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THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 1964
SUPPLEMENT
purpose of discovering truth where it coincides
with objective reality, does not prevent the exer
cise of the conscience from manifesting to the one
who undertakes the same, thefactof his own exis
tence, of his own spiritual dignity and of his own
ability to know and to act.
It is well known, moreover, that in recent years
the Church has undertaken a deeper study of her
self through the work of outstanding scholars, of
great and profound minds, of competent theologi
cal schools, of pastoral and missionary endea
vors, of remarkable experiences in the field of
religion, and above all, of noteworthy teachings
of the popes.
It would take too long even to allude to the abun
dant theological literature dealing with the Church
and produced by her during the last and the present
centuries. It would also take too long to recall the
documents which the episcopacy and this Apostolic
See have issued on this so vast and important sub
ject. From the time the Council of Trent sought to
repair the consequences of the crisis which sepa
rated from the Church many of her members in
the 16th century, the doctrine concerning the
Church herself was studied by eminent scholars
and consequently made great progress.
Suffice it for us here to refer to the teachings
of the First Ecumenical Vatican Council in this
field to understand how studies on the Church are
a subject that claims the attention of pastors and
teachers, of the faithful and of all Christians.
Thus they are made to dwell on a theme which is a
necessary step on the path leading to Christ and
His work. So much so that, as has already been
said, the Second Ecumenical Vatican Council is but
a continuation and a complement of the first, pre
cisely because of the ta3k incumbent upon it to
take up again for study and definition the doctrine
dealing with the Church. And if out of a desire
for brevity, we say no more, inasmuch as we are
addressing those who are well acquainted with this
subject of instruction and of spirituality currently
of wide interest throughout the Church, there are
two documents which we cannot fail to honor with
specific mention: the encyclical Satis Cognitum of
Pope Leo XXI (1896) and the encyclical Mystici
Corporis of Pope Pius XII (1943). These docu
ments offer us ample and clear teachings on the
divine institution by which Christ continues His
work of salvation in the world, and which today
is the subject matter of these words of ours.
Let it be enough to cite the opening words of the
second of these encyclicals which has become,
one might say, a highly authoritative text on the
theology of the Church and a rich source of spiri
tual meditations on this work of divine mercy
which concerns us alL Let it suffice to recall these
masterful words of our great predecessor:
“We first learned of the Mystical Body of Christ,
which is the Church, from the lips of the Redeem
er Himself. Illustrating, as it does, the great and
inestimable privilege of our intimate union with
a Head so exalted, this doctrine is certainly cal
culated by its sublime dignity to draw all spiritual
ly minded men to deep and serious study, and to
give them, in the truths which it unfolds to the
mind, a strong incentive to such virtuous conduct
as is conformable to its lessons’* (A.A.S., XXXV,
p. 193; 1943).
It is an answer to such an invitation, which we
consider still vital and meaningful and expres
sive of one of the fundamental needs of the Church
in our times, that We propose it again today. With
an ever-growing knowledge of this same Mystical
Body we may come to appreciate its God-given im
portance, and in this way strengthen our souls
with this Incomparable source of consolation and
always increase our ability to fulfil the duties of
our mission and to meet the needs of mankind.
Nor does it seem to us a difficult thing to do,
when on the one hand we notice, as we have said,
a vast renascence of studies on the Church, and,
on the other, we know that it is the principal ob
ject of attention of the Second Ecumenical Vatican
Council.
We should like to pay special tribute to those
scholars who, especially during these last years,
with perfect docility to the teaching authority of
the Church and with outstanding gifts of research
and expression, have with great dedication under
taken many difficult and fruitful studies of the
Church. These scholars, both in theological
schools and in scientific and literary discussions,
as well as in apologetics and in the populariza
tion of dogma, in the spiritual assistance render
ed to the faithful and in conversations with the
separated brethren, have offered many and di
verse illustrations of the teaching on the Church.
Some of these are of great value and utility.
And so we are confident that the work of the
council will be assisted by the light of the Holy
Spirit. It will be carried out and brought to a
happy conclusion with such docility to His divine
Inspirations, with so much effort made to under
take fuller and deeper Investigations into the
pristine thinking of Christ and into the necessary
and legitimate developments which have followed
in the course of time, with such eagerness to
make of divine truth an argument for union and
not a reason to divide men in sterile discussions
or regrettable divisions, it will rather lead them to
greater understanding and concord; the result will
be a source of glory for God, joy for the Church,
and edification for the world.
In this encyclical we are deliberately refraining
from passing any judgment of our own on doctrinal
points concerning the Church which are at present
under examination by the Council itself over which
we have been called to preside. It is our desire to
leave full liberty erf study and discussion to such an
important and authoritative assembly. In virtue of
our office of teacher and pastor, and place at the
head of the Church of God, we reserve to ourself
the choice of the proper moment and manner of
expressing our judgment. We are most happy if we
can present it in perfect accord with that of the
conciliar Fathers.
However, we cannot avoid alluding rapidly to the
results we hope will derive from the council itself,
and from the efforts we mentioned above, which
the Church must make to come to a fuller and
Prologue
firmer awareness of herself. These results are the
aims we have set for our apostolic ministry as
we undertake its consoling and tremendous re
sponsibilities. They are, so to speak, the pro
gram of our pontificate. We tell you this, venerable
brethren, briefly but in all sincerity, so that you
will be willing to help us put it into effect by your
advice, by your support, by your collaboration. We
think that by opening our heart to you, we are open
ing it not only to all the faithful of the Church of
God, but especially to those whom our voice can
reach beyond the wide limits of the flock of Christ.
The first benefit to be reaped from a deepened
awareness of herself by the Church is a renewed
discovery of her vital bond of union with Christ.
This is something that is very well known, but is
something that is fundamental and indispensable
and never sufficiently understood, meditated upon,
and honored.
What should we not say about this central theme
of all our religious inheritance? Fortunately, you
already have an excellent grasp of this doctrine.
We will say no more at this time except to urge
you to keep it always before your eyes as a di
rective principle both in your spirituality and in
your preaching. Rather than to our words, listen
to the exhortation of our predecessor already men
tioned in his encyclical Mystici Corporis: “we
must accustom ourselves to see Christ in the
Church. It is Christ who lives in the Church, who
teaches, governs and sanctifies through it. It is
Christ who manifests Himself differently in dif
ferent members of His society" (A.A.S., ib. p.
238).
How we should like to dwell on the thoughts that
come to mind from Sacred Scripture, from the
Fathers, the doctors and the saints when we con
sider this enlightening truth of our Faith. Did not
Jesus Himself tell us that He Is the vine and we
the branches (Jn. 15, Iss)? Do we not have be
fore us all the riches of St. Paul's teaching, who
never ceases to remind us; “you are all one per
son in Jesus Christ" (Gal. 3, 28)? And to recom
mend to us “...let us grow up, in everything, into
a due proportion with Christ, who is our head; on
Him all the body depends" (Eph.4, l5-l6)?And to
admonish us: “there is nothing but Christ in any of
us" (Col. 3, 11)?
Suffice it to recall St. Augustine as the one
teacher among many who could be cited: “Let us
rejoice and give thanks that we have become not
only Christians but Christ. My brothers, do you
understand the grace ofGodourhead? Stand in ad
miration, rejoice; we have become Christ. For if
he is the head, we are the members; he and we are
the complete man... Therefore, the fullness of
Christ is constituted by the head and members.
What is the head and the members? Christ and the
Church" (In Jo. Tract. 2l, 8—P.L. 35, 1568).
We know well that this is a mystery. It is the
mystery of the Church. And if, with the help of
God, we fix our gaze on this mystery, we will re
ceive many spiritual benefits, the very ones we
believe the Church today stands in greatest need
of. The presence of Christ, His very life will be
come operative in each one and in the whole of the
Mystical Body by reason of the working of a living
and life-giving faith, according to the words of
the Apostle: "may Christ find a dwelling-place,
through faith, in your hearts" (Eph. 3, 17).
Indeed, awareness of the mystery of the Church
is a result of a mature and livingfaith. From such
a faith comes that “feeling for the Church," which
fills the Christian who has been raised in the
school of the divine word. He has been nourished
by the grace of the sacraments and of the ineff
able inspirations of the Paraclete, has been train
ed in the practice of the virtues of the Gospel, has
been imbued with the culture and community life
of the Church, and is profoundly happy to find
himself endowed with that royal priesthood proper
to the people of God (cf. I Petr. 2, 9).
The mystery of the Church is not a mere object
of theological knowledge; it is something to be liv
ed, something that the faithful soul can have a kind
of connatural experience of, even before arriving
at a clear notion of it. Moreover, the community
of the faithful can be profoundly certain of its par
ticipation in the Mystical Body of Christ when it
realizes that by divine institution, the ministry of
the hierarchy of the Church is there to give it a
beginning, ti give it birth (cf. Gal. 4;l9, I Cor.
4;l5), to teach and sanctify and direct it. It is by
means of this divine instrumentality that Christ
communicates to His mystical members the mar
vels of His truth and of His grace, and confers to
His Mystical Body as it travels its pilgrim’s way
through time its visible structure, its sublime
unity, its ability to function organically, its har
monious complexity, its spiritual beauty.
Images do not suffice to translate into meaning
ful language the full reality and depth of this mys
tery. However after dwelling on the image of the
Mystical Body, whichwas suggested by the Apostle
Paul, we should especially call to mind one sug
gested by Christ Himself, that of the edifice for
which He is the architect and the builder, an edi
fice indeed founded on a man who of himself is
weak but who was miraculously transformed by
Christ into solid r<£ck, that is, endowed with mar
velous and everlasting indefectlbillty: "it is upon
this rock that I will build my Church" (Mt. 16, 18).
If we can awaken in ourselves such a strength
giving feeling for the Church and install it in the
faithful by profound and careful instruction, many
of the difficulties which today trouble students of
ecclesiology, as for example, how the Church
can be at once both visible and spiritual, at once
free and subject to discipline, communitarian and
hierarchical, already holy and yet still being
sanctified, contemplative and active, and so on,
will be overcome in practice and solved by
those who, after being enlightened by sound teach
ing, experience the living reality of the Church
herself.
But above all, the Church's spirituality will
come forth enriched and nourished by the faithful
reading of Sacred Scripture, of the holy Fathers
and Doctors of the Church 3nd by ail that brings
about in the Church such an awareness. We mean
systematic and accurate instruction, participation
The Paths Of The Church
POPE RECEIVES CHAMPION—Rocky Marciano, who retired as heavyweight boxing
champion of the world, was received with his wife and daughter, by Pope Paul VI follow
ing a general audience at Castelgandolfo, the papal summer villa. They are shown here
kneeling before the Holy Father to receive his blessing. The Marcianos were brought to
the papal audience by Msgr. John Patrick Carroll-Abbing, founder of the Boys Towns
of Italy. The retired champion visited the Boys Town of Rome with Msgr. Carroll-Abbing.
in that incomparable school of words, signs and di
vine inspirations which constitute the sacred
liturgy and by silent and fervent meditation
on the divine truths and finally by whole
hearted dedication to contemplative prayer.
The interior life still remains the great source
of the Church’s spirituality,her own proper way
of receiving the illuminations of the Spirit of
Christ, the fundamental and irreplaceable mani
festation of her religious and social activity, an
impregnable defense as well as an inexhaustible
source of energy in her difficult contacts with the
world.
It is necessary to restore to holy Baptism, that
is, to the fact of having been incorporated by means
of this sacrament into the Mystical Body of Christ,
which is the Church, all of its significance. It is
specially important that the baptized person should
have a highly conscious esteem of his elevation,
or, rather, of his rebirth to the most happy reality
of being an adopted son of God, to the dignity of be
ing a brother of Christ, to the good fortune, We
mean to the grace and joy of the indwelling of the
Holy Spirit, to the vocation to a new life. It has
lost nothing human save only the unhappy fate of
original sin and, because it is human, is
capable of the finest manifestations and the most
precious and sublime acts.
To be Christians, to have received holy Bap
tism, must not be looked upon as something in
different or of little importance, but it must be
imprinted deeply and happily in the conscience
of every baptized person. He must truly look upon
it, as did the Christians of old, as an "illumina
tion," which, by drawing down upon him the life
giving ray of divine Truth, opens heaven to him,
sheds light upon earthly life and enables him to
walk as a child of the light towards the vision of
God, the spring of eternal happiness.
It is easy to see what practical program this
consideration imposes on us and our ministry.
We are happy to see that this program is already
being put into practice throughout the whole
Church and that it is being furthered with prudent
and ardent zeal. We encourage this activity, we
commend it, we bless it.
II
THE RENEWAL
We are taken up by the desire to see the Church
of God become what Christ wants her to be, one,
holy, and entirely dedicated to the pursuit of per
fection to which she is effectively called. Perfect
as she is in the ideal conception of her Divine
Founder, the Church should tend towards becom
ing perfect in the real expression of her earthly
existence... This is the great moral problem
which is uppermost in the life of the Church, a
problem which reveals what she is, stimulates
her, accuses her, and sustains her.
This search for perfection fills her with groan-
ings and prayers, with repentance and hope, with
strength and confidence, with responsibility and
merits. It is a problem inherent in those theologi
cal realities which give meaning to our human life.
Without reference to the teachings of Christ and
to the magisterlum of the Church it is impossible
to pass judgment on man. We cannot judge his na
ture, his primeval perfection, the ruinous conse
quences of original sin, man’s capacities for good,
his need for help to desire and achieve what is
good, the meaning of the present life and his final
end. We cannot judge those values which man de
sires or controls, the criterion of perfection and
sanctity, and means and ways of enriching life
with the highest beauty and fullness.
A strong desire to know the ways of Christ is
and ought to remain ever present in the Church,
and its discussion must always be fruitful and var
ied. As regards the questions having to do with
perfection, fresh nourishment is provided in the
Church from century to century. We should there
fore like to see the unique Interest which the life
of Christ deserves reawakened, not so much for
the sake of elaborating new theories as for gene
rating new energies. They should be used for ac
quiring that sanctity which Christ teaches. His ex
ample, His word, His grace, and His method sus
tained by ecclesiastical tradition, strengthened by
. divine action and exemplified In the lives of the
saints make it possible for us to know, desire and
to follow the path of sanctity.
In the pursuit of spiritual and moral perfection
the Church receives an exterior stimulus from the
conditions in which she lives. She cannot remain
unaffected by or indifferent to the changes that take
place in the world around.
This world exerts its influence on the Church in
a thousand ways and places conditions on her daily
conduct. The Church, as everyone knows, is not
separated from the world, but lives in it. Hence,
the members of the Church are subject to its In
fluence; they breathe its culture, accept its laws
and absorb its customs.
This imminent contact of the Church with tem
poral society continually creates for her a prob
lematic situation, which today has become ex
tremely difficult. On the one hand Christian life,
as defended and promoted by the Church, must al
ways take great care lest it should be deceived,
profaned or stifled as it must strive to render it
self immune from the contagion of error and of
evil.
On the other hand, Christian life should not only
be adapted to the forms of thought and custom
which the temporal environment offers and im
poses on her, provided they are compatible with
the basic exigencies of her religious and moral
program, but it should also try to draw close to
them, to purify them, to ennoble them, to vivify
and to sanctify them. This task demands of the
Church a perennial examination of her moral vigi
lance, which our times demand with particular
urgency and exceptional seriousness.
Also from this point of view the celebration of
the council is providential. The pastoral character
which it has assumed, the practical objectives of
renewing canonical discipline, the desire to make
the practice of Christian life as easy as possible
in conformity with its supernatural character—all
these factors confer on the council an especial
merit even at this moment when we are still
awaiting the major part of its deliberations.
In fact it awakens in pastors as well as in the
faithful the desire to preserve and increase in
Christian life its character of supernatural au
thenticity and reminds all of their duty of effec
tively and deeply imprinting that character in their
own personal conduct, thus leading the weak to be
good, the good to be better, the better to be gene
rous, and the generous to be holy. It gives rise
to new expressions of sanctity, urges love to be
genial, and evokes fresh outpourings of virtue and
Christian heroism.
Naturally, it will be for the council to suggest
what reforms are to be introduced in the legisla
tion of the Church. The postconciliar commis
sions, especially the one instituted for the revision
of Canon Law and already nominated by us will
formulate in concrete terms the deliberations of
the ecumenical synod.
However, it will be your task, venerable broth
ers, to indicate to us the means by which to rend
er the face of our holy Church spotless and youth
ful.
But let our determination to bring about such a
reform be once again made manifest. How many
times in centuries past has this resolve been asso
ciated with the history of the councils, and so let
it be, once more. But this time it is not to re
move from the Church any specific heresies or
general diaorders, which, by the grace of God, do
not exist within her today, but rather to infuse
fresh spiritual vigor into the Mystical Body of
Christ, insofar as it is a visible society, purify
ing it from the defects of many of its members and
stimulating it to new virtue.
In order to be able to bring this about with di
vine help, let us place before you some prelimi
nary considerations suited to facilitate the work of
renewal and to instill into it the courage which it
requires together with sacrifice, and to indicate
here some broad outlines along which the reform
could be better effected.
We should remember above all certain norms to
guide us in this work of reform. The reform can
not concern either the essential conception of the
Church or its basic structure. We would be putting
the word reform to the wrong use if we were to
employ it in that sense. We cannot attribute in
fidelity to this beloved and holy Church of God to
which, as we believe, belongs the highest grace
and from which rises up to our spirit the testi
mony “that we are the children of God" (Rom.
8:16).
Oh, it is neither pride nor presumption nor ob
stinacy nor folly but a luminous certitude and our
joyous conviction that we are indeed living mem
bers of the Body of Christ, that we are the au
thentic heirs of the Gospel of Christ, those who
truly continue the work of the Apostles.. There
dwells in us the great inheritance of truth
and morality characterizing the Catholic Church,
which today possesses intact the living heritage
of the original apostolic tradition. If all this re
dounds to our glory, or to use a better expres
sion, the reason for which we must “always give
thanks to God" (Eph. 5:20), it also constitutes our
responsibility before God Himself to whom we
are accountable for so great a benefit and also
before the Church, in which we must Instill the
firm desire and resolution to guard the “deposit"
about which St. Paul speaks (I Tim. 6:20). We
have a responsibility, also before our brothers
who are still separated from us, and before the
entire world so that all share with us the gift of
God.
Hence, if the term reform can be applied to this
subject, it is not to be understood in the sense
of change, but of a stronger determination to pre
serve the characteristic features which Christ has
impressed on the Church.
We should rather always wish to lead her back
to her perfect form corresponding, on the one
hand, to her original design and on the other
fully consistent with the necessary development
which like a seed grown into a tree has given to
the Church her legitimate and concrete form in
history.
Let us not deceive ourselves into thinking that
the edifice of the Church which has now become
large and majestic for the glory of God as His
magnificent temple, should be reduced to its early
minianal proportions as if they alone were true
and good. Nor should we be fascinated by the de
sire of renewing the structure of the Church
through the charismatic way as if that ecclesias
tical expression were new and good which sprang
from particular ideas, zealous no doubt and some
times even claiming their origin from divine in
spiration, thus introducing an arbitrary scheme of
artificial renewal In the very constitution of the
Church.
We must serve the Church and love her as she
is, with a clear understanding of history, and
humbly searching for the will of God who assists
and guides her even when at times He permits hu
man weakness to eclipse the purity of her features
and beauty of her action. It is this purity and beau
ty which we are endeavoring to discover and pro
mote.
We must deepen within us these convictions if
we are to avoid the other danger which the desire
for reform can produce not only in us pastors,
who are held back by a watchful sense of respon
sibility, but also in the many faithful who think
that the reform of the Church should consist pri
marily in adapting its sentiments and habits to
those of the world.
The fascination of worldly life today is very
powerful indeed. Conformity appears to many as
an inescapable and wise course. Those who are not
well rooted in Faith and in the observance of ec
clesiastical law easily think that the time has
come for concessions to be made to secular
norms of life, as if these were better and as if the
Christian can and must make them his own.
This phenomenon of adaptation is noticeable in
the philosophical field (how much fashion counts
even in the world of thought, which ought to be
autonomous and free and only avid and docile be
fore truth and the authority of approved masters!)
as well as in the practical field, where it is be
coming more and more uncertain and difficult to
point out the line of moral rectitude and right
conduct.
Naturalism threatens to render null and void
the original conception of Christianity. Relati
vism, which justifies everything and treats all
things as of equal value, assails the absolute
character of Christian principles. The tendency