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10. The Church, sent by Christ to reveal and to communicate the
love of God to all men and nations, is aware that there still remains
a gigantic missionary task for her to accomplish. For the Gospel
message has not yet, or hardly yet, been heard by two million human
beings (and their number is increasing daily), who are formed into
large and distinct groups by permanent cultural ties, by ancient
religious traditions, and by firm bonds of social necessity. Some of
these men are followers of one of the great religions, but others
remain strangers to the very knowledge of God, while still others
expressly deny His existence, and sometimes even attack it. The
Church, in order to be able to offer all of them the mystery of
salvation and the life brought by God, must implant herself into these
groups for the same motive which led Christ to bind Himself, in
virtue of His Incarnation, to certain social and cultural conditions
of those human beings among whom He dwelt.
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ARTICLE 1: CHRISTIAN WITNESS
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11. The Church must be present in these groups through her
children, who dwell among them or who are sent to them. For all
Christians, wherever they live, are bound to show forth, by the
example of their lives and by the witness of the word, that new man put
on at baptism and that power of the Holy Spirit by which they have
been strengthened at Conformation. Thus other men, observing their
good works, can glorify the Father (cf. Matt. ES:16) and can
perceive more fully the real meaning of human life and the universal
bond of the community of mankind.
In order that they may be able to bear more fruitful witness to
Christ, let them be joined to those men by esteem and love; let them
acknowledge themselves to be members of the group of men among whom they
live; let them share in cultural and social life by the various.
undertakings and enterprises of human living; let them be familiar with
their national and religious traditions; let them gladly and reverently
lay bare the seeds of the Word which lie hidden among their fellows.
At the same time, however, let them look to the: profound changes
which are taking place among nations, and let them exert themselves to
keep modern man, intent as he is on the science and technology of
today's world from becoming a stranger to things divine; rather, let
them awaken in him a yearning for that truth and:charity which God has
revealed. Even as Christ Himself searched the hearts of men, and
led them to divine light, so also His disciples, profoundly
penetrated by the Spirit of Christ, should show the people among whom
they live, and should converse with them, that they themselves may
learn by sincere and patient dialogue what treasures a generous God has
distributed among the nations of the earth. But at the same time, let
them try to furbish these treasures, set them free, and bring them
under the dominion of God their Savior.
12. The presence of the Christian faithful in these human groups
should be inspired by that charity with which God has loved us, and
with which He wills that we should love one another (cf. 1 John
4:11). Christian charity truly extends to all, without
distinction of race, creed, or social condition: it looks for neither
gain nor gratitude. For as God loved us with an unselfish love, so
also the faithful should in their charity care for the human person
himself, loving him with the same affection with which God sought out
man. Just as Christ, then, went about all the towns and villages,
curing every kind of disease and infirmity as a sign that the kingdom of
God had come (cf. Matt. 9:35ff; Acts 10:38), so also
the Church, through her children, is one with men of every
condition, but especially with the poor and the afflicted. For them,
she gladly spends and is spent (cf. 2 Cor. 12:15), sharing
in their joys and sorrows, knowing of their longings and problems,
suffering with them in death's anxieties. To those in quest of
peace, she wishes to answer in fraternal dialogue, bearing them the
peace and the light of the Gospel.
Let Christians labor and collaborate with others in rightly regulating
the affairs of social and economic life. With special care, let them
devote themselves to the education of children and young people by means
of different kinds of schools, which should be considered not only as
the most excellent means of forming and developing Christian youth,
but also as a valuable public service, especially in the developing
nations, working toward the uplifting of human dignity, and toward
better living conditions. Furthermore, let them take part in the
strivings of those peoples who, waging war on famine, ignorance, and
disease, are struggling to better their way of life and to secure peace
in the world. In this activity, the faithful should be eager to offer
prudent aid to projects sponsored by public and private organizations,
by governments, by various Christian communities, and even by non -
Christian religions.
However, the Church has no desire at all to intrude itself into the
government of the earthly city. It claims no other authority than that
of ministering to men with the help of God, in a spirit of charity and
faithful service (cf. Matt. 20:26; 23:11).
Closely united with men in their life and work, Christ's disciples
hope to render to others true witness of Christ, and to work for their
salvation, even where they are not able to announce Christ fully.
For they are not seeking a mere material progress and prosperity for
men, but are promoting their dignity and brotherly union, teaching
those religious and moral truths which Christ illumined with His
light; and in this way, they are gradually opening up a fuller
approach to God. Thus they help men to attain to salvation by love
for God and neighbor, and the mystery of Christ begins to shine
forth, in which there appears the new man, created according to God
(cf. Eph. 4:24), and in which the charity of God is
revealed.
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ARTICLE 2: PREACHING THE GOSPEL AND GATHERING TOGETHER THE
PEOPLE OF GOD
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13. Wherever God opens a door of speech for proclaiming the mystery
of Christ (cf. Col. 4:3), there is announced to all men (cf.
Mark 16:15; 1 Cor. 9:15; Rom. 10:14) with
confidence and constancy (cf. Acts 4:13, 29, 31;
9:27, 28; 13:46; 14:3; 19:8; 26:26;
28:31; 1 Thess. 2:2; 2 Cor. 3:12; 7:4; Phil.
1:20; Eph. 3:12; 6:19, 20) the living God, and He
Whom He has sent for the salvation of all, Jesus Christ (cf. 1
Thess. 1:9-10; 1 Cor. 1:18-21; Gal. 1:31;
Acts 14:15-17, 17:22-31), in order that non -
Christians, when the Holy Spirit opens their heart (cf. Acts
16:14), may believe and be freely converted to the Lord, that
they may cleave sincerely to Him Who, being the "way, the truth,
and the life" (John 14:6), fulfills all their spiritual
expectations, and even infinitely surpasses them.
This conversion must be taken as an initial one, yet sufficient to
make a man realize that he has been snatched away from sin and led into
the mystery of God's love, who called him to enter into a personal
relationship with Him in Christ. For, by the workings of divine
grace, the new convert sets out on a spiritual journey, by means of
which, already sharing through faith in the mystery of Christ's
Death and Resurrection, he passes from the old man to the new one,
perfected in Christ (cf. Col. 3:5-10; Eph.
4:20-24). This bringing with it a progressive change of
outlook and morals, must become evident with its social consequences,
and must be gradually developed during the time of the catechumenate.
Since the Lord he believes in is a sign of contradiction (cf. Luke
2:34; Matt. 10:34-39), the convert often experiences an
abrupt breaking off of human ties, but he also tastes the joy which
God gives without measure (cf. 1 Thess. 1:6).
The Church strictly forbids forcing anyone to embrace the Faith, or
alluring or enticing people by worrisome wiles. By the same token,
she also strongly insists on this right, that no one be frightened away
from the Faith by unjust vexations on the part of others.
In accord with the Church's ancient custom, the convert's motives
should be looked into, and if necessary, purified.
14. Those who, through the Church, have accepted from God a
belief in Christ are admitted to the catechumenate by liturgical
rites. The catechumenate is not a mere expounding of doctrines and
precepts, but a training period in the whole Christian life, and an
apprenticeship duty drawn out, during which disciples are joined to
Christ their Teacher. Therefore, catechumens should be properly
instructed in the mystery of salvation and in the practice of Gospel
morality, and by sacred rites which are to be held at successive
intervals, they should be introduced into the life of faith, of
liturgy, and of love, which is led by the People of God.
Then, when the sacraments of Christian initiation have freed them
from the power of darkness (cf. Col. 1:13), having died
with Christ been buried with Him and risen together with Him (cf.
Rom. 6:4-11; Col. 2:12-13; 1 Peter 3:21-22;
Mark 16:16), they receive the Spirit (cf. 1 Thess.
3:5-7; Acts 8:14-17) of adoption of sons and celebrate
the remembrance of the Lord's death and resurrection together with the
whole People of God.
It is to be desired that the liturgy of the Lenten and Paschal
seasons should be restored in such a way as to dispose the hearts of the
catechumens to celebrate the Easter mystery at whose solemn ceremonies
they are reborn to Christ through baptism.
But this Christian initiation in the catechumenate should be taken
care of not only by catechists or priests, but by the entire community
of the faithful, so that right from the outset the catechumens may feel
that they belong to the people of God. And since the life of the
Church is an apostolic one, the catechumens also should learn to
cooperate wholeheartedly, by the witness of their lives and by the
profession of their faith, in the spread of the Gospel and in the
building up of the Church.
Finally, the juridic status of catechumens should be clearly defined
in the new code of Canon law. For since they are joined to the
Church, they are already of the household of Christ, and not
seldom they are already leading a life of faith, hope, and charity.
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ARTICLE 3: FORMING A CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY
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15. The Holy Spirit, who calls all men to Christ by the seeds of
the Lord and by the preaching of the Gospel, stirs up in their:
hearts a submission to the faith Who in the womb of the baptismal
font, He begets to a new life those who believe in Christ, He
gathers them into the one People of God which is "a chosen race, a
royal priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people" (1 Peter
2:9).
Therefore, let the missionaries, God's coworkers, ( cf. 1
Cor. 3:9), raise up congregations of the faithful such that,
walking worthy of the vocation to which they have been called (cf.
Eph. 4:1), they may exercise the priestly, prophetic, and royal
office which God has entrusted to them. In this way, the Christian
community will be a sign of God's presence in the world: for by
reason of the eucharistic sacrifice, this community is ceaselessly on
the way with Christ to the Father; carefully nourished on the
word of God it bears witness to Christ; and finally,
it walks in charity and is fervent with the apostolic spirit.
The Christian community should from the very start be so formed that
it call provide nor its necessities insofar as this is possible.
This congregation of the faithful, endowed with the riches of its own
nation's culture, should be deeply rooted in the people. Let
families flourish which are imbued with the spirit of the
Gospel and let them be assisted by good schools; let
associations and groups be organized by means of which the lay
apostolate will be able to permeate the whole of society with the spirit
of the Gospel. Lastly, let charity shine out between Catholics of
different rites.
The ecumenical spirit should be nurtured in the neophytes, who should
take into account that the brethren who believe in Christ are
Christ's disciples, reborn in baptism, sharers with the People of
God in very many good things. Insofar as religious conditions allow,
ecumenical activity - should be furthered in such a way that,
excluding any appearance of indifference or confusion on the one hand,
or of unhealthy rivalry on the other, Catholics should cooperate in a
brotherly spirit with their separated brethren, among to the norms of
the Decree on Ecumenism, making before the nations a common
profession of faith, insofar as their beliefs are common, in God and
in Jesus Christ, and cooperating in social and in technical projects
as well as in cultural and religious ones. Let them cooperate
especially for the sake of Christ, their common Lord: let His Name
be the bond that unites them! This cooperation should be undertaken
not only among private persons, but also, subject to approval by the
local Ordinary, among churches or ecclesial communities and their
works.
The Christian faithful gathered together out of all nations into the
Church "are not marked off from the rest of men by their government,
nor by their language, nor by their political institutions,"
and so they should live for God and Christ in a respectable way of
their own national life. As good citizens, they should be true and
effective patriots, all together avoiding racial prejudice and
hypernationalism, and should foster a universal love for man.
To obtain all these things, the most important and therefore worthy of
special attention are the Christian laity: namely, those who have
been incorporated into Christ and live in the world. For it is up to
them, imbued with the spirit of Christ, to be a leaven working on the
temporal order from within, to dispose it always in accordance with
Christ.
But it is not enough that the Christian people be present and be
organized in a given nation, nor is it enough to carry out an
apostolate by way of example. They are organized for this purpose,
they are present for this, to announce Christ to their non -
Christian fellow - citizens by word and example, and to aid them
toward the full reception of Christ.
Now, in order to plant the Church and to make the Christian
community grow, various ministries are needed, which are raised up by
divine calling from the midst of the faithful congregation, and are to
be carefully fostered and tended to by all. Among these are the
offices of priests, of deacons, and of catechists, and Catholic
action. Religious men and women likewise, by their prayers and by
their active work, play an indispensable role in rooting and
strengthening the Kingdom of Christ in souls, and in causing it to be
spread.
16. Joyfully the Church gives thanks for the priceless gift of the
priestly calling which God has granted to so many youths among those
nations but recently converted to Christ. For the Church drives
deeper roots in any given sector of the human family when the various
faithful communities all have, from among their members, their own
ministers of salvation in the order of bishops, priests, and deacons,
serving their own brethren, so that the young churches gradually
acquire a diocesan structure with their own clergy.
What this council has decreed concerning priestly vocations and
formation, should be religiously observed where the Church is first
planted, and among the young churches. Of great importance are the
things which are said about closely joining spiritual formation with the
doctrinal and pastoral; about living a life patterned after the Gospel
without looking out for ones own comfort or that of one's family;
about cultivating a deep appreciation of the mystery of the Church.
From all this, they will be well taught to dedicate themselves wholly
to the service of the Body of Christ and to the work of the Gospel,
to cleave to their own bishop as his faithful co - workers, and to
cooperate with their colleagues.
To attain this general end, the whole training of the students should
be planned in the light of the mystery of salvation as it is revealed in
the Scriptures. This mystery of Christ and of man's salvation they
can discover and live in the liturgy.
These common requirements of priestly training, including the pastoral
and practical ones prescribed by the council should be combined
with an attempt to make contact with their own particular national way
of thinking and acting. Therefore, let the minds of the students be
kept open and attuned to an acquaintance and an appreciation of their
own nation's culture. In their philosophical and theological
studies, let them consider the points of contact which mediate between
the traditions and religion of their homeland on the one hand and the
Christian religion on the other. Likewise, priestly training
should have an eye to the pastoral needs of that region; and the
students should learn the history, aim, and method of the Church's
missionary activity, and the special social, economic, and cultural
conditions of their own people. Let them be educated in the ecumenical
spirit, and duly prepared for fraternal dialogue with non -
Christians. All this demands that studies for the priesthood
be undertaken, so far as possible, in association and living together
with their own people. Finally, let care be taken that
students are trained in ordinary ecclesiastical and financial
administration.
Moreover, suitable priests should be chosen, after a little pastoral
practice, to pursue higher studies in universities, even abroad and
especially in Rome as well as in other institutes of learning. In
this way the young churches will have at hand men from among the local
clergy equipped with the learning and skill needed for discharging more
difficult ecclesiastical duties.
Where episcopal conferences deem it opportune, the order of the
diaconate should be restored as a permanent state of life according to
the norms of the Constitution "De Ecclesia." For there
are men who actually carry out the functions of the deacon's office,
either preaching the word of God as catechists, or presiding over
scattered Christian communities in the name of the pastor and the
bishop, or practicing charity in social or relief work. It is only
right to strengthen them by the imposition of hands which has come down
from the Apostles, and to bind them more closely to the altar, that
they may carry out their ministry more effectively because of the
sacramental grace of the diaconate.
17. Likewise worthy of praise are the ranks of men and women
catechists, well deserving of missionary work to the nations. Imbued
with the apostolic spirit, they labor much to make an outstanding and
altogether necessary contribution to the spread of the Faith and of the
Church.
In our time, when there are so few clerics to preach the Gospel to
such great numbers and to exercise the pastoral ministry, the position
of catechists is of great importance. Therefore their training must be
so accomplished and so adapted to advances on the cultural level that as
reliable coworkers of the priestly order, they may perform their task
well, though it be weighed down with new and greater burdens.
There should therefore be an increase in the number of schools, both
on the diocesan and on the regional levels, wherein future catechists
may study Catholic doctrine, especially in the fields of Scripture
and the liturgy, as well as catechetical method and pastoral practice;
schools wherein they can develop in themselves a Christian character,
and wherein they can devote themselves tirelessly to cultivating piety
and sanctity of life. Moreover, conventions or courses should be held
in which at certain times catechists could he refreshed in the
disciplines and skills useful for their ministry and in which their
spiritual life could be nourished and strengthened. In addition, for
those who devote themselves entirely to this work, a decent standard of
living should be provided, and social security, by paying them a just
wage.
It would be desirable for the Sacred Congregation for the
Propagation of the Faith to provide special funds for the due training
and support of catechists. If it seems necessary and fitting, let a
special "Opus pro Catechists" be founded.
Moreover, the churches should gratefully acknowledge the noble work
being done by auxiliary catechists, whose help they will need. These
preside over the prayers in their communities and teach sacred
doctrine. Something suitable should be done for their doctrinal and
spiritual training. Besides, it is to be hoped that, where it seems
opportune, catechists who are duly trained should receive a "missio
canonica" in a publicly celebrated liturgical ceremony, so that in the
eyes of the people they may serve the Faith with greater authority.
18. Right from the planting stage of the Church, the religious
life should be carefully fostered. This not only offers precious and
absolutely necessary assistance to missionary activity, but by a more
inward consecration made to God in the Church, it also clearly
manifests and signifies the inner nature of the Christian
calling.
Religious institutes, working to plant the Church, and thoroughly
Imbued with mystic treasures with which the Church's religious
tradition is adorned, should strive to give expression to them and to
hand them on, according to the nature and the genius of each nation.
Let them reflect attentively on how Christian religious life might be
able to assimilate the ascetic and contemplative traditions, whose
seeds were sometimes planted by God in ancient cultures already prior
to the preaching of the Gospel.
Various forms of religious life are to be cultivated in the young
churches, in order that they may display various aspects of the mission
of Christ and of the life of the Church, and may devote themselves to
various pastoral works, and prepare their members to exercise them
rightly. On the other hand, the bishops in their conference should
see to it that congregations pursuing the same apostolic aims are not
multiplied to the detriment of the religious life and of the
apostolate.
Worthy of special mention are the various projects for causing the
contemplative life to take root. There are those who in such an
attempt have kept the essential element of a monastic institution, and
are bent on implanting the rich tradition of their order; there are
others again who are returning to the simpler forms of ancient
monasticism. But all are studiously looking for a genuine adaptation
to local conditions. Since the contemplative life belongs to the
fullness of the Church's presence, let it be put into effect
everywhere.
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