supernatural, in Christ Jesus "so that in all things He may have
the first place" (Col. 1:18). This destination, however,
not only does not deprive the temporal order of its independence, its
proper goals, laws, supports, and significance for human welfare but
rather perfects the temporal order in its own intrinsic strength and
worth and puts it on a level with man's whole vocation upon earth.
In the course of history, the use of temporal things has been marred
by serious vices. Affected by original sin, men have frequently
fallen into many errors concerning the true God, the nature of man,
and the principles of the moral law. This has led to the corruption of
morals and human institutions and not rarely to contempt for the human
person himself. In our own time, moreover, those who have trusted
excessively in the progress of the natural sciences and the technical
arts have fallen into an idolatry of temporal things and have become
their slaves rather than their masters.
The whole Church must work vigorously in order that men may become
capable of rectifying the distortion of the temporal order and directing
it to God through Christ. Pastors must clearly state the principles
concerning the purpose of creation and the use of temporal things and
must offer the moral and spiritual aids by which the temporal order may
be renewed in Christ.
The laity must take up the renewal of the temporal order as their own
special obligation. Led by the light of the Gospel and the mind of
the Church and motivated by Christian charity, they must act directly
and in a definite way in the temporal sphere. As citizens they must
cooperate with other citizens with their own particular skill and on
their own responsibility. Everywhere and in all things they must seek
the justice of God's kingdom. The temporal order must be renewed in
such a way that, without detriment to its own proper laws, it may be
brought into conformity with the higher principles of the Christian
life and adapted to the shifting circumstances of time, place, and
peoples. Preeminent among the works of this type of apostolate is that
of Christian social action which the sacred synod desires to see
extended to the whole temporal sphere, including culture.[12]
8. While every exercise of the apostolate should be motivated by
charity, some works by their very nature can become specially vivid
expressions of this charity. Christ the Lord wanted these works to be
signs of His messianic mission (cf. Matt. 11:4-5).
The greatest commandment in the law is to love God with one's whole
heart and one's neighbor as oneself (cf. Matt. 22:37-40).
Christ made this commandment of love of neighbor His own and enriched
it with a new meaning. For He wanted to equate Himself with His
brethren as the object of this love when He said, "As long as you
did it for one of these, the least of My brethren, you did it for
Me" (Matt. 25:40). Assuming human nature, He bound the
whole human race to Himself as a family through a certain supernatural
solidarity and established charity as the mark of His disciples,
saying, "By this will all men know that you are My disciples, if
you have love for one another" (John 13:35).
ln her very early days, the holy Church added the agape to the
eucharistic supper and thus showed itself to be wholly united around
Christ by the bond of charity. So, too, in every era it is
recognized by this sign of love, and while it rejoices in the
undertakings of others, it claims works of charity as its own
inalienable duty and right. For this reason, pity for the needy and
the sick and works of charity and mutual aid intended to relieve human
needs of every kind are held in highest honor by the Church.[13]
At the present time, with the development of more rapid facilities for
communication, with the barrier of distance separating men greatly
reduced, with the inhabitants of the entire globe becoming one great
family, these charitable activities and works have become more urgent
and universal. These charitable enterprises can and should reach out
to all persons and all needs. Wherever there are people in need of
food and drink, clothing, housing, medicine, employment,
education; wherever men lack the facilities necessary for living a
truly human life or are afflicted with serious distress or illness or
suffer exile or imprisonment, there Christian charity should seek them
out and find them, console them with great solicitude, and help them
with appropriate relief. This obligation is imposed above all upon
every prosperous nation and person.[14]
In order that the exercise of charity on this scale may be
unexceptionable in appearance as well as in fact, it is altogether
necessary that one should consider in one's neighbor the image of God
in which he has been created, and also Christ the Lord to Whom is
really offered whatever is given to a needy person. It is imperative
also that the freedom and dignity of the person being helped be
respected with the utmost consideration, that the purity of one's
charitable intentions be not stained by seeking one's own advantage or
by striving for domination,[15] and especially that the demands of
justice be satisfied lest the giving of what is due in justice be
represented as the offering of a charitable gift. Not only the effects
but also the causes of these ills must be removed and the help be given
in such a way that the recipients may gradually be freed from dependence
on outsiders and become self-sufficient.
Therefore, the laity should hold in high esteem and, according to
their ability, aid the works of charity and projects for social
assistance, whether public or private, including international
programs whereby effective help is given to needy individuals and
peoples. In so doing, they should cooperate with all men of good
will.[16]
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